The Oklahoma Sooners (10-0) and Harvard Crimson (5-6) will be playing at Stan Sheriff Center for this game. Action begins at 8:30 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 25 and can be seen on ES2 and ES3.
The Sooners enter this game hoping for similar success after barely hanging on to beat Hawaii 84-81 on Wednesday. Buddy Hield was the team’s leading scorer with 27 points on 7-for-16 shooting. The Crimson, meanwhile, are coming off a 69-51 win against Auburn on Wednesday. Evan Cummins had a good game for Harvard, registering 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
From an eFG% perspective, this will be a matchup of two heavyweights. The upper-echelon offense of Oklahoma is ranked 24th in the nation in that metric at 56.6%, while Harvard is 17th-best in the nation at making opponents miss (42.8%).
This one isn’t expected to be close when Oklahoma, a big 14-point favorite, takes on Harvard. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 140 points for this matchup. The Sooners come into this game 10-0 Straight Up (SU) and 6-2 Against The Spread (ATS). The rebounding edge goes to the Sooners in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 44.2 boards per game. Oklahoma is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.35. The Sooners have really locked down opponents on the defensive end, ranking third in the country with a .353 opponent field-goal percentage.
In the other locker room, the Crimson have records of 3-4 ATS and 5-6 SU.
This game will be the first meeting for Oklahoma and Harvard in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Okla, ATS Winner – Okla, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma’s last 6 games.
Harvard scores an average of just 67.3 points per game (ranked 288th). Oklahoma ranks 71st in points allowed, giving up 65.6 points per game.
In its last game, Harvard won by a margin of 18 points. Oklahoma is 6-0 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Harvard has a 3-0 record in blowouts.
The Oklahoma Sooners have a defensive rating of 89.6 (ranked 15th), while the Harvard Crimson have an offensive rating of 100.0 (ranked 255th).
Oklahoma has an average field goal percentage of 48.6%. Harvard is undefeated (1-0) when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Oklahoma Sooners average 21.0 three point attempts per game, while the Harvard Crimson attempt 19.0. When attempting 20 or more three pointers in a game, Oklahoma is a perfect 7-0, while Harvard is an even 3-3.
Oklahoma ranks 49th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.35. Harvard is ranked lower at 159th with an A/TO of 1.07.
Ranked fifth in the nation, Oklahoma averages 44.2 rebounds per game. Harvard ranks lower at 153rd with 37.6 RPG.
The Harvard Crimson are among the worst offensive rebounding teams in the nation (ranked 284th), while the Oklahoma Sooners are the best defensive rebounding team.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 17.6% when playing Harvard this season. Oklahoma is undefeated this season (3-0) when its TO% is 17.6% or higher.
