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How To Watch: No. 4 Tennessee Basketball at Oklahoma

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 9 hours•

GrantRamey

Lloyd Noble Center, Oklahoma Basketball | Oklahoma Athletics
Lloyd Noble Center, Oklahoma Basketball | Oklahoma Athletics

After three straight home games, No. 4 Tennessee goes back on the road to start a stretch of four of the next five games away from home, starting at Oklahoma on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for Noon Eastern Time on ESPN at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Tennessee (19-4, 6-4 SEC) went 2-1 over its three-game home stand, bouncing back from a 78-73 loss to No. 12 Kentucky on January 28 with a 64-44 win over No. 5 Florida last Saturday and an 85-81 win over No. 15 Missouri on Wednesday.

Oklahoma (16-6, 3-6) has lost six of its last nine games after starting the season with a perfect 13-0 record. The Sooners are 3-2 over their last five — they lost 98-70 at No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday — after starting SEC play with four straight losses.

No. 4 Tennessee at Oklahoma

Start Time: Saturday, Noon Eastern Time

TV: ESPN

Streaming: ESPN App or WatchESPN.com

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 70, Oklahoma 67 (62% chance to win)

The Line: Tennessee -5.5

A Closer Look: The Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma started the season a perfect 13-0, then lost four straight to start SEC play: at Alabama, Texas A&M, at Georgia and Texas. 

The Sooners since then have won three of their last five, beating South Carolina and Vanderbilt at home and losing at Texas A&M last week and at Auburn on Tuesday. 

Oklahoma is No. 36 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, ranked No. 15 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 119.7 points per 100 possessions, and No. 68 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 100.9 points per 100 possessions. 

The Sooners are ranked No. 38 in the NET with a 4-6 record in Quad 1 games and a combined 12-0 record in Quad 2, 3 and 4 games. 

Tennessee is No. 4 overall in the KenPom ratings, ranked No. 1 on defense (89.6) and No. 33 on offense (117.4). The Vols are also No. 4 in the NET with a 7-4 Quad 1 record and a combined 12-0 record in Quad 2, 3 and 4. 

Head coach Porter Moser, in his fourth season at Oklahoma, is 68-49 with the Sooners, including a 20-12 finish last season. 

He spent the previous 10 seasons at Loyola Chicago, taking the Ramblers on a Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018, a path that included a win over No. 3-seed Tennessee in the second round  of the NCAA Tournament in Dallas. Loyola won 26 games and went back to the Sweet 16 in 2021 before Moser left for Oklahoma. 

The Sooners are led by forward Jalon Moore and guard Jeremiah Fears. Moore, a Georgia Tech transfer, leads the teams in scoring and rebounding, at 17.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Fears, a true freshman and former four-star prospect, averages 15.9 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Oklahoma is currently projected as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to the latest Bracketology update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

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