SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
No. 7 Oklahoma hosts in-state foe Oral Roberts on Saturday, Dec. 12, in Norman, Okla., inside Lloyd Noble Center at 1 p.m. CT. 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 Golden Eagles, coached by Scott Sutton, are 8-2 this season (4-0 home, 2-2 away, 2-0 neutral).
ON THE AIR
Saturday’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 Sooner Sports TV (FSOK+, SW) with Chad McKee, Bryndon Manzer and Jessica Coody calling the action.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts is led by Scott Sutton, who is currently in his 17th season in Tulsa. Overall, Sutton owns a career record of 314-210 (.599). Sutton has led his teams to five regular season conference championships and three conference tournament titles during his tenure.
The Golden Eagles are 2-13 all-time against the Sooners.
ORU is a member of the Summit League. Oklahoma is 20-4 all-time against teams from the Summit League.
Oral Roberts is 8-2 entering Saturday’s matchup in Norman. Sutton’s squad is 4-0 at home, 2-2 away and 2-0 at neutral sites this season.
The Golden Eagles are led by Obi Emegano, who averages 23.3 points (ranks 10th in the nation), 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 34.7 minutes. Also averaging double-digit scoring for ORU are Jalen Bradley and Albert Owens with 11.1 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Starter Brandon Conley paces the team in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game.
ORU is scoring an average of 81.1 points per game (ranked 63rd nationally). It enters the game having won two straight contests: at Tulsa (70-68 on Dec. 5) and vs. John Brown (88-53 on Dec. 9).
One of ORU’s strengths is getting to the charity stripe. It ranks eighth nationally in free throws made (185) and 11th in free throws attempted (250) on the season.
Oral Roberts University, founded in 1965, is located in Tulsa, Okla., with an estimated enrollment of 3,335 students.
GAMEDAY STORYLINES
No. 7 Oklahoma hosts in-state foe Oral Roberts on Saturday, Dec. 12, in Norman, Okla., at Lloyd Noble Center. Oklahoma (6-0) is one of 10 D-I teams still undefeated on the season. Oral Roberts visits Norman with an 8-2 record.
Oklahoma is 13-2 all-time vs. Oral Roberts. The teams last met in 2014-15 in Norman, with the Sooners coming away with an 85-53 victory. OU is 20-4 all-time against members of the Summit League.
Sooner assistant Chris Crutchfield served as an assistant at Oral Roberts for four seasons prior to joining the OU staff. During his tenure, he helped ORU average 20 wins per season and finish in the top 3 of the Summit League each year.
Through six games this season, Oklahoma ranks first in the country by holding its opponents to .324 shooting (131-404) from the field, including .228 (37 of 162) from 3-point range (also ranks first). Oklahoma also ranks first in the nation in both total rebounds (47.5) and defensive rebounds (35.2) per game. Five Sooners are averaging at least 4.0 rebounds per game.
Oklahoma ranks 14th nationally in scoring offense (86.5 ppg) and third in scoring margin (25.2). OU is shooting 46.5 percent as a team from 3-point range thus far (third nationally). Six Sooners are averaging at least 45.0 percent shooting from long distance this season.
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 20.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.2 spg).
