After sputtering out to a 2-2 start to the season, Oklahoma has won six of its last seven games heading into Monday’s matchup with Stetson in Norman, Okla.
The Sooners (8-3) are coming off an 89-67 home win over Kansas City on Tuesday.
Cutting down on turnovers has been key in the current stretch, as the game marked the fifth time in seven games that the Sooners committed single-digit turnovers.
Xzayvier Brown’s 21 points led Oklahoma in the win over the Roos. Brown averages 14.5 points per game, second only to Nijel Pack’s team-leading 17.1.
“If we just take care of the ball, we’ll continue to get better,” Brown said. “We’ve learned how to come out early in the game and have that intensity.”
Pack has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 games this season. The Sooners offense has been productive, scoring 85.1 points per game.
Key reserve guard Dayton Forsythe injured an ankle on Tuesday and played just two minutes.
Sooners coach Porter Moser and the players emphasized a need to put two good halves together, as they weren’t satisfied with how they played in the second half against Kansas City.
Oklahoma was outscored 40-35 in the final 20 minutes.
Stetson (4-8) of the Atlantic Sun Conference is coming off a 95-76 victory over Rhodes College on Dec. 15.
Ethan Copeland, a junior guard, poured in a game-high 29 points.
Jamie Phillips Jr. had 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. The sophomore guard leads the Hatters in both scoring and rebounding at 14.8 points and 5.7 boards per game.
“He’s got the right mentality. He’s really invested in wanting to come back and win here,” Stetson coach Donnie Jones said of Phillips at the outset of the season. “He’s going to be a big part of it.”
Oklahoma will be the third major conference team on Stetson’s nonconference schedule after losses at Miami and South Carolina.
The Hatters returned six players from last season’s 8-24 squad, including Phillips, who was named to the preseason All-ASUN team after conference all-freshman honors.
–Field Level Media
