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Oklahoma basketball: Five things to know about OU at Kansas State’s Octagon of Doom

By Chip Rouse

Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell (1) works past Oklahoma guard Milos Uzan (12) in the first half during a basketball game between The Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Kansas State Wildcats at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023.Ou Vs KstateSyndication The Oklahoman
Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell (1) works past Oklahoma guard Milos Uzan (12) in the first half during a basketball game between The Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and Kansas State Wildcats at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023.Ou Vs KstateSyndication The Oklahoman /
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We haven’t been able to say this much since the Big 12 schedule tipped off in January, but Oklahoma basketball travels to Kansas State on Wednesday riding the momentum of a double-digit road win at Iowa State over the weekend.

The Sooners (14-15, 4-12) head to the place called the Octagon of Doom, which has been exactly that in recent years for OU, seeking to win two conference games in a row for the first time this season.

Oklahoma had lost nine consecutive games at K-State’s Bramlage Coliseum before coming away with a 78-71 victory last season. Overall, the Sooners own a 113-103 record in the longtime series with the Wildcats, but Kansas State is 64-37 in games played in Manhattan.

Picked to finish last in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, Kansas State is easily the surprise team in the conference this season. The Cats began the season winning 16 of their first 17 games under new head coach Jerome Tang and enter the final week of the regular season with a record of 22-7 overall and a 10-6 mark in the Big 12.

A win over OU on senior night followed by a road win at West Virginia on Saturday would assure Kansas State of finishing no worse than a share of third place and perhaps even a second-place finish and a No. 2 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament. The Sooners, on the other hand, must win at least one, but probably both, of its final two game to avoid owning sole possession of last place in the conference standings.

The Sooners have not finished last in the conference standings since the 1968-69 Big Eight season.

Oklahoma won the first meeting with Kansas State, defeating the Wildcats by double digits, 79-65, a couple of weeks ago in Norman.

Five things to know about OU at K-State on Wednesday night

  • The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. CT. Pete Sousa and Bryndon Manzer will be on the call.
  • Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell, both transfers this season, rank two and three among the Big 12 scoring leaders. Johnson is averaging 17.6 points a game; Nowell averages 17.0 points per contest.
  • Grant Sherfield is Oklahoma’s leading scorer this season, averaging 16.3 points per game. He had 22 points in the last game with K-State. Jalen Hill averages 10.1 and Tanner Groves 10.1.
  • Kansas State has won three consecutive games since losing at Oklahoma on Feb. 14.
  • K-State is 15-0 this season when it shoots a higher percentage than its opponent and 15-4 when it scores first.

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