Oklahoma Faces Undefeated Gonzaga on Monday

⁸ Oklahoma

¹ Gonzaga

NCAA Tournament Second Round / Monday, March 21 / 1:40 p.m. CT / Hinkle Fieldhouse / Indianapolis, Ind.

Tickets / CBS / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

INDIANAPOLIS – After picking up a First Round win over Missouri, No. 8-seed Oklahoma (16-10, 9-8 Big 12) advances to the round of 32 with the challenge of facing top-ranked and No. 1-seeded Gonzaga (27-0, 15-0 WCC) on Monday afternoon.

The Bulldogs have been ranked No. 1 every week this season in the AP Top-25 and are the heavy favorite to win the national title.

The Sooners will embrace the underdog role when facing the Zags inside the historic venue of Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The building hosted the championship game in the classic film Hoosiers – one of the greatest basketball underdog stories of all time. Oklahoma has a chance to add to that history Monday.

ON THE AIR

• The Second Round matchup 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 will carry the television broadcast with Carter Blackburn, Debbie Antonelli and Lauren Shehadi on the call.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GONZAGA

• The Bulldogs own a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Sooners with the most recent matchup coming at the 2012 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. (Lon Kruger's second season at Oklahoma). The only two other meetings between Oklahoma and Gonzaga came in an off-campus series between the two schools. The Sooners won the first matchup in Oklahoma City (2007) while the Zags took the return game in downtown Spokane in 2009.

• Lon Kruger and Mark Few have combined for 1,300 wins and 57 seasons as head coaches, but Monday will be just the second meeting between the two coaches. The only previous matchup was the 2012 Gonzaga vs. Oklahoma game in Orlando.

• The Sooners are 15-8 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga will be the first WCC team Oklahoma has faced in an NCAA Tournament matchup.

SATURDAY'S WIN OVER MISSOURI

• Oklahoma took down old conference rival Missouri in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. After trailing by one at halftime, the Sooners opened the second half with a 12-2 run, which was immediately followed by a 12-2 burst by Missouri. Trailing by one with just under six minutes to play, the Sooners went on a 13-4 run to take an eight minute lead into the final two minutes to secure the win.

• Senior guard Austin Reaves led the Sooners with 23 points, six assists and four rebounds. His 23 points are the most by a Sooner in an NCAA Tournament game since Trae Young scored 28 against Rhode Island in 2018.

• Junior guard Elijah Harkless – playing in his first NCAA Tournament game – produced 16 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. His performance was just the second double-double by an Oklahoma guard in the last 20 years. Buddy Hield produced 17 points and 10 boards in a Sweet 16 win over Texas A&M in 2016.

• Senior forward Brady Manek sunk five 3-pointers on nine attempts en route to 19 points - his most ever in an NCAA Tournament game.

• Oklahoma picked up the win without its second-leading-scorer De'Vion Harmon, who missed the game due to COVID protocol. Alondes Williams

QUICK NOTES

• Oklahoma has won eight NCAA Tournament games since 2015 – the 13th most in the country during that span and the third-most in the Big 12.

• The Sooners are pursuing their third Sweet 16 appearance of the last six NCAA Tournaments with a win over Gonzaga. Oklahoma last reached the second weekend of the Big Dance in 2016. Oklahoma boasts 11 Sweet 16 appearances, including nine since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

• Oklahoma will still be without sophomore guard De'Vion Harmon on Monday due to COVID protocols. Harmon entered the postseason as the Sooners' second-leading scorer.

• Undefeated Gonzaga is not only the top-ranked team in the West Region, but the No. 1 team in the AP Top-25 (and has been all season). OU is 2-3 when facing a No. 1 seed since the tournament field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. The Sooners most recently faced a top seed during March Madness in 2019, falling to eventual-National Champion Virginia in the Second Round. OU's last win over a No. 1 seed came against Oregon in the 2016 Elite Eight.

• The Sooners are 7-14 all-time against the No. 1 team in the AP Top-25. OU has lost seven straight games against the AP No. 1 team, most recently defeating the top team in the championship game of the 2002 Big 12 Tournament, besting No. 1 Kansas.

• Senior guard Austin Reaves is coming off a 23-point performance in Saturday's win over Missouri. Reaves has scored at least 20 points in seven of his last 12 games. Over that span, he is averaging 20.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

• On the season, Reaves is ranked second in the Big 12 in scoring (17.9), third in assists (4.8), 11th in rebounding (5.6) and second in free throw percentage (86.1%).

• Senior forward Brady Manek will play in his fifth career NCAA Tournament game on Monday, coming off a 19-point outing against Mizzou. Manek is averaging 13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 3-pointers per game in his previous March Madness games (three of which were as an underclassman).

• Oklahoma is 15-1 this season when it grabs at least 31 rebounds and 1-9 when it pulls down 30 or fewer. The Sooners had 32 rebounds against Missouri.

• Oklahoma is committing only 10.9 turnovers per game - the second fewest in the Big 12 and 26th best in Division I. Oklahoma turned the ball over just six times against Missouri - the fifth-fewest by any team in the First Round.

UP NEXT: SWEET 16

• Should the Sooners advance on Monday they will head to the Sweet 16, competing on Sunday, March 28 against eight No. 13-seed Ohio or No. 5-seed Creighton. The Sooners are 1-0 all-time against Ohio and 4-3 against Creighton. Oklahoma has never faced either team in the NCAA Tournament.

• The Sooners and Jays have faced off four times in the last seven seasons through a pair of home-and-home contracts. The home team went 4-0.