Men’s Basketball Travels to K-State for Match on Tuesday
FIRST TIP
• The NET ranks Oklahoma eighth in the Big 12 and 34th nationally (games played through 1/28). Out of the top 50, ten Big 12 clubs rank. Twelveth in the league and 73rd overall is Kansas State.
• Having made 65.1% (243–373) of his field goals, Senior Sam Godwin is sixth among NCAA DI’s active career leaders. Junior quarterback Evan McCollum’s free throw percentage of 88.7% places him sixth among current career leaders. McCollum has attempted 203 free throws in 71 career games and converted 180 of them.
• Rioldo Soares, a senior, finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists against Texas Tech to achieve his first double-double in the Crimson and Cream.
On Saturday, January 20, at Fifth Third Arena, OU defeated Cincinnati 69-65 to capture their first road genuine road victory of the season. Along with his six rebounds, McCollum scored a team-high 16 points. Redshirt junior John Hugley contributed 11 points, while sophomore Otta Oweh added 14.
END OF DAY
At Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday afternoon, Oklahoma fell short against Texas Tech, ranked No. 20/21, 85–84. Rivaldo Soares, a senior, finished with a team-high 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, and four assists to achieve his first double-double as an Oklahoma State University. A 3-pointer with 1:56 remaining gave OU a 76-75 lead. The Boston, Massachusetts, native scored eight points in the final two minutes. With 13 points and 8 rebounds, senior Sam Godwin concluded his game. With a team-high three steals, sophomore Otta Gaoh contributed 14 points, six rebounds, and six rebounds. A team-high five assists and thirteen points were contributed by sophomore Miloš Uzan.
• OU fought back in the first period, down 17–9, but eventually leading 30–21 at 3:23. A 7-0 run was started by senior Le’Tre Darthard with a 3-pointer, and Uzan completed the run with a layup after the teams traded baskets to begin the final 20 minutes. Following three consecutive layups, the Red Raiders rallied and took the lead. With 1:27 remaining, Texas Tech took the lead thanks to a 3-pointer by Chance McMillian of TTU, after Soares’ late three-pointer had given OU a short lead.
AP POLL OCCURRENCES
As of right now, Oklahoma ranks 22nd overall having been included in the AP Poll 385 times (30.2%). In 48.5% (365) of the AP Polls conducted since the 1984 season, the Sooners have been ranked 12.1 on average. For the first time since 2015–16, OU was ranked in the AP top 15 for seven straight weeks prior to the poll on January 29. During the whole season, the 2015–16 Sooners were ranked in the top 10 by AP.
Overview of Rankings (1/29)
Oklahoma has six categories where it is ranked in the top 50 nationwide. With a defense-oriented three-point percentage of 29.0%, the Sooners rank 13th in three-point percentage. They rank 33rd in field goal percentage (48.0%), 35th in scoring margin (12.0 PPG), 36th in rebound margin (6.2 RPG), 43rd in free throw percentage (75.3%), and 48th in effective field goal percentage (54.6%).
In terms of offensive rebounds per game (3.2 RPG), Sam Godwin ranks second in the Big 12 and 39th overall NCAA DI.89th in assists (89), 92nd in assists per game (4.5 APG), and 49th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7) are all held by Milos Uzan.In terms of percentage of field goals made (54.3%), thefts (37), and steals per game (1.9), Otega Oweh ranks 68th in the country.
CONNECTIONS IN KANSAS STATE
The Loyola Ramblers were coached by Porter Moser to the 2018 Final Four, where they defeated Kansas State 78-62 in the Elite Eight. During the game versus the Wildcats, OU assistant coach Clayton Custer finished with seven points and five assists in 36 minutes.
On January 18, 1992, the Sooners defeated KSU 117-76, the second-largest road victory margin in school history. After all, four Sooners had more than 20 points. Scoring 28 points on 11 of 16 shots, Brent Price led the team. With 27 points and 11 rebounds in the end, Jeff Webster recorded a double-double.
Lon Kruger was a baseball and basketball player at Kansas State before becoming the head coach of men’s basketball at Oklahoma and Kansas State. Kruger was voted Big Eight Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974 after leading the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Eight Conference championships in 1972 and 1973 while he was a player. When Kruger was head coach, his teams went to 11 NCAA Tournaments, KSU (4) and Oklahoma (7).
Next up:
For a Saturday matchup with UCF, Oklahoma will travel to Orlando. ESPN+’s tip time is 3 p.m. CT.