OU men’s basketball tips off Southeastern Conference play with a home opener against Mississippi to begin the second half of the season in the new year.
Saturday’s game marks the opening of the Sooners' second SEC season, and they will look to improve on last year’s 14th-place finish with a retooled roster. Only three players have significant league experience: sophomore guard Dayton Forsythe and senior forward/center Mohamed Wague return, while sophomore forward Derrion Reid, a transfer from Alabama, is new to the team.
OU entered last season's SEC slate with a perfect 13-0 record before falling in its first conference game to Alabama, and finished the regular season with a 19-12 (6-12 SEC) record. This year, the Sooners are predicted to finish 12th in the conference and will look to make a return to the NCAA Tournament after being one of 14 SEC teams to make it last season.
Senior guard Nijel Pack said the non-conference schedule has helped prepare the team for the challenges they will certainly face in league play.
“We learned how to fight through adversity together ... we had some early tests, and some of them didn't go our way. We won some, which is good for us,” said Pack. “We had to learn how to play on the road and in different environments, things like that ... but for us to get those early tests and learn from them, and get better, I just think it sets us up better for this league.”
OU (10-3) enters the home matchup against Mississippi (8-5), averaging 87.4 points per game, a program high since the 2017-18 season, and has put together six games of over 90 points, a feat they have achieved only 10 times over the last four full seasons.
The scoring onslaught that the Sooners displayed has been built on solid perimeter shooting, with OU cashing in 10.5 threes per game, with five players tallying double-digit makes from deep, led by Pack with 47 made on the season.
Another strength of this year's team has been ball security, something head coach Porter Moser feels the Sooners can leverage against Mississippi.
“I really think they've taken care of the ball, and that’s gonna be a key against (Mississippi) ... (Mississippi) thrives on turning you over and then going to convert it,” said Moser. “(Xzayvier) and Nijel (have) been really, really solid in the back court with that. Taking care of the ball, being efficient ... I think our bench is getting better from looking back at the beginning of non-conference.”
With conference play underway, OU will look to pair its offensive efficiency with disciplined ball control as it opens SEC action against Mississippi at the Lloyd Noble Center at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday on the SEC Network.
Ryan Shockley contributed to the reporting of this story.
This story was edited by Laurie Jones.
