Oklahoma hopes to ride defensive momentum today against Kansas

Despite not having Brady Manek, the Sooners have won their last two games by a combined 62 points thanks to a relentless defensive effort

Coming off back-to-back blowout wins, Oklahoma will try to ride its momentum into Saturday's home matchup with the No. 9-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

The last time these two teams met, it went down to the wire. KU came out on top 63-59 in Lawrence even as the short-handed Sooners maintained the gritty defensive effort they have displayed most of the season.

Forward Brady Manek, the team's second-leading scorer, was absent from the previous meeting. Manek, who was out due to a positive COVID-19 test, missed the following game against TCU and made his return against Kansas State in a limited role.

“The only positive takeaway is that you don’t have to worry about it later in the year.” the senior said of his positive test that resulted in a 12-day absence from the team. “Everything else sucks.”

Despite his absence, the Sooners rolled through those two games by a combined 62 points. Stepping up to lead the team has been sophomore De’Vion Harmon, who is playing the best basketball of his career by averaging almost 20 points and an absurdly efficient 55-percent shooting.

Transfer guard Elijah Harkless has helped shoulder the load. His first start for the Sooners came in Lawrence, and he’s appeared more comfortable since then, averaging over six points, seven rebounds and two steals in his three games as a starter.

Manek, along with Jalen Hill, will be available on Saturday but neither is expected to be in the starting lineup. Lon Kruger is hopeful that working the two back into the lineup slowly could offer some additional depth against a loaded Kansas squad.

“You’ve got two key players that all of a sudden are coming off the bench for you,” Kruger said. “Neither were really game condition ready but still as we go forward you’ve got two more quality guys coming off the bench.”

In a conference as loaded as the Big 12, even the best teams can go through tough stretches. That’s the case for the Jayhawks right now. Bill Self’s team has been bested in their previous two contests, a nail-biter against Oklahoma State and a heavyweight bout with No. 2-ranked Baylor.

With two teams on opposite streaks near the top of the Big 12 standings, Saturday’s contest is shaping up to be one of the most important games of the season for both OU and KU.

Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. on ESPN.