OU men's basketball (6-2) defeated Wake Forest (6-3) 86-68 on Tuesday in an ACC-SEC challenge matchup that was the Sooners' first true road game of the season.
Senior forward Tae Davis played another great game, following up on his performance against Marquette, along with sophomore forward Derrion Reid. Both Davis and Reid scored 18 points on six field goals made and were the catalysts for the OU offense.
The Sooners now turn their attention towards Arizona State (6-2) in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Here's a look ahead at Saturday's matchup against Arizona State:
How the teams stack up
Saturday's game will be just the third ever meeting between OU and Arizona State. The all-time series is currently tied 1-1, with OU winning the last matchup 89-76 at home in 1983.
This year, both teams enter with a 6-2 record, and it will be an exciting matchup between OU senior guard Nijel Pack and Arizona State senior guard Maurice Odum, who both average around 19 points per game.
"They can really get it going," said head coach Porter Moser. "They really have that firepower to get that thing going."
Both the Sooners and Sun Devils are putting up over 80 points per game, but OU has displayed a more rigid defense, holding opponents to 73.6 points per game, compared to ASU's 76.6.
Defense is key
Both Moser and Pack emphasized on Friday that defense has been the key to OU's wins this year, and with another stout defensive performance, the Sooners could have a five-game win streak.
"I would say, from the beginning couple games to now, I feel like we made a big improvement on the defensive end," said Pack. "We continue to make improvements. I think that the sky is the limit for us."
The Sooners have shown much more synergy on both ends of the ball, and Moser said that turning defense into offense has been an integral part of winning games.
"I think we're so much better when we're in transition," said Moser. "You can't get in transition without getting stops. So we're getting more stops ... we call them DCOs, our defense creates our offense."
So far this season, OU is averaging just under 12 points off turnovers per game. Still, the Sooners will have to find ways to force offensive miscues from ASU as the Sun Devils protect the ball well, averaging just over 10 turnovers per game.
“I feel like we got a lot of talent, a lot of dangerous weapons and transition,” said Pack. “And I feel like that's the hardest part of defense, is trying to transition from offense to defense. You're kind of cross-matched. You got different guys on the court. You're running from different areas. I feel like it's hard to kind of match up to everybody.”
Sooners prepare for Maurice Odum
Moser said Odum is a serious threat on the offensive end for the Sun Devils.
"I think his NBA comparison is Kemba Walker," Moser said. "The way he scores and shoots off the dribble, the way he can draw fouls. He's got a mid-range game that's elite. His off-the-dribble three-point game, that's what's really unique."
Through the first eight games of the season, Odum leads the team in scoring, averaging 19 points and six assists, and has posted three 20-plus-point outings, with a season high of 36 against Texas.
"He's a great player, and it's going to be a challenge for us," said Nijel Pack. "We all look forward to challenges ... it's gonna take a team effort to guard him ... we just got to lock in on the defensive end like we've been doing."
This story was edited by Laurie Jones.
