Men's Hoops Hosts Alcorn for OU Student Appreciation Game

NORMAN – No. 21/21 Oklahoma hosts Alcorn on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:01 p.m. CT inside McCasland Field House for the annual Student Appreciation Game. 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 SEC Network+ with Chad McKee (PxP) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst) on the call.

No. 21/21 Oklahoma vs. Alcorn*
Date: Saturday, Dec. 7
Tip Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Norman
Arena: McCasland Field House

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* Student Appreciation Game

OPENING TIP

•  Oklahoma hosts Alcorn in McCasland Field House on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. The second annual Student Appreciation Game welcomes University of Oklahoma students to the historic Field House, which served as the Sooners' home venue until Lloyd Noble Center in 1975.

•  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.

•  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), Fears and freshman Dayton Forsythe made their Oklahoma debuts in the season opener against Lindenwood on Nov. 4.

•  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 tallied his first double-double of the season against Georgia Tech, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

•  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

• Freshman Jeremiah Fears finished with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Oklahoma improved to 8-0 with its 76-61 victory against Georgia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at Lloyd Noble Center. OU improved to 2-0 against members of the ACC in 2024-25, besting Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game before it topped the Yellow Jackets in Norman. Senior Jalon Moore tallied a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. It was his first double-double of the season and fourth of this OU career.

• Despite being down 11 with 12:40 in the first half, Oklahoma entered halftime down 34-30. The Sooners rallied in the second frame, holding Georgia Tech scoreless for extended periods and limiting the Yellow Jackets to 27 points in the final 20 minutes. Fears scored 16 of his 18 points in the period, going 8 for 9 from the free throw line. Moore went 6 for 6 from the charity stripe. The Birmingham, Ala., product tallied 10 points and seven rebounds in 18-plus minutes in the final 20 against his old school.

RANKING SUMMARY (2024-25)

• OU is in the top 50 in seven NCAA DI categories, ranking 15th in steals per game (10.4), 16th in three point percentage defense (26.5%), 16th in free throw percentage (80.1%), 37th in turnover margin (4.0), 43rd in scoring margin (15.6), 44th in free throws made per game (17.6) and 49th in scoring defense (64.5).

• Freshman Jeremiah Fears is 19th in free throws made (47), 27th in steals (20), 31st in steals per game (2.5), 45th in free throw attempts (54), 98th in free throw percentage (87.0), 106th in assists per game (4.4) and 114th in points per game (17.0). Senior Jalon Moore is 56th in free throws made (39), 75th in points per game (18.0) and 93rd in points (144). Graduate Kobe Elvis is 101st in assist/turnover ratio (2.4), 120th in assists per game (4.3) and 121 in assists (34). Senior Sam Godwin is 119th in offensive rebounds per game (2.6).

2024 BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS CHAMPIONS

• Oklahoma won the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis after victories against Providence, then-No. 24 Arizona and Louisville Nov. 27-29, 2024. Senior Jalon Moore was named tournament MVP and joined freshman Jeremiah Fears on the all-tournament team. Moore averaged 18.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing, recording back-to-back games of 24 points against the Wildcats and Cardinals. Fears averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per outing. He scored 20 points against Providence and a season-high 26 points against Arizona.

• Under the direction of Porter Moser, the Sooners won their third consecutive MTE event, winning the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational, 2023 Rady Children's Invitational and 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis. OU beat Nebraska, Seton Hall, Ole Miss, Iowa, USC, Providence, Arizona and Louisville, finishing 8-0 in the previous three events.

BACK-TO-BACK 7-0 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 are undefeated through their first seven games in back-to-back season. On 21 occasions, Oklahoma has started 7-0 or greater, including a 10-0 start in 2023-24.

SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK | JEREMIAH FEARS

•  Freshman Jeremiah Fears was named SEC Freshman of the Week by the conference office on Monday, Dec. 2.

•  Fears started all three games in Battle 4 Atlantis, helping the Sooners claim their third consecutive MTE championship. The Joliet, Ill., product averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per outing and earned all-tournament team honors. Fears scored 20 points and tallied team highs in assists (seven) and steals (four) against Providence in OU's opening-round victory on Wednesday, Nov. 27. He scored a season-high and team-high 26 points on 7-for-17 shooting and buried four 3-pointers against then-No. 24 Arizona. Fears added five rebounds, five assists and a steal in the semifinal win. In the championship game against Louisville on Friday, Nov. 29, Fears tallied 10 points, four assists and a team-best three steals.

•  He shot 42.4% (14-33) from the field, 50.0% (5-10) from deep and 88.5% (23-26) from the line in three games. Fears tallied team highs in points (56), assists (16) and steals (eight).

AGAINST THE ACC | 2024-25

• Oklahoma improved to 2-0 against members of the ACC in 2024-25, beating Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game and Georgia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

2023 MCCASLAND FIELD HOUSE STUDENT GAME

• Oklahoma hosted Arkansas-Pine Bluff in McCasland Field House in 2023-24, beating the Lions 107-86. Former Sooner Otega Oweh scored a team-high 20 points and was one of five to score in double figures. Jalon Moore tallied 19 points and eight rebounds. Sam Godwin did not play in the game, while Luke Northweather, Yaya Keita, Jake Moser and Reid Lovelace played.

• Before its contest last season, the Sooners last played a regular season game in the Field House during the 2012-13 slate, earning a 72-42 victory against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Prior to its matchup against the Islanders, OU had not played a regular season contest in the field house since March 5, 1975, against Iowa State. Alvan Adams recorded 43 points and 25 rebounds against the Cyclones.

MORE ABOUT MCCASLAND

•  OU Field House served as the Sooners' home from 1928-1975. Under head coach Hugh McDermott, Oklahoma won the first Field House game 45-19 against Phog Allen's Kansas squad on Jan. 13, 1928. More than 5,200 fans packed the stands to watch the Sooner victory. OU finished 18-0 that year, and Allen suffered only one worse defeat in his 38-year KU coaching career. Oklahoma's record in the OU Field House stands at 321-153 (.677).

•  The Sooners won eight conference championships while playing in the facility (one Missouri Valley, six Big Six and one Big Seven). McDermott (11 seasons in the building), Bruce Drake (17), Doyle Parrack (7), Bob Stevens (5), John MacLeod (6) and Joe Ramsey (2) served as OU head coaches for teams that played in the Field House. Drake's 1938-39 and 1946-47 squads advanced to the NCAA semifinals and final, respectively.

•  McCasland Field House is named after Howard McCasland, who was a standout center for the Sooners from 1914-16. As a captain on the 1915-16 team, McCasland scored 407 points.

AP POLL APPEARANCES

• The Sooners are ranked No. 21 in the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls, making their first appearance in either poll this season.. Oklahoma has appeared in the AP Poll 387 times (30.1%), ranking 21st all-time. Since the 1984 season, the Sooners have appeared in 48.0% (367 times) of AP Polls with an average rank of 12.2.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State meet at Paycom Center on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast by ESPNU.