Oklahoma @ Creighton preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 18, 2018 ) Creighton 70, Oklahoma 83

With a pair of wins and a pair of losses on its current five-game road trip, Oklahoma will look to head back home on a winning note Tuesday when the Sooners conclude their trip against Creighton. Following a nine-day break from action, the Sooners returned to the court to face Wichita State Saturday but let a late lead slip away and fell 80-75.

The extended layoff didn’t seem to bother Sooners forward Kristian Doolittle - who was coming off a season-high 28 against North Texas on Dec. 5 - as the senior had 15 first-half points against the Shockers and finished with a game-high 22 points and team-high seven boards. Oklahoma redshirt junior Austin Reaves, who transferred from Wichita State after his sophomore season, is the team’s leading scorer (17.1 points per game) and he struggled against his former school as he finished with 13 points on 5-of-13 shots. The Bluejays are coming off their most lopsided victory of the season on Friday as they took down Texas Rio Grande Valley 89-58 with junior Ty-Shon Alexander recording team-highs of 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Sophomore guard Marcus Zegarowski never scored more than 17 points against a Division I opponent during his rookie year, but added 21 points for the Bluejays Friday and is scoring a team-best 19.4 points per game this season.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (7-2): Freshman De’Vion Harmon had his best offensive performance since scoring 23 points on opening night against Texas-San Antonio, as the guard tied his career-high with three triples Saturday en route to 14 points. Junior forward Brady Manek hit all four of his shots from downtown while adding four blocks against the Shockers and is the team-leader with 19 made triples and 12 rejections. The Sooners struggled against the post presence of Wichita State as they were outrebounded 48-31 and shot better from outside the arc (14-for-31) than inside (11-for-36).

ABOUT CREIGHTON (8-2): Zegarowski and Alexander have both scored 20 or more points in each of the past two games and look to become the first pair of Creighton teammates since 1985 to hit the mark in three straight. Highly touted transfer Denzel Mahoney is eligible to play Tuesday and is expected to make his Bluejays debut after the junior led Southeast Missouri State in scoring with 19.3 points per game as a sophomore. The only Creighton sophomores to average more than Zegarowski’s 19.4 points per game are Doug McDermott (22.9) and Rodney Buford (19.6) – the two top scorers in school history.

TIP-INS

1. Creighton is 7-0 at home this season and have won its games by an average of 16.1 points.

2. Reaves shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore with Wichita State, but he is hitting his triples at a 30.8 percent clip during his first nine games with Oklahoma.

3. The largest comeback in Creighton coach Greg McDermott’s 10-year tenure came on Nov. 19, 2014 when the Bluejays came from 18 down to beat the then-No. 18 Sooners 65-63.

PREDICTION: Creighton 84, Oklahoma 79