NORMAN, OKLAHOMA – The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team faces off against their second straight nationally-ranked opponent on Tuesday night when they travel to #7 University of Oklahoma. The game starts at 7 p.m. in the Lloyd Noble Center and will be show on Sooner Sports TV (Fox Sports Southwest Plus).
This will be the first ever matchup between the Cardinals (2-1) and the Sooners (2-0) who went to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year. UIW is under the direction of 10
th year head coach
Ken Burmeister who is 166-91 with the Cardinals and 294-214 overall. The Sooners are directed by fifth year head coach Lon Kruger who is 84-49 at Oklahoma and has over 550 wins in his 30-year coaching career.
The Cardinals are the second straight Southland Conference opponent for the Sooners who defeated McNeese State, 85-56 on Friday for their 23
rd consecutive home victory. UIW is averaging 73.3 points per game this year, but only shooting 37.2 percent from the field. They have three players averaging in double figures led by senior
Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) is scoring 15.0 points per game while shooting 50 percent from three-point range. Sophomore
Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) is scoring 13.3 points per game and is 17-of-18 from the foul line while
Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy Falls HS) chips in with 10.0 points, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game.
The strength of the Cardinals so far this season has been turnover margin where they are forcing 10.7 more turnovers per game than they are committing. The biggest weakness has been rebounding where they are grabbing 13 less per game than their opponents.
Oklahoma is led by 2015 Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield who is averaging 27.0 points per game this year and recently moved into 13
th place on the OU career scoring list with 1,420 points. They are averaging over 84 points per game while holding opponents to 34 percent shooting from the field. In addition to Hield, three other players are averaging in double figures including Ryan Spangler who averages 10.0 points and a team high 8.0 rebounds per game.
This is the last game for the Cardinals until they play Dallas Christian College at home on December 3.
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