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Oklahoma Men's Basketball Takes To The Road Against Oral Roberts

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The Golden Eagles are team that can score along with rebound using their starting five. Where they significant lack is in contribution off the bench. The Sooners are a team that will push them to the brink and simply put, ORU doesn't have the depth to respond.

By Rich DeCray
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Greg Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma Sooners will be looking to continue the momentum they built in the Old Spice Classic as they take to the road against an in-state opponent in the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, a NIT team from last season. Both teams have a great blend of experience as well as youngsters. But, there can only be one victor.

ORU has had ups and downs behind their 6-5 senior guard Warren Niles who is currently averaging 20.8 points. Niles is an excellent shooter from anywhere on the floor as he is shooting 58.4% from the field to go along with 88.2% from the charity stripe. He is a player who has a knack for finding the bottom of the net and has great shot selection to go along with the ability to create for himself. Needless to say, this is a kid who is going to get his points and will give the young freshman of Oklahoma's backcourt some fits.

In the front-court, the Golden Eagles boast Steven Roundtree, a 6-8 forward who is complimented by Damen Bell-Holter, a 6-9 forward. Roundtree is the second leading scorer for this ORU team. However it is a pretty significant drop off at 11 points per game. Yet, it is in the rebound department that these two have excelled. Combined, Roundtree and Bell-Holter are pulling down 16.5 rebounds per game. Attribute this to text book blocking out while the ball is in the air.

The Golden Eagles are solid in the ball handling realm of things as well. While they lack scoring from the point guard position, Korey Billbury, a freshman is getting 3.2 assists a game. Combine that with the dribbling skills of yet another freshman in D.J. Jackson and the two are setting up for a 5.7 turnover to assist ratio.

Overall, the Golden Eagles are team that can score along with rebound using their starting five. Where they significant lack is in contribution off the bench. The Sooners are a team that will push them to the brink and simply put, ORU doesn't have the depth to respond.

Tipoff for the game will be at 7:00 PM CT and can be found on ESPN3.

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