NORMAN — Oklahoma freshman defensive lineman David Stone was upgraded to active on the Southeastern Conference’s Thursday night availability report.
Stone had been listed as probable on the Wednesday availability report ahead of OU’s home game against South Carolina. His name was not listed Thursday.
Receiver Deion Burks’ status remained as questionable, while running back Sam Franklin and tight end Kade McIntyre were downgraded from questionable as doubtful. Burks, despite having missed two-and-a-half games, leads the Sooners in every receiving category with 26 catches for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
If Burks plays Saturday, it will be his first appearance since he exited the Sooners’ 25-15 loss to No. 7 Tennessee on Sept. 21. If he does not play, quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and/or Jackson Arnold will be without their top five targets as Jayden Gibson, Jalil Farooq, Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony remain inactive with injuries of varying timelines.
Defensive backs Gentry Williams and Kendel Dolby and offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett remain inactive.
The Gamecocks will be without receiver Jared Brown, who caught eight passes for 103 yards in four games. He left the Sept. 14 LSU game at the half with an apparent lower-body injury and returned against Ole Miss on Oct. 5 but left early and has not appeared since.
South Carolina offensive lineman Jakai Moore; defensive tackle DeAndre Jules; and defensive backs Jalewis Solomon and Kevin Hunter are out.
Any updates to the availability report must be made public before 10:15 a.m. Saturday, 90 minutes before kickoff.
Oklahoma City Thunder (40-13, first in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (32-19, fifth in the Western Conference)
Los Angeles; Monday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles hosts Oklahoma City looking to prolong its three-game home winning streak.
The Lakers are 21-12 in Western Conference games. Los Angeles is ninth in the Western Conference with 25.2 assists per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 8.6.
The Thunder are 30-9 against Western Conference opponents. Oklahoma City is the best team in the Western Conference allowing just 107.9 points per game while holding opponents to 43.3% shooting.
The Lakers make 49.9% of their shots from the field this season, which is 6.6 percentage points higher than the Thunder have allowed to their opponents (43.3%). The Thunder are shooting 48.7% from the field, 0.2% higher than the 48.5% the Lakers’ opponents have shot this season.
The two teams play for the second time this season. The Thunder defeated the Lakers 121-92 in their last meeting on Nov. 13. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points, and Doncic led the Lakers with 19 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: LeBron James is averaging 21.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists for the Lakers. Rui Hachimura is averaging 12 points over the past 10 games.
Cason Wallace is averaging 8.2 points and 2.1 steals for the Thunder. Chet Holmgren is averaging 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 53.3% over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 7-3, averaging 115.4 points, 41.9 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 8.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.2 points per game.
Thunder: 5-5, averaging 114.9 points, 42.6 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 9.1 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.5 points.
INJURIES: Lakers: Deandre Ayton: out (knee), Luka Doncic: out (hamstring), Adou Thiero: out (knee).
Thunder: Ajay Mitchell: out (abdominal), Nikola Topic: out (groin), Jalen Williams: out (hamstring), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: out (abdomen), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Xzayvier Brown scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and Oklahoma held off No. 15 Vanderbilt 92-91 on Saturday to end a nine-game losing streak.
Nijel Pack added 17 points for the Sooners (12-12, 2-9 Southeastern Conference) who had a 21-point lead with 12:03 left. Oklahoma shot 53.4% from the field.
Tyler Tanner led Vanderbilt (19-4, 6-4) with 37 points. Tyler Nickel added 18.
Nickel hit a 3-pointer with 1 1/2 minutes left to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 10. AK Okereke had a 4-point play to make it a two-possession game with 49 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma: Hosts Georgia on Saturday.
Vanderbilt: At Auburn on Tuesday night.
Find more Oklahoma coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
History is on the line for Oklahoma on Saturday.
The Sooners, riding a nine-game skid, would match a program record for the longest losing streak with a loss to Vanderbilt. OU’s only team to ever lose 10 games in a row was the 1963-64 squad, but the 2025-26 team will get there if it falls to the Commodores.
OU’s current losing streak marks only the third time ever that the Sooners have lost nine or more games consecutively.
It won’t be easy for the Sooners to escape from their ongoing freefall on Saturday.
Vanderbilt, ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25, is 19-3 overall and 6-3 in SEC play. The Commodores have won three games in a row — against Mississippi State, Kentucky and Ole Miss — after dropping three consecutive games against Texas, Florida and Arkansas.
Averaging 88.8 points per game and allowing only 72.9, Vanderbilt has the SEC’s best average scoring margin (15.9). The Commodores also rank first in opposing three-point percentage (28.6 percent), second in opposing field-goal percentage (41.2 percent), and third in three-point percentage (35.8 percent).
Location: Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, TN)
Date: Feb. 7
Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.7 FM The Franchise
Vanderbilt has also been excellent at causing havoc while also limiting its own miscues. The Commodores have forced 298 turnovers while only creating 213 turnovers of their own. Their average turnover margin is 3.87 per game, which ranks second in the league behind only Georgia.
Guard Tyler Tanner has been Vanderbilt’s most consistent player, as he is averaging 17.8 points, 5.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per contest.
The Sooners and Wildcats went back and forth for most of the first half, but Kentucky’s 15-2 run over the game’s middle 10 minutes allowed it to pull away.
OU went 3-of-15 on its first 15 attempts from deep, and guard Nijel Pack was held to only six points in 26 minutes, his second lowest total of the season.
The game was different from some of OU’s other losses during the skid. In defeats against Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and Alabama, the Sooners had chances to win in the final minute but fell short in each game. Against Kentucky, OU never got back within striking distance after the Wildcats’ middle-of-game run.
The Sooners were ranked No. 49 in the NET rankings on Jan. 4, the day after their win over Ole Miss to open conference play.
Now, more than a month later, OU is No. 85 in the NET, ahead of only Mississippi State and South Carolina from the SEC. Oklahoma’s chances to reach the NCAA Tournament as an at-large squad are all but gone, as the Sooners sit 11-12 and 1-9 with only eight league contests remaining.
OU’s only hope of making it to the Big Dance is by winning the SEC Tournament in March. While there is still over a month until then, the Sooners must begin generating momentum — and wins — to put together a competitive effort at the conference tourney.
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