It's Basketball Time in Oklahoma

Southeastern Louisiana vs. 19/19 Oklahoma

November 16 | 2 p.m. | Norman

QUICK PREVIEW
No. 19/19 Oklahoma begins its 108th season of varsity basketball when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center. OU, which went 23-10 last season (12-6 Big 12; second place) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, won preseason exhibition games against NCAA Division II foes Washburn (73-48) and Southwestern Oklahoma State (78-37). After posting a 97-81 exhibition win over Loyola (New Orleans), Southeastern Louisiana dropped its regular season opener on Friday at Oklahoma State, 83-59. The Lions posted a 12-18 record last year.

ON THE AIR
Sunday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM "The Franchise" in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck calling the action. The game will be televised by Sooner Sports TV (FS Southwest Plus and FOX College Sports Central) with Bill Doleman, Renzi Stone and Jessica Coody announcing.

TICKETS
• Tickets for Sunday's game are available for $10, $20 and $30 online at SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

• OU student tickets cost $10.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
• Sunday's game will mark just the second meeting between Oklahoma and Southeastern Louisiana. The Sooners claimed a 103-66 home win on Jan. 4, 1986, in the only previous matchup. Tim McCalister and Darryl "Choo" Kennedy paced OU with 31 and 21 points, respectively.

• Oklahoma is 27-2 in its last 29 season openers and has won 11 such contests in a row. The Sooners' last season-opening loss was a 68-62 decision against Alabama to start the 2002-03 season (game was played at New York's Madison Square Garden). OU has won 21 consecutive home openers and 34 of its last 35. The last team to beat the Sooners in their first home game of a season was Massachusetts (84-83) in 1993-94 (Billy Tubbs' final year as OU's head coach).

Oklahoma is 27-2 in its last 29 season openers and has won 11 such contests in a row. OU has won 21 consecutive home openers and 34 of its last 35.

• After averaging 70.6 points per game in 2012-13, last year's Sooners averaged 81.9 points to rank seventh nationally out of 351 teams. It was OU's highest scoring average in 20 years. The Sooners scored at least 80 points 18 times last year after doing it 17 times the previous three seasons combined.

• Oklahoma returns 71 percent of its 3-point production from last season's team that averaged a school-record 8.6 treys per game. The Sooners welcome back their top three 3-point producers: Buddy Hield (90 makes), Frank Booker (42) and Isaiah Cousins (38).

• OU is ranked No. 19 in the AP and USA Today Coaches top-25 preseason polls, the first time it has been ranked to start a season in five years. The Sooners finished last year at No. 21 in the AP poll and at No. 20 in the last regular season USA Today poll.

PREVIEWING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
• Located in Hammond, La., Southeastern Louisiana is a school of 15,000 students that competes in the Southland Conference. SLU finished 12-18 last season and posted a 7-11 league record to finish in 10th place. The Lions are picked seventh out of 13 teams in this year's Southland preseason coaches poll. They opened their season Friday at Oklahoma State and, after trailing by 35-33 at halftime, lost 83-55. They were outscored 48-22 in the second half. SLU outrebounded OSU 40-38 but committed 10 more turnovers (21-11).

• Southeastern Louisiana returns two starters from last year in senior forward Devonte Upson (8.3 ppg and 6.1 rpg) and sophomore guard Joshua Filmore (6.9 ppg and 2.9 apg). Upson registered a double-double Friday at Oklahoma State (10 points and 10 rebounds) while Filmore contributed eight points and three boards. Junior guard Zay Jackson registered team highs of 16 points and four assists Friday, but was held to 25 percent field goal shooting (6-for-24) and committed eight turnovers. Senior forward Onochie Ochie posted eight points and six rebounds against the Cowboys. Senior guard JaMichael Hawkins led the team in scoring last year (12.3 ppg), but is expected to miss the entire season due to injury.

