FRIDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (4-1) returns home after a second-place finish in the eight-team 76 Classic to host Sacramento State (3-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The Sooners posted double-digit wins over Washington State and Santa Clara last week in Anaheim, Calif., before falling to Saint Louis in the championship game. Sacramento State is coming off a 77-51 loss at Cal Poly on Wednesday. Friday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (KAUT Ch. 43 in OKC; KQCW Ch. 19 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Bob Carpenter and Billy Tubbs calling the action.
PREVIEWING SACRAMENTO STATE
Big Sky Conference member Sacramento State enters Friday's game with a 3-3 record. The Hornets started 3-1 on the year but have lost their last two contests, including a 77-51 decision at Cal Poly on Wednesday. Their wins have come at home against Menlo College (70-56) and Central Arkansas (75-54), and on the road against UC Davis (69-61). They also lost at Washington State (79-68) and at home to McNeese State (68-63). Last year they posted a 7-21 record and tied for eighth place in league play with a 4-12 mark.
Three Hornets are averaging double figures in scoring, with junior guard/forward Joe Eberhard leading the way at 12.5 points per game. Eberhard is shooting .483 from the field and also averages a team-high 7.2 rebounds. He has played at least 34 minutes in each contest and scored in double figures the first five games of the year (included was a string of three straight 16-point outings). Junior forward John ****son is averaging 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds to rank second on the team in each category. His 21 points at Washington State are the most scored by a Hornet this season. Junior center Konner Veteto contributes 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting .513 from the field. After scoring three points in the season opener (played eight minutes), Veteto is averaging 12.8 points in his last four outings (did not play at Washington State). Freshman point guard Dylan Garrity is averaging 7.0 assists per game and entered the week ranked in the top five nationally in the category. Senior center Josh McCarver has made 16 of his 18 field goal attempts on the year for a sparkling .889 mark.
Sacramento State is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brian Katz, who is 21-72 (.226) at the school. Before Sacramento State, Katz spent 19 years as a junior college coach in California, racking up a 435-185 (.702) record.
OU-SACRAMENTO STATE HISTORY
The lone previous meeting in the Oklahoma-Sacramento State series came last year in Norman, a 66-53 Sooners win on Dec. 21. Then-freshman Calvin Newell snapped a four-game scoreless streak and finished with 17 points (his most all season) in 17 minutes off the bench. Newell drained a career-high five 3-pointers on six attempts. Senior guard Cade Davis, who was 6-for-10 from the field, was the only other Sooner in double figures with 15 points. OU made 10 treys on 22 attempts for a .455 mark and shot .463 overall. The Hornets shot .300 (6-for-20) from behind the arc and .352 overall. Sacramento State held a 37-33 rebounding advantage and scored 12 second-chance points to OU's four, but committed 16 turnovers to the Sooners' 11. Hornets senior Sultan Toles-Bey scored 21 points, his team's only player in double figures.
