OU to Face Texas A&M in SEC Second Round Thursday Night

Thursday, March 12

Bridgestone Arena • Nashville, Tenn.

8:30 p.m. CT

University of Oklahoma

Texas A&M

Derrion Reid celebrating a three-point during the game against South Carolina

Photo by: Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

OU to Face Texas A&M in SEC Second Round Thursday Night

March 12, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 11 seed Oklahoma (18-14, 7-11 SEC) meets No. 6 seed Texas A&M (21-10, 11-7) in a second-round SEC Tournament game on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CT inside 19,395-seat Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The winner will play No. 3 seed Arkansas on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

Thursday's game will be televised by SEC Network with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) announcing. It will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; SiriusXM 106 or 190; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry on the call.

Oklahoma has won seven of its last nine (at No. 15 Vanderbilt, vs. Georgia, vs. Auburn, at LSU, vs. Missouri, at Texas and vs. South Carolina) and each of its last five. In the seven victories, OU led for 227:38 of 285 minutes and by double digits for a combined 102:13. Five Sooners averaged between 10.9 and 19.0 points per game in the seven wins and OU shot a combined 54% from the field and 48% (76 for 158) from 3-point range.

OU led the SEC in league play with its 39% 3-point field goal mark and ranked fourth with its 9.6 treys per outing. Over the last eight games, the Sooners are shooting 46% (86 for 188) from behind the arc, good for the nation's best mark since Feb. 14. They have made at least 10 treys in five of the last six contests and at least eight in 12 of the last 13 games. On the season, OU is averaging 10.0 3-pointers per outing (the school record is 10.3 in 2015-16).

Oklahoma's Nijel Pack leads active Division I players (ranks 20th all-time) with 420 career 3-pointers and third with 2,268 points. Pack leads the SEC with his .455 3-point field goal percentage (ranks fourth nationally) and with his 3.3 treys per game. Over the last eight outings, he is a sizzling 31 for 56 (55%) from long range.

SCENE SETTERS

• Oklahoma overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and got 18-plus-point performances from three players in an 86-74 victory over South Carolina in Wednesday night's first-round win. Nijel Pack went 5 for 10 from 3-point range to finish with a game-high 24 points, while Derrion Reid scored 20 points (his most ever against an SEC team) and Tae Davis added 18. Oklahoma outshot the Gamecocks 60% to 41% from the field, committed just eight turnovers and posted a 14-1 advantage in fast-break points. The 60% field goal mark was OU's best away from home in 10 years.

• In search of its first two-win conference tournament showing since going 3-0 in the 2003 Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma faces a Texas A&M team Thursday that ranks eighth nationally with its 88.5 points per game and 13th in the country with its 10.9 3-pointers per outing. The Aggies tied for fourth place in the SEC and logged their fifth straight 20-win campaign. They are 11-12 all-time in the SEC Tournament.

• Oklahoma has held a double-digit lead in 10 of the last 15 outings (won seven of those 10).

• During their current five-game winning streak, the Sooners have trailed for only 25 minutes and 44 seconds out of 205 minutes (0:15 vs. Auburn, 1:08 at LSU, 0:31 vs. Missouri, 7:43 at Texas and 16:07 vs. South Carolina).

• Also during its five-game winning streak, OU is forcing opponents into 12.6 turnovers per game. Over its first 14 SEC outings, OU opponents averaged just 9.1 turnovers per contest.

• Oklahoma has held each of its last six opponents to sub-50% field goal shooting (42% combined) after five of its previous six foes shot at least 50%.

• OU is the only Power Five team and one of just four out of 361 squads nationally to start the same lineup every game this season. Its starters have been guards Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack, forwards Tae Davis and Derrion Reid and center Mohamed Wague. Texas A&M has started nine lineups.

• Wague is coming off the most productive six-game stretch of his career, averaging 10.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocked shots and 1.5 steals while going 22 for 27 (81%) from the free throw line against Texas A&M, Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Texas and South Carolina. Included for the fifth-year center was a 12-point, 13-rebound performance against the Aggies and 18 points, nine boards and career highs of four blocks and four steals vs. Auburn. He entered the six-game stretch averaging 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 0.5 steals while shooting 60% from the foul line on the season.

• Long Beach State transfer Jadon Jones averaged 5.4 points over his first 19 outings, but over the last nine games is averaging 7.3 points. The sixth-year guard, who is 16 for 33 (48%) from 3-point range over those nine contests, has drawn 14 fouls while attempting a 3-pointer this season. The 2021-22 Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year has 23 steals and 15 blocks over the past 15 games.

OU-TEXAS A&M SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma is 32-14 all-time against Texas A&M (6-1 at neutral sites).

• The Sooners won the first 11 games of the series and 25 of the first 26, but the Aggies have won 13 of the last 20 and each of the last four. Prior to last year's A&M two-game sweep, OU had won the last three matchups, all since the Aggies left the Big 12 for the SEC.

• OU went 1-1 against Texas A&M in the Big 12 tourney, winning 67-58 in 1997 and falling 62-53 in 2012. Both were first-round games in Kansas City.

THIRD TIME A CHARM VS. THE AGGIES?

• Oklahoma and Texas A&M met twice in the regular season and the Aggies pulled out both wins, 83-76 in College Station on Jan. 10 and 75-71 in Norman on Feb. 21.

• In the first meeting, OU led 67-63 midway through the second half but was outscored 20-9 the rest of the way as it went 4 for 14 (29%) from the field over the game's last 10 minutes. It also missed its last 10 3-point attempts after starting 11 for 21. The Sooners also committed a season-high 17 turnovers. Nijel Pack made six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points to surpass the 2,000-career-points mark. He added six rebounds and five assists. The Sooners also squandered double-doubles from Derrion Reid (the first of his career) and Tae Davis. Reid made a career-high four treys on six attempts and finished with 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, three more than his previous high. Davis was 5 for 10 from the field and logged 12 points and 10 boards.

