Last season, the Oklahoma Sooners built a comfortable lead over the Doug McDermott-less Creighton Bluejays. However, the sizable lead dwindled quickly on the road as the Bluejays eked out a win over the Sooners by a final score of 65-63. Now the No. 3 ranked team in the country, OU looks to avenge the loss while hosting Creighton in Norman this go around.
Truth be told, Coach Greg McDermott continues to rebuild hoping to find a new identity two years after his son graduated. The team likely looks toward James Milliken, one of two seniors, to establish a leadership role. A year ago, the guard shot 39% from beyond the arc providing 9.6 points per game. While the Bluejays finished 4-14 in the Big East a year ago, the outlook is much brighter projecting a better finish to conference play.
The leading scorer for this squad remains junior Isaiah Zierden who averages 12 points each night. Behind him four others consistently hit double-digit marks proving this is one of he most explosive offenses in the nation with an eight man rotation. On the other end of the court, Creighton struggles ranking 216th overall. The only problem is that Buddy Hield leads an offense ranked higher than the Bluejays.
It's expected for the Sooners starting five to have big nights but don't sleep on Zierden and the rest of the crew. WIth an offense like the one coming to Norman, Creighton can keep this game respectable through much of forty minutes. Yet, stopping the outside shooting of this Oklahoma team seems near impossible.
With the potential to grab the No. 1 ranking in the nation, Lon Kruger finally has a team that is driven by a killer instinct. They'll be out to prove to the country they're worthy of the top spot with a convincing win over a 7-3 program. Look for the game to tip off around 1 PM CST and can be found on ESPNU.