Oklahoma basketball: Sooners go for 10th win of season vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay
By Chip Rouse
The surprising unbeaten men's Oklahoma basketball team goes for its 10th win of the season against the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay out of the Horizon League on Saturday night.
The game will tip off at 8 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center and can be viewed on ESPN+.
Ranked 11th in the nation in the latest Associated Press weekly poll, the Sooners are a consensus 25-point favorite over the 5-6 Phoenix in what will be the first ever meeting on the hardwood between the two schools.
The Sooners' 9-0 start is the ninth-best in program history. A win on Saturday would move the 2023-24 team into a tie for seventh best with the OU teams of 1991-92 and 2002-03.
Oklahoma is 6-0 in home games this season and is led in scoring by sophomore guard Otega Oweh, who averages 15.2 points a game. Two other Sooners average in double digits: Javian McCollum is averaging 14.2 per game and leads the Big 12 and shoot 94 percent at the free-throw line. John Hugely IV averages 10.8 per game
Noah Reynolds is the biggest offensive threat for Green Bay. The junior guard averages 18.5 points and shoots 49 percent from the field. The strength of the Phoenix is their defense. They average 63.6 points on the offensive end but are holding opponents to a Horizon League-best 66.4 points per game and 41 percent from the field.
Like the Sooners, Green Bay underwent a deep roster overhaul in the offseason, Only three starters return from last season's team. the 2023-24 Phoenix roster includes six transfers and six freshmen. Oklahoma also added six players from the transfer portal and two incoming freshmen for this season. Three of OU's top-five scorers this season are transfers.
Next Wednesday, the Sooners face their stiffest nonconference test of the season when they travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to take on No. 9 North Carolina.