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The first time the Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball squad participated in a true road contest, the results yielded were highly undesirable. Quickly squandering an 18 point lead in the second half, Buddy Hield and the rest of the gang suffered their first loss of the season to the Creighton Bluejays. Now, making a short trip to play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, an intrastate opponent, fans and players alike hope for a different outcome.
Plenty of Edmond Memorial talent will be on display as Jordan Woodard of Oklahoma, squares off with his older brother James Woodard of Tulsa. Currently, Jordan continues to make a living at the free throw line by drawing contact underneath the basket. Averaging 8.1 points per game, the Sooner displays a real talent in court vision finding an open man for the bucket 4.1 times on the assist. If you're looking for evidence of the younger brother's ability to get to the free throw line, look no further than last year's match-up between these two. Jordan attempted 22 free throws connecting on 17 of them.
On the other James proves to be more of a pure scorer. The older of the brothers pours in a Golden Hurricane team-high 14.4 points per contest with a knack for creating for himself. In addition to the ability to dribble and drive, James takes high percentage shots most of the time evidenced by a 46.2% shooting percentage along with 38.9% from beyond the arc. He alone remains a handful for any defender.
On the schedule, the two programs have faced a common opponent in Creighton. Make no mistake, Tulsa was able to complete a feat the Sooners were not by defeating the Bluejays. Needless to say, Oklahoma likely turns to defense in order to secure a win. Holding opponents to 61.3 points on 36.2% shooting, this game has the potential to get ugly early. That means the Golden Hurricane must turn to a handful of scorers including Shaquille Harrison.
Oklahoma comes in well rested and continues to find scoring options all over the floor while Hield gets back on track. As the team continues to develop chemistry, other better #TakeNotice as an upset of one of the top conference teams is imminent.