Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Texas A&M on February 21, 2026 , Loss , 71, to, 75
Final
Men's Basketball
71
vs Texas A&M
75
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Saturday, April 4
T-Mobile Arena • Las Vegas, Nev.
12:30 p.m. CT
University of Oklahoma
vs
Baylor
Sooners Ready for Baylor in Crown Semifinals
April 03, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS — The Oklahoma men's basketball team (20-15) meets Baylor (17-16) in the College Basketball Crown semifinals on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CT inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner will play Creighton or West Virginia in Sunday's 4:30 p.m. CT championship game.
Saturday's semifinals game will be televised by FOX with Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Kristina Pink announcing. It will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry on the call.
Oklahoma improved to 7-1 in its last eight games by defeating Colorado 90-86 in overtime in Wednesday's quarterfinals. Baylor downed Minnesota 67-48.
OU and Baylor shared Big 12 Conference membership from the 1996-97 through 2023-24 seasons. The Sooners won the first 25 meetings during that period and went 11-20 afterward.
• Baylor owns a 17-16 record and tied for 13th place in the 16-team Big 12 Conference with a 6-10 mark. The Bears won three of their last five league games before falling to No. 12 seed Arizona State, 83-79, in the conference tournament first round in Kansas City, Mo.
• Second-year Baylor assistant coach Steve Henson served as an OU assistant coach under former head coach Lon Kruger from the 2011-12 through 2015-16 seasons. He helped the Sooners to a 29-8 record and the Final Four in his last year in Norman. Henson was named UTSA head coach ahead of the 2016-17 season.
• Saturday's game will mark Oklahoma's third against a Big 12 opponent this season. OU downed Oklahoma State 85-76 on Dec. 13 in Oklahoma City and outlasted Colorado 80-76 in overtime in Thursday's College Basketball Crown quarterfinals.
• OU is the only Power Five team and one of just three out of 361 squads nationally to start the same lineup every game this season (the others are Merrimac and Stephen F. Austin). The Sooners' starters have been guards Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack, forwards Tae Davis and Derrion Reid and center Mohamed Wague. Baylor has started five lineups.
• First-year Sooners Pack (21.0), Reid (17.3), Davis (16.3) and Brown (11.3) all averaged double figures in points per game over OU's three SEC Tournament games in Nashville.
• Over the last eight games (7-1 record), the Sooners have trailed for only 69:51 out of 330 minutes.
• Oklahoma has outshot seven of its last eight opponents from the field (combined 48%-41%) after outshooting foes just four times in its first 14 SEC games. OU has held each of its last eight opponents to sub-50% field goal shooting.
• Wague is in the midst of the most productive stretch of his career, averaging 9.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 blocked shots and 1.3 steals over the last nine games while going 37 for 48 (77%) from the free throw line against Texas A&M (twice), Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas and Colorado. Included for the fifth-year center was a 12-point, 13-rebound performance against the Aggies (Feb. 21) and 18 points, nine boards and career highs of four blocks and four steals vs. Auburn (Feb. 24). He entered the nine-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.
• The Sooners are without guard Dayton Forsythe for the Crown, as the sophomore had successful right ankle surgery on March 25. Forsythe played in 28 games off the bench this season, averaging 5.3 points in 17.3 minutes per outing. He scored in double figures six times on the year, including in four of OU's last 11 games.
• OU is 23-9 against the Bears in Norman, 19-14 in Waco and 4-2 at neutral sites.
• The Sooners posted a 35-5 record in the first 40 series meetings (through the 2008-09 season) but is 11-20 since. The Bears have won 11 of the last 12 meetings.
• CU cut the deficit to one (67-66) before the Sooners pushed it back to seven (74-67) on a 3-pointer from forward Kuol Atak with 1:51 remaining. The Buffs responded by scoring the last seven points of regulation to force the extra session, where OU outscored them 16-12 to earn the victory.
• Guard Nijel Pack logged team highs of 20 points and five assists, while forward Tae Davis scored 19 points, guard Xzayvier Brown 17 and Atak 16. Center Mohamed Wague added seven points (7 for 8 on free throws) and a team-high eight boards.
• Atak had not played in OU's last seven outings, but made four 3-pointers in a career-high 27 minutes. He added a block and a steal, and made two key free throws with three seconds left in overtime.
• OU won despite shooting just 37% from the field and getting outrebounded 45-38. The Sooners committed only nine turnovers to CU's 15 and held the Buffaloes to 25% field goal shooting after halftime.
• Pack leads active Division I players and ranks 18th all-time with 429 career 3-point field goals. Pack needs two 3-point makes to move into the top 15 all-time.
