Need-to-Knows: OU Hits the Court for Exhibition vs. Wisconsin in Milwaukee

NORMAN — Fans can get their first look at the 2025-26 Oklahoma men's basketball team when it takes on No. 24/24 Wisconsin in an exhibition game Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The contest, part of the Bad Boy Mowers Series, will be played in Milwaukee at Fiserv Forum, home of the NBA's Bucks.

The Sooners feature nine new players this season, including highly regarded transfers Xzayvier Brown, Tae Davis, Nijel Pack and Derrion Reid, who are all projected starters, along with returning forward/center Mohamed Wague.

Porter Moser's 2024-25 OU squad finished 20-14 and made the program's first NCAA Tournament since 2021, while Wisconsin, coached by Greg Gard, finished 27-10 and advanced to the NCAA Tourney's second round.

HOW TO WATCH

Friday's game will be streamed exclusively on B1G+ (Big Ten Plus) with Bob Brainerd and Chloe Marotta announcing.

B1G+ is introducing a one-time PPV option ($8.99) for Friday's contest (subscriptions are typically either monthly or annual offerings). The game can be purchased at bigtenplus.com/oklahoma-at-wisconsin-ppv. Click the "Sign Up" option on the main screen and scroll down to select the Oklahoma at Wisconsin PPV option for $8.99.

The offer is available on web only and cannot be purchased via mobile devices, although the game will be viewable on mobile and connected devices. Once the PPV is purchased, individuals can watch the game on bigtenplus.com or on the B1G+ app via the following devices: Android phones or tablets, iPhones or iPads, Roku, Firestick, Apple TV, Xbox and Samsung Smart TVs.

Friday's game will not air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network.

Oklahoma vs. Wisconsin (Exhibition)
Date: Friday, March 24
Tip Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Milwaukee, Wis.
Arena: Fiserv Forum

BTN+
LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES

FOR STARTERS

• The Badgers hold a 6-4 series lead over Oklahoma, but the Sooners are 2-1 in meetings in the state of Wisconsin (all in Madison). OU won 56-40 in 1946-47 (it advanced to the NCAA title game that season) and 69-65 in 1953-54, while UW posted a 48-37 home victory in 1942-43.

• Friday's game is the result of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Oversight Committee approving in January a proposal allowing teams to play up to two preseason exhibition games against any four-year school, including Division I teams. The contest will serve as OU's only exhibition game this season.

• OU freshmen Kai Rogers and Jake Hansen hail from Wauwatosa, Wis., a Milwaukee suburb, and attended Wauwatosa West High School. Rogers, a 6-10, 247-pound forward/center, was a consensus four-star prospect (ranked No. 66 overall by Rivals) and played his last year of high school in Georgia with Overtime Elite. Hansen was a three-star prospect who led the Trojans to last year's state title and was named a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division II All-Star.

• Fifth-year OU head coach Porter Moser served as an assistant coach at UW-Milwaukee during the 1995-96 season under head coach Ric Cobb.

• Second-year Sooners assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer spent two stints as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach (2013-14 through 2015-16 seasons and 2020-21 through 2023-24 campaigns). He helped the Bucks win four NBA Central Division titles and the 2020-21 NBA championship. Oppenheimer worked closely with 2021 NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who twice finished second in the league in scoring during his tenure.

LACK OF RETURNS

• Oklahoma lost its top seven scorers from last season and returns just two players who played in more than six games a year ago. Redshirt forward/center Mohamed Wague saw action in 33 contests (averaged 3.9 points in 11.5 minutes per outing) and sophomore guard Dayton Forsythe played in 31 games (averaged 4.3 points and 1.0 assist in 12.1 minutes per contest).

• Wague's only starts came in the season's final four contests. Over the final five outings, he averaged 9.0 points and 6.8 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game. He also shot a team-high .723 from the field on the year.

• Forsythe came off the bench in all 31 of his games last season. He scored in double figures four times (three times in SEC action), and netted 25 points (20 in the second half) at Ole Miss in early March with the help of 4-for-5 3-point shooting.

• OU's only other returner who played in at least one contest last season is senior guard Reid Lovelace (six games; did not score).

