Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Kentucky on February 4, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 94
Final
Men's Basketball
78
at Kentucky
94
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Tuesday, February 24
Norman, Okla.
8 p.m.
University of Oklahoma
vs
Auburn
Photo by: Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma
OU Home Again Tuesday to Take on Auburn
February 23, 2026 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN — The Oklahoma men's basketball team (13-14, 3-11 SEC) plays its penultimate regular season home game when it hosts Auburn (15-12, 6-8) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
Tuesday's game will be televised by ESPNU with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (analyst) announcing. It will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry on the call.
Picked sixth in the preseason SEC media poll, Auburn is 15-12 on the year and sits in 11th place in the league at 6-8 after reaching the 2025 Final Four. The Tigers, who are 2-5 in SEC road games, hit a last-second shot to beat Kentucky 75-74 at home Saturday, snapping a five-game losing streak (they started 5-2 in conference play). Head coach Steven Pearl, the son of former Auburn head man Bruce Pearl, is in his first year as a collegiate head coach.
OU is 9-5 at home this season, with five players averaging at least 9.5 points per game. The Sooners are outshooting opponents 48%-45% from the field and 38%-33% from 3-point range in the 14 contests. Auburn is 2-6 in true road games (beat Ole Miss and Florida; lost to Arizona, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State).
First-year Sooner Nijel Pack, who is in his sixth year overall, ranks third among active players with 2,170 career points. He has scored at least 17 points in six of the last eight games and is shooting 51% from 3-point range (29 for 57) over those eight contests. He needs one 3-pointer to become just the 31st Division I player ever to register 400 makes.
• OU is the only SEC team and one of just five out of 361 nationally to start the same lineup every game this season (Houston is the only other Power Five squad). Its starters have been guards Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack, forwards Tae Davis and Derrion Reid and center Mohamed Wague. Auburn has started eight different lineups.
• Auburn has won three straight in the series and was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll in each of the last two meetings (last season and 2021-22).
• The resurgence of guard Dayton Forsythe has boosted the Sooners the last few weeks. After a 10-game stretch in which he averaged 1.3 points and went 2 for 31 from the field (he battled sprains of both ankles), the sophomore is averaging 9.7 points over the last six contests on 49% field goal and 41% (7 for 17) 3-point shooting. Over the last four games, he is averaging 11.5 points in 22.8 minutes.
• OU's victory over the Tigers came under head coach Billy Tubbs in a 1988 NCAA Tournament second-round game in Atlanta, 107-87. Future first-round NBA Draft picks Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock scored 37 and 21 points, respectively, with King adding nine rebounds and Blaylock nine assists and four steals. King's 37 points and the Sooners' 107 marked then-postseason-program highs. Auburn was coached by Sonny Smith.
• For the first time of his career, freshman guard Dayton Forsythe led the Sooners in scoring. He finished with 13 points on the strength of 11-for-11 free throw shooting. He became just the sixth Sooner since the start of the 1996-97 season to shoot 100% from the free throw line with at least 11 attempts. Jalon Moore (11), Jeremiah Fears (10) and Kobe Elvis (10) also scored in double figures for the Sooners.
• OU's .931 free throw percentage (27 for 29) was its best in a true road game (min. 15 makes) since Jan. 26, 2022. But its .333 field goal figure marked a season low. Auburn shot .525 from the floor.
• Chad Baker-Mazara and Johni Broome led the Tigers with 15 points apiece. Broome also registered a game-high six assists.
• Winner of the 2016 Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Trophy, Hield was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year. He finished his career ranked No. 1 in Big 12 and No. 2 in OU career scoring with 2,291 points.
• Hield was the 2016 NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player after he went 8 for 13 from behind the arc and scored 37 points in a Final-Four-clinching win over Oregon.
• The Bahamas native was the only player nationally in 2015-16 to average at least 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He scored at least 30 points 12 times that season and at least 25 on 19 occasions.
• Pack ranks second among all active Division I players and 31st all-time with 399 career 3-point field goals. The only player to ever wear an OU uniform who has made more career treys is Umoja Gibson (428; was a Sooner during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons).
• Pack leads the SEC with his .441 3-point field goal percentage on the season and ranks second with his 3.2 treys per game.
• Pack has scored 20-plus points in four of the last eight games (25 at Missouri, 22 vs. Arkansas, 23 vs. Texas and 20 at Tennessee). He scored 17 and 18 in two of the other four games during the stretch.
• Pack has made at least one 3-pointer in 25 of 27 games, at least three in 17 contests and at least four in 12 outings. He buried at least three treys in six consecutive games between Nov. 11 and Dec. 2, the first Sooner to accomplish the feat since consensus national player of the year Buddy Hield during OU's 2015-16 Final Four campaign.
