Oklahoma hosts No. 24 Vanderbilt on Saturday, the second of five consecutive games against SEC opponents ranked nationally in the top 25.
The Sooners (15-5, 2-5 SEC) are 8-2 this season at Lloyd Noble Center, but just 1-2 in conference games there. Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3) is coming off a week in which the Commodores took down two of three top-15 SEC opponents all within the same seven-day period.
Oklahoma is coming off a tough 75-68 loss at No. 13 Texas A&M in a game the Sooners were in until the very end despite being out-rebounded by 28 and giving up 21 offensive rebounds to the longer and more physical Aggies.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt comes to Norman with a ton of momentum after defeating then-No. 6 Tennessee 76-75 and No. 9 Kentucky 74-69.
The Sooners and Vanderbilt have met just three other times previously, with Vandy owning a 2-1 edge.
The most recent meeting was in 2019 in Norman, an 86-55 victory for OU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. In 1955-56, the Commodores won 78-69 in Nashville, and Vandy prevailed again in 1994 in the opening round of the postseason National Invitation Tournament, 77-67, in Billy Tubbs' final season at OU.
Saturday's game will be televised on the SEC Network and is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. CT tip-off. Dave Neal will be doing the play-by-play with former Missouri All-American Jon Sunvold providing analysis.
What fans need to know
Oklahoma
- OU's Jalon Moore ranks third in the SEC in scoring, averaging18.2 points per game. The senior forward shoots 53% from the field, 43% in 3-point shooting and is an 85% shooter at the free throw line.
- In SEC play, Oklahoma is the only team in the top seven in field-goal percentage (third, .476), 3-point field-goal percentage (third, .384) and free-throw percentage (.756). OU's top three scorers (Moore, Jeremiah Fears and Duke Miles) shoot 82% or better at the free throw line.
- The Sooners rank sixth in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage and are holding opponents to just 28% from behind the arc. The Sooners have held opponents to 33% or lower from 3-point range in 15 of 20 games this season. The Oklahoma program record for 3-point percentage defense for a full season is 29%, set in 2004-05.
- Oklahoma's two home losses this season have been by a combined six points (80-78 to Texas A&M and 77-73 to Texas).
Vanderbilt
- Four Vanderbilt starters score in double figures, led by junior point guard Jason Edwards' 17.2 points per game, which is eighth-best in the SEC. Edwards is also the Commodores' best 3-point shooter with nearly 40% accuracy. Three other Vandy starters (Devin McGlockton, A.J. Hoggard and Tyler Nickel) all average 10 points per game.
- The Commodores rank second in the SEC and fifth among Division-I teams in turnover margin (+6.0) and average almost 16 takeaways per game, second only to Ole Miss in the SEC. This is not good news for an Oklahoma team that has struggled protecting the basketball this season.
- Junior Tyler Nickel has been red hot in 3-point shooting in Vandy's past three games. The 6-foot-7 guard drained four 3-balls in his team's win over Tennessee, then fired in five triples against Alabama and three more in the win over Kentucky.
- The halftime score has correctly determined the winner in all 20 Vanderbilt games this season. When the Commodores lead at halftime, they are 16-0. When they trail at the break, they are 0-4.
Prediction
This is a game the Sooners can win, but they are going to have to rebound well and play a relatively clean game in terms of shooting efficiency and limiting turnovers.
As of Thursday, the Las Vegas handicappers had established Oklahoma as a 3.5-point favorite in the game. Look for freshman guard Jeremiah Fears to rebound from his 0-fer shooting performance in the Sooners' game at Texas A&M earlier in the week and help lead Oklahoma to a third SEC win.