Coming off of a crazy unexpected win to the 15th ranked Kansas Jayhawks, Oklahoma basketball is set to take on the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday night. Sooner basketball currently sits with a 9-4 record and is ranked 24th nationally, making this year’s basketball season decent hopefully for the OU basketball team.
The Sooners may be on top of their game right now, but it does not seem that their tough schedule in the midst of conference play is letting up anytime soon. Six of Oklahoma’s next seven games are against teams ranked in the top 11 nationally, including fifth-ranked Texas.
This will be OU’s first matchup against the University of Texas this season leaving the Sooners very little wiggle room on what to expect. However, if the Sooners continue to focus on their key players who have been making a difference so far this season, they could be giving the Longhorns a run for their money.
Oklahoma players to watch for
It is no secret that Oklahoma basketball is currently on a hot streak having lost only four games since the start of its season. This hot streak can be attributed to a number of reasons, but here are just a few players who have been making all the Sooner magic happen this season:
Sophomore guard De’vion Harmonhas upped his game since his stellar freshman debut as a Sooner and is showing a promising future as the leader of this soon to be young squad.
Harmon has put up a total of 166 points in the 2020-21 season so far setting him on track to surpass his season total of 229 points before this year’s season comes to a close. Harmon has also put up 29 assists and 13 steals so far in the first 13 games of the season.
On the track that Harmon is currently riding in the next year or two, there is a good chance we will be seeing the new face of Oklahoma basketball for the next few years to come.
Even though the saying goes ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,’ senior guard Austin Reaves is unsurprisingly another Sooner to watch for tonight and throughout the rest of the season. Reaves, the current face of Oklahoma basketball alongside his buddy Brady Manek, has been riding the Sooners’ hot streak just as some OU fans have expected from the start of the season.
The 6-foot-5 point guard has already totaled an impressive 198 points across the last 13 games along with 68 assists and 12 steals. Looking at both Reaves’ and Harmon’s current stats so far this season shows that the young buck and his predecessor seem to have no problem working together moving the ball down the court.
One other Sooner we have watched evolve in his game so far this season is junior guard Umoja Gibson. This season is Gibson’s first time making a real difference on the court for OU as well as a name for himself.
Gibson transferred from the University of North Texas into the Sooner State this season and has made an impact on OU’s defensive and offensive game alike. He has already put up 113 points on the season as well 18 assists and 14 steals, crediting him more steals than both Harmon or Reaves.
Though Gibson is not quite up to par with the other two stand-out guards, for it being his first season at Oklahoma, Gibson is showing much promise and will certainly be a player to watch for in games to come.
Game Time
The Sooners will tip-off against the Longhorns tonight at 6 p.m. in Austin in the Frank Erwin center and you can also catch the game on ESPN2.
