Oklahoma basketball: Sooners look to stay unbeaten and win Crimson & Cardinal Classic
By Chip Rouse
The 19th-ranked Oklahoma basketball men look to make it nine straight wins to begin the season as they take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at BOK Center in Tulsa on Saturday.
The game will be televised by ESPN2 beginning at 3 p.m. CT with Mark Neely and King McClure doing the announcing. It can also be heard on the Sooner Radio Network and on Sirus/XM (160 Sirus or 191 XM).
The 8-0 Sooners are ranked for the first time in the Porter Moser era, while the Razorbacks come into the game with a 6-3 record and unranked for the first time in the three-year history of the Crimson & Cardinal Classic series. This is the third and final game in the series with the two teams having split the first two games.
Oklahoma will be the designated home team for Saturday’s game.
Oklahoma upset 12th-ranked Arkansas 88-66 in the inaugural game in the series in 2021. The Razorbacks, ranked 9th at the time, evened the series last season with an 88-78 victory.
This will be the 31st meeting, dating back to 1938-39, in the all-time series between the two schools with Arkansas holding a 17-13 advantage.
The Sooners rank 21st in the nation in scoring offense (85.5) and are 8th in scoring margin defeating their opponents by an average of 23.5 points. Arkansas averages 82.4 points a game and is holding opponents to 76.1.
Arkansas ranks second in the country in blocked shots, averaging 7.1 per game. This could be a big factor with the Sooners averaging close to 40 points a game from the paint area.
Key Players to watch
OKLAHOMA
Otega Oweh: 15.4 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 67.6 field goal percentage.
Javian McCollum:14.3 points per game, 3.1 assists, 47.8 percent from the field, 37 percent from three.
John Hugley IV: 11.3 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 62.7 from the field, 53.8 from three.
ARKANSAS
Tramon Mark: 17.0 points per game, 2.8 rebounds, 55 percent from field.
Khaliff Battle: 16.8 points per game, 3.1 rebounds, 44 percent from the field and from three.
Trevon Brazile: 11.3 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 50 percent from field, 46 percent from three.
Team statistical comparisons (national ranking in parentheses)
OKLAHOMA ARKANSAS
Scoring offense 85.5 (21) 82.4 (47)
Scoring defense 62.0 (20) 76.1 (284)
Field goal percentage 50.9 (12) 47.3 (74)
Field goal percentage defense 38.1 (22) 41.6 (127)
Three-point percentage 34.9 (115) 35.1 (103T)
Three-point percentage defense 26.1 (15) 34.7 (261)
Free-throw percentage 79.1 (8) 70.0 (205)
Rebounds 40.1 (53) 38.3 (104T)
Blocks 5.0 (43T) 7.1 (2T)
Turnovers 12.5 (186T) 12.0 (146T)
Bench points 28.6 (53) 32.4 (21T)