Oklahoma
Thunder Game Day: OKC Takes On Mavericks With No. 1 Seed in Reach
The Oklahoma City Thunder have plenty to play for on the final day of the regular season.
Entering Sunday as the No. 1 seed in the West, Oklahoma City is poised to earn home-court advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks are locked into the fifth spot in the West and have a first-round date with the LA Clippers.
Most of the Mavericks’ rotation, including Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, will not play in game 82. If the Thunder can deliver as heavy favorites, they will secure a top-two spot in the conference, needing other results to guarantee the top seed.
Apr 12, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2)
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
ODDS:
The Thunder enter the day as 19.5-point favorites against the Mavericks, and the total over/under is 224.5 points.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
As Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after Friday’s results pushed the Thunder to the top of the West, the team needs to “run through the finish line.” With everyone good to go, capturing a big early lead should be the top priority.
However, the Mavericks’ lack of typical contributors is no reason to take the game lightly. Although none have come at home, the Thunder have suffered losses to some of the worst teams in the league this season.
Oklahoma City has also shown its ability to dominate lesser competition with 16 wins of at least 20 points, including three wins of at least 40 points. Although early start times have not always been the team’s strong suit, motivation to secure home court should be enough for a win.
Thunder rookies Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace are two of only 17 players who have not missed a game this season. Assuming they play Sunday, they will be the first Thunder players to play every game of a season since Raymond Felton and Patrick Patterson did so in the 2017-18 season.
RECORDS:
Oklahoma City Thunder (56-25) vs. Dallas Mavericks (50-31)
INJURIES:
Check out our live injury tracker, along with our game day injury report that will release later today.
WHEN:
Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 2:30 PM CT
LOCATION:
Paycom Center – Oklahoma City, OK
TV/RADIO:
Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start Your Free Trial)
FINAL WORD:
Throughout this season, the Thunder have consistently exceeded expectations and have the opportunity to secure the best record in the West on Sunday. Although the Thunder’s youth has caused doubts, if this regular season is any indication, they could be in for a deep playoff run.
The Thunder will start their playoff run in Paycom Center next weekend when they host a Game 1 for the first time since 2018.
Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026
Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.
Oklahoma
How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason
Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.
Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.
Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.
Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.
For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.
“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.
Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.
The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.
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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.
Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.
“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.
Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.
The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).
OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.
For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.
“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”
On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.
The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.
“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”
Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.
Oklahoma
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time OSSAA wrestling state champion
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer beat Coweta’s Aiven Robbins 8-7 in the Oklahoma high school wrestling Class 5A 215-pound finals on Saturday, Feb. 28, becoming a four-time state champion.
The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.
A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.
For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.
“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”
Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.
Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.
Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.
An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.
“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”
A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.
It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.
“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”
Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.
“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”
This article will be updated.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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