OU Squares off with Xavier in Big 12-Big East Battle

^RV/RVOklahoma

^RV/RVXavier

Wednesday, Dec. 9 / 7 p.m. CT / Cintas Center / Cincinnati, Ohio

NORMAN – After opening up Big 12 play with an early conference win on Sunday, the Sooners are back to a stretch of non-conference matchups. First up for RV/RV Oklahoma (2-0, 1-0 Big 12) is a road contest in Cincinnati, Ohio against RV/RV Xavier (6-0, 0-0 Big East) in the second edition of the Big 12/Big East Battle.

The Sooners boast three of the top four scorers in the Big 12, including seniors Brady Manek (21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Austin Reaves (20.0 points, 6.5 assists). The Musketeers are led by Zach Freemantle (17.2 points, 8.5 rebounds) and Paul Scruggs (13.7 points, 7.0 assists) and are coming off a road rivalry win at Cincinnati on Sunday.

ON THE AIR

• Wednesday's road battle will tip at 7 p.m. CT at Cintas Center and air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM "The Franchise" in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing.

• Eric Collins and Steve Lavin will call the action on Fox Sports 1 and the Fox Sports Go app.

THREE POINTERS

• Oklahoma is only two games into the 2020-21 season but has already seen two different seniors produce memorable offensive performances. Senior forward Brady Manek opened the season by sinking a career-high eight 3-pointers en route to 29 points in a win over UTSA. Senior guard Austin Reaves followed up his teammates' outing by producing 32 points and nine assists in a victory against TCU on Sunday. The Sooner roster boasts three of the top four scorers in the Big 12 in Manek (21.5 points per game), Reaves (20.0) and Harmon (17.5). Manek and Reaves are the top two scorers in the league.

• Sophomore guard De'Vion Harmon is off to an efficient shooting start in his sophomore season, shooting a combined 13-of-20 in his two games to lead the conference in field goal percentage (65.0%). His accuracy has seen a huge improvement from his freshman season, where he shot 36.4% from the floor. Harmon scored 22 points on opening night (one shy of his career-high) and 13 points against TCU. His 35 combined points are the most he's scored in a two-game stretch in his career.

• The Sooners are on the road for the second straight game and look to extend a three-game road winning streak dating back to last season. Senior guard Austin Reaves averaged 28.7 points in those three road games and combined for 73 points (41 and 32) in his last two road games (both at TCU).

SERIES HISTORY VS. XAVIER

• Wednesday will be the third all-time meeting between the Sooners and Musketeers and the first time the schools have met on either school's campus. Oklahoma has won the previous two meetings, including a 78-65 victory in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

• In the most recent meeting between the programs, the Sooners defeated Xavier in Dallas as part of OU's run to the 2002 Final Four. Oklahoma was led by Aaron McGhee (25) and Ebi Ere (20) as they combined to score 45 points. Xavier's David West, a First-Team All-American and eventual two-time NBA All-Star, assembled 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for the Musketeers.

• The Sooners are 5-3 against current Big East opponents during the Lon Kruger era, and have won four of its last six games against the conference. Oklahoma is 18-17 all-time against current members of the Big East.

LOOKING BACK AT SUNDAY'S WIN

• Oklahoma fought past TCU to earn a conference road win on Sunday, pulling out an 82-78 victory in Fort Worth. The conference matchup came early in the season as part of the Big 12's scheduling initiative to have each team play two league games in December.

• The matchup featured 12 lead changes with TCU leading by as many as nine in the opening half. The Frogs were up 42-39 at halftime, but the Sooners shot 54.2% in the second half while holding TCU to 38.2%.

• The Sooners were fueled by senior guard Austin Reaves, who produced 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Reaves' nine assists are a career-high and the most by a Sooner since Trae Young in the 2017-18 season. Reaves also joins Young as the only Sooners to total at least 32 points and nine assists in a Big 12 game.

• Reaves was especially electric down the stretch, producing 20 of his points in the second half and scoring 15 of Oklahoma's final 17 points.

• Reaves' outing showed flashes of similarity to his previous trip to Fort Worth. The Sooners closed the 2019-20 season at TCU with Reaves producing 41 points, five rebounds, six assists and three blocks - plus the game-winning bucket. He has totaled 73 points in his last two games at Fort Worth.

