Sooner Men BB hosts Monmouth today @ 2 PM at LNC
Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2023 6:41 am
The Monmouth Hawks will spend their NYEve in Norman, OK after playing the Sooners in 2 PM game in Lloyd Noble Center. The Hawks are located in West Long Branch, NJ. They are 7-5 on the season and currently hold a NET Ranking of #176. Oklahoma comes into the game 11-1 and currently holds a NET Ranking of #30. Oklahoma is also ranked as the #12/#13 Team in the country in the two most referenced polls.
The non-conference contest will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing and be broadcast by ESPN+ with Chad McKee (PxP) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst) on the call.
Here is the Sooner staff writers article on the upcoming game today.
https://soonersports.com/news/2023/12/3 ... t-monmouth
Monmouth has started the same five players for each of their 12 games this year. Among their wins, the Hawks have defeated West Virginia Lehigh, Belmont, Lafayette, NIU, Rider and Manhattan. They have lost to George Mason, Princeton, Penn, Cornel and Seton Hall. Most of their games are within a 10-point differential.
They are led in scoring by Xander Rice (#21), a 6'3" 190 Graduate SR. He scores 19.3 points a game and leads the team in shots and three's made. OU will have to have a defender in his face all game as he plays 34 minutes game. He is also second on the team in assists. When you find the ball, Rice will be close to it it looks like. Two other players score in double digits. Collins is 6'5" and scores 11.6 points a game and 6.6 rebounds in 33 minutes a game. He will draw a foul and makes three's. Their big man is Nakita Konstantinovskyi. He is 6'10" 245 and scores 10.1 points and grabs 7.8 rebounds. If he shoots a three-pointer today it will be his first. He plays 22 minutes a game. "Nakita" is from the Ukraine and has played basketball at NE Oklahoma A&M and Tulsa. He might know where to take his team tonight for NYE in Oklahoma. The other two starters are Valencia, a 6'9" forward who plays 26 minutes a game with an all-around game. The point guard will be Spence, a 6'2" guard. He leads the team in assists and shoots 60% from 3 point territory. Two-thirds of his shots are from downtown and plays 28 minutes a game.
Monmouth plays 6 other players most games. Bashir, a 6'7" guard who is on the floor to shoot not rebound and plays 12 minutes. Robinson, Jr. plays 16 minutes a game in the frontcourt and scores a little and rebounds a little. Everyone else plays less than 9 minutes of a game.
Monmouth scores 72.7 and allows 73.7 points a game. They manage turnovers well at about 12 a game. they shoot 39% from downtown and 46% from inside the arc. The team seems to have roles defined well and play about the same game every game. They likely will be ready to pay and little will surprise them.
I do not 'see' any matchup problems for the Sooners in the game and no real points of concern except that the Sooners need to keep a guard close to Rice at all times and to not be too far away from Spence when he is standing 20 feet from the basket. they will have to keep a body on 'Nakita' (I am not typing his last name again) or he will pick up a rebound and foul against a Sooner. I do not think that Monmouth will beat themselves. Oklahoma will have to win the game tonight by playing their game. OU scores 10 more points a game and allows 10 less points a game than Monmouth scores and allows. Surprisingly to me, both teams take 58 or 59 shots a game but OU has made about 50 more of those shots during the season. Oklahoma also goes to the free throw line more than Monmouth.
If the Sooners play their game, the game should be won. The Sooners eight-player rotations is better probably than the 7-player rotation is for Monmouth. Oweh and McCollum are better than Rice and Collins and I think Godwin and Hugley IV are better than 'Nakita' and his backup. As long as OU does not take 6 or 7 minutes off today during the game, the Sooners should end their non-conference season at 12-1. What a difference a year makes. What a difference an athletic, deep 8-player rotation makes. If Coach Moser can keep this 8-for-1 and 1-for-8 mentality going with this bunch, the Sooners have a good Big 12 season in a very good conference.
Good luck today versus the Hawks.
Boomer Sooner!
The non-conference contest will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing and be broadcast by ESPN+ with Chad McKee (PxP) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst) on the call.
Here is the Sooner staff writers article on the upcoming game today.
https://soonersports.com/news/2023/12/3 ... t-monmouth
Monmouth has started the same five players for each of their 12 games this year. Among their wins, the Hawks have defeated West Virginia Lehigh, Belmont, Lafayette, NIU, Rider and Manhattan. They have lost to George Mason, Princeton, Penn, Cornel and Seton Hall. Most of their games are within a 10-point differential.
They are led in scoring by Xander Rice (#21), a 6'3" 190 Graduate SR. He scores 19.3 points a game and leads the team in shots and three's made. OU will have to have a defender in his face all game as he plays 34 minutes game. He is also second on the team in assists. When you find the ball, Rice will be close to it it looks like. Two other players score in double digits. Collins is 6'5" and scores 11.6 points a game and 6.6 rebounds in 33 minutes a game. He will draw a foul and makes three's. Their big man is Nakita Konstantinovskyi. He is 6'10" 245 and scores 10.1 points and grabs 7.8 rebounds. If he shoots a three-pointer today it will be his first. He plays 22 minutes a game. "Nakita" is from the Ukraine and has played basketball at NE Oklahoma A&M and Tulsa. He might know where to take his team tonight for NYE in Oklahoma. The other two starters are Valencia, a 6'9" forward who plays 26 minutes a game with an all-around game. The point guard will be Spence, a 6'2" guard. He leads the team in assists and shoots 60% from 3 point territory. Two-thirds of his shots are from downtown and plays 28 minutes a game.
Monmouth plays 6 other players most games. Bashir, a 6'7" guard who is on the floor to shoot not rebound and plays 12 minutes. Robinson, Jr. plays 16 minutes a game in the frontcourt and scores a little and rebounds a little. Everyone else plays less than 9 minutes of a game.
Monmouth scores 72.7 and allows 73.7 points a game. They manage turnovers well at about 12 a game. they shoot 39% from downtown and 46% from inside the arc. The team seems to have roles defined well and play about the same game every game. They likely will be ready to pay and little will surprise them.
I do not 'see' any matchup problems for the Sooners in the game and no real points of concern except that the Sooners need to keep a guard close to Rice at all times and to not be too far away from Spence when he is standing 20 feet from the basket. they will have to keep a body on 'Nakita' (I am not typing his last name again) or he will pick up a rebound and foul against a Sooner. I do not think that Monmouth will beat themselves. Oklahoma will have to win the game tonight by playing their game. OU scores 10 more points a game and allows 10 less points a game than Monmouth scores and allows. Surprisingly to me, both teams take 58 or 59 shots a game but OU has made about 50 more of those shots during the season. Oklahoma also goes to the free throw line more than Monmouth.
If the Sooners play their game, the game should be won. The Sooners eight-player rotations is better probably than the 7-player rotation is for Monmouth. Oweh and McCollum are better than Rice and Collins and I think Godwin and Hugley IV are better than 'Nakita' and his backup. As long as OU does not take 6 or 7 minutes off today during the game, the Sooners should end their non-conference season at 12-1. What a difference a year makes. What a difference an athletic, deep 8-player rotation makes. If Coach Moser can keep this 8-for-1 and 1-for-8 mentality going with this bunch, the Sooners have a good Big 12 season in a very good conference.
Good luck today versus the Hawks.
Boomer Sooner!