The Trae Young experience has been a roller-coaster ride during the past 10 days.
Heck, during that span, he has made his way all over the theme park.
He scored 48 points in a loss to rival Oklahoma State on Jan. 20, then poured in 26 and 9 assists three days later in an impressive victory against Kansas in which he made an emphasis to get his teammates involved. And on Saturday against Alabama, he was limited to 17 points and out-dueled by Tide frosh Collin Sexton in a road loss.
So it's only fitting that Tuesday night's 44-point explosion marked another peak in the wild ride of a season he has orchestrated. Against Baylor, the Sooners star calmly led Oklahoma to a critical bounceback victory against Baylor, 98-96, and did so on an efficient 20 shots.
Young made 6 of his 11 3-point attempts, and believe me when I say that his 44 points were as extraordinary as you'll see in the college game. Despite struggling (by his own standards) against the Crimson Tide on Saturday, he came out guns blazing against the Bears and unloaded the clip from virtually anywhere on the floor with no hesitation.
Like this.
Or this.
His 44-point outburst was spectacular, and given the context of Baylor's night, it was even more so. Baylor made 15 of its 29 threes, shot 47 percent from the floor, got a combined 52 points from Manu Lecomte and Nuni Omot, and still lost.
Young had help, too. Rashard Odomes added 18 points and fellow freshman Brady Manek had 16 of his own. But down the stretch -- and especially in the second half as he scored 31 -- it was all Trae Young.
Trae Young drops 44PTS 4REBS and 9ASTS in a win over Baylor 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XP8FBfLoSp
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 31, 2018
The victory moves OU to 6-3 in the Big 12, second place behind Kansas, with rival Texas up next and a Feb. 5 showdown against West Virginia looming large. But so long as the Trae Young experience is making its way around the Big 12's wacky theme park, Oklahoma has as good a shot as any to throw a wrench in the conference race and end KU's Big 12 title streak.