Tip: 7:00 PM
Location: Cintas Center (Cincinatti, Ohio)
Television: Fox Sports 1
Through the first two games of the season Oklahoma boasts three of the top four scorers in the Big 12. Brady Manek is averaging 21.5 points per game, Austin Reaves is producing 20.0, and De’Vion Harmon is averaging 17.5.
Manek and Reaves are the top two scorers in the Big 12 after impressive individual performances. Manek opened the season by sinking a career-high eight 3-pointers in Oklahoma’s 105-66 win over UTSA. Reaves followed that up with a 32-point/9 assist performance in Sunday’s 82-78 win at TCU.
Harmon is off to a fantastic start to the season as well. The sophomore is coming off a 22-point performance against UTSA and a 13 point performance at TCU. His combined 35 points are the most he’s scored in a two-game stretch in his career.
The Musketeers are led by Zach Freemantle (17.2 points, 8.5 rebounds) and Paul Scruggs (13.7 points, 7.0 assists) and are coming off a road rivalry win at Cincinnati on Sunday in which Scruggs produced 20 points, five assists and five rebounds.
Tonight will mark the third all-time meeting between the Sooners and Musketeers and the first time the schools have met on either school’s campus. Oklahoma has won the previous two meetings, including a 78-65 victory in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
Quick Notes
Wednesday will be Brady Manek’s 100th game as a Sooner. He enters the matchup against Xavier with 99 games played and 93 career starts.
With 196 3-pointers in his career, Manek is four treys shy of sinking 200. He would become the sixth Sooner to make 200 3-pointers in an Oklahoma uniform.
Oklahoma has been dominant in non-conference play the last three seasons, boasting a combined 33-6 record in its last 39 non-league regular-season games.
In non-conference play since 2017-18, Oklahoma is 13-5 against major conference schools (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) and 17-6 in games played away from Norman.
OU is 33-5 in games played in November and December since the start of the 2017-18 season.
Oklahoma’s 93.5 points per game lead the Big 12. The Sooners also rank second in both field goal percentage (50.8%) and 3-point field goal percentage (44.2%).
Lon Kruger returns a veteran-heavy team which returns over 70% of its scoring from last season’s squad that claimed the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship.
Kruger utilized a starting lineup with four seniors on opening night in Austin Reaves, Alondes Williams, Brady Manek and Kur Kuath. It was the first time since the 1992-93 season that Oklahoma started at least four seniors in the first game of the season.
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