• A sixth-year collegian, Pack spent his first two seasons at Kansas State (he was a first-team All-Big 12 pick as a sophomore when he averaged 17.4 points and made 95 3-pointers and shot a league-high .436 from behind the arc) and the last three at Miami, Fla. (he helped the Hurricanes to their first Final Four his junior season and was named the Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player). He has started 148 of his 149 career games.
• Brown has a team-high six outings of at least 20 points in SEC play (23 in a win over Ole Miss, a season-high 24 against No. 19 Florida, 21 vs. No. 18 Alabama, 22 at South Carolina, 21 at Kentucky and 20 in a victory at No. 15 Vanderbilt).
• Brown ranks second in the SEC by shooting 91% from the free throw line (79 for 87), but only has eight attempts over the last seven games. He assembled a streak of 27 makes, which ended Jan. 13 vs. Florida.
• After scoring at least 20 points in 14 of 35 games last year at Saint Joseph's, Brown has a team-high 11 games of 20-plus in 27 outings this season (Nijel Pack ranks second with seven such efforts). Brown has 31 career games of at least 20.
• OU has committed single-digit turnovers 14 times, already its most such outings for an entire season in at least 40 years. The Sooners average just 10.1 turnovers per contest.
• Oklahoma has led for over 20 minutes in five of the last eight games. It led for 22:38 in an 88-87 loss at Missouri, for 23:36 in an 83-79 loss to Arkansas, for 30:21 in a 79-69 loss to Texas, for 39:45 in a 92-91 win at Vanderbilt and for 20:57 in a 94-78 win over Georgia.
• The Sooners have scored at least 85 points in 13 of their 27 games (48%), already their most 85-point efforts in a season since 2017-18 (15). For perspective, OU's last four teams scored 85-plus a combined 21 times in 133 games (16%).
• OU is averaging 27.0 bench points in its three SEC wins and 15.1 bench points in its 11 league losses.
• The Sooners' top four scorers are all transfers in their first year in the program. Nijel Pack averages a team-high 15.7 points per game, while Xzayvier Brown (15.5), Tae Davis (12.6) and Derrion Reid (11.4) also average double figures. Mohamed Wague rounds out the starting five with his 6.4 per contest.
• Davis surpassed 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds this season and now has 1,223 and 589.
• Davis went 41 for 66 (62%) from the free throw line over OU's first 17 games but is 31 for 39 (79%) over the last 10.
• OU announced on Dec. 28 the signing of 23-year-old Kirill Elatontsev (kee-REEL EE-el-uh-tahn-suv), a 6-11, 240-pound center from Russia who is averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per contest over his 15 games. He is shooting 55% from the field, 41% (9 for 22) from 3-point range and 69% (11 for 16) from the foul line.
• Long Beach State transfer Jadon Jones is averaging 5.7 points in 18.5 minutes per game over his 23 outings. He has also drawn 13 fouls while attempting a 3-pointer. The 2021-22 Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year has 12 steals and nine blocks over the past 10 games.
• Redshirt freshman forward Kuol Atak ranks third on the team with his 38 3-point makes (shooting 43%) despite playing in just 21 of 27 games and averaging only 12.2 minutes in those contests. He is 27 for 52 (52%) from long distance in home contests, including 18 for 32 (56%) over his last five outings at Lloyd Noble Center. He has played in just five of OU's last 10 games. In the Sooners' Feb. 14 home win against Georgia, he scored 18 points on 6-for-7 3-point shooting.
Tuesday's game will be televised by ESPNU with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (analyst) announcing. It will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry on the call.
Picked sixth in the preseason SEC media poll, Auburn is 15-12 on the year and sits in 11th place in the league at 6-8 after reaching the 2025 Final Four. The Tigers, who are 2-5 in SEC road games, hit a last-second shot to beat Kentucky 75-74 at home Saturday, snapping a five-game losing streak (they started 5-2 in conference play). Head coach Steven Pearl, the son of former Auburn head man Bruce Pearl, is in his first year as a collegiate head coach.
OU is 9-5 at home this season, with five players averaging at least 9.5 points per game. The Sooners are outshooting opponents 48%-45% from the field and 38%-33% from 3-point range in the 14 contests. Auburn is 2-6 in true road games (beat Ole Miss and Florida; lost to Arizona, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State).
First-year Sooner Nijel Pack, who is in his sixth year overall, ranks third among active players with 2,170 career points. He has scored at least 17 points in six of the last eight games and is shooting 51% from 3-point range (29 for 57) over those eight contests. He needs one 3-pointer to become just the 31st Division I player ever to register 400 makes.
