Oklahoma did a big no-no on Tuesday night. The 11th ranked Sooners dropped a home contest against Texas, dropping them into a four-way tie at 7th place (3-3) in the Big 12. The good news is that OU picked up a road win at Cincinnati last Saturday and, for now, that balances out the home loss. However, things don’t get any easier in this conference as they will be back on the road next week for games at Kansas State and UCF. That makes this Saturday a situation in which they really need to handle their business in front of the home crowd.
Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech
Date: Saturday, Jan. 27
Tip Time: 1:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
Location: Lloyd Noble Center
Despite the loss to Texas on Tuesday night, Oklahoma holds a 75-26 record at Lloyd Noble Center since 2017. The Sooners have won 82.9% (608-126) of their games at LNC since the building opened in 1975. That puts OU’s winning percentage at Lloyd Noble Center second in the Big 12 only to Kansas’ 87.9% at Allen Fieldhouse (854-117).
An unlikely factor for the Sooners could be center Sam Godwin. The 6-10/235 Ada, Oklahoma product has struggled as of late. In the last two games he’s only averaging 11 minutes and has scored just two points. However, his biggest contributions come on the glass and he’s a proven commodity there. Godwin is 38th in NCAA DI and first in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game (3.2 RPG). Because of his knack of bringing down the offensive boards, he’s also shooting at a high percentage. He currently ranks fifth among NCAA DI active career leaders in field goal percentage, making 64.9% (240-370) of his shots.
Team Stats
| TEAM | PTS | PA | FG% | REB | AST | BLK | STL | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTU | 76.7 | 66.2 | 46.0 | 35.4 | 14.9 | 3.3 | 6.1 | W1 |
| OU | 78.3 | 65.6 | 48.1 | 37.4 | 14.2 | 3.4 | 6.8 | L1 |
Oklahoma really needs to earn trips to the free throw line, especially Javian McCollum. For his career McCollum ranks seventh among active leaders in free throw percentage (88.6%). In his 70 games played, McCollum has made 179 free throws in 202 attempts. As a team, OU is 33rd nationally in free throw percentage (76.1%) The Sooners only attempted 17 free throws against Texas (converting on 12 of them), but at home, and against a Top 20 opponent, that number has to be higher.
Finally, Oklahoma has to make sure that every shot is contested. The Red Raiders are coming to Norman with a 15-3 season record, and sitting atop the Big 12 standings with a 4-1 mark in conference play. One of the key factors to their success is a team shooting percentage of 46%. If they shoot like that on Saturday then it’ll be a long afternoon for the Sooners.
Oklahoma is 44th nationally in field goal percentage defense (40.3%) and needs to keep Tech closer to that number or lower. In their lone conference loss this season, the Red Raiders were held to 36.7% from the floor and lost 77-54 to Houston. Oklahoma has to contest every shot!!!
Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland