Men's Hoops Faces No. 24/23 Arizona in Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals

NORMAN – Oklahoma and Arizona will meet in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 4:02 p.m. CT inside Imperial Arena The contest 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 Chad McKee and Kevin Henry announcing and be broadcast by ESPN with Dave O'Brien (PxP) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) on the call.

Oklahoma vs. Arizona
Date: Thursday, Nov. 28
Tip Time: 4 p.m. CT
Location: Paradise Island, Bahamas
Arena: Imperial Arena

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Game Notes

OPENING TIP

•  Oklahoma and Arizona are slated to meet in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 4 p.m. CT inside Imperial Arena. The Sooners advanced to the winners bracket with a 79-77 victory over Providence on Wednesday. OU is 5-2 all-time against Arizona and 3-0 in neutral site meetings.

•  The Sooners are 5-2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis, appearing in the event for the third time in 2024. Oklahoma played in its first B4A tournament in 2014, making it to the championship game before it fell to then-No. 2/3 Wisconsin. OU played in the 2018 tournament and opened with a victory over Florida before another loss to Wisconsin. OU capped the event with a win over Dayton.

•  Redshirt freshman Jacolb Fredson-Cole, graduate Kobe Elvis (Dayton/DePaul), sixth year Brycen Goodine (Syracuse/Providence/Fairfield), graduate Mohamed Wague (Harcum College/West Virginia/Alabama), redshirt senior Duke Miles (Troy/High Point) senior Glenn Taylor Jr. (Oregon State/St. John's), freshman Jeremiah Fears and freshman Dayton Forsythe made their Oklahoma debuts in the season opener against Lindenwood on Nov. 4. Miles, Goodine and Elvis earned their first starts in the Crimson and Cream against the Lions, while Taylor Jr. started against Northwestern State and Stetson. Fears appeared in the starting lineup against East Texas A&M and Providence, recording 20 points in both contests.

•  Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Porter Moser is in his fourth season leading the program. Moser guided Oklahoma to a 20-12 record and an 8-10 mark in OU's final season in the Big 12. The 2023-24 squad was the first team to reach 20 regular season wins since the 2016 Final Four team.

•  Moser earned his 350th career victory when the Sooners topped Stetson 86-64 on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Lloyd Noble Center.

•  Junior Jalon Moore and super senior Sam Godwin return as starters from last season's 20-win team. Moore earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades, averaging 11.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.5 assists per outing in 31 starts. Godwin started 31 games in 2023-24 and shot 59.8% from the field (75-126), ranking seventh in program history for single-season field goal percentage. Moore recorded 20-plus points in the first three games, while Godwin led the Sooners on the glass, recording 9-plus rebounds in the first three contests.

•  OU embarks on its inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2024-25 after 28 years in the Big 12, finishing with a 258-214 (.548) mark in conference competition.

LAST TIME OUT

• Graduate Kobe Elvis led the Sooners and recorded a season-high 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting and freshman Jeremiah Fears added 20 points as Oklahoma earned a 79-77 Battle 4 Atlantis opening-round victory over Providence on Wednesday night at Imperial Arena. Fears dished out a team-high seven assists and four steals, and finished 12 for 14 from the free throw line, drawing 10 fouls. Redshirt senior Duke Miles matched Fears, recording four steals. The Sooners improved to 3-0 all-time against the Friars and 7-2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

• After Oklahoma opened on an 8-0 run, Providence punched back, entering the break up 34-32. The Sooners rallied in the second half and held a nine-point advantage with 44 seconds left. The Friars fought until the final whistle with a half-court shot rattling off the rim as time expired. The Sooners shot 51.0% (25-49) from the field and 36.8% (7-19) from deep.

RANKING SUMMARY (2024-25)

• OU is in the top 50 in eight NCAA DI categories, ranking seventh in steals per game (11.8), 16th in turnover margin (6.2), 19th in turnovers forced per game (17.2), 28th in fastbreak points (16.6), 31st in scoring margin (20.0), 36th in scoring defense (62.8), 46th in three point percentage defense (27.7%) and 47th in effective field goal percentage (56.3%).

