University of Oklahoma Athletics
Oklahoma Releases 2019-20 Schedule
September 18, 2019 | 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' complete 2019-20 schedule on Wednesday. The 32-game schedule features 16 home games (one exhibition) and 21 contests against teams that have reached the NCAA Tournament at least once in the past two seasons.
The Sooners will get their first taste of game action in an exhibition against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Oct. 29 before opening the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Lloyd Noble Center against UTSA.
TOUGH SCHEDULING...AGAIN
ESPN's College Basketball Power Index has ranked the Sooners' strength of schedule as one of the top-seven toughest in the country in each of the last five seasons. OU's schedule was rated the seventh toughest at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season and the Sooners have another chance to add to that in 2019-20, facing a challenging double round-robin schedule in the Big 12 along with non-conference matchups against Minnesota, Oregon State, Stanford, Butler or Missouri, Wichita State, Creighton, UCF and Mississippi State.
The Sooners will be tested early with seven of their first 10 games coming on the road. After opening the season at home against UTSA (Nov. 5), OU heads out on a two-game neutral site road trip against Minnesota in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Nov. 9) and Oregon State in Portland, Ore. (Nov. 12).
Oklahoma hosts a pair of home contests against William & Mary (Nov. 18) and Maryland Eastern Shore (Nov. 21) as part of the College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Sooners won't play at home again for a full month, facing Stanford (Nov. 25) and Butler or Missouri (Nov. 26) in Kansas City, Mo., followed by road contests at North Texas (Dec. 5), Wichita State (Dec. 14) and Creighton (Dec. 17).
OU closes its pre-conference schedule with home games against UCF (Dec. 21) and UTRGV (Dec. 30).
BIG 12 PLAY
The Big 12 is coming off another season as being one of the toughest conferences in college basketball. For the first time in conference history, 80 percent of Big 12 teams reached 20 wins in 2018-19. The Big 12 and Big East were the only two conference with at least 80 percent of teams finishing the season over .500 in all games.
Oklahoma opens conference play at home against 2019 co-Big 12 champion Kansas State on Jan. 4.
OU plays its other eight league home games Jan. 14 vs. Kansas, Jan. 18 vs. TCU, Feb. 1 vs. Oklahoma State, Feb. 8 vs. West Virginia, Feb. 12 vs. Iowa State, Feb. 18 vs. Baylor, Feb. 25 vs. Texas Tech and March 3 vs. Texas.
The Sooners' remaining eight road contests are Jan. 8 at Texas, Jan. 11 at Iowa State, Jan. 20 at Baylor, Jan. 29 at Kansas State, Feb. 4 at Texas Tech, Feb. 15 at Kansas, Feb. 22 at Oklahoma State, Feb. 29 at West Virginia and March 7 at TCU.
EYES ON THE SOONERS
All of Oklahoma's men's basketball games are expected to be broadcasted, and at least 24 games will be available nationwide.
ESPN networks will carry at least 22 regular-season games, including all Big 12 games and four non-conference contests (Nov. 12 vs. Oregon State, Nov. 25 vs. Stanford, Nov. 26 vs. Butler or Missouri and Jan. 25 vs. Mississippi State). The Sooners will play three games on the Big 12 Now platform on ESPN+, while the remaining ESPN games will be available on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
The Sooners will be highlighted on network TV when they host Oklahoma State on ABC. The home Bedlam matchup will take place Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. and is the only Big 12 conference game to air on ABC this season. ABC is broadcasting college basketball for the first time since 2014 and will air only five college hoops games throughout 2019-20.
Oklahoma will also be featured on FS1 (Dec. 17 at Creighton) and Big Ten Network (Nov. 9 vs. Minnesota).
Sooner Sports TV is broadcasting six non-conference home games, including five on Fox Sports Oklahoma. OU's season opener against UTSA will air exclusively on SoonerSports.TV.
