University of Oklahoma Athletics
Thursday, December 5
Denton, Texas
7:00 PM
University of Oklahoma
at
North Texas
Photo by: Ty Russell
OU Travels to North Texas Thursday
December 04, 2019 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN – After going 6-1 in November, RV/RV Oklahoma (6-1, 0-0 Big 12) opens December with three straight true road games. The stretch begins Thursday when the Sooners head south of the state line to face North Texas (3-5, 0-0 C-USA) in OU's first road game of the season.
The Sooners are coming off a third place showing in the College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, claiming a double-digit victory over Missouri.
The Mean Green is limiting its opponents to 61.5 points per game and has held VCU, Arkansas, Rhode Island and Utah State all under 68 points.
Thursday's matchup is slated for a 7 p.m. CT tip at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas.
CBS Sports Network will produce the game and air it through Facebook Live. Fans can find the stream on the OU Men's Basketball Facebook page or on Facebook.com/LiveCUSA. Ben Holden, Avery Johnson and Ashley Holder will call the action.
A direct link to the broadcast can be found here.
Thursday's matchup is a homecoming game for freshman guard De'Vion Harmon, who grew up in nearby Corinth, Texas, and attended Guyer High School in Denton – roughly seven miles from the UNT campus. As a senior at Guyer last season, Harmon averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds. He was named the Texas District 6A Co-MVP in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Junior guard Austin Reaves has led the Sooners' scoring efforts during the first month of the season. A transfer from Wichita State, Reaves sat out the 2018-19 season but has quickly made up for lost time. Through seven games he is averaging team highs of 17.0 points and 2.6 assists along with 5.4 rebounds (second on team). His 17.0 points per game ranks fifth in the Big 12 and second among the conference's newcomers. Reaves enters Thursday's matchup coming off his first career double-double, scoring 19 points with a career-high 10 rebounds against Missouri.
The Sooners have defeated the Mean Green in Norman each of the last two seasons, including a 73-57 win in 2018. OU is 3-0 against UNT during the Kruger era.
UNT's lone win in the series came in 1966. The Sooners have won every meeting since.
Oklahoma is 41-6 all-time against current members of Conference USA and is 7-1 against C-USA teams during the Kruger era. OU faced and defeated UTSA earlier this season.
MU had held its opponents to 55.3 points a game, and no team had scored more than 63 points on the Tigers entering Tuesday. The Sooners scored 77.
In Monday's loss, the Sooners were plagued by a 17-0 Stanford run to open the game. Oklahoma was the aggressive team on Tuesday, starting the night off with an 18-5 lead.
OU was led by junior guard Austin Reaves as he collected his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.
Senior forward Kristian Doolittle shot an efficient 6-of-8 from the field en route to 14 points. He added four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Junior forward Brady Manek began the night hot, making his four 3-point attempts. He finished with 17 points.
Oklahoma has won three straight road non-conference games (all in 2018-19).
Oklahoma was the only Big 12 team to claim three wins over teams from a major conference in November.
The Sooners' three wins away from home are tied for the most in the Big 12 along with four other schools.
OU leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, making 76.6% of its shots from the foul stripe. The Sooners shot their free throws at a 69.7% rate in 2018-19.
The Sooners are turning the ball over just 10.7 times per game, which ranks 14th among all Division I teams and seventh among schools from major conferences.
Oklahoma is the only Big 12 school with three players ranked in the top 15 of the league's scoring leaders. Junior guard Austin Reaves is ranked fifth with 17.0 points per game while senior forward Kristian Doolittle is 13th with 14.0 and junior forward Brady Manek is in 14th averaging 13.7.
Junior college transfer Alondes Williams is leading OU's bench with 8.6 points per game. Williams has scored a career-high 12 points in each of his last two games.
Oklahoma is 28-3 in games played in November and December since the start of the 2017-18 season.
The Sooners have won 15 straight home non-conference matchups (12 straight at Lloyd Noble Center). OU's last non-conference home loss came in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to Florida on Jan. 28, 2017.
Oklahoma has won 139 of its last 146 non-conference games in Norman and is 47-4 at Lloyd Noble Center against non-conference opponents under Kruger.
OU was the only school in the country with a win over a team from every major conference during 2018-19.
Junior guard Austin Reaves has led the Sooners' scoring efforts during his first seven games in the Crimson and Cream. A transfer from Wichita State, Reaves sat out the 2018-19 season but has quickly made up for lost time.