• Freshman Jeremiah Fears is 16th in steals per game (2.8) and 97th in assists per outing (4.6). Redshirt senior Duke Miles is 28th in assist/turnover ratio (3.8) and 71st in steals per contest (2.2). Super senior Sam Godwin is 30th in rebounds per game (9.4), 41st in offensive rebounds per outing (3.4) and 66th in defensive rebounds per game (6.0).

FRESHMAN ON FIRE

• Freshman Jeremiah Fears scored 16 points in 26-plus minutes in the season opener and 15 points in 29-plus minutes against Northwestern State, becoming the first OU true freshman to score 15-plus points and play 25-plus minutes in their first two games since Trae Young in 2017. Young scored 15 points in his debut against Omaha on Nov. 12 and tallied 22 against Ball State on Nov. 15, playing 26 minutes in both contests.

• Against East Texas A&M on Nov. 21, 2024, Fears made his first career start, finishing with 20 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. He is the first Sooner since Young against Iowa State (22 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and four steals) to reach those totals, and the only one to hit those marks and attempt 10 or fewer field goals since the 1996-97 campaign.

BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS HISTORY

• Oklahoma is making its third appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2024 and first under the direction of Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Porter Moser as the previous two visits to the Bahamas were under Lon Kruger. OU finished second in 2014, falling to then-No. 2/3 Wisconsin in the championship game. After an opening-round victory against Florida in 2018, the Sooners lost to Wisconsin again before beating Dayton. The Sooners are 5-2 in the tournament, including an opening-round victory against Providence on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024.

MTE HISTORY UNDER MOSER

•  Under Moser, Oklahoma is 8-1 in MTE games, including back-to-back championships at the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational and 2023 Rady Children's Invitational. The Sooners finished 2-1 in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, besting East Carolina and Indiana State before a championship game loss to Utah State.

•  In the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational, Oklahoma held Ole Miss scoreless for the final 4:26, finishing on a 7-0 run and earning the tournament title. OU shot 50% or greater from the field in all three games. Sam Godwin scored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the championship game. Oklahoma continued its winning ways in San Diego, beating both Iowa and USC in 2023. Against the Trojans, former Sooner Otega Oweh sealed the victory with a tip-in basket with 1.4 seconds remaining.

•  The Sooners earned their fourth consecutive opening-round victory in an MTE under Moser on Wednesday, Nov. 27, besting Providence 79-77 in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

JADON JONES VS. ARIZONA

• In the 2024 NCAA Tournament first round, No. 15-seeded Long Beach State faced No. 2-seeded Arizona. Then-senior Jadon Jones earned the start for LBSU and played 35-plus minutes, finishing with 10 points and four boards.

RYAN HUMPHREY TIP-IN AGAINST ARIZONA

• Oklahoma assistant coach and former Sooner standout forward Ryan Humphrey helped the Sooners reach the Sweet 16 in his final season as a player at OU. His tip-in with 21 seconds left against No. 4-seeded Arizona propelled No. 13-seeded OU to the second round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma earned a 61-60 upset of the Wildcats on March 12, 1999. It was the first NCAA Tournament win for the Sooners in nine years.

USA BASKETBALL CONNECTION

• Arizona head men's basketball coach Tommy Lloyd coached Oklahoma freshman guard Jeremiah Fears on the 2024 USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team. Team USA won gold at the FIBA Men's U18 AmeriCup June 3-9 in Buenos Aires, finishing 6-0 in the event. Fears averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 steals, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 12 minutes per outing.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma concludes play at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday, Nov. 29 against either Louisville or West Virginia. With a win against Arizona, Oklahoma will play at 4:30 p.m. CT in the championship game. If the Sooners drop the semifinal game, they will play at 2 p.m. CT.