The character and identity of the Oklahoma men's basketball team is being tested this week. After suffering a potentially psychologically damaging 19-point loss at Mississippi State on Wednesday, the Sooners have a short three-day turnaround in preparation for another difficult road challenge against Texas A&M.
It is imperative that the Sooners urgently develop short memories and not allow one bad loss to multiply into a pattern. What happened against Mississippi State does not define this Oklahoma team. It's just one loss, albeit an ugly conference loss, in what constitutes a long season.
Sooners need serious bounce-back game on the road at Texas A&M
What matters now is how Oklahoma responds on Saturday afternoon at Texas A&M. But it's not going to be easy, which is pretty much a blanket statement that applies to the rest of OU's regular-season schedule.
Oklahoma comes into Saturday's game against the Aggies of Texas A&M with an 11-4 record and 1-1 in SEC play. The Sooners are facing a team that is on a hot streak, much like what they encountered on Wednesday at Mississippi State.
The Aggies (12-3, 2-0) have won five in a row and 10 of their last 11, and rank second in the SEC and sixth in the nation with a 94.4 scoring average. Texas A&M is doubly dangerous at home at Reed Arena this season with a 9-1 record. The Aggies only home loss, interestingly, was against Oklahoma State (87-63) in early November, a team the Sooners defeated 85-76 in mid-December on a neutral floor in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma owns a 31-13 record in the all-time series with Texas A&M. All but 10 of the meetings between the two schools were as members of the Big 12 (1997-2012). A&M won both games last season in OU's first season as a member of the SEC. The Sooners have lost their last four games playing at Texas A&M and haven't won there since 2017.
The game on Saturday can be viewed on SEC Network with the tip-off scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT. Kevin Fitzgerald will do the play-by-play and Rodney Terry will provide analysis.
What to know about Texas A&M
Texas A&M ranks second in the SEC, averaging 94.4 points a game. The Aggies like to play a fast, up-tempo style of basketball, much like OU's "Billy Ball" era under Billy Tubbs. Head coach Bucky McMillan likes his team to pick up opponents on defense 94-feet from the basket and press them all the way down the floor. They want to speed up their opponents and force them to play fast, often leading to forced shots or turnovers. The result of this is that the Aggies rank second in the SEC, forcing 16.1 turnovers per game.
The Aggies have four players in their starting lineup who score in double figures, led by sophomore guard and 3-point specialist Ruben Dominguez at 13.7 points per game, and six players overall who average at least 10 points per game. Texas A&M is the second-best 3-shooting team in the SEC, shooting 38% and averaging 11.5 per game.
What makes Texas A&M so dangerous is that the rotation goes 11-deep, and the bench players average 43 points a game, third-best in the country. As a result, there are fresh Aggies players on the court and scoring options at all times in the game.
Texas A&M ranks No. 2 in the country in assists, averaging 21.4 per game as a team. The Aggies have delivered at least 20 assists in eight of their last 11 games. What this means is they are getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers and in position to make shots.
What to know about Oklahoma
Oklahoma entered Wednesday night's game against Mississippi State averaging 87.3 points a game, shooting 48.7% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range. The Sooners finished that game, however, scoring 53 points (34 below their season average), 30% from the field and just 15% on 3-pointers. Moreover, they turned the ball over 13 times that led to 19 Mississippi State points. The Sooners must be better in all four areas if they are going to rebound with a win against Texas A&M.
Oklahoma's top four scorers -- Nijel Pack (15.9), Xzayvier Brown (15.7), Tae Davis (12.5) and Derrion Reid (11.4) -- are all transfers brought in this past offseason by head coach Porter Moser. This group, plus center Mohamed Wague, average 62.9 of the Sooners' 85 points a game. OU averages 22.1 from its bench players through 15 games, but received just three total points from the reserves in the loss to Mississippi State.
In 10 of Oklahoma's 11 wins this season, the Sooners have outscored their opponent in the second half.
Stat watch
Texas A&M's 94.4 scoring average is 22.2 more than the 72.2 points per game allowed by the Oklahoma defense.
Next up
The Sooners return home next week for a pair of games at Lloyd Noble Center against No. 13 Alabama on Tuesday and reigning national champion Florida on Saturday.