Young Scores 31, Leads No. 17 Oklahoma Past Northwestern

Trae Young had 31 points and 12 assists to help No. 17 Oklahoma defeat Northwestern 104-78 on Friday night.

Young, the nation's leader in scoring and assists, tied an NCAA record with 22 assists in a 105-68 victory over Northwestern State on Tuesday night. He followed it up by making 9 of 16 shots, including 8 of 13 3-point attempts. He became the first Oklahoma player since Stacey King in 1988-89 to post at least 10 straight games with 20 or more points.

Christian James matched a career high with 19 points and Brady Manek and Jamuni McNeace each added 11 for the Sooners (10-1), who won their eighth straight since losing to Arkansas on Nov. 23. The Sooners have scored at least 90 points in eight of their 11 games.

Dererk Pardon had 17 points and nine rebounds for Northwestern (9-5), which had won four straight.

The Sooners jumped to a 7-0 lead and forced Northwestern to call a timeout 72 seconds into the game.

It didn't get much better for the Wildcats. Young got Sooners fans out of their seats with a lob to James for a dunk that gave the Sooners a 41-22 lead.

Young hit a deep 3 in the final seconds of the first half to give the Sooners a 68-38 lead. He had 25 points and 10 assists before the break.

BIG PICTURE

Northwestern: The Wildcats had no answer for Young, but no one has found one yet. Northwestern shot a respectable 45 percent and still got blown out.

Oklahoma: The Sooners entered the game leading the nation in scoring and upped their average. They shot 61 percent from the field.