Seeking to rebound from a heartbreaking loss to top-ranked Baylor earlier this week, men’s Oklahoma basketball goes out of conference this weekend, hosting Mississippi State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge series.
The game is one of 10 being contested between the two conferences on Saturday, five at Big 12 sites and five on SEC home courts. The Sooners game with Mississippi State will be played at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City and will be televised, beginning at 1 p.m., on ESPN2.
Both teams come into the game with identical 12-6 records and 3-3 marks in conference play. The Sooners are 4-2 in the six seasons of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, but are 0-3 all-time against Mississippi State.
The two teams last played each other in 2002 in New Orleans with the Bulldogs claiming a 54-45 victory.
Oklahoma is 14-6 in games played at Chesapeake Arena in OKC.
Aside from having identical season records, both teams are fairly evenly matched statistically. The Bulldogs shoot a slightly better percentage from the field and rebound better than the Sooners. Oklahoma averages a couple more made three-point shots per game, has a better free-throw percentage and commits fewer turnovers than Mississippi State.
What it all comes down to is a matchup that could easily go either way. The two teams do have a couple of common opponents from which to draw some comparisons. Mississippi State defeated Kansas State by six points on a neutral court and walloped Missouri by 27 points a little over a week ago at home in Starkville.
The Sooners beat Missouri by 11 points in late November in Kansas City, Missouri, and came from behind late to edge Kansas State by three points at home earlier this month.
Mississippi State has four starters in double digits in scoring. led by sophomore forward Reggie Perry, averaging 16.9 points a game. He also leads the Bulldogs in rebounding with 10.3 a game. Sophomore guard Robert Woodward II averages 11.3 points a game and is the team’s best three-point shooter, firing three-balls at 48-percent accuracy.
The Bulldogs’ 46.3 field-goal percentage is the third best in the Southeastern Conference.
Oklahoma continues to have three starters averaging double figures in scoring, led by senior Kristian Doolittle’s 15.9 per game. Junior Brady Manek is close behind, averaging 15.3 per game, the bulk of which comes from behind the three-point line. Manek’s 44-percent three-point accuracy is second best in the Big 12 and ranks 18th in the country among players with at least 100 attempts.
The Sooners have plenty of firepower offensively, with three players in the top 10 in scoring in the Big 12, but they have a tendency to start slow and go into prolonged scoring droughts. The thing that allows them to stay in games when they go into these slumps is they take care of the basketball and don’t commit many turnovers.
With 16 points on Saturday, Doolittle can become the second OU player this season to reach 1,000 points for his career. The senior forward from nearby Edmond, Oklahoma, enters the game with 984 career points.
If this game goes as expected, it could be decided by the team that is able to hit free throws at the end. The Sooners’ shoot 76 percent from the free-throw line, best in the Big 12 and 28th best in the country. Oklahoma holds on late and wins a close game at home.
Oklahoma 75, Mississippi State 70