PORTLAND, Ore. — Less than a month after Oregon and Oklahoma scrimmaged in Las Vegas, the two teams will meet once again; this time, in an official game.
The Ducks (5-1) and Sooners (3-1) will play in the consolation bracket of the PK80 Invitational at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Both teams lost their first games of the tournament, Oregon to UConn and Oklahoma to Arkansas, but won their following games against DePaul and Portland, respectively.
Unlike with offensively-challenged DePaul, Oregon will have its hand full dealing with the Sooners blistering offense. Oklahoma averages 98 points per game, third-best nationally, and is led by freshman Trae Young. Young’s numbers are insane. He averages 24.5 points, 9 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game and shoots 46.9 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three on more than eight attempts per game. The 6-foot-2 guard was a five-star prospect who was ranked as the 23rd best player in the class of 2017 by ESPN.
6-foot-9 forward/center Khadeem Lattin provides Oklahoma’s lone inside presence. The big man averages 14.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game on 72.7 percent shooting.
Oklahoma’s offense is built around running in transition. It plays at the sixth-fastest pace in the country and averages 13 seconds per possession, the third-fastest rate in the country, per kenpom.com. The Sooners also average 20 assists per game, tied for fifth in the country. On top of that, they shoot 64.2 percent on 2-pointers, the second-best mark in the country, per kenpom.
Defensively, Oklahoma is all over the place. The Sooners allow 80 points per game (292nd in the country) and allow teams to shoot 42.3 percent from three, but limit their opponents to 36.7 percent shooting on 2-pointers, the fourth-best mark in the country, per kenpom.
Still, all these numbers come with the preface that Oklahoma hasn’t played a tough schedule this year. Through four games, they’ve only played one Power 5 team this year. That was Arkansas, which the Sooners lost to 92-83 on Thursday. So far, Oklahoma owns the 185th toughest schedule this season, per kenpom.
Oregon reportedly won its scrimmage against Oklahoma by a close margin. Even though Oregon isn’t playing its best basketball right now, a similar result wouldn’t be surprising given that the Ducks know what to expect from the Sooners.
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris