Vanderbilt @ Oklahoma preview

Vanderbilt is hoping a reprieve from conference play will help it snap a six-game losing streak as it visits Oklahoma for the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday. The Commodores didn’t play like a team that was 0-6 during SEC action on Wednesday, when they nearly upset top-ranked Tennessee before falling in overtime 88-83.

Freshman Aaron Nesmith set a career high for the second time in a week as he finished with a team-best 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting against Tennessee, eclipsing the mark of 23 he recorded in a 71-55 loss to South Carolina the previous Wednesday. While moral victories mean little, the Commodores can take solace in knowing it took an extra period and a monster performance from Tennessee’s Grant Williams (43 points, 23-for-23 from the free-throw line) to keep them winless during SEC play. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger’s decision to insert freshman Jamal Bieniemy into the starting lineup has paid immediate dividends as the guard nailed three 3-pointers while going 6-for-6 overall on his way to a team-high 17 points on Wednesday as the team rallied from a 19-point deficit to post a 70-61 victory over Oklahoma State. “(Bieniemy)’s been great,” Kruger told reporters. “He gives us good direction and has really good instincts defensively, too. I couldn’t be happier for him, and we needed him.”

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT VANDERBILT (9-9): The Commodores shot 50 percent from the floor (30-for-60) against a Tennessee team that is 13th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (38.8). Simisola Shittu ranks fifth among SEC freshmen in scoring (13.4 points) and leads all first-year players in rebounding (7.5). Nesmith and Shittu tied for the team lead with six boards apiece as Vanderbilt outrebounded Tennessee 33-30 but allowed the squad to score eight points off its five offensive rebounds.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (14-5): Bieniemy made a team-high three steals during his career-best performance against Oklahoma State and has played 95 minutes since committing his last turnover (Jan. 12 against TCU). The Sooners were down by six points at halftime but shot at a 64 percent clip in the second half to pull away from the Cowboys and avoide a third straight loss. Christian James leads Oklahoma in scoring (16.5 points) and rebounding (7.5) but recorded a season-low five points in Wednesday’s victory while the five rebounds was his lowest total since Nov. 27 – a span of 11 games.

TIP-INS

1. The Commodores are first in the SEC with 468 free-throw attempts but third in conversions with 323.

2. This will be the first meeting between the squads since 1994, with Vanderbilt holding a 2-0 series lead.

3. Oklahoma F Matt Freeman and Vanderbilt F/C Yanni Wetzell, who were high-school teammates in their hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, will be squaring off for the first time in their college careers.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 71, Vanderbilt 63