Oklahoma vs. Florida A&M
Tip: 4:00 PM (Central)
Location: LNC
TV: FOX Sports Southwest
Oklahoma may have dropped its first game of the season at Xavier on Wednesday night but that in no way eliminates them as one of the hottest shooting teams in the Big 12. Scoring an average of 88 points per game this season, the Sooners currently rank as the second highest scoring team in the Big 12 and are ninth nationally. OU is also second in the conference in both field goal percentage (50%) and 3-point field goal percentage (40.3%) while leading the league in free throw shooting (82.8%).
The trio of Brady Manek, Austin Reaves, and De’Vion Harmon is what propels the Sooner offense. They are combining to score an average of 53.0 points per game on 52.6% shooting (48.7% from behind the arc). They’ll look to build on those numbers when they host 0-3 Florida A&M on Saturday afternoon.
Despite an unfavorable start to the season, the Rattlers are quite the challenge on the defensive end of the floor. Florida A&M is forcing
18.0 turnovers per game but allowing opponents to shoot 55% from the floor. Junior guard MJ Randolph leads the team in scoring (12.7 PPG), shooting percentage (68.4%) and assists (4 APG).
Stepping Into Elite Company
With 199 3-pointers in his career, Brady Manek is one trey shy of sinking 200. He would become just the sixth Sooner to make 200 3-pointers in an Oklahoma uniform, joining Buddy Hield, Terry Evans, Steven Pledger, Hollis Price and Tim Heskett (all guards 6-4 or shorter). Manek would be the first forward and first player over 6-5 to sink 200 3-pointers for Oklahoma. As a 6-9 forward, Manek would also become the tallest player in Big 12 history to hit 200.
Other Game Notes
- Oklahoma has faced Florida A&M twice previously, winning the two matchups by a combined 140 points. The Sooners defeated the Rattlers, 146 65, during Billy Tubbs’ second-to-last season in Norman. They later won against Florida A&M in 2004, 104-45. Both wins occurred at Lloyd Noble Center.
- The 81-point victory in 1993 is the second largest victory margin in program history (Tubbs’ 1989-90 squad defeated Northeastern Illinois by 95, 146-51). The matchup also featured Terry Evans producing the third triple-double in program history with 17 points, 15 assists and 12 steals. Evans’ triple-double is the most recent occurrence in program history.
- Florida A&M is in its fourth season under head coach Robert McCullum – a member of the Lon Kruger coaching tree. McCullum spent a decade on Kruger’s coaching staff, beginning with Kansas State in 1990 and continuing at Florida (1991-96) and Illinois (1996-2000).
- De’Vion Harmon is off to an efficient shooting start in his sophomore season, shooting a combined 16-of-27 in his three games – good for second in the conference in field goal percentage (59.3%). His accuracy has seen a huge improvement from his freshman season, where he shot 36.4% from the floor.
- The Sooners have won 19 straight home non-conference matchups (16 straight at Lloyd Noble Center). OU’s last nonconference home loss came in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to Florida on Jan. 28, 2017.
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