Oklahoma
No. 24 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners Preview: Not just bluffin
With just two losses on the season — by a combined four points — the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines are in a good place. Dusty May’s squad is on track for an NCAA Tournament berth but would like more, which means the Wolverines could use another solid non-conference win on the resume. The last opportunity for that is Wednesday in Charlotte, with the No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners the final Power Five opponent left on the schedule.
Like the entire SEC, the undefeated Sooners are making headlines this season. On its way to winning the Battle 4 Atlantis, Oklahoma has four wins over top-100 KenPom teams, the same total as Michigan. The Wolverines (23rd) sit higher in the analytics than the Sooners (37th), but the polls have the teams flipped. This should be a good one at the Jumpman Invitational.
No. 24 Michigan Wolverines (8-2) vs. No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners (10-0)
Date & Time: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 9 p.m. ET
Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
TV/Streaming: ESPN2
Oklahoma has been solid on both ends of the floor, with not many deficiencies in its profile. Freshman Jeremiah Fears, the No. 44 player in the 247Sports Composite, has been as advertised, averaging 16.7 PPG while leading the team with 4.7 APG. Fears and friends play with some pace, move the ball well, and like to take threes; this will be a test for the Wolverines after a couple rougher defensive performances.
The last time these teams met was in the Second Round of the 2008-09 NCAA Tournament as Blake Griffin’s squad took down the No. 10 Wolverines, who rejoined the Big Dance after an 11-year absence. Present day, this is the third edition of the Jumpman Invitational, completing one rotation. Michigan lost to North Carolina in 2022 and Florida last season, with both games coming down to the wire.
One Big Question: Where is the discipline?
I am not going to talk about turnovers every single game because unfortunately they do not seem to be going away. What I do think is worth mentioning is the general concept of discipline and patience, specifically against athletic teams that like to run. Against the Razorbacks, Michigan played right into their hand by rushing passes, leading to easy looks in transition off sloppy mistakes.
The Wolverines will need to lock down Fears on Wednesday, which becomes much more doable in the half court. Oklahoma has a top-50 eFG rate, so playing disciplined defense, but also smart offense, is essential to avoid yet another subpar defensive performance. The Sooners are not a great offensive rebounding team, but cleaning up the glass also remains an area where the defense must show more attention. Michigan has a solid defense (No. 15) already, and cleaning up its wild play will only make it even stronger.
One Thing to Watch: Play the percentages
Michigan ranks 39th in adjusted offense, but has the 15th-best eFG rate — and sixth-highest two-point shooting percentage in the country. The biggest reason for this gap is obviously turnovers, but even with this frustrating Achilles heel, the Wolverines have posted over 1.20 PPP in the last two games, mostly due to an insane 68.4-percent shooting mark inside the arc. Basically when the Wolverines get a shot off, good things are going to happen; it is those shotless, turnover-filled possessions that have been limiting this team.
The Sooners rank in the 200s in two-point defense, though many of those struggles were to begin the season. Still, the Danny Wolf-Vlad Goldin combo should feast again. Wolf has seen his turnover rate slowly drop, while Goldin is hitting 80 percent of his shots at the rim over the past four games after missing some bunnies earlier this year. Eventually teams will figure out how to stop this duo (or at least sell out to prevent it), but until that comes the Wolverines should continue hammering this advantage.
Oklahoma
Sooners win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff at McCasland Field House
The Oklahoma men’s basketball team returned to form Tuesday night, cruising to a 95-69 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in front of a packed student crowd at historic McCasland Field House.
After head coach Porter Moser challenged his team to be more aggressive on the glass following last week’s loss, the Sooners responded with one of their most physical performances in recent memory. Forward Tae Davis delivered his first double-double as a Sooner, posting 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end the most by an OU player since at least the 1995-96 season.
Guard Nijel Pack knocked down five 3-pointers on 5-for-7 shooting from deep to finish with 15 points, helping Oklahoma build a double-digit lead in the first half. Xzayvier Brown led all scorers with 19 points, adding four steals and three assists while shooting a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line.
The Sooners (2-1) dominated the glass with a 13-rebound advantage and outscored the Golden Lions (0-4) 25-12 in second-chance points. Sophomore guard Dayton Forsythe added 15 points off the bench, while forward Derrion Reid chipped in 12 on efficient 5-for-8 shooting.
Oklahoma turned a one-point deficit midway through the first half into a 42-31 halftime lead behind a 10-0 run sparked by Davis and Pack. Arkansas-Pine Bluff made a brief push early in the second half, trimming the margin to eight, but the Sooners answered with another surge to put the game out of reach.
Next up, the Sooners travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for a neutral-site matchup against Nebraska on Saturday in the “Battle of the Big Reds.”
Oklahoma
Three Takeaways from Oklahoma’s Loss to UCLA
Despite two of its best players struggling with foul trouble, Oklahoma was right there with UCLA well into the third quarter.
But the No. 3-ranked Bruins took over from there, pulling away for a 73-59 win over the No. 6 Sooners in an early season showdown between two of women’s college basketball’s top teams in Sacramento, CA.
Starting in that decisive third quarter, UCLA ripped off a 16-3 run to stretch a one-point lead into a 59-45 advantage.
OU never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
Payton Verhulst led the Sooners with 16 points while Zya Vann added 13, playing a big role early when Aaliyah Chavez went to the bench with foul trouble. Raegan Beers also found foul trouble early.
