Men's Hoops Plays Oklahoma State at Paycom

NORMAN – No. 13/17 Oklahoma and Oklahoma State meet on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:05 p.m. CT inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. 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 Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing and be broadcast by ESPNU with Mark Neely (PxP) and Tim Welsh (analyst) on the call.

No. 13/17 Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
Date: Saturday, Dec. 14
Tip Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Oklahoma City, Okla.
Arena: Paycom Center

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Game Notes

OPENING TIP

•  Oklahoma and Oklahoma State meet at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. for the 250th meeting between the two programs on the hardwood. The Sooners have won the previous two outings, sweeping the Cowboys in 2023-24.

•  The Sooners are one of eight undefeated teams in 2024-25. Oklahoma is joined by Florida, Rhode Island, UC Irvine, Utah State, Drake, Loyola Chicago and Tennessee. OU and UF are the only two SEC programs that are 9-0.

•  OU improved to 2-0 against members of the ACC with its 76-61 victory over Georgia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The Sooners won back-to-back games against ACC foes, besting Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.

•  Oklahoma won the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis, beating Providence, Arizona and Louisville in three consecutive days. The Sooners claimed their third straight MTE championship, winning the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational, 2023 Rady Children's Invitational and 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis. Senior Jalon Moore was named tournament MVP and averaged 18.0 points and 5.3 rebounds. Moore scored 24 points in back-to-back games against Arizona and Louisville. Freshman Jeremiah Fears joined Moore on the all-tournament team and averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per outing. Fears was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 2.

•  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 led the Sooners to back-to-back 9-0 starts for the first time in program history.

•  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 led the Sooners against Alcorn State, scoring 19 of his team-high 20 points in the second half.

•  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

• Senior Jalon Moore scored 19 of his team-high 20 points and Oklahoma improved to 9-0 with its 94-78 victory over Alcorn State on Saturday, Dec. 7 at McCasland Field House. Moore led five Sooners in double figures. Freshman Jeremiah Fears (14), freshman Dayton Forsythe (14), graduate Brycen Goodine (12) and graduate Mohamed Wague (12) scored double-digit points. Fears and Forsythe each dished out a team-high seven assists and Wague pulled down a team-best six rebounds.

• After a slow start that saw the Sooners down nine through the first four minutes, Oklahoma rallied and entered the break with an eight-point advantage, entering the final 20 minutes up 49-41. The Sooners outscored the Braves 45-37 in the second frame, including 19 points from Moore. Oklahoma shot 54.7% (35-64) from the field, including 12 3-pointers. The Sooners shot 85.7% (12-14) from the line. Alcorn State opened the contest on fire from deep, burying its first four threes. ASU shot 52.6% (30-57) from the field and 50.0% (10-20) from deep.

RANKING SUMMARY (2024-25)

• OU is in the top 55 in 10 NCAA DI categories, ranking ninth in steals per game (10.6), 12th in free throw percentage (80.5), 31st in turnover margin (4.2), 38th in scoring margin (15.7), 41st in turnovers forced per game (15.4), 42nd in effective field goal percentage (56.2%), 47th in 3-point percentage defense (28.6), 49th in 3-pointers made per game (9.8), 51st in free throws made per game (17.0) and 53rd in fastbreak points (14.4).

• Freshman Jeremiah Fears is 20th in steals per game (2.56), 23rd in steals (23), 34th in free throws (48), 81st in free throw attempts (55), 82nd in assists per game (4.7), 87th in free throw percentage (87.3) and 91st in assists (42). Senior Jalon Moore is 65th in points per game (18.2) and 80th in free throws made (42). Graduate Kobe Elvis is 71st in assist/turnover ratio (2.64). Redshirt senior Duke Miles is 81st in steals per game (2.0) and 93rd in steals (18).

BACK-TO-BACK 9-0 STARTS

• With its win over Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship game on Nov. 29, 2024, Oklahoma improved to 7-0, marking the first time in program history the Sooners were undefeated through their first seven games in back-to-back season. On 11 occasions, Oklahoma has started 9-0 or greater, including a 10-0 start in 2023-24.

NON-CONFERENCE JOURNEY

• After Oklahoma's four home games to open the 2024-25 slate, the Sooners will be on a journey to close out non-conference play. OU played three games in three days at the Battle 4 Atlantis before coming home to host Georgia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge, playing four games against power conference foes in six days. The Sooners host Alcorn in McCasland Field House on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. before traveling to Oklahoma City for Bedlam on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. OU then travels to Charlotte, N.C., for the Jumpman Invitational at Spectrum Center against Michigan on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. CT. The Sooner host Central Arkansas on Sunday, Dec. 22 at noon and close out non-conference play on Sunday, Dec. 29 against Prairie View A&M.

OKLAHOMA STATE | LAST MEETING

• Javian McCollum buried the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired and Oklahoma earned the 84-82 overtime victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Gallagher-Iba Arena. McCollum finished with 14 points, including two 3-pointers that fueled the Oklahoma comeback. Rivaldo Soares added a team-high 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting and drained three of the Sooners' seven-made triples. Jalon Moore recorded his second double-double in the Crimson & Cream, finishing with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Sophomore Otega Oweh recorded 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting and pulled down three boards. Sophomore Milos Uzan added 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.

• After two made free throws by OSU's Quion Williams, Oweh drove to the rim and put the Sooners up 81-79 with 1:51 left in overtime. Oklahoma State's John-Michael Wright buried a corner three with 1:28 left, sending GIA into a frenzy. OSU had two chances to seal the Bedlam victory after an Oklahoma turnover, but both shot attempts were unsuccessful. Moore pulled down one of his team-high 14 rebounds with 21 seconds left, setting up the final play by McCollum.

AP POLL APPEARANCES

• The Sooners moved up to No. 13 in the AP Top-25 Poll on Monday, Dec. 9. Oklahoma has appeared in the AP Poll 388 times (30.2%), ranking 21st all-time. Since the 1984 season, the Sooners have appeared in 48.1% (368 times) of AP Polls with an average rank of 12.2.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma competes in the third annual Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. CT against Michigan. The Sooners and Wolverines have met three times with UM holding a 2-1 series advantage.