OU Travels to No. 13 Texas A&M in Search of Third Straight Win

NORMAN – The Oklahoma men's basketball team (15-4, 2-4) goes for its third consecutive win and second straight on the road when it plays at No. 13/15 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT.

Tuesday's game, which is the first of five straight for OU against top-25 teams, will be televised by SEC Network with Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Pat Bradley (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.

Oklahoma at No. 13/15 Texas A&M
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 28
Tip Time: 8 p.m. CT
Location: College Station, Texas
Arena: Reed Arena

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OPENING TIP

• Former Big 12 Conference mates, Oklahoma holds a 32-11 all-time series lead against Texas A&M, including an 11-6 advantage in College Station. Prior to this season, OU had won the last three meetings, all at neutral sites after the Aggies joined the SEC.

• Saturday's game is the second between Oklahoma and Texas A&M in the last three weeks, with the Aggies rallying from an 18-point second-half deficit to post an 80-78 win on Jan. 8 in Norman.

• Texas A&M, which is one of three SEC teams that Oklahoma will play twice this season (Missouri and Texas are the others), ranks first nationally in offensive rebounds per game (16.5) and 10th in the country in rebounding margin (9.3 per contest). The Aggies rank fourth in the league in scoring defense (65.8 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.392).

• Oklahoma is the only team with two players who rank in the top 10 in the SEC in scoring. Senior forward Jalon Moore ranks third (18.0 ppg) and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears ranks ninth (16.7 ppg).

• Over the last seven contests, Moore is averaging team highs of 19.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting .580 from the field, .500 (10 for 20) from 3-point distance and .833 (30 for 36) from the free throw line. On the year, Moore ranks in the top 11 in the league in scoring (3rd at 18.0 ppg), field goal percentage (5th at .523) and free throw percentage (11th at .845).

• Fears leads SEC freshmen in free throws made (97; next most is 52) and free throws attempted (115; next most is 71) and ranks second in scoring (16.7 ppg), assists (4.3 apg), steals (1.8 spg) and free throw percentage (.854), and fourth in rebounds (4.1 rpg).

• OU leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally with its .803 season free throw percentage, which would smash the single-season school record of .767 set by the 2001-02 Final Four team. The SEC squad with the second-best free throw percentage is LSU at .768.

• The Sooners have showcased their individual offensive depth this season, with a nation-leading four players who have scored at least 29 points in a game and an SEC-high six players who have scored 20-plus points.

• In SEC play, Oklahoma is the only program to rank in the top four in field goal percentage (third; .475), 3-point field goal percentage (fourth; .371) and free throw percentage (fourth; .761).

• Oklahoma has outscored 16 of its 19 opponents in fastbreak points and has tied twice (Georgia and Texas). The only team to outscore OU on the break this season was Oklahoma State, and that was by one point (8-7). The Sooners won, 80-65.

LOOKING BACK AT THE JAN. 8 OU-A&M GAME

• No. 17/16 Oklahoma shot .543 from the field, a season-best .583 from 3-point range (with a season-high-tying 14 treys) and held leads of 51-33 with 17:00 remaining and 70-59 with 8:25 to go, but Texas A&M scored 30 points off OU's season-high 18 turnovers to deal the Sooners an 80-78 defeat Jan. 8 in Norman.

• Oklahoma guard Brycen Goodine submitted a shooting performance for the ages, knocking down 9 of 11 3-point attempts (the second most makes by a Power Four player this season) and scoring 34 points (the most by a Sooner since Trae Young seven years ago). Goodine scored his first 11 points in a span of 1:55 and his first 20 points in a span of 6:06. He added three rebounds, an assist and a career-high-tying three steals in 26:47. Fellow guard Kobe Elvis registered a season-high eight assists, guard Jeremiah Fears scored 13 points and forward Jalon Moore chipped in with 11.

• Texas A&M, which played without leading scorer Wade Taylor IV, got a career-high 34 points from guard Zhuric Phelps, who went 6 of 10 from deep and hit the game-winning 3 with 19 seconds to go for the final points of the contest.

OU-TEXAS A&M SERIES NOTES

• Oklahoma is 32-11 all-time against Texas A&M and is 11-6 in College Station (8-6 at Reed Arena).

• The Sooners won the first 11 games of the series and 25 of the first 26, but the Aggies have won 10 of the last 17.

• Prior to the Jan. 8 matchup in Norman, the last meeting between OU and Texas A&M occurred in the 2016 NCAA Sweet 16 in Anaheim, Calif., with the No. 2-seeded Sooners posting a 77-63 victory over the No. 3-seeded Aggies behind five double-digit scorers: guards Jordan Woodard (22 points), national player of the year Buddy Hield (17) and Christian James (12) and forwards Ryan Spangler and Khadeem Lattin (10 each). Hield also grabbed 10 boards. Lon Kruger's Sooners beat No. 1 seed Oregon 80-68 the next game to advance to the program's fifth Final Four.

MOSER RETURNS TO COLLEGE STATION

• Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser, who served two assistant coaching stints with Texas A&M under head coach Tony Barone, had never coached against the Aggies prior to the Jan. 8 matchup in Norman. Saturday's contest will mark Moser's first time coaching against A&M in College Station and will mark his first game inside Reed Arena, which opened in November 1998.

• Moser's initial stop in College Station marked his first assistant coaching job. He was with A&M from the 1991-92 through 1994-95 seasons, and in 1994 helped the Aggies to the NIT, their first postseason appearance in seven years (they finished 19-11). After coaching at UW-Milwaukee in the 1995-96 campaign, Moser returned to A&M for two more seasons.

GOODINE'S GREAT NIGHT VS. AGGIES

• Oklahoma guard Brycen Goodine turned in one of the best 3-point shooting performances in school history Jan. 8 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 school history (see chart to the right). Brent Price set the OU 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.

STACKED SEC

• The SEC leads the country with an impressive 10 teams (40%) ranked in this week's AP top 25 (including seven in the top 14): No. 1 Auburn, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Florida, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 20 Missouri, No. 23 Ole Miss and No. 24 Vanderbilt. Two more teams (Oklahoma and Texas) are receiving votes.

• The other three power conferences have a combined 11 teams ranked in this week's AP top 25. The Big Ten has five, the Big 12 four and the ACC two.