Men's Basketball Plays at Georgia on Saturday at 5 CT

NORMAN – No. 17/16 Oklahoma (13-2, 0-2) hits the road in search of its first SEC men's basketball win when it plays at Georgia (13-2, 1-1) on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT inside Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. The Bulldogs, who are receiving votes in both major polls, are 10-0 at home this season.

Saturday's game will be televised by ESPN2 with John Schriffen (play-by-play) and Perry Clark (analyst) announcing. It 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 (play-by-play) and Kevin Henry (analyst) on the call.

No. 17/16 Oklahoma at Georgia
Date: Saturday, Jan. 11
Tip Time: 5 p.m. CT
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum

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Game Notes

OPENING TIP

• Saturday's contest will mark Oklahoma's first-ever men's basketball game at Georgia, and just its fifth game in the state (the previous four were played in Atlanta). The top-seeded Sooners won first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games at the Omni in 1988 over No. 16 seed UT Chattanooga (94-66) and No. 8 seed Auburn (107-87) en route to an eventual national championship game appearance. They lost 83-72 to Georgia Tech in the Georgia Dome in the second game of the 1995-96 season, which was the second round of the Preseason NIT. And No. 2 seed OU lost 73-64 to No. 5 seed Indiana in the 2002 Final Four, also at the Georgia Dome.

• Georgia was picked 12th out of 16 teams in the SEC preseason media poll while Oklahoma was picked 15th. The Sooners were one of two undefeated teams nationally when they tipped off at Alabama last Saturday.

• OU has already faced two of the best rebounding teams in the SEC (Alabama ranks fourth in the league with its +8.7 average rebounding margin while Texas A&M ranks second at +11.1), and Saturday will face a Georgia squad that ranks third in rebounding margin at +9.4. OU ranks last in the category at -1.0.

• After going 16-16 in 2022-23 under first-year head coach Mike White, Georgia finished 20-17 last season, its first 20-win campaign since 2015-16.

• The Sooners have used the same starting lineup in each of the last 12 games: guards Kobe Elvis, Jeremiah Fears and Duke Miles, and forwards Jalon Moore and Sam Godwin. All five scored in double figures at No. 5/6 Alabama last weekend.

RECAPPING THE ONLY OU-GEORGIA MEETING

• Oklahoma won its only meeting against Georgia, a 93-90 affair in the Chaminade Christmas Classic championship game on Dec. 25, 1987, in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The 12th-ranked Sooners, coached by Billy Tubbs, finished that season 35-4 and advanced to the national championship game. The unranked Bulldogs were coached by Hugh Durham and finished 20-16.

• OU trailed by as many as eight points in the first half before taking a 46-43 halftime lead. With starting guards Ricky Grace and Dave Sieger battling foul trouble much of the game, fellow backcourt starter Mookie Blaylock, in his first year with the Sooners, scored a then-career-high 30 points and added six rebounds and seven assists to lead the charge. Senior forward Harvey Grant made 11 of 15 shots and finished with 26 points and 10 boards. Georgia was led in scoring by junior forward Toney Mack, who was 12 of 19 from the field and 3 for 4 from long distance for a game-high 32 points, while sophomore center Alec Kessler logged 20 points and eight caroms.

• Grant, Blaylock and junior center Stacey King were named to the all-tournament team, with Grant earning MVP honors. OU throttled Virginia 109-61 in the first round and dispatched Dayton 151-99 in the second.

GOODINE GREAT AGAINST AGGIES

• Oklahoma guard Brycen Goodine turned in one of the best 3-point shooting performances in school history Wednesday against Texas A&M in Norman, going 9 for 11 from deep and finishing with 34 points. It marked the most points by a Sooner since Trae Young scored 44 vs. Baylor on Jan. 30, 2018. Goodine's previous season high was 12 points. His career high of 40 came last year with Fairfield, against Siena.

• Goodine's nine 3-pointers tied for the fourth most in OU history. Brent Price set the program record of 11 treys (on 19 attempts) vs. Loyola Marymount in a 172-112 win on Dec. 15, 1990. Trae Young made 10 in a game during the 2017-18 season, as did Calvin Curry during the 1993-94 campaign. Mookie Blaylock (1988-89) and Hollis Price (2002-03) made nine in a contest.

• Goodine's nine triples were the most by an SEC player since Alabama's John Petty Jr. went 10 for 13 against Samford on Dec. 18, 2019.

• Among Sooners since 1997-98 who made at least seven 3-pointers in a game, Goodine's .818 conversion percentage Wednesday ranks as the second best. Buddy Hield went 7 for 7 against Southeastern Louisiana in the 2014-15 season.

• Goodine scored his first 20 points in a span of 6:06, helping the Sooners make a 25-10 run from the 15:11 mark to the 9:05 mark (from down 6-5 to up 30-16). His first 11 points came in a span of 1:55 and his first 17 came in a span of 4:07.

PICK YOUR POISON

• Oklahoma leads the SEC with six players who have scored 20 or more points in at least one game this season: Jalon Moore (eight times), Jeremiah Fears (four times), Kobe Elvis (twice) and Sam Godwin, Brycen Goodine and Duke Miles (once each).

• OU is one of just three teams nationally that has had five players (Moore, Fears, Elvis, Goodine, Miles) each score at least 24 points in a game (Belmont and Prairie View A&M are the others), and one of three teams that has had at least three players (Fears, Goodine, Miles) score 29-plus points (Missouri and Texas).

SOONERS CAN SHOOT

• Oklahoma and No. 2/2 Auburn are the only teams what rank in the SEC's top five in field goal, 3-point and free throw shooting. OU ranks fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.488), third in 3-point percentage (.376) and first in free throw shooting (.810).

BREAKER, BREAKER

• Oklahoma has outscored 14 of its 15 opponents in fastbreak points on the season, with the only deficit coming by one point vs. Oklahoma State (8-7). The Sooners have outscored foes 228-96 on the break this season. They have racked up double-digit fastbreak points in 10 games while allowing 10 or more fastbreak points in just three outings (13 by Michigan, 10 by Alabama and 11 by Texas A&M).

THE 3 IS KEY

• Oklahoma ranks 16th nationally and third in the 16-team SEC in 3-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just .281 from behind the arc. The OU single-season record for 3-point field goal percentage defense is .292 in 2004-05. The Sooners have held opponents to a sub-30% 3-point shooting mark in 10 of 15 contests this season.

• On the other side of the court, OU ranks third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage offense (.376) and has shot over 30% from 3-point range in 12 games. It is coming off a season-high .583 (14 for 24) effort against Texas A&M.