Coming off a road loss at Gonzaga, Oklahoma returns home to take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday in Norman, Okla.
The Sooners (1-1) fell 83-68 to the Bulldogs on Saturday in a game that saw them give up 18 offensive rebounds.
“I think we learned a lot,” Oklahoma guard Nijel Pack said. “We were able to pick up on some things we did really bad on. I’m glad we were able to learn barely, because we have a lot more tests coming up.
“Obviously we got killed on the glass, that’s something we could pick up on. We’ve got to go to the glass harder (and) we’ve got to box out better as well.”
A big part of the rebounding woes came when 6-foot-10 Sooners forward Mohamed Wague was off the court due to foul trouble.
“We’ve got to keep him in the game, but when he’s not, we’ve got to rebound,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said. “We talk about, ‘Hey, we’re longer, more athletic.’ We’ve got to play that way on the glass.”
Pack is one of four Sooners averaging 10 points per game or more in the early going.
Saint Joseph’s transfer Xzayvier Brown leads the way with 18.5 points per game while Pack, a Miami transfer, is averaging 17 points per contest.
The Golden Lions (0-3) are in the early stages of an 11-game road trip to start the season.
UAPB, which doesn’t play its first home game until Dec. 15, has dropped its first three games by an average of 25 points.
The Golden Lions are coming off a 94-72 defeat against Loyola Marymount on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Seniors Jaquan Scott and Quion Williams have carried the load for UAPB so far, with Scott averaging 18 points and Williams averaging 17 so far.
Scott, a UTSA transfer who previously played for Mississippi State, scored a career-high 27 in the Saturday setback.
The Sooners are down one player. After playing three minutes and scoring one point in the opener, freshman Alec Blair left the team to concentrate on baseball.
Blair signed with Oklahoma as a dual-sport player.
“He had to do it,” Moser said. “It’s unfortunate for our team and not optimal for our team because we need him, but he feels that’s best for his baseball career.”
The game will be played at Oklahoma’s McCasland Field House, the team’s venue from 1928 through 1975.
–Field Level Media