Through seven games he is averaging team highs of 17.0 points and 2.6 assists along with 5.4 rebounds (second on team). His 17.0 points per game ranks fifth in the Big 12 and second among the conference's newcomers.
Reaves has scored in double figures in all seven games, including a career-high-tying 23 points agaisnt UTSA on Nov. 5.
The guard has found success scoring despite only shooting 29.6% from 3-point range. A proven shooter, Reaves led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).
Dating back to last season, Manek has scored in double figures in 20 of his last 23 games – including all seven games this season.
Manek enters Thursday's game with 837 career points. He has started in 41 straight games for the Sooners.
The Sooners and Shockers are facing off in a downtown arena for the fourth straight season. OU won last year's meeting, 80-48, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
The Sooners own a 6-2 series lead all-time and are 2-1 in the Kruger era. Oklahoma is 4-1 when facing the Shockers in Wichita.
OU won its most recent trip to Wichita, topping the No.3-ranked Shockers 91-83 in 2017. The victory was Oklahoma's first road win against a top-three opponent in non-conference play in program history and the first road win over any top-three team since 1949.
Oklahoma's leading scorer, Austin Reaves, played his first two seasons at Wichita State. In 66 career games at Wichita State, Reaves averaged 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He has scored 401 career points and sunk 82 3-pointers. He led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).
The Sooners are coming off a third place showing in the College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, claiming a double-digit victory over Missouri.
The Mean Green is limiting its opponents to 61.5 points per game and has held VCU, Arkansas, Rhode Island and Utah State all under 68 points.
Thursday's matchup is slated for a 7 p.m. CT tip at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas.
ON THE AIR
Thursday's road game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing.CBS Sports Network will produce the game and air it through Facebook Live. Fans can find the stream on the OU Men's Basketball Facebook page or on Facebook.com/LiveCUSA. Ben Holden, Avery Johnson and Ashley Holder will call the action.
A direct link to the broadcast can be found here.
THREE POINTERS
Oklahoma heads south of the Red River for its first true road game of the 2019-20 season when the Sooners face North Texas. The Sooners are 3-1 outside of Norman this season. Despite Thursday being OU's first road game, its trio of neutral-court wins were all played in enemy territory. Oklahoma defeated Minnesota in Sioux Falls, S.D. (15 miles from the Minnesota border), Oregon State in Portland, Ore., and Missouri in Kansas City, Mo. The Sooners went 3-0 in non-conference road games last season.Thursday's matchup is a homecoming game for freshman guard De'Vion Harmon, who grew up in nearby Corinth, Texas, and attended Guyer High School in Denton – roughly seven miles from the UNT campus. As a senior at Guyer last season, Harmon averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds. He was named the Texas District 6A Co-MVP in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Junior guard Austin Reaves has led the Sooners' scoring efforts during the first month of the season. A transfer from Wichita State, Reaves sat out the 2018-19 season but has quickly made up for lost time. Through seven games he is averaging team highs of 17.0 points and 2.6 assists along with 5.4 rebounds (second on team). His 17.0 points per game ranks fifth in the Big 12 and second among the conference's newcomers. Reaves enters Thursday's matchup coming off his first career double-double, scoring 19 points with a career-high 10 rebounds against Missouri.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NORTH TEXAS
OU is 6-1 all-time against the Mean Green and has won the last six meetings. Thursday's matchup is the first meeting between the schools in Denton. All seven previous contests have taken place in Oklahoma.The Sooners have defeated the Mean Green in Norman each of the last two seasons, including a 73-57 win in 2018. OU is 3-0 against UNT during the Kruger era.
UNT's lone win in the series came in 1966. The Sooners have won every meeting since.
Oklahoma is 41-6 all-time against current members of Conference USA and is 7-1 against C-USA teams during the Kruger era. OU faced and defeated UTSA earlier this season.
LOOKING BACK AT OU'S WIN OVER MISSOURI
After losing by 19 to Stanford in the opening round of the College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, Oklahoma bounced back the next night with a double-digit victory over Missouri. The 77-66 win is Oklahoma's third victory over a Power Five opponent away from home this season.MU had held its opponents to 55.3 points a game, and no team had scored more than 63 points on the Tigers entering Tuesday. The Sooners scored 77.
In Monday's loss, the Sooners were plagued by a 17-0 Stanford run to open the game. Oklahoma was the aggressive team on Tuesday, starting the night off with an 18-5 lead.
