Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma basketball: Sooner nonconference slate short but substantive

By Chip Rouse

Feb 1, 2020; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lon Kruger, center, talks to his team during a time out against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2020; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lon Kruger, center, talks to his team during a time out against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /
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Because of COVID-19 concerns, the 2020-21 men’s Oklahoma basketball season will begin a little later than normal.

The Sooners will open the season on Wednesday, Nov. 25 with a home game at Lloyd Noble Center against the University of Texas-San Antonio, coached by former OU assistant Steve Henson.

This will be the fourth straight season OU and UTSA have played each other during the regular season. The Sooners have prevailed in the three previous contests.

The Sooners will play twice during Thanksgiving week. After opening the season on Nov. 25, they will hit the road that weekend, playing at Central Florida on Nov. 28. The Sooners defeated UCF by one point, 53-52 last season in Norman.

Oklahoma will play six nonconference opponents between Nov. 25 and Dec. 19 and a seventh nonconference game is scheduled for late January when OU hosts Alabama on Jan. 30 as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. All 10 Big 12 teams will play a team from the SEC on that date.

The Sooners will play host to Florida on Dec. 2 in the front end of a home-and-home series that will carryover into the 2021-22 season. Florida was 19-12 overall last season.

The Sooners are 1-2 all-time against Lon Kruger’s former team. The last time the two teams met was in 2017, when the Gators ran OU out of its own arena with an 84-52 beatdown.

Kruger was head coach at Florida for six seasons between 1990-96.

A week later, on Dec. 9, the Sooners will play at Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Musketeers generally always have a competitive team. They were 19-13 a year ago.

Oklahoma returns home to close out the December schedule with home games on Dec. 12 against Florida A&M and on Dec. 19 with Houston Baptist.

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