Alcorn State @ Oklahoma preview
McCasland Field House
Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2021 ) Alcorn St. 48, Oklahoma 72
Oklahoma figures to keep its undefeated season going on Saturday night when it entertains winless Alcorn State at Norman, Okla.
The No. 21 Sooners (8-0) were under the radar until beating Providence, then-No. 24 Arizona and Louisville on successive days last week to win the Battle 4 Atlantis tourney. Winning the event pushed Oklahoma into the rankings for the first time this season.
Oklahoma added another victory on Tuesday when it recovered from an early 11-point deficit to notch a 76-61 home win over visiting Georgia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
"I don't want to say we played tired in the first half but it was a grueling stretch," Sooners coach Porter Moser said of the schedule. "They always talk about that MTE (multi-team event) hangover, that's usually when you take a week off. We didn't have time to have a hangover."
Oklahoma outscored the Yellow Jackets 46-27 in the second half following the slow start.
Jeremiah Fears had 18 points and Jalon Moore added 15 points and 11 rebounds against his former school. Kobe Elvis scored 12 points on four 3-pointers and Duke Miles tallied 11 points.
"We came into this game already knowing Jalon had a little chip on his shoulder with this game," Miles said, "and we already knew we were going to have his back."
Moser was particularly pleased with his team's 22-12 rebounding advantage in the second half. The Sooners wound up with a 37-33 overall edge.
"Flipping the rebounding number was a big reason why we were able to win this one," Moser said. "We talked about it at half and really drove home getting into better positions down low, and I thought that helped us flip that number."
Moore leads Oklahoma with an 18.0 scoring average and ranks second in rebounding at 6.5. Fears is averaging 17.0 points, while Elvis (11.0) and Miles (10.0) also are scoring in double digits.
The Sooners are thriving on defense, allowing 64.5 points per game, forcing an average of 15.1 turnovers and holding opponents to 26.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Alcorn State (0-9) has played exclusively on the road against a heavyweight schedule that includes setbacks at Utah, Utah State, Tulane, TCU, Washington and Maryland.
Braves fifth-year coach Landon Bussie said he tries to keep the approach simple.
"We just try to focus on day by day, game by game," Bussie said prior to the season at SWAC Media Day. "It's a long road, it's a long journey."
Alcorn State again took its lumps during Wednesday's 78-54 loss at Wichita State. It was the squad's sixth loss by 20 or more points this season.
The Braves shot 26.0 percent from the field, 5 of 22 from 3-point range and 11 of 20 from the free-throw line.
Omari Hamilton recorded 14 points and eight rebounds, Marcus Tankersley added 12 points and Djahi Binet had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Hamilton leads Alcorn with a 10.4 scoring average. Keionte Cornelius is second at 9.8.
The Sooners have won the three previous meetings, the most recent being a 72-48 home win on Dec. 22, 2021.
--Field Level Media