Milestones At Stake: Oklahoma Hosts Northwestern St. Preview

In their home opener, OU had fans excited about what the season would hold with a 85-51 over ULM. It has been 19 days since the Oklahoma Sooners have played a game on their home court at Lloyd Noble Center. However, in that span Lon Kruger has this squad at a 5-1 record with the only loss coming to a very good Gonzaga Bulldogs team.

With mention of Coach Kruger, it is important to note that he will looking hit two major milestones in his career. The first is to extend his career win mark to 500 this evening. The second comes in knowing that with the move to Oklahoma, Kruger has the potential to be the first coach to lead five different teams to the NCAA Tournament.

Looking into this game, the Northwestern St. Demons should not be over looked simply because they are in the Southland Conference. This is a team that averages 88.2 points per game ranking them 4th in the nation to go alongside 49.1% shooting from the field. The Demons' scoring comes from a multitude of positions and has extended through the bench.

Forward DeQuan Hicks leads the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game while coming off the bench. However, Northwestern St. has three other players averaging double digit scoring from 12.8 to 15.0 per game in Jalen West, Shamir David, and James Hublin.

Keys to the Game: Oklahoma will have their hands full and will need to control the paint heavily to pull out a victory tonight. The four players mentioned above are turnover prone as well and with the fast pace style of ball the Sooners like to use, OU will need to turn those into fast break points.

Tip for tonight's game is at 7:05 PM (CT) at Lloyd Noble Center.