Dean's Take: Spangler Comes Up Big For Sooners

Ryan Spangler was spectacular Wednesday night leading Oklahoma past O-State for the seventh straight game. The Bridge Creek senior excelled in all facets of the game and at a time when it was most needed by his third-ranked.

The depleted team that didn’t have a chance all of a sudden had a very good chance as Travis Ford’s short-handed Cowboys were rolling over a sloppy, inefficient and ice cold Sooner squadron.

A 10-1 lead held steady for much of a first half where OU’s best option became giving the rounded leather to the raw-boned Academic All-Big 12 forward who just one game earlier was running away from open 20-footers. And boy, did the Bridge Creek Banger deliver.

A career high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including the critical 4-of-4 from distance in the first half which somehow ended with the home team up three when they’d been spanked by an extremely wobbly and limited bunch of black-shirted Cowboys.

Spangler played just 29 minutes but recorded his 28th double-double, going for 26/14, but also registering a much-needed steal and a pair of blocked shots.

I caught up with Spangler thirty minutes after the Norman Bedlam and he was his always-sensible, pensive, straight-forward self. And oh yeah, polite. I’ve said it before, but Lon Kruger has done an extraordinary job of setting an off-the-court example of integrity and character that is apparent when you spend any time around his players. They love him, play hard for him and will be better men for having him as coach.

Enjoy!