Wichita State vs. Oklahoma: College basketball game preview, TV schedule
Wichita State basketball looks to complete its season sweep of the Big 12 Conference with a win over Oklahoma. Can the Sooners get a top 10 win this weekend?
TV schedule: Saturday, Dec. 16, 4:00 p.m. ET. ESPN2
Arena: Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas
With the exception of a late-game collapse to Notre Dame in the Maui Invitational final, the No. 3 Wichita State Shockers (8-1) have been otherwise flawless. Last weekend the team took care of Oklahoma State, 78-66, behind a career night for point guard Landry Shamet, who dropped 30 in the game. It brought up the season average to 16.3 ppg, which is the best on the team. His 4.3 apg is also tops for Wichita.
Along with the Baylor win, accompanied by more quality games in the AAC coming, the Shockers are set up for a great seed in March. Mind you, this is without the team’s leading scoring from the year prior Markus McDuffie, who has yet to play this season but should be coming back soon.
The next task for Wichita is a much improved Oklahoma (7-1) squad led by one of the best players in the country in freshman Trae Young. He’s currently the top scorer in the country at 28.8 ppg and also is top five in assist at 8.8 a game. NBA scouts are starting to warm up to the star Sooner, but, meanwhile, Young is carrying the team potentially to the NCAA tournament.
Besides Young, the frontcourt has been solid as well, with freshman Brady Manek sliding in to complement the senior Khadeem Lattin. As a team, the Sooners rank third in the country in scoring at 93.2 ppg. The issue for head coach Lon Kruger to deal with is the defense, which was exposed in the only loss of the campaign to Arkansas. The scoring defense is 80.1 ppg, good (or bad) for No. 309 in the nation.
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The battle to watch is easily between Young and Shamet, with both playing different styles. The Oklahoma guard is fast paced and has the ball in his hands all the time, while the Shocker is more deliberate and plays many kinds of ways. Even if Young wins this individual matchup, Wichita State has plenty of more weapons to use, while Oklahoma is a bit more limited. With the game in Wichita, they should win this one.
Prediction: Wichita State 83 – Oklahoma 77