SCENE SETTERS
• Oklahoma is 3-11 in SEC play but has held a halftime lead in six of the 14 games. In fact, it has held a double-digit advantage in five of the last 10 outings (two wins). Seven of its 14 overall losses this season have been by single digits.• OU is the only SEC team and one of just five out of 361 nationally to start the same lineup every game this season (Houston is the only other Power Five squad). Its starters have been guards Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack, forwards Tae Davis and Derrion Reid and center Mohamed Wague. Auburn has started eight different lineups.
• Auburn has won three straight in the series and was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll in each of the last two meetings (last season and 2021-22).
• The resurgence of guard Dayton Forsythe has boosted the Sooners the last few weeks. After a 10-game stretch in which he averaged 1.3 points and went 2 for 31 from the field (he battled sprains of both ankles), the sophomore is averaging 9.7 points over the last six contests on 49% field goal and 41% (7 for 17) 3-point shooting. Over the last four games, he is averaging 11.5 points in 22.8 minutes.
SERIES HISTORY
• The Tigers own a 4-1 series lead against Oklahoma and have won the last three meetings (98-70 at No. 1 Auburn last season, 86-68 at No. 1 Auburn in a Big 12/SEC Challenge game in the 2021-22 season [Porter Moser's first as OU head coach] and 74-70 in Uncasville, Conn., during the 2016-17 campaign). Bruce Pearl was AU's coach in all three contests. Auburn also posted a 78-70 win in the Big Sun Classic in St. Petersburg, Fla., in the 1978-79 season.• OU's victory over the Tigers came under head coach Billy Tubbs in a 1988 NCAA Tournament second-round game in Atlanta, 107-87. Future first-round NBA Draft picks Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock scored 37 and 21 points, respectively, with King adding nine rebounds and Blaylock nine assists and four steals. King's 37 points and the Sooners' 107 marked then-postseason-program highs. Auburn was coached by Sonny Smith.
LAST YEAR'S OU-AUBURN RECAP
• Oklahoma trailed by just four points (38-34) with 3 minutes left in the first half at No. 1/1 Auburn on Feb. 4 last season, but was outscored by 24 the rest of the way in a 98-70 defeat. The Sooners committed 15 turnovers to the Tigers' 7 and were outscored 22-9 off turnovers. Auburn also posted a 46-20 advantage in paint points.• For the first time of his career, freshman guard Dayton Forsythe led the Sooners in scoring. He finished with 13 points on the strength of 11-for-11 free throw shooting. He became just the sixth Sooner since the start of the 1996-97 season to shoot 100% from the free throw line with at least 11 attempts. Jalon Moore (11), Jeremiah Fears (10) and Kobe Elvis (10) also scored in double figures for the Sooners.
• OU's .931 free throw percentage (27 for 29) was its best in a true road game (min. 15 makes) since Jan. 26, 2022. But its .333 field goal figure marked a season low. Auburn shot .525 from the floor.
• Chad Baker-Mazara and Johni Broome led the Tigers with 15 points apiece. Broome also registered a game-high six assists.
OU HONORS HIELD'S NO. 24 JERSEY
• 2016 consensus national player of the year Buddy Hield became the sixth former OU men's basketball player to have his jersey raised to Lloyd Noble Center's ceiling on Saturday during a halftime ceremony in the game vs. Texas A&M. He joined Wayman Tisdale (No. 23 honored in 1997), Alvan Adams (No. 33 honored in 1998), Mookie Blaylock (No. 10 honored in 2001), Stacey King (No. 33 honored in 2008) and Blake Griffin (No. 23 honored in 2016).• Winner of the 2016 Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Trophy, Hield was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year. He finished his career ranked No. 1 in Big 12 and No. 2 in OU career scoring with 2,291 points.
• Hield was the 2016 NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player after he went 8 for 13 from behind the arc and scored 37 points in a Final-Four-clinching win over Oregon.
• The Bahamas native was the only player nationally in 2015-16 to average at least 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He scored at least 30 points 12 times that season and at least 25 on 19 occasions.
PACK MENTALITY
• First-year Oklahoma guard Nijel Pack surpassed the 2,000-point mark Jan. 11 at Texas A&M and has 2,170 for his career to rank third nationally among active players.• Pack ranks second among all active Division I players and 31st all-time with 399 career 3-point field goals. The only player to ever wear an OU uniform who has made more career treys is Umoja Gibson (428; was a Sooner during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons).
• Pack leads the SEC with his .441 3-point field goal percentage on the season and ranks second with his 3.2 treys per game.
