Happy Tuesday, friends and fans!

If you haven’t been able to watch the 2-0 Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team yet this season, tonight you’ll have that opportunity as OU takes on Oregon State in Portland’s Moda Center — home of the Trailblazers. Tip-off for this opening round contest in the Phil Knight Invitational is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. CT, and can be seen live on ESPN2.

Lon Kruger’s ninth team at Oklahoma boasts a number of names you ought to be familiar with, but perhaps most intriguing are the fresh faces who have already shown the ability to contribute in a big way. Veterans like Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek are helping bring along newcomers like De’Vion Harmon and Austin Reaves (2018-19 transfer/redshirt).

After handling UTSA and Minnesota, the Sooners will square off against another respectable opponent in the Beavers of the Pac-12. With the Big 12 looking like one of the nation’s best conferences yet again, every non-conference win OU can manage will go a long way towards boosting its NCAA Tournament resume.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Jalen Hurts is still in the hunt for Oklahoma’s eighth Heisman, CeeDee Lamb learned to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge by rock fighting, Bryce Thompson makes his college decision and more!

OU Links

• Staying on the subject of the OU men’s basketball team, freshman Jalen Hill will be available for tonight’s game against Oregon State after missing Saturday’s contest against Minnesota while in concussion protocol.

• Jalen Hurts moved back up into second place in ESPN’s Heisman Watch, but LSU’s Joe Burrow has taken a commanding lead in first after leading his Tigers to a win over Alabama.
• CeeDee Lamb says while growing up he routinely got into rock throwing fights with his friends, and that’s how he developed his elite skill of evading defenders and avoiding serious contact in the open field, writes the Norman Transcript’s Tyler Palmateer.
• Sooners Wire’s Derek Parker took a statistical look at Oklahoma’s next opponent — Baylor. Matt Rhule’s team hasn’t exactly been the most dominant example when it comes to margin of victory, but there is plenty of proof in the numbers that explain why the undefeated Bears have had so much success.
• Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast with Jack and Kamiar. The guys discuss the Sooners’ close win over Iowa State, and Kamiar has some choice things to say. Also, they’re joined by Shehan Jeyarajah of Dave Campbell’s High School Football to preview the Baylor Bears. Keep in mind, there is some NSFW language used on the pod.

Around the Sports World

• Class of 2020 five-star guard Bryce Thompson out of Tulsa Washington verbally committed to playing for Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks this morning. He chose KU over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and North Carolina.

• Texas Tech QB Alan Bowman is set to redshirt this season after being sidelined for most of 2019 with a shoulder injury. The second-year player missed a significant amount of time in 2018 with a recurring collapsed lung issue.
• Former first-round draft selection Vernon Hargreaves III has been released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The fourth-year CB hasn’t quite had the career the Bucs organization envisioned since picking him out of Florida.
• The St. Louis Cardinals and Adam Wainwright have agreed to a one-year deal that will keep ‘Uncle Charlie’ in the Gateway City for a 15th season.
• Who knew the crime of the century would be committed at a Carolina Hurricanes game? That waffle cone sure looked appetizing. I guess the culprit thought the same and couldn’t resist himself.

Stick to Sports!

• After the masses expressed their dissatisfaction with the original animation of the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog movie, the film’s animators went back to the lab to redesign the look of the blue ball of lightning to better resemble the character’s classic look. Now that the renderings are complete, you can check out the new official trailer for this Valentine’s Day release. I must admit, they certainly redeemed themselves. It looks great!

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