MONDAY'S GAME BASICS
The No. 6/8 Sooners play the No. 8/7 Villanova Wildcats on Monday, Dec. 7, in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (inside Bloch Arena), with tipoff set for 2 p.m. local time (6 p.m. CT). December 7th marks the 74th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. OU, which went 24-11 last season (12-6 Big 12; T/2nd place) and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Wildcats, coached by Jay Wright, are 7-0 this season (4-0 home, 1-0 away, 2-0 neutral).
ON THE AIR
Monday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM “The Franchise” in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Scott Thompson announcing. The game will be televised by FS1 with Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery and Jenny Taft calling the action.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Villanova went 33-3 (16-2 BIG EAST) last season and won the BIG EAST regular season and conference tournament titles. The 33 victories set a program record for wins in a season. The Wildcats won the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time in 20 years and won back- to-back regular season BIG EAST titles for the first time in school history. The Wildcats were awarded a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament where they eventually lost to N.C. State in the third round.
The Wildcats are limiting their opponents to an average of 56.1 ppg, 34.5 percent shooting from the floor and 26.9 percent from 3-point range. Villanova leads the BIG EAST in all three categories.
Earlier this season, Villanova won the NIT Season Tip-Off after defeating Georgia Tech 69-52 in the championship game on Nov. 27.
The Wildcats return just two starters in 2015-16 in senior captains Daniel Ochefu and Ryan Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year last year.
Junior guard Josh Hart leads the team in points per game (15.3) and is second in rebounding (7.4). Hart has scored in double figures in all seven games for the Wildcats this season.
Senior forward Daniel Ochefu has three double-doubles on the season.
Freshman guard Jalen Brunson was named the NIT Season Tip-Off Most Valuable Player. He is averaging 11.1 ppg, which is the fourth-highest on the team. Brunson was also named the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year.
Jay Wright is 326-152 (.682) during his time at Villanova. Last season, Wright was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the fourth time.
OU owns a 1-2 overall mark against the Wildcats, winning a 1988 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game (78-59 in Birmingham, Ala.) and losing regular season contests in 2005-06 (85-74 at Villanova) and 2006-07 (67-51 in Norman).
GAMEDAY STORYLINES
No. 6 Oklahoma plays No. 8 Villanova on Monday, Dec. 7, in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (inside Bloch Arena) as part of the the 2015 FS1 Pearl Harbor Invitational. Both teams enter the contest undefeated on the young season.
OU owns a 1-2 overall mark against the Wildcats, winning a 1988 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game (78-59 in Birmingham, Ala.) and losing regular season contests in 2005-06 (85-74 at Villanova) and 2006-07 (67-51 in Norman).
Through five games this season, Oklahoma ranks first in the country by holding its opponents to .326 shooting (111-341) from the field, including .254 (33 of 130) from 3-point range (ranks 11th nationally). OU’s 35.6 defensive rebounds per game ranks first nationally and its 48.8 rebounds per game ranks third in the country.
Oklahoma ranks 12th nationally in scoring offense (88.2 ppg) and fifth in scoring margin (25.6). OU is shooting 44.6 percent as a team from 3-point range thus far (fourth nationally). Six Sooners are averaging at least 45.0 percent shooting from long distance.
OU returns 75 percent of its scoring, 69 percent of its rebounding and 83 percent of its assists from last season’s NCAA Sweet 16 squad. Picked to finish second in the Big 12 by league coaches, the Sooners return four starters, including 2015 Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield (averaging 21.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 spg).
Oklahoma is ranked No. 6 in the AP and No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches top-25 polls. The No. 6 AP ranking is the highest for the Sooners since the 2008-09 season (finished No. 7, ranked as high as No. 2 that season).
