The Wichita State Shockers have stacked their non-conference schedule with a bunch of high-major opponents, and thus far have fared very well. They will prepare for another test soon as they face off against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Both teams have designs of making the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and this could be a nice resume-builder for the winner. This is shaping up as an intriguing non-conference showdown between a pair of solid college basketball programs.
At 4 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, December 10, 2016, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Odds at BookMaker.eu
Wichita State is 8-2 straight up and 7-2 against the spread this season. The Shockers have covered in one of two attempts on the road this year.
Oklahoma is 5-2 straight up and 4-3 against the spread. The Sooners have covered in four of six home games on the season.
Player to Watch
Jordan Woodard – The senior guard is leading the Oklahoma offense right now with 15.9 points a game. He scored a season-low nine points in the loss to Wisconsin and will be looking to turn it around against Wichita State.
Woodward scored 22 points against Tulane on November 17th and put up 21 against Clemson on November 20th. He is also averaging 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game this year.
Woodard is the best player on the team and the Sooners generally fare as well as he does. Wichita State has an extremely impressive defense, and so Woodard’s effectiveness will play a big role into the outcome of this one.
Key Stat
Eight. The number of wins Wichita State has captured against non-ranked opponents this season in the same number of attempts. The team will look to continue that against Oklahoma this week.
The Shockers’ only two losses this season have come against No. 10 Louisville and No. 24 Michigan State. The team is riding a three-game winning streak coming into this matchup, defeating Saint Louis by 30 points on December 6th.
Wichita State may be a mid-major but it has been a regular presence in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in recent years and has made noise once there. The Shockers hung tough against Michigan State and have beaten LSU and Colorado State, among other, this year.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Wichita State has been impressive this season and is outscoring teams by a ridiculous 24 points per game on average. However, the competition is much tougher in this one as Oklahoma has some big-time talent.
The Sooners have a couple good wins but this one may be the best of the early bunch if they can pull it off. The Sooners have the location advantage although it wouldn’t be a surprise if some of the Wichita State crowd traveled.
The Shockers’ strength of schedule will go way down once conference play begins, and Wichita State should have no trouble racking up the wins. But to impress the NCAA selection committee, Wichita State needs to knock off high-major opponents like Oklahoma.
That’s what will happen in this showdown. The Sooners have been up and down but certainly have the talent to compete in this one. However, the Shockers are a well-rounded group, led by Markis McDuffie, who is averaging 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest.
The team’s balance will be tough for Oklahoma to stop as the Shockers should be able to pull away and capture this victory. Wichita State may be a small-conference program but it has found big success of late and will continue that.
College Basketball Odds: Wichita State 77, Oklahoma 73
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