Life after Buddy Hield has been hard for the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma has not had the same bite it had with Hield on the court last season and this team has limped through its non-conference schedule. The Sooners have lost to every potential tournament team they have faced and their best win on the season is against a Clemson team that hasn’t defeated anyone of note. However, as much as they have struggled, they aren’t in the same position as their opponent on Saturday afternoon, the Memphis Tigers.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, December 17, 2016, at 12:30 p.m. ET at the Lloyd Noble Center. This game will be televised live on CBS. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Memphis is a lowly 2-4 ATS this season on a schedule that has had plenty of patsies. The Tigers are in their first season under new coach Tubby Smith and have been struggling adapting to his style of coaching. They are just 7-3 on the season and are coming off a home loss to Monmouth on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma has taken care of business against the bad teams on its schedule. The Sooners are 2-1 ATS as a double-digit favorite this season, putting them away early with some high-scoring performances. Over is 5-2 in Sooners games this season and each of the last four games have gone over.
Players to Watch
It’s been all about the Lawson brothers for the Tigers this season. Dedric and KJ Lawson are the two leading scorers and rebounders on this Memphis team and the youngsters are who the team relies upon to win games. Dedric has been great this season and is averaging a double-double through nine games. His 20.7 PPG and 10.8 RPG are both highest on the team and he is hitting almost 52 percent of his field goals to boot. He has also been one of the best shot blockers in the country and only struggles when he tries to hit threes.
His brother KJ has been a bright spot for Memphis as well. KJ has been better at sinking threes than Dedric, hitting 36.8 percent of his shots from behind the arc, but is behind his brother in most other categories. KJ is second on the team in assists, but also leads the team in turnovers.
Last Year’s Meeting
These teams met last season and it was all Hield as the Sooners held on for an 84-78 victory over the Tigers. Hield ended up dropping 30 on Memphis thanks to a solid shooting performance and while Dedric Lawson tried to keep up, the then-freshman just couldn’t match Hield’s numbers.
It wasn’t a great shooting performance from either team last season and it’s a bit surprising the game sailed over the total considering how many missed shots there were. Oklahoma hit 42.6 percent of its shots from the floor while Memphis managed just 34.6 percent, but those rebounds led to fast break chances and easy transition buckets.
The other main factor affecting this game was Memphis’ poor free throw shooting. The Tigers went to the charity stripe 31 times in this game, but hit just 58.1 percent of their attempts. If they had hit more of their free throws they could have secured a victory, but instead fell short.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Memphis is again having troubles from the free throw line heading into this one. The Tigers have hit a measly 61.1 percent of their free throws this season and few schools are performing worse at the line. Free throws could very well be a factor again for the Tigers here.
The Sooners are at home and although they have had their issues, are a more well-rounded team than the Tigers. Look for Oklahoma to get a nice win.
College Basketball Odds: Oklahoma 81, Memphis 72
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