Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears Duel in Texas-Oklahoma Bout

The first-ever SEC basketball showdown between Oklahoma and Texas featured two of the highest-profile prospects in the entire class: Jeremiah Fears and Tre Johnson.

Both true freshman with knacks for putting the ball through the hoop, Fears and Johnson both are projected lottery picks at this point, and could even land in the top five to seven with strong finishes to their seasons.

It wasn’t the best night for either prospect, but both were able to showcase key elements of their games and make big plays down the stretch.

After a couple down SEC performances, Oklahoma's Fears was able to re-find his efficiency versus their bordering rival, pouring on 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, hitting one of his three attempts triples and going 5-for-9 from the free throw line. He added two assists and two rebounds, too, with the only stain on his game coming in the form of six turnovers, a mar for Oklahoma as a whole all night.

Johnson didn’t see his most efficient outing — scoring 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting — but added more to his all-around game with four rebounds and three steals. With just a minute and a half remaining in the game, Johnson was able to slice his way to the top of the key, and rise for a smooth jumper, the essential dagger in pushing the Longhorns lead to seven.

Texas ultimately came out with the 77-73 win, helping to keep the Sooners winless in conference play. But OU battled back deep into the second half, and Fears was a huge catalyst to that.

Johnson, more of a pure shooting guard, likely has slightly higher stock at the moment than a point guard in Fears, simply due to his more complete resume so far. But all it will take is one team to value the Sooner's skillset to take him off the board early.