• Jay Ladner is in his first season as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level. Ladner spent the past two years as head coach at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Miss., and won the junior college national title last season (finished 28-5). He spent the first 20 years of his career as the head coach at St. Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Ladner is a 1988 graduate of Southern Miss.

EXHIBITION SEASON RECAP: OU DEFENSE ON DISPLAY
The Sooners outscored their opponents by an average of 33.0 points in a pair of home exhibition wins over NCAA Division II schools the previous week. OU downed Washburn 73-48 at Lloyd Noble Center before handling Southwestern Oklahoma State by a 78-37 count at McCasland Field House. After focusing on defense and rebounding in preseason practices, those two facets were on display in each outing as OU held its opponents to combined .273 field goal and .179 3-point field goal shooting, and outrebounded them by an average of 17.5 a contest. Lon Kruger's squad outscored its foes 40-23 off turnovers and 34-7 in second-chance points. OU shot a combined .442 from the floor, .241 from 3-point range (13 for 54) and .706 from the free throw line (24 for 34).

Four Sooners averaged double figures in scoring. Junior guard Buddy Hield led the team with his 17.0 average (24 and 10 points, respectively) and was followed by junior guard Isaiah Cousins (12.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg), sophomore point guard Jordan Woodard (10.5 ppg and team highs of 4.0 apg and 3.0 spg) and sophomore guard Frank Booker (10.5 ppg on 5-for-13 3-point shooting). Freshman forward Khadeem Lattin (10.5) and junior forward Ryan Spangler (10.0) each averaged double figures in rebounding.

Ryan Spangler

RETURNING PLAYERS
• The Sooners return 68 percent of their scoring, 70 percent of their rebounding and 73 percent of their assists from last season's 23-10 squad that finished in sole possession of second place in the Big 12 (12-6). OU welcomes back four starters (each started all 33 games) in The Sporting News third-team preseason All-American Buddy Hield (16.5 ppg, 3.5 3-pointers per game), fellow juniors Isaiah Cousins (11.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, .404 3FG%) and Ryan Spangler (9.6 ppg, Big 12-leading 9.3 rpg, team-high .584 FG%), and sophomore Jordan Woodard (10.3 ppg, team-high 4.6 apg).

• Also back are three scholarship players who were reserves a year ago: sophomore guard Frank Booker (5.1 ppg, .368 3FG%), senior forward D.J. Bennett (2.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, .569 FG%) and sophomore forward C.J. Cole (0.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg). Joining them are four walk-on returnees: senior guard James Fraschilla, sophomore forward Austin Mankin and sophomore guards Daniel Harper and Trey Slate.

NEW FACES
• Six of OU's 17 players have never suited up for the Sooners. Five of those six players are on scholarship. They are senior forward TaShawn Thomas (transfer from Houston), junior guard Dinjiyl Walker (junior college transfers), freshman forwards Khadeem Lattin and Dante Buford (both top-75 national recruits) and freshman center Jamuni McNeace. Thomas, who led the Cougars in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg), is waiting on the results of an NCAA waiver request that, if granted, would allow him to play this season. Buford and McNeace will sit out the 2014-15 campaign.

• Also joining the squad this season is freshman walk-on guard Bola Alade.

UP NEXT
The Sooners will play their first road game of the season when they travel to Omaha, Neb., to face Creighton on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT at the 18,320-seat Century Link Center. The game will be televised by FOX Sports 1 (Kevin Kugler and Bill Raftery will announce).

Players Mentioned

Bola Alade

Bola Alade

D.J. Bennett

Frank Booker

C.J. Cole

C.J. Cole

Isaiah Cousins

James Fraschilla

James Fraschilla

Daniel Harper

Daniel Harper

Buddy Hield

Khadeem Lattin

Austin Mankin

Austin Mankin

Jamuni McNeace

Jamuni McNeace

Trey Slate

Trey Slate

Ryan Spangler

TaShawn Thomas

TaShawn Thomas

Dinjiyl Walker

Dinjiyl Walker

Jordan Woodard

Sponsors

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