Oklahoma
Tulane Green Wave vs. Oklahoma Sooners Defensive Players to Watch
The parallels are getting a little too close to home for Saturday’s game between the Tulane Green Wave and the Oklahoma Sooners.
Three years ago the two schools were set to meet in New Orleans, only to move the game to Norman, Okla., when Hurricane Ida came to the Crescent City during game week.
Now, it’s Hurricane Francine rolling through the city. At least this time the game was already scheduled to be played in Norman, the conclusion of a three-game contract between the two schools that had never met before the deal.
Defense has the potential to define this game. While the Oklahoma (2-0) offense was sluggish against Houston, its defense was not. The Sooners held the Cougars to 12 points.
Tulane (1-1) gave up 34 points in a loss to Kansas State. But, in the first half the Green Wave defense held down an exceptional quarterback and pitched a shutout in its season opener. Tulane also has a pass rush that hasn’t been fully unleased yet.
Here are the defensive players to watch for both teams entering Saturday’s game.
DL Patrick Jenkins
It’s time. Two games is enough without a sack for the all-conference performer. This game is the perfect chance for Jenkins to make an impact.
He has seven tackles this season. But he can wreak plenty of havoc. For his three-year career he has 80 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He’ll be playing on Sundays one day. For now, the Green Wave needs him to crash the backfield on Saturday.
LB Tyler Grubbs
The veteran linebacker hasn’t had that “game” yet, but it’s early. He has nine tackles and a half-tackle for loss. He’ll be partly responsible for helping to defend the Sooners in the shallow parts of the field.
The three-time All-Conference USA and two-time All-Louisiana linebacker for La Tech had 77 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss three sacks and a fumble recovery for the Green Wave last season. His best games have come against opponents like this.
S Kevin Adams III
Guess who’s leading the Green Wave in tackles for loss? It’s the sophomore from Destrehan, La., who has 1.5 on the season. One has to admire the fact that Tulane has spread its 13 TFLs out among nearly a dozen players.
Adams has just four tackles so far. Last year he only played in four games, and he finished with six tackles. But if he keeps stifling players in the backfield like this, the Green Wave are going to appreciate his development even more.
LB Danny Stutsman
Right now the Sooners’ defense is well ahead of its offense, and Stutsman is a huge reason why. The preseason All-America selection is already second in the SEC with his 10.5 tackles per game and first (third nationally) with 7.5 solo tackles. He’s led OU in tackles each of the last two seasons (125 in 2022 and 104 last season) and is coming off a 15-tackle performance against Houston.
In other words, someone — or perhaps more than one someone — is going to have to block this guy.
DL Gracen Halton
Halton, a junior, is one of those players you don’t hear about much but seems to always make critical plays. Take the Houston game. He only made two tackles.
The first was an 11-yard sack in the third quarter. The second was a five-yard stuff on a Houston run play with 1:42 left in the game. The stuff resulted in a safety.
Proof that one doesn’t have to have a lot of tackles to make an impact.
DB Billy Bowman Jr.
It’s safe to say that Bowman is one of the top defensive backs in the country. Last year he was a first-team All-Big 12 honoree after he ranked third in the nation with six interceptions, with an NCAA-best and school-record three returned for touchdowns (238 INT return yards).
It’s hard to find a defensive back with that kind of big-play ability. Bowman has seven tackles and one for a loss in two games. But no interceptions. This is not the week to tempt him.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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