OU Basketball: Previewing Oklahoma's First SEC Basketball Season

OU Basketball: Previewing Oklahoma’s First SEC Basketball Season

Posted by Admin January 3, 2025 Basketball

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NORMAN — Every game from here on out is an opportunity for Oklahoma to solidify its resume.

The No. 12 Sooners (13-0) kick off their first conference season as a member of the Southeastern Conference on Saturday against No. 5 Alabama. The SEC is arguably college basketball’s best league this year, as 10 teams are currently ranked in the AP Top 25, and three are in the top five.

Here are the five most notable games on OU’s SEC schedule:

Saturday, 5 p.m., Tuscaloosa

It doesn’t get much bigger than OU’s SEC opener against Alabama.

The duo of Mark Sears and Grant Nelson helped lead the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four appearance in 2024. Both of those two are back this year and have been excellent for Alabama.

Sears is the leader of Alabama’s backcourt, averaging 18 points and four assists per game. Nelson, a 6-foot-11 post out of North Dakota, is a walking double-double, notching 13.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest thus far.

The Crimson Tide are 11-2, beating Illinois, Houston, North Carolina and McNeese State in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Their only losses came against Purdue and Oregon.

Jan. 8, 8 p.m., Norman

For Oklahoma’s first home SEC game, the Sooners will reunite a rivalry with an old Big 12 foe.

Texas A&M finally broke through under Buzz Williams a year ago, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The No. 13 Aggies have been hot after a season-opening loss to UCF, beating Creighton, Wake Forest, Texas Tech and Purdue to enter league play 11-2.

Wade Taylor IV is the standout for Texas A&M, averaging 15.9 points per game with a deadly 3-point shot.

The Sooners get the benefit of returning to Lloyd Noble Center for this one, but playing against Alabama and Texas A&M to begin SEC play is a brutal draw.

Feb. 4, 8 p.m., Auburn

You thought the opening draw with Alabama and Texas A&M is brutal? Just look at the gauntlet OU will face early in February.

The Sooners will battle No. 2 Auburn on the road on Tuesday, Feb. 4, before taking on No. 1 Tennessee at home just four days later.

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Auburn has earned its No. 2 ranking via a stellar first two months of the season, where the Tigers went 12-1 with wins against Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, Memphis, Ohio State and Purdue. Their only loss came by six points against Duke on the road.

The Tigers have one of the deepest teams in college basketball, as five players are averaging double figures and three others are averaging more than six points per game.

Feb. 8, 11 a.m., Norman

Tennessee and Oklahoma are two of college basketball’s three remaining undefeated squads, and they’ll battle a few days after the Auburn game.

The Volunteers, also 13-0, haven’t had much competition early on. Of their 13 wins, 12 have come by double digits, and Tennessee’s resume includes victories against Louisville, Virginia, Baylor, Syracuse, Miami and Illinois.

Tennessee also has a player in Chaz Lanier who is a candidate for the Naismith Award. Lanier, a transfer guard, is averaging 19.6 points per game with a 45.9 percent clip on 3-pointers.

Oklahoma will be exhausted after playing Auburn just a few days prior, but the home crowd should give the Sooners a lift.

March 8, 7 p.m., Austin

Oklahoma will end the 2024-25 regular season against its biggest rival.

In the Sooners’ final season in the Big 12, they lost twice to Texas. Those losses were devastating for OU and symbolized a rough conference season where the Sooners went 8-10 and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.

This year, OU has a very strong chance at sweeping the Longhorns.

Texas is one of just six unranked teams from the SEC. The Longhorns enter SEC play with an impressive 11-2 record, but that includes only two wins over teams from power conferences.