NEWS UPDATE:Watch How Oklahoma men’s basketball falls to Tennessee 70-52……..Read more 

Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7) lost to No. 4 Tennessee (20-4, 7-4) 70-52 Saturday afternoon inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

The 18-point loss was the third-worst loss of SEC conference play for the Sooners. And as Oklahoma needs all of the wins it can get to boost its NCAA tournament résumé, this loss to the Volunteers deals a blow to the Sooners’ March dreams.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:

Tennessee starts hot, Sooners do not

The story of the first half was the hot shooting by the Tennessee Volunteers.

At the halftime break, the Volunteers shot 18 of 26 from the field and seven of 12 from three for 45 total points. Tennessee’s nice 69% shooting in the first half blew their season field goal average of 44.6% out of the water. In the first 12 minutes of the half, the Volunteers only missed two total shots on their way to 33 fast points.

Senior guard Chaz Lanier led the way for the Volunteers with 13 points on five of seven shooting. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler and senior forward Igor Milicic Jr. both finished with eight points.

The same offensive start was not enjoyed by the Sooners in the first half. The Sooners only shot 11 of 28 from the field and three of 10 from three. The offensive disparity put Oklahoma in a 20-point hole at halftime.

Senior forward Jalon Moore led the way for the Sooners with seven points on three of eight shooting. Senior guard Duke Miles added six points and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears had four.

The offensive disparity continued into the second half for both teams. Tennessee finished the game shooting 29 of 48 from the field, good enough for 60%. The Sooners finished the game 17 of 53 from the field, a 32% clip.

“In the beginning of the season, we fought well through emotional issues and came out on top,” head coach Porter Moser said after the loss. “Today and against Auburn, we didn’t fight through and we couldn’t string anything together and get anything going.”

Volunteers dominate the boards early

The Sooners rebounding woes that have plagued them all season came out in the first half against Tennessee.

The Volunteers outrebounded the Sooners 17 to nine in the first half. Tennessee generated nine second chance points off of three offensive rebounds and outscored the Sooners 22 to 16 with points in the paint.

Lanier led the way for the Volunteers with four rebounds. Milicic Jr. pulled in and sophomore forward Cade Phillips both pulled in three.

Sooners let it fly from deep, unsuccessfully

Despite having an all-around struggle game on offense, the Sooners were not afraid to continue to put up shots from behind the arc.

Unfortunately for Oklahoma, those shots were not falling and the Sooners struggled mightily from three-point range. The Sooners finished with a final three-point line of six of 23, which was good enough for a measly 26%. On the season, Oklahoma shoots 37.6% from three.

Moore and transfer guard Duke Miles each put up five threes, with both making two of their attempts. Transfer guard Brycen Goodine put up four threes, only making one. Fears and transfer guard Glenn Taylor Jr. each put up three with neither making one.

“We just never really got on one of those runs,” Moser said. “We couldn’t ever get anything going and get on a run. Just a struggle offensively.”

Next, the Sooners are back on the road when they take on No. 12 Missouri (17-5, 6-3) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Columbus, Missouri.