Maryland-Eastern Shore @ Oklahoma preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 3, 2011 ) Maryland - E. Shore 49, Oklahoma 73

Oklahoma showed perseverance in battling back from a slow start against William & Mary on Monday as it claimed a 75-70 triumph in the first of two campus round matches of the Hall of Fame Classic. The Sooners will host their second campus round contest Thursday when they welcome Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Junior forward Brady Manek’s dunk with 2:14 to play Monday gave the Sooners a 70-68 lead that they refused to relinquish after they were tied or had trailed for all but 11 seconds of the contest up to that point. “Every time you get the opportunity, not that you want games to be tight late, but when they are, you got to step up and focus and do things better,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger told reporters. “Hopefully, we’ll learn a bit from this. Not just the late game situation, but even opening the ballgame.” The Sooners missed their first 10 attempts from 3-point range and finished 3-for-18 from downtown - one game after hitting 11-of-22 from deep in a victory over Oregon State at Portland, Ore. Hawks junior Canaan Bartley’s 10 points were a team high Tuesday as UMES couldn’t climb out of a 30-point halftime deficit and remained winless after a 76-55 setback to Stanford.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Oklahoma

ABOUT UMES (0-5): The Hawks totaled five field goals and 16 points in the first half Tuesday but outscored the Cardinal 39-30 after the break. “I am really happy with the fight we showed in the second half,” UMES coach Jason Crafton told reporters. “We took some punches but we threw a lot back and I’m proud of that.” After a respectable 4-for-9 showing from downtown through his first two collegiate games, freshman Da’Shawn Phillip has gone 4-for-21 from distance over his last three contests.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (4-0): Just hours before tip-off against William & Mary, senior forward Kristian Doolittle was named the Big 12’s Player of the Week after he posted 19 points and 16 rebounds against Oregon State. Doolittle also led the team with 19 points Monday while 6-5 guard Austin Reaves had 18 points, and collected team highs of nine boards and five assists. The Sooners lead the Big 12 in free-throw shooting at 79.7 percent after hitting 16-of-20 against the Tribe.

TIP-INS

1. Oklahoma is 6-for-39 from 3-point range in the first half and 19-for-40 after intermission.

2. This will be the Sooners’ last home game for a month as they return to Norman to face Central Florida on Dec. 21 after five road games - two at a neutral site.

3. Oklahoma has won all three meetings against UMES by average of 31.3 points.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 93, UMES 57