OU was led by junior guard Austin Reaves as he collected his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.
Senior forward Kristian Doolittle shot an efficient 6-of-8 from the field en route to 14 points. He added four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Junior forward Brady Manek began the night hot, making his four 3-point attempts. He finished with 17 points.
Thursday's game acts as a homecoming for Denton native De'Vion Harmon.
QUICK HITS
The Sooners are off to their sixth start with a 6-1 record or better during the Lon Kruger era. OU has begun the year at least 6-1 in four of the last five seasons.Oklahoma has won three straight road non-conference games (all in 2018-19).
Oklahoma was the only Big 12 team to claim three wins over teams from a major conference in November.
The Sooners' three wins away from home are tied for the most in the Big 12 along with four other schools.
OU leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, making 76.6% of its shots from the foul stripe. The Sooners shot their free throws at a 69.7% rate in 2018-19.
The Sooners are turning the ball over just 10.7 times per game, which ranks 14th among all Division I teams and seventh among schools from major conferences.
Oklahoma is the only Big 12 school with three players ranked in the top 15 of the league's scoring leaders. Junior guard Austin Reaves is ranked fifth with 17.0 points per game while senior forward Kristian Doolittle is 13th with 14.0 and junior forward Brady Manek is in 14th averaging 13.7.
Junior college transfer Alondes Williams is leading OU's bench with 8.6 points per game. Williams has scored a career-high 12 points in each of his last two games.
NON-CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
Oklahoma has been dominant in non-conference play in recent seasons, boasting a combined 28-4 record in its last 32 non-league regular-season games. In non-conference play since 2017-18, Oklahoma is 12-4 against major conference schools (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) and 15-4 in games played away from Norman.Oklahoma is 28-3 in games played in November and December since the start of the 2017-18 season.
The Sooners have won 15 straight home non-conference matchups (12 straight at Lloyd Noble Center). OU's last non-conference home loss came in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to Florida on Jan. 28, 2017.
Oklahoma has won 139 of its last 146 non-conference games in Norman and is 47-4 at Lloyd Noble Center against non-conference opponents under Kruger.
OU was the only school in the country with a win over a team from every major conference during 2018-19.
Junior guard Austin Reaves has led the Sooners' scoring efforts during his first seven games in the Crimson and Cream. A transfer from Wichita State, Reaves sat out the 2018-19 season but has quickly made up for lost time.
Through seven games he is averaging team highs of 17.0 points and 2.6 assists along with 5.4 rebounds (second on team). His 17.0 points per game ranks fifth in the Big 12 and second among the conference's newcomers.
Reaves has scored in double figures in all seven games, including a career-high-tying 23 points agaisnt UTSA on Nov. 5.
The guard has found success scoring despite only shooting 29.6% from 3-point range. A proven shooter, Reaves led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).
BRADY SCORES IN BUNCHES
The Sooners almost always have team success on nights that junior forward Brady Manek is rolling. During his career, OU is 33-13 when Manek scores in double figures, 20-4 when he scores at least 15 points and 9-2 when he hit four or more 3-pointers.Dating back to last season, Manek has scored in double figures in 20 of his last 23 games – including all seven games this season.
Manek enters Thursday's game with 837 career points. He has started in 41 straight games for the Sooners.
UP NEXT: WICHITA STATE
Oklahoma's road stretch continues when OU heads up I-35 to Intrust Bank Arena to face Wichita State on Saturday, Dec. 14. The matchup will air on ESPN2.The Sooners and Shockers are facing off in a downtown arena for the fourth straight season. OU won last year's meeting, 80-48, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
The Sooners own a 6-2 series lead all-time and are 2-1 in the Kruger era. Oklahoma is 4-1 when facing the Shockers in Wichita.
OU won its most recent trip to Wichita, topping the No.3-ranked Shockers 91-83 in 2017. The victory was Oklahoma's first road win against a top-three opponent in non-conference play in program history and the first road win over any top-three team since 1949.
Oklahoma's leading scorer, Austin Reaves, played his first two seasons at Wichita State. In 66 career games at Wichita State, Reaves averaged 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He has scored 401 career points and sunk 82 3-pointers. He led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballNBA Draft: Jeremiah Fears R1, P7 – Pelicans
Thursday, June 26
Make Your Case: Kobe vs Steph
Monday, June 02
MBB: It's Time to Dance
Friday, March 21
Porter Moser Selection Sunday
Sunday, March 16
