After a long time away, Sooners open tonight with UTSA

OU coach Lon Kruger says college basketball is going to need to stay adaptable and "do whatever we need to do to get games in"

The Oklahoma men’s basketball team is set to play its first game of the season Wednesday night after last season was unexpectedly cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The last time the Sooners took the floor, it was for a comeback victory over TCU in Fort Worth. Now, after nearly eight months off, Lon Kruger’s squad has its sights set on a season unlike any other.

“I really think we’re going to go into every game possibility with a potential of being postponed, with rosters looking different,” Kruger said Monday. “We just have to maintain the right attitude and adjust to whatever and do whatever we need to do to get games in.”

The Sooners are scheduled to take the floor twice this week — first against the University of Texas-San Antonio in Norman on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Road Runners are coached by former OU assistant Steve Henson.

Oklahoma will have its hands full on defense trying to contain the nation’s No. 2 scorer from last season in Jhivvan Jackson. Jackson is joined in the backcourt by Keaton Wallace, who together averaged 45.6 points per game in 2019-2020.

Along with the efforts to keep players healthy, teams will have to shake off the rust of such a long time away from the game. With the season starting much later than usual, the Sooners are anxious for some competition.

“Like all teams in the country, guys are anxious to play someone else,” said Kruger. “Normally you’ve got a scrimmage and a couple exhibition games and when you’re playing those, you’re really looking forward to that. Now we’re normally playing those the first week of November and now here we are our first game will be the 25th of November, so we’re about three weeks, at least, later than normal in starting.

“And given that they’ve been going against each other in one form or another since the middle of July, they’re ready to play someone else.”

Opening week continues for the Sooners when they travel to Orlando to take on the UCF Golden Knights. That game tips off at 1 p.m. Saturday and marks the first road trip of the season for OU.

The Sooners will be led by seniors Austin Reaves and Brady Manek this season. Joining the seniors is North Texas transfer Umoja Gibson, a versatile 14.5 point per game scorer last year.

“He’s a playmaker,” Manek said of his new teammate. “A lot of people knock him for his size, I think he’s a true playmaker. He’s a basketball player. He makes shots. He finds the open guy. He’s an awesome defender.”

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2020-21 Oklahoma Basketball Schedule

• UTSA, Nov. 25 (Wed)
• at UCF, Nov. 28 (Sat)
• Florida, Dec. 2 (Wed)
• * at TCU, Dec. 6 (Sun)
• at Xavier, Dec. 9 (Wed) +
• Florida A&M, Dec. 12 (Sat)
• Houston Baptist, Dec. 19 (Sat)
• * Texas Tech, Dec. 22 (Tue)
• * West Virginia, Jan. 2 (Sat)
• * at Baylor, Jan. 6 (Wed)
• * at Kansas, Jan. 9 (Sat)
• * TCU, Jan. 12 (Tue)
• * at Oklahoma State, Jan. 16 (Sat)
• * Kansas State, Jan. 19 (Tue)
• * Kansas, Jan. 23 (Sat)
• * at Texas, Jan. 26 (Tue)
• Alabama Jan. 30, (Sat) ^
• * at Texas Tech, Feb. 1 (Mon)
• * Iowa State, Feb. 6 (Sat)
• * Baylor, Feb. 10 (Wed)
• * at West Virginia, Feb. 13 (Sat)
• * Texas, Feb. 16 (Tue)
• * at Iowa State, Feb. 20 (Sat)
• * at Kansas State, Feb. 23 (Tue)
• * Oklahoma State, Feb. 27 (Sat)

(bold = home)

* Big 12 Conference game

^ Big12/SEC Challenge

+Big12/Big East Battle