Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma basketball looks to rebound against Creighton

By Chip Rouse

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: A game ball sits on the court in the first half between the Mississippi Rebels and the Oklahoma Sooners during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: A game ball sits on the court in the first half between the Mississippi Rebels and the Oklahoma Sooners during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Following a hard-luck loss to Wichita State over the weekend, the men’s Oklahoma basketball team travels further north on Tuesday for another road assignment, this time taking on Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska.

This will be the fifth straight game and the seventh time this season  the 7-2 Sooners have played away from Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. Oklahoma is 2-2 in the four previous contests away from home.

Tuesday night’s game at Creighton (8-2) is part of the inaugural Big 12/Big East Battle, an inter-conference series set up this season to schedule marquee nonconference basketball matchups in December for the 10 teams in both leagues, according to officials in both conferences.

It will not be the first meeting, however, between Oklahoma and Creighton. The two schools have met six previous times in their history with the Sooners holding a 4-2 advantage, including wins in four of the last five games.

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The game will be broadcast on FS1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT, with Kevin Kugler and Bill Rafferty calling the action.

Five things to know about the game:

  • The Sooners not only are hoping to rebound from Saturday’s loss to Wichita State, but also need to literally rebound better on both ends if they are going to win against a good Creighton team on the road. In its two losses, to Stanford and Wichita State, Oklahoma has been outrebounded by an average of 18 boards a game and, importantly, by an average of eight on the offensive glass, leading to second-chance points.
  • Senior forward Kristian Doolittle has totaled 20-plus points in two consecutive games for the first time in his career. He scored a game-high 28 points in a win over North Texas and is coming off a 22-point performance against WSU. He is shooting 66.7 percent from three-point range (10 of 15) this season.
  • Oklahoma is one of four teams from major conferences with at least two players averaging 16 or more points per game (Austin Reaves, 17.1; Kristian Doolittle, 16.8). Creighton is one of the other three teams (guard Marcus Zogarowski, 19.4; guard TyShon Alexander, 17.1).
  • The Sooners are being very protective of the ball so far this season. They are averaging 10.0 turnovers per game, third best in the country and first in the Big 12. When OU commits the same or fewer turnovers than their opponents, the Sooners are 7-1 this season.
  • Oklahoma is 29-4 in nonconference games played in November and December since the 2017-18 season.
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