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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Men's Hoops Releases Non-Conference Schedule
July 24, 2017 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN – University of Oklahoma Head Men's Basketball Coach Lon Kruger and Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione announced the Sooners' 13-game 2017-18 non-conference schedule Monday. The challenging campaign features seven home dates (one exhibition) and potentially six contests against teams that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners' 2016-17 schedule was rated the toughest in the country by ESPN's College Basketball Index, and the 2017-18 slate marks another season of aggressive scheduling and marquee matchups.
Oklahoma's 2017-18 non-conference opponents combined for a .620 winning percentage (327-200) last season. Three teams finished the year in the AP Top 25 and six schools ended the season with a top-50 RPI. OU could face a 2017 NCAA Tournament team in six of its 12 regular season non-conference contests with scheduled games against Arkansas, USC, Wichita State and Northwestern and potential matchups versus North Carolina, Oregon and Michigan State at PK80. Additionally, the Sooners will face CollegeInsider.com Tournament participant Ball State at home and NIT qualifier Alabama in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
“By playing in one of, if not the toughest, conferences in college basketball, it's important for us to prepare our team for Big 12 play through an ambitious non-conference schedule,” said OU head coach Lon Kruger. “The challenges and opportunities of this non-conference schedule are meant to set up our team for conference play and help our team play its best basketball late into the season.”
Oklahoma was especially aggressive in scheduling its six non-conference games away from home. The Sooners will play three games at PK80, an early-season men's basketball tournament created to honor Nike co-founder Phil Knight in Portland, Ore., opening the tournament against Arkansas (Nov. 23) and potentially facing Connecticut, Georgetown, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oregon and Portland in their other two games (Nov. 24 and 26). OU also scheduled off-campus games in opposing cities against USC (Dec. 8 at STAPLES Center) and Wichita State (Dec. 16 at INTRUST Bank Arena) along with a campus game at Alabama (Jan. 27). Depending on the opponents in the later rounds of PK80, all six of OU's road and neutral site non-conference contests could come against teams which qualified for the 2017 NCAA Tournament or NIT.
At home, the Sooners welcome Northwestern on Dec. 22. The Wildcats are coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance and are regarded as a preseason top-25 team by ESPN, USA Today, CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com and Sporting News. The marquee home matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools and the second visit to Lloyd Noble Center by a Big Ten school in the past three seasons (Wisconsin in 2015).
The Sooners open the season with a home exhibition game against NCAA Division II member East Central on Nov. 8 before beginning the regular season on Nov. 12 at Lloyd Noble Center against Nebraska-Omaha. OU will also host Ball State on Nov. 15, North Texas on Nov. 30, UTSA on Dec. 4 and Northwestern State on Dec. 19.
"By playing in one of, if not the toughest, conferences in college basketball, it's important for us to prepare our team for Big 12 play through an ambitious non-conference schedule."
-- Head Coach Lon Kruger
The challenging non-conference schedule will help prepare the Sooners for another round-robin run through the Big 12 schedule, which will be released at a later date. Six of OU's nine Big 12 opponents (Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and West Virginia) qualified for the 2017 NCAA Tournament while TCU won the 2017 NIT. With the inclusion of OU's 18 conference games, up to 73 percent of OU's full schedule will be against opponents that reached a postseason tournament in 2017. Of OU's 15 games played away from home, as many as 13 will be against an opponent that reached the NCAA Tournament or NIT last season.
The Sooners return 77 percent of their scoring from 2016-17, led by will-be sophomore guard Kameron McGusty – a Big 12 honorable mention selection and member of the Big 12 All Newcomer team. McGusty is joined by a young core featuring sophomore forward Kristian Doolittle, junior guard Rashard Odomes and senior forward Khadeem Lattin.
Oklahoma saw some of the best youth production in the nation last season, ranking 16th among basketball “power six” schools in underclassmen scoring (51.3 points per game) and 10th in underclassmen minutes played (145.7 minutes per game). OU also adds a top-25 recruiting class, highlighted by five star point guard Trae Young from Norman North High School.
Season tickets for OU men's basketball start at just $195 per seat. For more ticket information or to reserve your season ticket with a $50 deposit, contact the OU Athletics Ticket Office by phone at (800) 456-4668, by email at outickets@ou.edu or by clicking here.
Oklahoma's final schedule, with conference games, tip times and TV information, will be announced on a later date.
| 2017-18 Oklahoma Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Site | Time |
| Nov. 8 | East Central (Exh.) | Norman | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 12 | Nebraska-Omaha | Norman | 2 p.m. |
| Nov. 15 | Ball State+ | Norman | TBD |
| Nov. 23 | vs. Arkansas# | Portland, Ore. | TBD |
| Nov. 24 | vs. North Carolina or Portland# | Portland, Ore. | TBD |
| Nov. 26 | vs.TBD#* | Portland, Ore. | TBD |
| Nov. 30 | North Texas | Norman | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 4 | UTSA | Norman | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 8 | vs. USC$ | Los Angeles, Calif. | 9:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 16 | at Wichita State^ | Wichita, Kan. | TBD |
| Dec. 19 | Northwestern State | Norman | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 22 | Northwestern | Norman | TBD |
| Jan. 27 | at Alabama% | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | TBD |
+ PK80 Campus Game
# PK80 at Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum
$ Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at STAPLES Center
^ Played at INTRUST Bank Arena
% Big 12/SEC Challenge
Dates and times are subject to change, all tip times are CT
*Potential PK80 Third Game Opponents: Connecticut, Georgetown, Michigan State and Oregon
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