Northern Colorado comes into Norman with a respectable 9-2 record but a bit of a questionable schedule. They are 1-1 in the Big Sky conference with the loss coming to Montana State, 63-87. Their only other loss was an out of conference game at Wyoming (70-76). The Bears are used to traveling as today's game in Norman marks their seventh road trip in twelve games.
Senior guard Will Figures leads the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game. He shoots 41.1% from the floor and 39.1% from three-point range. He also leads the team in free throw shooting at 82.7% and manages to make it to the charity stripe around 7 times a game.
Junior guard Devon Beitzel is the only other Northern Colorado player to average double figures in scoring. He makes 44.4% of his shots from the floor, 35.6% from three-point range and 81.1% from the charity stripe. He also leads the team in steals with 2.4 per game and is good for three or four rebounds.
Sophomore forward Mike Proctor leads the team in rebounds with 6.1 per game and as a team the Bears average 31 boards per game. Proctor also scores 7.6 points per game and shoots 58.95% from the floor.
Rounding out the starting five are senior guard Yahosh Bonner who only scores 7.5 points per game but is 50% from three-point range and junior forward Taylor Montgomery who scores 8.5 points and grabs 4.2 boards per contest.
Once again Oklahoma needs to win this game on the boards. Neither team shoots extremely well so second chance points will be crucial. Oklahoma must also make defense a key by defending the perimeter to keep Bonner from going off. In man defense that responsibility will most likely fall on Cade Davis or Tony Crocker. The Sooners should also be looking to get transition and fast break points as the Bears turn the ball over an average of 16 times per game.
The Bears are allowing opponents to make 40% of their shots from the floor and 30% from three-point range. Tiny Gallon needs to be huge under the basket in both scoring and rebounding. He also needs to stay out of foul trouble. Opponents successfully make around 6 three-point shots per game which there are several players on Oklahoma's roster who could make the Bears pay for being lax on perimeter defense.