• After sinking a career-high eight 3-pointers in the season opener, senior forward Brady Manek went after the Frogs in the post on Sunday. The senior produced 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

• Sophomore guard De'Vion Harmon had another efficient shooting night, going 6-of-9 from the field to score 13 points.

• Senior forward Kur Kuath continued to produce down low with eight points and six boards. Austin Reaves Lead

QUICK HITS

• Senior forward Brady Manek is expected to play his 100th game as a Sooner on Wednesday. He enters the matchup with 99 games played and 93 career starts.

• He would become the sixth Sooner to make 200 3-pointers in an Oklahoma uniform.

• Oklahoma has been dominant in non-conference play the last three seasons, boasting a combined 33-6 record in its last 39 non-league regular-season games.

• In non-conference play since 2017-18, Oklahoma is 13-5 against major conference schools (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) and 17-6 in games played away from Norman.

• OU is 33-5 in games played in November and December since the start of the 2017-18 season.

• Oklahoma's 93.5 points per game lead the Big 12. The Sooners also rank second in both field goal percentage (50.8%) and 3-point field goal percentage (44.2%).

• Lon Kruger returns a veteran-heavy team which returns over 70% of its scoring from last season's squad that claimed the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship.

• Kruger utilized a starting lineup with four seniors on opening night in Austin Reaves, Alondes Williams, Brady Manek and Kur Kuath. It was the first time since the 1992-93 season that Oklahoma started at least four seniors in the first game of the season.

HERE'S THE STORY OF A MAN NAMED BRADY

• The Sooners almost always have team success on nights that senior forward Brady Manek is rolling. During his career, OU is 45-19 when Manek scores in double figures, 29-8 when he scores at least 15 points, 9-2 when he scores at least 20 and 14-4 when he hit four or more 3-pointers.

• Manek has been a staple of Lon Kruger's squad the last four seasons. He has started in 93 of OU's last 99 games - including the last 67 straight games.

• The forward has scored in double figures in 39 of his last 48 games.

• Manek was the only Big 12 player with multiple 30-point games in 2019-20.

• Manek boasts 1,231 career points – the 29th most in program history.

• The sharpshooter has sunk 196 3-pointers in his career – the seventh most in program history.

• He is the only player in program history to accumulate at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 150 3-pointers and 75 blocks.

• Manek has also totaled 86 blocks in his career. Closing in on the century mark, he has the opportunity to become the first player in Big 12 history to total 200 3-pointers and 100 blocks in a career. Only seven major-conference players have assembled such a 3-pointer/shot-blocking combo in the last 25 years.

• Manek is one of 20 players the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame named to its watch list for the 2021 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. Named after two-time NBA MVP Karl Malone, the annual honor recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men's college basketball.

• During his junior season, Manek averaged 14.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while sinking 71 3-pointers at a 38% clip. He was an All-Big 12 Third selection and ranked third in the Big 12 in field goal percentage, eighth in scoring, ninth in blocks and 12th in rebounding.

• The senior is all excelling in the classroom. A management major, Manek has received Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors in both 2019 and 2020. He was also one of 41 NCAA Division I men's basketball student-athletes named to a 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. He is expected to graduate in December and begin graduate school in the spring.

UP NEXT: FLORIDA A&M

• The Sooners are back at home for four straight games at Lloyd Noble Center, beginning with a Saturday afternoon showdown against Florida A&M. The Sooners and Rattlers tip at 4 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest.

• Oklahoma has faced Florida A&M twice previously, winning the two matchups by a combined 140 points. The Sooners defeated the Rattlers, 146-65, during Billy Tubbs' second-to-last season in Norman. They later won against Florida A&M in 2004, 104-45. Both wins occurred at Lloyd Noble Center.

• The 81-point victory in 1993 is the second largest victory margin in program history (Tubbs' 1989-90 squad defeated Northeastern Illinois by 95, 146-51). The matchup also featured Terry Evans producing the third triple-double in program history with 17 points, 15 assists and 12 steals. Evans' triple-double is the most recent occurrence in program history.

• Florida A&M is in its fourth season under head coach Robert McCullum - a member of the Lon Kruger coaching tree. McCullum spent a decade on Kruger's coaching staff, beginning with Kansas State in 1990 and continuing at Florida (1991-96) and Illinois (1996-2000).