• In the rematch, the Sooners cut a nine-point deficit to one with less than a minute left but couldn't get over the hump in a four-point defeat. Oklahoma shot 32.8% from the floor — its second-lowest figure of the season — and made just 25.0% of its field goal attempts in the second half, while the Aggies shot 43.5% for the game and outscored OU 32-12 in the paint. Dayton Forsythe led OU with 14 points and six assists in his season-high 29 minutes off the bench and Mohamed Wague turned in one of his best games of the season with 12 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. Pack and Davis were scoreless in the first half and finished with six and four points, respectively, on a combined 3-for-17 shooting.

OU'S CONFERENCE TOURNEY HISTORY

• Oklahoma owns a 49-41 record in conference postseason action, racking up a 23-16 record in the Big Eight Tournament from 1977-1996, a 24-24 mark in the Big 12 Tournament from 1997-2024 and going 2-1 in two SEC Tournaments thus far.

• The Sooners won Big Eight Tournament titles in 1979, 1985, 1988 and 1990, and claimed three straight Big 12 Tournament crowns from 2001-03.

• Former head coaches Kelvin Sampson (1995-2006) and Billy Tubbs (1981-1994) each directed the Sooners to 18 conference tournament wins. Sampson was 18-9 and Tubbs 18-11. They each won three titles.

• Under Sampson, OU won 10 straight Big 12 Tournament games from 2001-2004.

PACK MENTALITY

• First-year Oklahoma guard Nijel Pack surpassed the 2,000-points mark Jan. 11 at Texas A&M and has 2,268 for his career to rank third nationally among active players.

• Pack leads active Division I players and ranks 20th all-time with 420 career 3-point field goals. The only player to ever wear an OU uniform who has made more career treys is Umoja Gibson (428; was a Sooner during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons).

• Pack leads the SEC with his .455 season 3-point field goal percentage and 3.3 treys per game. Nationally, he ranks fifth and 19th, respectively.

• Pack has scored 20-plus points in nine of the last 17 games (24 at Texas A&M, 25 at Missouri, 22 vs. Arkansas, 23 vs. Texas, 20 at Tennessee, 22 vs. Auburn, 21 at LSU, 23 at Texas and 24 vs. South Carolina).

• Pack has made at least one 3-pointer in 30 of 32 games, at least three in 21 contests and at least five in 10 outings. His 10 games of at least five treys are tied for second most among Power Five players and lead the SEC (next most is six).

• A sixth-year collegian, Pack spent his first two seasons at Kansas State (he was a first-team All-Big 12 pick as a sophomore when he averaged 17.4 points, made 95 3-pointers and shot a league-high .436 from behind the arc) and the last three at Miami, Fla. (he helped the Hurricanes to their first Final Four his junior season and was named the Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player). He has started 153 of his 154 career games.

OU's 'X' FACTOR

• Junior guard Xzayvier Brown averaged 18.7 points over a 15-game span from Dec. 13 through Feb. 7 and ranks second on the team with his 15.6 points per contest on the season. He also leads the team with his 3.1 assists (tied with Nijel Pack) and 1.3 steals per outing.

• After averaging 8.5 points over a recent four-game span, Brown is averaging 16.8 over the last four, with 20- and 21-point efforts at LSU and Texas.

• Brown shot 34% from 3-point range in OU's first 26 games but is shooting 57% (12 for 21) over the last six outings. He made two treys in each of those six contests.

• Brown leads the SEC by shooting 88% from the free throw line (90 for 102). He assembled a streak of 27 makes (ended Jan. 13 vs. Florida).

• Brown logged a team-high-tying eight outings of 20-plus points in SEC play.

MORE OU NOTES AND NUGGETS

• Oklahoma has led for over 20 minutes in 10 of the last 13 games and has been ahead for 305 out of 410 minutes (74% of game play) in those 10 contests.

• The Sooners have scored at least 85 points in 16 of their 32 games (50%). It's their most 85-point efforts since registering 17 such outings in 1992-93 (33 years ago). For even more perspective, OU's last four teams scored 85-plus a combined 21 times in 133 games (16%).

• Oklahoma has committed single-digit turnovers 17 times, already its most such outings for an entire season in at least 40 years. The Sooners average just 10.1 turnovers per contest. Over the past 50 seasons, the fewest turnovers OU averaged per game was 11.0 in 2020-21.

• OU's top four scorers are all transfers in their first year in the program. Nijel Pack averages a team-high 16.3 points per game, while Xzayvier Brown (15.6), Tae Davis (12.3) and Derrion Reid (11.6) also average double figures. Mohamed Wague rounds out the starting five with his 7.0 per contest.

• The resurgence of guard Dayton Forsythe has boosted OU the last few weeks. After a 10-game stretch in which he averaged 1.3 points and went 2 for 31 from the field (he battled sprains of both ankles), the sophomore is averaging 8.0 points over the last 11 contests.

• OU announced on Dec. 28 the signing of 23-year-old Kirill Elatontsev (kee-REEL EE-el-uh-tahn-suv), a 6-11, 240-pound center from Russia who is averaging 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per contest over his 20 games. He is shooting 51% from the field, 36% (11 for 31) from 3-point range and 73% (19 for 26) from the foul line.

• Redshirt freshman forward Kuol Atak ranks third on the team with his 38 3-point makes (shooting 43%) despite playing in just 21 of 32 games and averaging only 12.2 minutes in those contests. Twice this season he has made six treys in a contest. Atak, who is 27 for 52 (52%) from long distance in home games, has played in just five of OU's last 15 games (none of the last five).