WBB Game Preview: Oklahoma Looks to Bounce Back at No. 6 Kentucky

NORMAN — No. 5 Oklahoma (14-2, 2-1 SEC) looks to avoid its first losing streak of the season when it travels to Lexington, Ky., on Sunday to face No. 6 Kentucky (15-2, 2-1 SEC) at Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Tip is set for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network with Tiffany Greene and Carolyn Peck calling the action. Fans can tune in on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (107.7 FM) with Brian Brinkley and Tyler Neal or listen in Spanish with Luis Rendon on Los Sooners Radio (1560 AM). Both radio broadcasts will also stream on the Varsity App.

Since head coach Jennie Baranczyk took over in 2021, Oklahoma has rarely suffered consecutive losses, dropping back-to-back games just five times, including only once in 2024-25. The Sooners are 25-5 following a loss under Baranczyk, outscoring opponents by 10.1 points per game. That response has translated on the road, where OU is 7-1 after a loss since 2021 and has won five straight such games. Oklahoma also enters riding a six-game road winning streak, the 10th-longest active run nationally.

FAN INFORMATION AND HOW TO FOLLOW

Tickets for the game in Lexington are still available through the Kentucky ticket office. The game will air on SEC Network and on the Sooner Sports Radio Network.

Fans can follow live stats throughout the game.

(5) Oklahoma vs. (6) Kentucky
Date: Sunday, Jan. 11
Tip Time: 3:00 p.m. CT
Location: Lexington, Ky.
Arena: Historic Memorial Coliseum

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GAME NOTES

LAST TIME OUT

No. 5 Oklahoma (14-2, 2-1 SEC) saw its 13-game winning streak snapped on Thursday, erasing a 12-point deficit but unable to come away with a victory in a 74-69 loss to No. 18 Ole Miss in Norman. Oklahoma trailed 25-13 after the first quarter but outscored the 18th-ranked Rebels by nine in the second quarter to trail 35-32 at the break. Ole Miss quelled multiple OU runs in the third quarter to extend its lead to five, 57-52, entering the fourth. An Aaliyah Chavez 3-pointer tied the game at 57 with 6:52 remaining, and a Payton Verhulst layup at the 6:19 mark gave OU its only lead of the game at 59-57. Ole Miss closed the top-20 tilt on a 15-10 run to upset the Sooners.

True freshman Aaliyah Chavez led all scorers with 26 points, knocking down 6 of her 14 3-point attempts in the comeback effort. The guard scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half and added four steals, two rebounds and two assists. Chavez has hit at least one trey in all 16 games to open the season, surpassing Taylor Robertson for the longest streak to open a season in program history. Raegan Beers recorded her 13th double-double of the season (leads NCAA), totaling 15 points and 20 rebounds (tied career high). She has posted a double-double in six straight games, tied for the longest stretch of her career and the second-longest run in OU history, trailing only Courtney Paris' NCAA-record streak of 112.

THE FAST BREAK

• Oklahoma climbed to No. 5 in this week's AP Poll and USA TODAY Coaches Poll, marking the program's first top-five ranking since the final polls of the 2009 season. The Sooners have now appeared in 38 consecutive AP Top 25 polls, the seventh-longest active streak nationally and fourth-longest in program history, while their 30 straight weeks inside the AP top 20 are tied with North Carolina for the sixth-longest run in the country.

• Oklahoma owns one of the nation's elite offenses, ranking second nationally in scoring (92.9 PPG) and fifth in assists (21.3 APG). The Sooners' starting five ranks second nationally at 71.4 points per game, trailing only No. 3 South Carolina, with all five starters averaging double figures, led by Wooden Award midseason top-25 finalists Aaliyah Chavez (19.3 PPG) and Raegan Beers (17.2 PPG). OU ranks top five nationally in pace (80.7, 1st), fast-break points (20.4, 3rd), second-chance points (17.9, 4th) and paint points (46.8, 4th), while sitting 18th in offensive rating (114.3).

• The Oklahoma defense has proven among the nation's best, leading the country in opponent field goal percentage at 30.8%. The Sooners hold teams 12.0% below their season shooting average and 13.5 points under their scoring norm, ranking sixth nationally in defensive rating (74.4). OU allows just 18.9 paint points per game (2nd NCAA) and pressures at every level, ranking 26th nationally in steals per game (12.3) and 10th in blocks per game (6.1). OU has only allowed two teams (Florida State and NC State) to score above their season points average this year.

• All-time, OU is 11-73 against top-six opponents and has dropped 19 straight in true road games against such teams, with the last win coming on Jan. 28, 2009, at No. 4 Baylor and the other against No. 6 W. Kentucky on Nov. 26, 1985.

• A Wooden Award Midseason Top-25 Finalist, Chavez leads OU with 19.3 points per game – the top scoring mark among all true freshmen nationally and the only true freshman ranked inside the top 100 nationally in scoring (she ranks 27th). She also leads the Sooners in assists (4.2 APG), adds 4.1 rebounds per game and ranks second in the SEC in made 3-pointers (48) and has made a 3-pointer in every game to open her career, setting a program record for consecutive games with a 3PM to open a season.

SERIES HISTORY

Sunday is the seventh all-time meeting between Oklahoma and Kentucky, with the 'Cats maintaining a 4-2 series lead. Under Baranczyk, the Sooners are 1-1 against UK, with both meetings coming last season. In 2024-25, Kentucky knocked off the Sooners in Norman before OU defeated the Wildcats in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.

UP NEXT

The Sooners host No. 12 LSU at Lloyd Noble Center on Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. CT on either ESPN or ESPN 2. Last season, LSU knocked off OU 107-100 in Baton Rouge.

A limited number of general admission tickets are still available through the Oklahoma Ticket Office.