This one was over early.

Oklahoma blitzed Northwestern with a 68-point first half and coasted to a 104-78 blowout behind a virtuoso 31-point, 12-assist performance by freshman phenom Trae Young.

Northwestern played without the injured Vic Law, but not even the star junior could have done much to stop the onslaught. The red-hot Sooners shot the lights out, hitting a ridiculous 60.7 percent of their 3-pointers (17 of 28) to run away with the game.

Northwestern put five scorers in double figures but was never competitive, falling behind by 30 points at the half and turning the second period into extended garbage time.

Dererk Pardon led the Wildcats with 17 points and 8 rebounds.

Here are our three pointers on an ugly night in Norman:

Oklahoma put on a clinic in the first half: ESPN2 broadcaster Dan Dakich called Oklahoma’s performance over the opening 20 minutes the best half of offensive basketball he’s ever seen. It has to be in the team picture. Young, a player of the year candidate, had 25 points and 10 assists at the break after shooting 7 of 10 from the floor and hitting 6 of 8 3s. He drained two of his triples from about 28 feet, well beyond NBA range. As a team, OU hit 14 of 20 3-pointers, a 70-percent clip that is difficult to maintain without another team on the court. Oklahoma’s 68-point output in the first half was more than seven Northwestern opponents could score in 40 minutes this season. Meanwhile, the Wildcats endured shooting droughts by both Scottie Lindsey (0 for 7) and Bryant McIntosh (3 for 11).

Ash got the start for the Cats: Normally, Law would have drawn the defensive assignment against Young, who came in averaging 28.7 points per game. But with Law out, head coach Chris Collins started Jordan Ash, his best defensive guard. It didn’t work. Young came out blazing, with a 3-point play on a slick floater in the lane followed by a pull-up 3-pointer from the vicinity of Tulsa. He had 12 points and three assists after six minutes as he hit his first four shots from the floor, including three from beyond the arc. By the first official timeout, NU trailed 27-12. Truth is, Young hit some Steph Curry-caliber shots that no one could have defended. He came down to earth in the second half but was still every bit as good as advertised.

It was another disappointing effort for the Wildcats: Oklahoma was the Northwestern’s last shot at a signature non-conference win. They are now 1-4 against non-Big Ten Power Five teams, with the only win coming against middling DePaul. More than that, the Wildcats have now suffered two embarrassing beat downs (an 85-48 loss to Texas Tech was the other) in which they didn’t show much fight after getting down big early. The Wildcats went 8-4 in non-conference play with only a game against Brown remaining. They are already in a hole in terms of building an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume, and this season a weaker Big Ten may not offer many opportunities to earn wins over eventual tournament teams.