Sooners Set For Crimson & Cardinal Classic in Tulsa

NORMAN – Oklahoma (7-2, 0-0 Big 12) and No. 9/8 Arkansas (8-1, 0-0 SEC) are set to clash in the Crimson & Cardinal Classic in Tulsa, Okla., at BOK Center for the second consecutive season on Saturday, Dec. 10 at noon CT.

Saturday's game against the Razorbacks will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Tim Welsh on the call. Fans may also listen on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing.

Arkansas leads the series, 16-13, and Oklahoma won the inaugural contest in Tulsa last season, 88-66. Five Sooners finished with double-figures points, including Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill. Groves tallied 16 points and buried three 3-pointers. Hill scored 11 points and added eight boards.

In the Sooners last contest before the Classic, OU beat Kansas City 75-53 Tuesday, Dec. 6. Grant Sherfield recorded his second straight 20-plus point game and finished with 24 points, scoring 22 in the second half. Sherfield finished the night 5-of-6 from deep and has 11 3-pointers in the last two games.

Milos Uzan earned his first career start and tallied 11 points and a team-high five assists. Tanner Groves recorded 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Sam Godwin added 10 points off the bench.

TULSA CHRISTMAS PARADE
The Tulsa Christmas parade starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10 and may affect traffic around the BOK Center. A parade map is available here.

ON THE AIR
Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Tim Welsh on the call.

The contest is scheduled to tip at noon and will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing.

SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS

Eric Musselman is in his fourth season at Arkansas and has compiled a 81-29 (.736) record. Musselman spent the four years prior to leading the Razorbacks at Nevada. He finished with a 110-34 (.764) record and is 191-63 (.752) in eight seasons as a NCAA Division I head coach. No. 9/8 Arkansas is 8-1 to start the 2022-23 slate. UA recorded four wins to open the year and recorded its lone loss against then-No. 10/8 Creighton in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Razorbacks last played against UNCG, earning the 65-58 victory on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Ricky Council IV is the team-leader with 18.4 points per game and adds 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Anthony Block adds 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and a team-high 3.6 assists per game. Nick Smith Jr. averages 12.7 points and 2.7 assists per contest. Trevon Brazile averaged 11.8 points and a team-best six rebounds. Council IV, Black and Makhi Mitchell have started all nine games.
Arkansas is ranked 21st nationally in turnovers forced per game (18.1), 24th in free throws made per game (16.7) and 27th in steals per game (9.7). UA is 30th in the NET.

LAST MEETING: Arkansas

Oklahoma earned the 88-66 victory over Arkansas in the inaugural Crimson & Cardinal Classic at the BOK Center in Tulsa on Dec. 22, 2021.
All five starters finished with double-figure points. Tanner Groves scored 16 points an finished 3-for-5 from deep. Jalen Hill tallied 11 points and eight boards.
The Sooners shot 54.9% (28-51) from the field and 59.1% (13-22) from three. Oklahoma finished 19-of-22 from the free throw line and recorded 20 attempts in the second half.

LAST TIME OUT: Oklahoma 75, Kansas City 53

Oklahoma earned the 75-53 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Lloyd Noble Center to improve to 7-2 on the season and 4-1 at home.
Grant Sherfield scored a team-high 24 points, scoring 22 in the second half. It marked back-to-back games that Sherfield recorded 20-plus points and tallied five 3-pointers. Milos Uzan recorded 11 points and a team-high five assists in his first career start. Tanner Groves recorded 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Sam Godwin added 10 points off the bench. The duo of Godwin and Groves finished 8-for-8 from the field.
Despite being down nine with 12 minutes to go in the first half, the Sooners rallied to tie the game at 27 to enter the half. OU scored 48 points in the second half and limited KC to 26. OU shot 66.7% (16-24) from the field in the final 20 minutes.

ARKANSAS CONNECTIONS

Doc Sadler, OU's special advisor to the head coach, was a four-year student manager and an assistant coach (1982-85) at Arkansas under head coach Eddie Sutton. The Razorbacks advanced to the NCAA Tournament each season Sadler was an assistant coach.
Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Porter Moser started his head coaching career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Moser coached UALR from 2000-03.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma hosts Central Arkansas on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m.