The Oklahoma women tip off the new year in their new conference taking on archrival and fellow SEC newcomer Texas in a matchup of top-10 teams.
The two teams come into the game with a combined 25 wins and just two losses. Oklahoma is 12-1 for the second time in four seasons under head coach Jennie Baranczyk. It also ties the Sooners' second best start to the season since the 2006-07 campaign.
The No. 9 Sooners and No. 5 Longhorns (13-1) will meet for the 69th time on the hardwood on Thursday at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. Texas leads the all-time series with its Red River rivals 39-29, but OU owns a 17-13 edge in games played in Norman.
Thursday's contest also marks the first time since Feb. 2009 that LNC has hosted a matchup of top-10 teams. On that occasion, the No. 2 Sooners defeated No. 5 Baylor 66-58.
Oklahoma's lone loss this season was to No. 14 Duke, 109-99 in overtime, in late November. An 80-70 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame is the only blemish on Texas' record this season. The Longhorns will be the fourth ranked team on the Sooners' schedule this season. Texas will have faced three ranked teams, including the conference opener at Oklahoma.
How to watch
When: 8 p.m. CT Thursday
Where: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma
Watch: ESPN2
Need to know
Both teams average over 90 points per game and shoot better than 48% from the field, which is a strong indicator that Thursday's contest could be a high-scoring affair.
The Longhorns lead the SEC in scoring margin (+37) and field goal percentage (50.1), are second in the conference in turnover margin (+12.2) and third in free-throw percentage (75.4).
Texas is led in the scoring column by sophomore Madison Booker, who averages 16.1 points a game. Senior forward Taylor Jones and Miami (FL) transfer Kyla Oldacre both average 11 points a game.
The Sooners lead the conference in rebounding, averaging 18 more rebounds per game than their opponents, and average nine made 3-pointers per game, second-best in the SEC. They also lead the conference and rank No. 2 nationally in ball movement with 23 assists per game.
If the OU women have one notable weakness it is at the free-throw line, where they average just 68% as a team.
Oregon State transfer Raegan Beers leads Oklahoma, averaging 17.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, both ranking in the top 10 in the conference. Three other Sooner starters (Payton Verhulst, Sahara Williams and Skylar Vann) average in double figures in scoring.
Oklahoma swept the regular-season series with the Longhorns a year ago as members of the Big 12, winning 91-87 in Austin and 71-70 in Norman. After defeating Texas on the road last season in late January, the Sooners won nine of their next 10 games on the way to the Big 12 regular-season title.
Prediction
This game should be tightly contested. Both teams have plenty of offensive firepower, so the team with the best defensive presence and that does the best job handling the ball and limiting turnovers should have a significant advantage.
The Sooners generally play well at home, where they are 26-4 over the past two seasons and are riding a 16-game home winning streak. I'm going with the Crimson and Cream to make it 17 in a row.
Oklahoma 78, Texas 75