NORMAN — The Sooners’ 2026-27 season couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start

Oklahoma fell to East Texas A&M — a member of the Southland Conference — 68-64 on Monday. The Sooners outscored the Lions 39-34 in the second half but still opened the season with a loss.

Guard Pop Isaacs led OU with 15 points. ETAMU’s Bo Aldridge led both teams with 22 points.

Oklahoma shot 41 percent from the field, missed 15 free throws and committed 15 turnovers.

Here are three takeaways from Monday’s game:

Dreadful start

The first half of Oklahoma basketball of the 2026-27 season was not a good one.

The Sooners trailed the Lions 34-25 at halftime — and it felt like it could have been worse than that.

OU shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and made only two of their 11 attempts from deep. The Sooners also missed five of their free-throw attempts.

Nobody from OU’s roster made it to double figures by the break. Forward Khani Rooths was the team’s highest scorer in the first half with seven points.

Thankfully for the Sooners, the Lions didn’t play stellar basketball either. East Texas A&M shot 38 percent from the floor and turned the ball over six times in the first half, keeping the Sooners within reach.

Sooners can't come back

The second half didn’t start much better for Oklahoma. East Texas A&M went on a quick run and extended its lead to 16 points.

After that, the Sooners chipped away at the deficit. OU tightened up its defense and began playing more efficient offense to slowly close the gap.

With five minutes left, Oklahoma tied the game. But the Lions didn’t go away quietly.

The teams were tied 60-60 with 2:51 left before East Texas A&M went on a 6-0 run to make it 66-60 with 1:12 remaining.

Isaacs, who transferred to OU from Texas A&M during the offseason, made one of two free throws with 1:07 left to make it 66-61. He then converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left to make it a two-point game.

The Sooners then went into foul mode and sent ETAMU to the line with 19 seconds remaining. ETAMU’s Thomas Duchamp missed the front end of a one-and-one to give OU a chance to take the lead. But Tyler Hendricks and Derrion Reid both missed field goals to give the Lions another opportunity at the free-throw line. 

This time, Aldridge made his attempts to make it a four-point game and seal the Lions’ win.

Sooners play without starting guard

Point guard Xzayvier Brown, who started all 37 games for the Sooners in 2025-26, missed Monday’s contest with a lower-body injury.

OU’s X (formerly Twitter) account announced his absence just an hour before tipoff.

Brown transferred to OU from St. Joseph’s prior to the 2025-26 season. He averaged 15.4 points, 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game last year.

It is not currently clear how long Brown will be sidelined.

OU, now 0-1 after one game, will battle Mississippi Valley State on Friday.

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