Vann scored seven of her points in the first quarter, including hitting a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Oklahoma shot just 30.7 percent from the field.
Gianna Kneepkens led the Bruins with 20 points, while Angela Dugalic added 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The Sooners (1-1) return to action against Kansas City at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:
Less than four minutes into the game, Oklahoma freshman point guard Aaliyah Chavez was already heading to the bench.
The 5-star phenom picked up a pair of fouls less than 40 seconds apart to limit her time on the floor in the first quarter.
The Sooners were up 9-7 when Chavez headed to the bench, and UCLA took advantage without her on the floor, outscoring OU 17-7 during that span.
Whether it was due to Jennie Baranczyk’s trust in her, or necessity with the game in danger of slipping away early, Chavez didn’t stay on the bench long.
She re-entered the game with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter and remained in the game for all but a few seconds of the second quarter.
Chavez never did pick up a third foul.
But though she was able to fight through the foul trouble, Chavez struggled with her shot against the Bruins.
She finished 4-of-16 from the floor, though she didn’t have a turnover in 32 minutes. Chavez had 11 points and three assists.
Chavez still flashed the skill that made her the top player in the 2025 class.
In the closing seconds of the first quarter, Chavez drove baseline, flipping it to Sahara Williams through traffic for a midrange jumper.
Williams’ shot, though, was released just after time expired, giving UCLA a 24-22 lead after one.
The matchup between former middle school teammates and high school competitors Raegan Beers of OU and Lauren Betts of UCLA was front and center going into the game.
Both had their moments, but ultimately Betts won out, as the reigning national defensive player of the year finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.
She also blocked four shots, though also finished with a career-high seven turnovers.
Early in the fourth quarter, there was a scary moment when Beers crumpled to the floor with an apparent non-contact knee injury.
But after being checked out on the bench, Beers was back less than two minutes later.
Beers finished with seven points and 14 rebounds on 2-of-7 shooting with two steals.
While OU’s offense has been a strength under Baranczyk, the Sooners have often struggled to limit turnovers in their free-wheeling offensive system.
But with Chavez helping direct the offense Monday, OU finished with just nine turnovers while forcing 16. The Sooners outscored UCLA 16-9 off turnovers.
The turnover numbers were OU’s lowest since late January 2024.
The Sooners turned the ball over 18 times in their season-opening 84-67 win over Belmont.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma will give Alabama offense toughest test yet. What to know about the Sooners
There have been few defenses in the country better than Oklahoma.
The Sooners have allowed only 14.1 points per game this season, which leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the nation. Oklahoma also ranks first in the SEC in fewest yards allowed per game at 264.22. That also ranks seventh nationally.
A season ago, the Sooners held Alabama to three points on the road. Now, with a much different offense and a new offensive coordinator and quarterback, the No. 4 Crimson Tide (8-1, 6-0 SEC) will aim to have much more offensive success against No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC) at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Here’s what you need to know about the Sooners (7-2, 3-2 SEC).
Oklahoma’s resume so far
The Sooners started the season on a five-game winning streak but have lost two of their last four games.
The first loss of the season occurred against then-unranked Texas, now ranked No. 10. The second loss was two weeks later against No. 6 Ole Miss, who was then ranked eighth.
Oklahoma’s best win this season has been against No. 18 Michigan. The Sooners also went on the road before an open week and beat No. 21 Tennessee.
According to ESPN, the Sooners have the No. 12 strength of record. Their strength of schedule ranks 16th.
The Oklahoma offense
The Sooners have an offense that sits in the bottom half of the conference in points per game, ranked 11th scoring 28.89 points per game.
Only Kentucky, Auburn, LSU, Florida and South Carolina have worse offenses in the SEC.
The Sooners also rank 11th in rushing offense and defense in the conference in yards per game.
Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer has been the primary quarterback running the offense, but he hasn’t been near as effective since returning from a hand injury.
Before the hand injury, Mateer threw for six touchdowns and rushed for five more over the first four games of the season.
In the four games since, Mateer has thrown for two touchdowns and rushed for one. Those four games since the hand injury have all been against SEC competition whereas the first four included two overmatched, unranked teams.
Isaiah Sategna III has been his top target. The receiver has caught 40 passes for 692 yards and five touchdowns. He ranks fifth in the conference with 76.89 yards per game. Deion Burks has also been a top weapon, catching 42 passes for 435 yards and two scores.
Tory Blaylock has been the top rusher, taking 94 carries for 401 yards and four scores.
The Sooner defense
Oklahoma doesn’t give up many points or yards, but the Sooners also don’t get many takeaways.
They rank 117th in the country in takeaways per game at 0.8. For comparison, Alabama ranks 18th, gaining 1.8 takeaways per game.
Defensive lineman Taylor Wein is one of the SEC’s top players at securing tackles for loss. He averages 1.22 per game. Defensive lineman R Mason Thomas is another, averaging 1.06 per game. They rank tied for fourth and seventh in the conference, respectively.
Thomas is also one of the top pass rushers in the conference. He has tallied 6.5 sacks, which ranks tied for fifth.
As a whole, Oklahoma has been effective at getting to the quarterback. The Sooners have tallied 33 sacks, which ranks fourth in the country behind only UConn (35), Texas A&M (34) and Texas (34).
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