Oklahoma basketball: No. 19 Sooners host Providence in Big 12-Big East Battle
By Chip Rouse
The 19th-ranked Oklahoma men’s basketball program will face its biggest home court challenge of the season when the Sooner host Providence on Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center as part of the Big 12/Big East Battle series.
The Big 12 has a 4-3 record through seven games. The OU contest against Providence is one of four games scheduled on Tuesday, which completes this year’s iteration of the interconference hoops series.
Tuesday night’s OU-Providence game will be televised on ESPNU beginning at 6 p.m. CT.
Oklahoma’s 7-0 start to the 2023-24 season is its best in men’s basketball since the 2015-16 NCAA Final Four season. The Sooners opened that season with 12 consecutive wins on the way to a 29-8 overall record and a third-place finish in the Big 12.
The Sooners were the winner of the only other meeting between Oklahoma and Providence, winning 83-74 on a neutral court in New York City.
Oklahoma is still looking for its first Big 12/Big East Battle win. The Sooners have been on the losing end of its previous four.
Nine Big 12 teams, including OU, rank in the top 60 of the initial NET rankings of the 2023 season. The Sooners are 19th. Providence, which comes into its game with Oklahoma with a 7-1 record, is 61st.
Tale of the tape
Oklahoma Providence
Scoring average 87.4 77.3
Opponents’ scoring average 63.6 63.6
Scoring margin +23.8 +13.6
Field goal percentage 51.5 47.0
Opponents’ FG percentage 37.8 36.5
3-point percentage 35.3 33.2
Opponents’ 3-point average 26.9 30.5
Free throw percentage 78.1 69.1
Rebounds per game 40.3 40.5
Assists per game 16.0 14.4
Turnovers per game 12.1 13.4
Leading scorers
Oklahoma: Otega Oweh (15.7 per game); Javian McCollum (13.6); John Hugely IV (12.0)
Providence: Bryce Hopkins (17.0 per game); Devin Carter (15.0); Josh Oduro (14.0)