• The Sooners also return three players who redshirted last season: senior guards Jadon Jones and Jeff Nwankwo and freshman forward Kuol Atak. Jones and Nwankwo were slated to play meaningful roles last season before sustaining injuries that kept them out all year.

FOUR FROM THE PORTAL

• Four of OU's nine newcomers are transfers, and each is highly regarded.

• According to 247Sports, three of OU's incoming transfers rank among the SEC's top 11 (guard Xzayvier Brown [Saint Joseph's] at No. 8, forward Derrion Reid [Alabama] at No. 9 and guard Nijel Pack [Miami, Fla.] at No. 11). The fourth (forward Tae Davis [Notre Dame]) ranks No. 19.

• Brown earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors last year as a sophomore, averaging team highs of 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per outing while ranking second with his 5.2 rebounds. The point guard was one of just five players nationally to average at least 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. He shot .420 from the field, .350 from 3-point range (63 for 180) and .897 from the free throw line (148 for 165; ranked second in the league and set a program record for percentage). Brown, whose stepfather is first-year OU assistant coach Justin Scott, scored in double figures in all 32 games to pace the Atlantic 10.

• Reid was a consensus five-star prospect and McDonald's All-American as a high school senior before averaging 6.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.0 minutes a game as a sophomore last year for Alabama's 28-9 Elite Eight squad. He started three of his 24 contests and scored in double figures on six occasions.

• Pack is a highly accomplished sixth-year combo guard who spent his first two seasons at Kansas State (first-team All-Big 12 as a sophomore when he averaged 17.4 points and made 95 3-pointers [led the league by shooting .436) and the last three at Miami, Fla. (helped Hurricanes to their first Final Four his junior season and was named the Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player). He has started 121 or his 122 career games and owns a 14.3 career scoring average (enters 2025-26 with 1,745 points).

• Davis came to OU after spending the last three years at Notre Dame. The forward started 64 of 65 games over the last two seasons, including all 33 in 2024-25 when he averaged 15.1 points and 5.3 rebounds to rank second on the team in both categories. He ranked sixth in the ACC with his .476 field goal percentage and logged eight outings of at least 20 points. OU head coach Porter Moser lauded Davis' defensive ability at SEC Media Days last week.

SEC STACKED AGAIN

• One year after producing 14 NCAA Tournament teams (breaking the previous single-conference record of 11 teams by the Big East in 2011), the SEC boats six teams ranked in the top 20 of the 2025-26 preseason AP poll, while six more teams (including Oklahoma) received votes.

• In addition to making up 21% of last year's NCAA Tournament field (14 of 68 teams), the SEC produced seven Sweet 16 teams (44%), four Elite Eight teams (50%), two Final Four squads (50%) and the national champion (Florida).

LOADED HOME SEC SLATE

• All nine SEC teams that play in Norman this season made last year's NCAA Tournament, including national champion Florida, Final Four participant Auburn, Elite Eight participant Alabama and Sweet 16 teams Arkansas and Ole Miss.

• OU's other league foes that will visit Lloyd Noble Center are Georgia, Missouri, Texas and Texas A&M.

TIP-INS

• Friday's exhibition at Fiserv Forum will mark the first of three games the OU will play in NBA arenas in 2025-26. It also takes on Arizona State at PHX Arena (Phoenix Suns) on Dec. 6 and Oklahoma State at Paycom Center (Oklahoma City Thunder) on Dec. 13. The Milwaukee Bucks won the 2020-21 NBA title with Fiserv Forum as its home venue, and the Thunder won the 2024-25 NBA crown by beating the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 at Paycom Center.

• Wisconsin and Oklahoma were elite free throw shooting teams last season. The Badgers led the country with their .826 mark while the Sooners ranked fourth with their school-record .795 figure.

UP NEXT

• The Sooners open the regular season on Monday, Nov. 3 when they host Saint Francis at 7:30 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center. The Red Flash made last year's NCAA Tournament (lost a First Four game). The OU-Saint Francis contest will follow the Sooners' women's opener against Belmont (4:30 p.m.).