• Pack has scored 20-plus points in four of the last eight games (25 at Missouri, 22 vs. Arkansas, 23 vs. Texas and 20 at Tennessee). He scored 17 and 18 in two of the other four games during the stretch.
• Pack has made at least one 3-pointer in 25 of 27 games, at least three in 17 contests and at least four in 12 outings. He buried at least three treys in six consecutive games between Nov. 11 and Dec. 2, the first Sooner to accomplish the feat since consensus national player of the year Buddy Hield during OU's 2015-16 Final Four campaign.
• A sixth-year collegian, Pack spent his first two seasons at Kansas State (he was a first-team All-Big 12 pick as a sophomore when he averaged 17.4 points and made 95 3-pointers and shot a league-high .436 from behind the arc) and the last three at Miami, Fla. (he helped the Hurricanes to their first Final Four his junior season and was named the Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player). He has started 148 of his 149 career games.
OU's 'X' FACTOR
• After scoring at least 13 points 14 times in a 15-game stretch (he averaged 18.7 points on 50% field goal, 40% [34-for-84] 3-point and 93% [54-for-58] free throw shooting in the 15 contests), junior guard Xzayvier Brown has been held to an average of 6.7 points over the last three games.• Brown has a team-high six outings of at least 20 points in SEC play (23 in a win over Ole Miss, a season-high 24 against No. 19 Florida, 21 vs. No. 18 Alabama, 22 at South Carolina, 21 at Kentucky and 20 in a victory at No. 15 Vanderbilt).
• Brown ranks second in the SEC by shooting 91% from the free throw line (79 for 87), but only has eight attempts over the last seven games. He assembled a streak of 27 makes, which ended Jan. 13 vs. Florida.
• After scoring at least 20 points in 14 of 35 games last year at Saint Joseph's, Brown has a team-high 11 games of 20-plus in 27 outings this season (Nijel Pack ranks second with seven such efforts). Brown has 31 career games of at least 20.
MORE OU NOTES AND NUGGETS
• Oklahoma's 82.3 scoring average is its highest through a season's first 27 games since 2017-18 and fourth highest in the last 32 years. Similarly, OU's 9.9 3-pointers per game are its second most through 27 contests in the 40-year 3-point era.• OU has committed single-digit turnovers 14 times, already its most such outings for an entire season in at least 40 years. The Sooners average just 10.1 turnovers per contest.
• Oklahoma has led for over 20 minutes in five of the last eight games. It led for 22:38 in an 88-87 loss at Missouri, for 23:36 in an 83-79 loss to Arkansas, for 30:21 in a 79-69 loss to Texas, for 39:45 in a 92-91 win at Vanderbilt and for 20:57 in a 94-78 win over Georgia.
• The Sooners have scored at least 85 points in 13 of their 27 games (48%), already their most 85-point efforts in a season since 2017-18 (15). For perspective, OU's last four teams scored 85-plus a combined 21 times in 133 games (16%).
• OU is averaging 27.0 bench points in its three SEC wins and 15.1 bench points in its 11 league losses.
• The Sooners' top four scorers are all transfers in their first year in the program. Nijel Pack averages a team-high 15.7 points per game, while Xzayvier Brown (15.5), Tae Davis (12.6) and Derrion Reid (11.4) also average double figures. Mohamed Wague rounds out the starting five with his 6.4 per contest.
• Davis surpassed 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds this season and now has 1,223 and 589.
• Davis went 41 for 66 (62%) from the free throw line over OU's first 17 games but is 31 for 39 (79%) over the last 10.
• OU announced on Dec. 28 the signing of 23-year-old Kirill Elatontsev (kee-REEL EE-el-uh-tahn-suv), a 6-11, 240-pound center from Russia who is averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per contest over his 15 games. He is shooting 55% from the field, 41% (9 for 22) from 3-point range and 69% (11 for 16) from the foul line.
• Long Beach State transfer Jadon Jones is averaging 5.7 points in 18.5 minutes per game over his 23 outings. He has also drawn 13 fouls while attempting a 3-pointer. The 2021-22 Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year has 12 steals and nine blocks over the past 10 games.
• Redshirt freshman forward Kuol Atak ranks third on the team with his 38 3-point makes (shooting 43%) despite playing in just 21 of 27 games and averaging only 12.2 minutes in those contests. He is 27 for 52 (52%) from long distance in home contests, including 18 for 32 (56%) over his last five outings at Lloyd Noble Center. He has played in just five of OU's last 10 games. In the Sooners' Feb. 14 home win against Georgia, he scored 18 points on 6-for-7 3-point shooting.
UP NEXT
• OU travels to take on LSU on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by SEC Network.
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