This time, Sooners' huge victory can't lead to yet another conference dive
Oklahoma proved just how capable it can be by turning a 13-point deficit into a 30-point victory over Vanderbilt. In the past, such wins have only led to failure.

Now you can believe in this team again and for the first time in some time it can believe in itself, too, without ignoring reality.
It’s earned it.
You’re allowed also to wonder where such a performance had been, just don’t get stuck in the thought.
If Saturday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center was indication of coach Porter Moser’s new Sooners, there will be no point in later languishing in what might have been.
Good times will be rolling instead.
You can call it out of character for this team and you might be right, but Oklahoma welcomed 24th-ranked Vanderbilt, maybe the hottest conference squad beyond No. 1 Auburn and No. 4 Alabama, and flat spanked the Commodores.
The final was 97-67 and how it happened was hard to believe, even as it played out for all to see in the arena and watching on SEC Network.
The Sooner effort included a 15-6 end-of-first-half run spearheaded by freshman Dayton Forsythe, the pride of Class 2A Dale, who yet again brought more energy than all of his teammates; only this time, eventually, appeared to inspire their best efforts, too.
Though OU trailed by four at the half and six after Commodore guard A.J. Hoggard canned the contest’s first post-intermission basket, a 23-0 run followed that put OU on top 59-42.
It was a sprint most notable for Forsythe’s absence, for when was the last time any five Sooners on the floor played with so much want-to without him?
It was something to see.
Beautiful passing, fantastic shooting, offense that led to defense and back to offense again, 3s followed by layups followed by 3s followed by layups.
Finally, maybe most meaningful, after Vandy responded to make it a an eight-point game, 60-52, OU sprinted out again to score 37 of its 59 second-half points over the game’s final 9:57.
Ridiculous.
Forsythe finished with 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting.
Far more impressive, if you can believe it, he caused seven of Vandy’s 15 turnovers all by himself: three steals, two dives on the floor for tie-ups that flipped possession, a tipped ball Vandy kicked out of bounds and a drawn charge.
The kid rocks.
Even not being a part of the Sooners’ 23-0 run, he finished plus 17 over his 20 minutes on the court.
Jeremiah Fears looked like a lottery pick again, finishing with 21 points, three steals, four assists and six rebounds and most of his five turnovers came over the first two-thirds of the first half when OU fell behind 13 points.
Jalen Moore added 19 points, 15 after the half.
Brycen Goodine hit big shots, OU out-rebounded Vandy 39 to 24 and after 11 first-half turnovers the Sooners committed just six the rest of the way.
All cylinders.
A revelation and epiphany of a performance.
OU is now 16-5 overall and 3-5 in the SEC and, just like that, not only are its NCAA tourney chances looking up again, a bigger season than mere entry into March Madness feels possible, too …
If, that is, OU can shake off its history since Moser’s arrival, because for all the good stuff this game delivered, it’s also deja vu all over again.
• On Jan. 8, 2022, OU topped No. 11 Iowa State 79-66 behind the late-game heroics of since-forgotten Bijan Cortes, moving the Sooners to 12-3 and 2-1 against Big 12 foes.
The Sooners responded by losing seven of eight games, killing their tourney chances.
• On Jan. 28, 2023, the Sooners clobbered No. 2 Alabama 93-69 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge behind 30 points from Grant Sherfield and 26 from Jalen Hill.
In the midst of a difficult season, it brought OU to 12-9 and 2-6 in the Big 12, but still it could have led to something.
It didn’t.
The Sooners lost six of their next seven games and finished with their first outright losing season since 2016-17: a forgivable failure at the time given Lon Kruger had just skippered them to the previous year’s Final Four.
• Last season a balanced Sooner attack claimed Bedlam, 66-62, moving OU to 18-6 and 6-5 in the Big 12, only for four losses in five games to follow, one of them a horrid 45-point output at Iowa State.
The Sooners missed the tourney again.
It’s a bad history.
Like Groundhog Day, only in seasons rather than 24-hour increments.
Now?
Vandy entered having just gone 2-1 over a three-game span against No. 8 Tennessee, a 76-75 victory; No. 4 Alabama, a 103-87 loss; and No. 12 Kentucky, a 74-69 victory.
The Commodores were on the move, a team playing well.
Nonetheless, after falling behind 28-15 with 9:06 remaining in the first half, OU outscored Vandy 82-39 the rest of the way.
A performance like that leading to another conference dive would be an absolute shame.
Perhaps this time, it won’t.