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Oklahoma Basketball: What We Learned From Sooners’ Season-Opening Win

By Chip Rouse

Mar 20, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Khadeem Lattin (12) reacts after scoring against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams during the first half in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Khadeem Lattin (12) reacts after scoring against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams during the first half in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016-17 Oklahoma basketball season is underway, and the Sooners are off to a very good start with a 36-point blowout win over Northwestern State.

Junior forward Khadeem Lattin led the Oklahoma scoring with 19 points, signaling the improved offensive role he is expected to play this season to go along with his stellar defensive skills as a rim protector. Returning starter Jordan Woodard added 16 points and 6-foot, 10-inch freshman Matt Freeman poured in 15, nailing three of four three-point shots.

One game certainly does not a season make, but this young Sooner squad seems to play well together as a unit, and it looked good defensively, which head coach Lon Kruger says will be a point of emphasis this season to counter the expected drop off in offensive production.

“This group is going to make progress all the way through March.” –Lon Kruger, OU men’s basketball coach

“This group is going to make progress all the way through March,” said head coach Lon Kruger in his postgame comments. “It’s going to be a work in progress for a while, but I’m excited to see where they go and who steps up and who is doing what roles.

“Being that much different from last year is one of the more intriguing, enjoyable parts of this team.”

Here are some more things we learned from the Sooners season-opening victory:

  • The Sooners opened the game on Sunday with an 18-2 scoring run and led by double digits for 36 of the 40 minutes in the game.
  • Khadeem Lattin was 55 percent (31 of 55) from the free-throw line last season. In the win over Northwestern State, he hit five of six from the charity stripe.
  • Lattin’s game-high 19 points represented a career high. His previous high was 17 points in a game against Hawaii last season in the Diamond Head Classic.
  • Fifty-two of the Sooners 96 points in the season-opening win were scored in the paint. Oklahoma surpassed 50 points in the paint just once all of last season.
  • The Sooners shot 59 percent from the field in the season-opening win over Northwestern State. That is the best field-goal percentage by an Oklahoma team in the first game of the season since 1996 against Northeast Louisiana, when the Sooners, led by former stars Nate Erdmann and Corey Brewer, shot 60 percent.
  • The Oklahoma reserve players contributed 41 points off the bench in the Sooners opening game of the 2016-17 season.
  • The 36-point margin of victory was the largest by the Sooners in a season opener since the 2006-07 season. The Sooners are a perfect 6-0 in season openers under Lon Kruger.
  • Oklahoma is 31-2 under Lon Kruger against nonconference opponents.
  • Six players made their Oklahoma basketball debut against Northwestern State and combined for 40 points.
  • The Oklahoma men are next in action on Thursday this week when they take on Tulane in the opening round of the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando. The Sooners will play Arizona State or Northern Iowa in the second round. Also participating in the tournament are Clemson, Davidson, Xavier and former Big 12 school Missouri.
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