Men's Hoops Set for Tuesday Clash with Jayhawks in Lawrence

NORMAN – Oklahoma travels to Lawrence, Kan., for a Tuesday, Jan. 8 matchup with No. 2/2 Kansas. Tip is at 8 p.m. CT at Allen Fieldhouse.

Tuesday's game against the Jayhawks will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla and Kris Budden 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.

Oklahoma earned its first Big 12 and road victory of the season in its last outing at Texas Tech on Saturday, Jan. 7. The Sooners earned their first victory since 2015 over the Red Raiders in Lubbock.

Against Texas Tech, Jalen Hill and Milos Uzan paced the Sooners, scoring 18 points apiece. Hill finished 7 of 15 from the field and added nine rebounds and a block. Uzan recorded a career high in points and went 7 of 10 from the floor. Grant Sherfield reached double-digit points for the 14th time this season and added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

In the overtime period, HIll scored eight of OU's 12 points and the Sooners held the Red Raiders to 1-of-7 shooting.

SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS

Bill Self is in his 20th season with the Jayhawks and has guided Kansas to a 570-125 mark. Self has led KU to two national championships, including the 2022 title. The No. 2/2 Jayhawks are 14-1 and 3-0 in the Big 12 this season and have conference victories over Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. In its last outing, KU earned the 76-62 road victory against Wes Virginia.

Jalen Wilson leads a trio of double-digit scorers for the Jayhawks and averages team highs in points (20.2) and rebounds (8.8) per outing. True freshman Gradey Dicks adds 14.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. Kevin McCullar averages 7.3 points and 11.2 points per game. Dajuan Harris dishes out 6.3 assist per game. Wilson, Dick, Harris and KJ Adams Jr. have started all 15 contests. McCullar has started all 14 contests he has appeared in.

Kansas is ranked in the top 30 in four NCAA Division I categories. The Jayhawks are 13th in assists per game (18.0), 24th in assist/turnover ratio (1.45), 26th in steals per game (9.3) and 30th in 3-point percentage (38.2%).

LAST MEETING: KANSAS

Oklahoma dropped the second 2022 Big 12 meeting against Kansas 71-69 at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 10. Down eight with 1:32 left, Oklahoma fought its way back and narrowed the gap to one after a Jordan Goldwire 3-pointer. Goldwire attempted a final stepback jumper that caromed off the rim to conclude the contest.

Goldwire led the Sooners with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Tanner Groves added 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and tallied four of OU's seven 3-pointers. Elijah Harkless added 12 points and Jalen Hill corralled a team-best seven boards and tallied 10 points.

Oklahoma shot 47.3% from the field (26-55), 33.3% (9-27) from three and 72.7% (8-11) from the line.

KANSAS CONNECTIONS

Grant Sherfield and Kansas' Jalen Wilson played together at TA Howard Middle School in Arlington, Texas and AAU with YGC36 Basketball. Prior to finishing his high school career at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., Sherifeld attended North Crowley High in Fort Worth, Texas. The former teammates played against each other for the first time last season on Dec. 29 when the Nevada Wolfpack visited Kansas. Sherfield tallied 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Wilson wrangled a team-high 10 boards and added seven points for the Jayhawks.

Tanner and Jacob Groves faced the Jayhawks in the 2021 NCAA Tournament with Eastern Washington. T. Groves led the Eagles with 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting and added five rebounds and three blocks. He finished 5 of 11 from deep. J. Groves added 23 points on 8-of 11 shooting, buried four 3-pointers and wrangled a team-high nine boards.

UP NEXT
The Sooners host West Virginia on Saturday, Jan. 14. Tip is at 11 a.m.