Men's Basketball at No. 2 Florida on Tuesday Night

NORMAN — The Oklahoma men's basketball squad (16-9, 3-9 SEC) plays its third top-5 team in five games when it travels to take on No. 2/2 Florida (22-3, 9-3) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT inside the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. It will mark OU's first-ever game at UF, which is 12-1 at home this season.

Tuesday's contest will be televised by ESPN2 with Karl Ravech (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analyst) and Molly McGrath (reporter) 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 vs. No. 2 Florida
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 18
Tip Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Arena: O'Connell Center

ESPN2
Live Stats
Listen
Game Notes

OPENING TIP

• With Oklahoma playing at No. 1 Auburn on Feb. 4 and vs. No. 4 Tennessee on Feb. 8, Tuesday's game at No. 2 Florida will mark just the second time in OU history for the Sooners to play three top-5 AP teams in a five-game span. Billy Tubbs' Sooners played three top-5 opponents in a four-game stretch in 1989-90 (lost at No. 2 Missouri, beat No. 1 Missouri, beat No. 1 Kansas).

• The last time Oklahoma beat an AP top-2 team was in 2022-23 when the unranked Sooners downed No. 2 Alabama 93-69 in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge game in Norman under second-year head coach Porter Moser. The 24-point victory margin stands as the Sooners' largest ever against an AP top-5 opponent.

• On the season, Oklahoma and Florida are the only teams with two players each who rank in the top 16 in the SEC in scoring. Jalon Moore ranks ninth (17.2 ppg) and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears ranks 14th (15.2 ppg). Florida's Walton Clayton Jr. (17.2) and Alijah Martin (15.1) rank eighth and 16th.

• OU senior guard Duke Miles has turned two of his best games in SEC play over the last two contests, averaging 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 4.5 steals at No. 21 Missouri and vs. LSU while committing just one combined turnover. Miles shot .583 from the field (7 for 12) and .933 from the free throw line (14 for 15) over the two outings. At Missouri, Miles finished with 18 points and a season-high 5 steals. Against LSU, he had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

• Moore, who two weeks ago was named a top-10 national candidate for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, enters the week ranked seventh in SEC play with his 16.7 points per game and fourth with his .493 field goal percentage.

• OU guard Brycen Goodine, who is shooting .500 from 3-point range in SEC play (28 for 56), would lead the league in the category if he had enough makes to qualify. The first-year Sooner is in his sixth year overall after playing at Syracuse, Providence and Fairfield, and owns a .417 career 3-point field goal percentage. Among the 248 active players nationally who have made at least 100 3-pointers over the last two seasons, Goodine's .458 mark from behind the arc during the period is second best.

• Freshman guard Dayton Forsythe has emerged as a key player off the bench the last three weeks. Forsythe averaged 7.5 minutes over OU's first six SEC games (he did not play in two of them) and totaled five points. He has played no less than 17 minutes in each of the last six outings and over the last five contests is the team's fourth-leading scorer with his 8.8 points per game. Forsythe is shooting .897 from the free throw line this season (26 for 29) and has made his last 18 attempts.

• Third-year Florida associate head coach Carlin Hartman served as an Oklahoma assistant coach for the last five seasons of head coach Lon Kruger's tenure (2016-17 through 2020-21). The Sooners made the NCAA Tournament in 2018, '19 and '21, advancing to the second round the last of those two appearances.

• Florida's only three losses this season came at No. 10 Kentucky (100-106), vs. Missouri (83-82) and at No. 8 Tennessee (64-44). It is 12-1 at home and has won four of its six SEC games at the O'Connell Center by at least 21 points.

MOSER 3-0 VS. GATORS

• Oklahoma's Porter Moser is undefeated as a head coach in three games against Florida, going 2-0 with the Sooners and 1-0 with Loyola Chicago. In 2021-22, his first season with OU, Moser's squad posted a 74-67 home win over the 14th-ranked Gators behind 20 points from Tanner Groves, 18 from Jalen Hill and 15 from Umoja Gibson. It was Moser's 300th career win. In 2022-23, the Sooners notched a 62-53 victory over Florida in the inaugural Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. Grant Sherfield, who made four 3-pointers, scored a game-high 22 points while Groves posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. That season was Todd Golden's first as UF head coach.

• In December 2017, Moser's Loyola Chicago squad registered a 65-59 upset over the No. 5 Gators in Gainesville. It was Loyola's first win over a top-5 team in 33 years. Current OU assistant coach Clayton Custer started at point guard for the Ramblers and tallied 4 points and 3 assists. Loyola finished the season 32-6 and advanced to the program's first Final Four since it won the 1963 national title.

OU-FLORIDA SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma holds a 3-2 series lead against Florida, but Tuesday's game will mark the first between the programs in Gainesville. OU's wins came in the last three meetings: in the 2018 Battle 4 Atlantis first round in the Bahamas (65-60), in December 2021 in Norman (74-67) and in December 2022 in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. (62-53).

• Florida's victories came in December 1995 in the All-College Classic championship game in Oklahoma City (76-72 in OT) and in January 2017 in Norman (84-52).

• The Sooners were not ranked in any of the five meetings, while UF was No. 25 in 2016-17 and No. 14 in 2021-22 (both OU wins).

SEC STANDS OUT

• The SEC leads the country with an impressive nine teams ranked in this week's AP Top 25 (including each three of the top four and five of the top seven): No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 15 Missouri, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 24 Ole Miss.

• Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Vanderbilt have also been ranked in the AP Poll at some point this season.

• The other three power conferences have a combined 13 teams ranked in the AP Top 25. The Big Ten has five, the Big 12 five and the ACC three.

SOLID SHOOTING IN ALL THREE PHASES

• In SEC play, Oklahoma and Alabama are the only teams to rank in the top six in field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. The Sooners are shooting .445 from the field (sixth), .349 from 3-point range (sixth) and .780 from the free throw line (second). Alabama ranks first (.489), fourth (.368) and sixth (.725), respectively.

• OU's top four scorers on the year are each shooting at least 81% from the free throw line. Jalon Moore is shooting .839, Jeremiah Fears .846, Duke Miles .875 and Brycen Goodine .813.