No. 14 Oklahoma struggles, but holds off Iowa State 79-72 in Big 12

NORMAN, Okla. — Brady Manek’s scoring numbers didn’t jump off the page, but Manek played a major role in Saturday’s 79-72 Oklahoma win over Iowa State at Lloyd Noble Center.

Though the Cyclones remained winless in Big 12 play, they were tough to put away.

But with Manek manning the middle, scoring 9 points and adding a career-high 15 rebounds and tying a career-high with 4 assists, the Sooners, ranked 14th in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll, found a way to win.

It was Manek’s first time back in the starting lineup since Jan. 6 against Baylor. Manek was hurt in that game and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

Three takeaways from the game:

Welcome back, Austin

After missing the last two games due to COVID-19 contact tracing, Sooners starting point guard Austin Reaves returned and it went about as well as it could’ve.

Reaves had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He was 5 of 10 from the field.

"He's a big piece for our team," Manek said. "He's got a good mind for the game."

After the Sooners had a season-low three assists in Monday's loss at Texas Tech, OU had 14 Saturday.

Sooners go small

The Sooners have been at their best over the last month with a small lineup with four guards. Saturday, Lon Kruger kept the four-guard lineup but inserted Manek for Kur Kuath in the post.

Manek has spent plenty of time in the middle this season, including for much of Monday’s loss at Texas Tech.

The small lineup paid dividends early, as the Sooners jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first four minutes with 3-pointers from Manek and Elijah Harkless.

Iowa State went after Manek on its offensive end, going repeatedly to Solomon Young on the interior.

Young scored six of his eight first-half points with Manek in the game at center, but was just 3 of 9 from the field with Kuath on the bench. Two of those makes were in the first two minutes. Young finished 6 of 16 from the field with 12 points.

3-point defense hurts Sooners 

The Cyclones entered the day No. 9 in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting but Iowa State hurt the Sooners on the perimeter, especially early.

Iowa State was 8 of 14 from behind the arc in the first half after coming in averaging just 6.9 3-pointers per game in Big 12 play.

The Cyclones had a season-high 16 3-pointers, shooting 51.6% from beyond the arc.

OU struggled from behind the arc, shooting just 31.6% (6 of 19).

Follow Ryan Aber on Twitter @ryaber