WBB Game Preview: Sooners Travel to Tuscaloosa to Face No. 23 Crimson Tide

Sunday, February 15

Coleman Coliseum • Tuscaloosa, Ala.

3 PM

University of Oklahoma

Alabama

NORMAN, OK - December 07, 2025 - Oklahoma Guard Payton Verhulst (#12) during the game between the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks and the Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK. Photo By Ben Schumacher/University of Oklahoma

Photo by: Ben Schumacher/University of Oklahoma

WBB Game Preview: Sooners Travel to Tuscaloosa to Face No. 23 Crimson Tide

February 13, 2026 | Women's Basketball

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN — No. 10 Oklahoma (18-6, 6-5 SEC) takes on its ninth ranked opponent of the season on Sunday when it travels to face No. 23 Alabama (20-5, 6-5 SEC) at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.

Tip is set for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network with Brenda VanLengen (play-by-play) and Anne O'Neil (analyst) on the call. Fans can listen on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (107.7 FM) with Brian Brinkley and Tyler Neal, or in Spanish on Los Sooners Radio (1560 AM) with Danny Gonzales, with both broadcasts streaming on the Varsity App.

Pundits call the Southeastern Conference the toughest league in the country and numbers back it up. Sunday's matchup with No. 23 Alabama marks Oklahoma's ninth ranked game of the season and seventh in SEC play. While the Sooners have played seven top-25 games in past conference seasons, they have never faced seven different ranked conference opponents in a single regular season. Including Sunday, Oklahoma will have played seven top-25 games – including five vs. top-six teams – over its last 10 contests and is slated to face another ranked opponent in Tennessee on Feb. 22.

FAN INFORMATION AND HOW TO FOLLOW

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

Fans can follow live stats throughout the game.

The Sooners will wear their pink uniforms as Alabama hosts its annual Pink Game.

(10) Oklahoma at (23) Alabama
Date: Sunday, Feb. 15
Tip Time: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Arena: Coleman Coliseum

WATCH
LIVE STATS
GAME NOTES

LAST TIME OUT

Oklahoma (18-6, 6-5 SEC) recorded its 19th double-digit comeback under fifth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk, rallying to defeat Florida, 81-74, Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center. Oklahoma opened the game on a 6-0 run before Florida led 19-15 after the first quarter. After OU tied the game at 19, the Gators responded with a 13-0 run to build a game-high 13-point lead (32-19). The Sooners trimmed the deficit to 11 at halftime. Florida led 48-35 midway through the third quarter before a 14-2 OU run cut the margin to one late in the period. OU trailed 57-54 entering the fourth before a Payton Verhulst and-1 tied the game at 64 with 5:59 remaining. The Sooners closed on a 17-10 run over the final six minutes to secure the comeback win.

The 13-point deficit was Oklahoma's largest overcome in a win this season and marked the program's biggest comeback in conference play since erasing a 15-point deficit vs. Texas (Feb. 28, 2024). The Sooners entered the night 1-6 when trailing after three quarters and secured their second fourth-quarter comeback win this season. Sophomore Zya Vann led OU with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including four made 3-pointers. She added four steals, three assists and two rebounds. The performance marked a career high vs. a conference opponent and was three shy of her career best (21 vs. NC Central).

THE FAST BREAK

• The Sooners are threatening the record book in 2025-26. Oklahoma has already set school records for both total and consecutive 100-point games with six and four, respectively. The Sooners are averaging 87.7 points per game, a pace that would shatter last season's program record of 84.7, while their plus-21.8 scoring margin would top the 1984-85 school mark of 17.0. On the defensive end, Oklahoma is closing in on the program record for field goal % defense at 33.7% set in 2006-07 and is currently on track to set a new school record for defensive rating at 82.1.

• A win would give Oklahoma its 19th ranked win under Baranczyk and its third this season (No. 23 Oklahoma State and No. 2 South Carolina). It would mark OU's fourth Quad 1 win.

• The calling card of Oklahoma basketball, the Sooner offense is averaging 87.7 points per game – an average that would break the program's scoring record set last season (84.7 PPG). The Sooners rank fourth nationally in scoring offense and are powered by a starting five that averages 69.1 combined points per game, more than all but one starting unit in the country. OU also ranks among the national leaders across multiple offensive categories, including pace (78.4, 1st), second-chance points (17.1, 2nd), fast-break points (17.8, 4th), assists (20.4, 5th) and points in the paint (43.8, 6th).

• Freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez and senior All-America center Raegan Beers – both Wooden Award late midseason top-20 finalists – form one of the nation's most productive duos and are each top-10 finalists for their respective positional Player of the Year honors. The pair combines to average 34.1 points per game, ranking third among SEC tandems and in the top 10 among Power Five duos. With Chavez and Beers on the floor together, Oklahoma outscores opponents by 34.4 points per 100 possessions while posting a defensive rating in the 98th percentile nationally.

• When Raegan Beers is on the floor, Oklahoma is significantly better on both ends of the court. With Beers playing, OU outperforms opponents by 37.5 points per 100 possessions - a number that ranks in the 98th percentile nationally and is the best among post players. Offensively, the Sooners score much more efficiently with Beers (113.9 offensive rating) compared to when she's off the court (101.5). Defensively, OU allows 14.8 fewer points per 100 possessions with Beers in the game as she is a top-20 finalist for National Defensive Player of the Year.

SERIES HISTORY

Sunday marks the third all-time meeting between Oklahoma and Alabama with the series tied 1-1. The Sooners defeated the Crimson Tide, 91-84, last season in Norman on Senior Night, while Alabama won the only meeting in Tuscaloosa, 71-62, in 1995.

In last year's meeting, Beers scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Payton Verhulst scored 24 points and made four 3-pointers.