Sooners get 'Bama — in Big 12/SEC Challenge

OU, Lon Kruger and Big 12 have had success versus SEC teams

John E. Hoover | Oct 21, 2020

Sooners get 'Bama — in Big 12/SEC Challenge /

OU's Austin Reaves / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma always wants ‘Bama. This year, the Sooners will get their wish — on the basketball court.

OU will host Alabama at Lloyd Noble Center on January 30, 2021 as part of the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge.

The Big 12 has won the challenge four of the seven years, with the SEC winning twice and the leagues tying in 2020.

The Sooners are 5-2 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge with wins over Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, LSU, Missouri and Texas A&M. OU is also 5-3 all-time against the Crimson Tide, although Alabama won the most recent matchup — a high-profile game in 2018 featuring a showdown in Tuscaloosa between lottery-pick point guards Trae Young and Collin Sexton.

Lon Kruger is 11-5 against SEC schools during his tenure at Oklahoma.

Oklahoma will begin the 2020-21 season in late November. A full schedule is expected to be released soon.

To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners.

Published Oct 21, 2020

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.