The times and television designations for Oklahoma's games at North Texas (Dec. 5) and Wichita State (Dec. 14) have yet to be determined by the Conference USA and American broadcast rights partners.
YOU BELONG HERE
Oklahoma returns three starters from the 2018-19 team in Jamal Bieniemy, Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek. Doolittle and Manek both ranked in OU's top three for points, rebounds and blocks last season while Bieniemy led the Sooners in both assists and steals.
The Sooners have paired their returning core with a recruiting class listed in the top 20 nationally by Rivals (No. 14) and ESPN (No. 20). Both sites list Oklahoma's newest class as the second best in the Big 12.
One of only 13 major conference schools to reach the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven seasons, Oklahoma looks to continue its string of success under Kruger as it welcomes in the next era of Sooners.
Season tickets for OU men's basketball start at just $200 per seat. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-4668.
OU students who purchased football season tickets automatically receive season tickets for men's basketball. Basketball-only student season tickets are available for $60.
| DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | TIME (CT) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 29 | Southeastern Okla. State (Exh.) | Norman | 6:30 p.m. | FSOK |
| Nov. 5 | UTSA | Norman | 7 p.m. | SSTV |
| Nov. 9 | vs. Minnesota | Sioux Falls, S.D. | 3:30 or 7 p.m. | BTN |
| Nov. 12 | vs. Oregon State | Portland, Ore. | 10 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Nov. 18 | William & Mary | Norman | 6 p.m. | FSOK |
| Nov. 21 | Maryland Eastern Shore | Norman | 7 p.m. | FSOK |
| Nov. 25 | vs. Stanford | Kansas City, Mo. | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Nov. 26 | vs. Butler or Missouri | Kansas City, Mo. | TBD | ESPN (TBD) |
| Dec. 5 | at North Texas | Denton, Texas | TBD | TBD |
| Dec. 14 | at Wichita State | Wichita, Kan. | TBD | TBD |
| Dec. 17 | at Creighton | Omaha, Neb. | 7:30 p.m. | FS1 |
| Dec. 21 | UCF | Norman | 1 p.m. | FSOK |
| Dec. 30 | UTRGV | Norman | 6 p.m. | FSOK |
| Jan. 4 | Kansas State | Norman | TBD | Big 12 NOW (ESPN +) |
| Jan. 8 | at Texas | Austin, Texas | 8 p.m. | ESPN2/U |
| Jan. 11 | at Iowa State | Ames, Iowa | 7 p.m. | ESPN2/U |
| Jan. 14 | Kansas | Norman | 8 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
| Jan. 18 | TCU | Norman | 1 p.m. | Big 12 Now (ESPN+) |
| Jan. 20 | at Baylor | Waco, Texas | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Jan. 25 | Mississippi State | Norman | 1 p.m. | ESPN/2/U |
| Jan. 29 | at Kansas State | Manhattan, Kan. | 7 p.m. | Big 12 NOW (ESPN+) |
| Feb. 1 | Oklahoma State | Norman | 2 p.m. | ABC |
| Feb. 4 | at Texas Tech | Lubbock, Texas | 8 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
| Feb. 8 | West Virginia | Norman | 1 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Feb. 12 | Iowa State | Norman | 8 p.m. | ESPN/2/U |
| Feb. 15 | at Kansas | Lawrence, Kan. | 11 a.m. | ESPN/2 |
| Feb. 18 | Baylor | Norman | 8 p.m. | ESPN/2/U |
| Feb. 22 | at Oklahoma State | Stillwater, Okla. | 3 p.m. | ESPN/2/U |
| Feb. 25 | Texas Tech | Norman | 8 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
| Feb. 29 | at West Virginia | Morgantown, W. Va. | 3 p.m. | ESPN2/U |
| Mar. 3 | Texas | Norman | 8 p.m. | ESPN/2/U |
| Mar. 7 | at TCU | Fort Worth, Texas | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Mar. 11- | Big 12 Championship | Kansas City, Mo. | TBD | ESPN (TBD) |