• Pack leads the SEC with his .446 season 3-point field goal percentage and 3.3 treys per game. Nationally, he ranks fifth and 13th, respectively.
• Pack has scored 20-plus points in four of the last five games and six of the last eight (22 vs. Auburn, 21 at LSU, 23 at Texas, 24 vs. South Carolina, 20 vs. Texas A&M and 20 vs. Colorado).
• Pack has made at least one 3-pointer in 33 of 35 games, at least three in 23 contests and at least five in 10 outings. His 10 games of at least five treys are tied for fourth most among Power Five players (Texas Tech's Donovan Atwell leads with 12) and pace the SEC (next most is eight).
• 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 156 of his 157 career games.
• After averaging 8.5 points over a recent four-game span, Brown is averaging 14.9 over the last seven, with 20- and 21-point efforts at LSU and Texas.
• Brown ranks third in the SEC by shooting 88% from the free throw line (98 for 112). 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.
• After scoring at least 20 points in 14 of 35 games last year at Saint Joseph's, Brown has a team-high 13 games of 20-plus in 34 outings this season. He has 33 career games of at least 20.
• Oklahoma 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 11 games, the Sooners are shooting 40% (108 for 271) from behind the arc. They have made at least eight triples in 14 of the last 16 games. On the season, OU is averaging 9.7 treys per outing (the school record is 10.3 in 2015-16).
• The Sooners have committed single-digit turnovers 20 times, their most such outings for an entire season in at least 40 years. They average just 9.9 turnovers per contest. Over the past 50 seasons, the fewest turnovers OU averaged per game was 11.0 in 2020-21.
• OU has led for over 20 minutes in 12 of the last 16 games and has been ahead for 363 out of 490 minutes (74% of game play) in those 12 contests.
• The Sooners have scored at least 85 points in 17 of their 35 games (49%). It's their most 85-point efforts since also 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%).
• OU's top four scorers are all transfers in their first year in the program. Nijel Pack averages a team-high 16.6 points per game, while Xzayvier Brown (15.3), Tae Davis (12.7) and Derrion Reid (11.6) also average double figures. Mohamed Wague rounds out the starting five with his 7.1 per contest.
• Long Beach State transfer Jadon Jones shot 30% from 3-point range over his first 19 outings, but over the last 12 games is 18 for 41 (44%) from behind the arc. The sixth-year player has drawn 15 fouls while attempting a 3-pointer this season. The 2021-22 Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year has 21 steals and 20 blocks over the past 18 games.
• 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 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per contest over his 23 games. He is shooting 53% from the field, 33% (11 for 33) 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 42 3-point makes (shooting 42%) despite playing in just 22 of 35 games and averaging only 12.9 minutes in those contests. Twice this season he has made six treys in a game. Atak, who is 27 for 52 (52%) from long distance in home outings, has played in just six of OU's last 18 games (one of the last eight).
Saturday's semifinals game will be televised by FOX with Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Kristina Pink announcing. It will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry on the call.
Oklahoma improved to 7-1 in its last eight games by defeating Colorado 90-86 in overtime in Wednesday's quarterfinals. Baylor downed Minnesota 67-48.
OU and Baylor shared Big 12 Conference membership from the 1996-97 through 2023-24 seasons. The Sooners won the first 25 meetings during that period and went 11-20 afterward.
SCENE SETTERS
• The first team left out of the NCAA Tournament, Oklahoma is making its third postseason appearance under fifth-year head coach Porter Moser. The Sooners went 1-1 in the NIT in his first season (2021-22) and lost a first-round NCAA Tournament contest last season as a No. 9 seed to two-time defending champion Connecticut.• Baylor owns a 17-16 record and tied for 13th place in the 16-team Big 12 Conference with a 6-10 mark. The Bears won three of their last five league games before falling to No. 12 seed Arizona State, 83-79, in the conference tournament first round in Kansas City, Mo.
• Second-year Baylor assistant coach Steve Henson served as an OU assistant coach under former head coach Lon Kruger from the 2011-12 through 2015-16 seasons. He helped the Sooners to a 29-8 record and the Final Four in his last year in Norman. Henson was named UTSA head coach ahead of the 2016-17 season.
• Saturday's game will mark Oklahoma's third against a Big 12 opponent this season. OU downed Oklahoma State 85-76 on Dec. 13 in Oklahoma City and outlasted Colorado 80-76 in overtime in Thursday's College Basketball Crown quarterfinals.
• OU is the only Power Five team and one of just three out of 361 squads nationally to start the same lineup every game this season (the others are Merrimac and Stephen F. Austin). The Sooners' starters have been guards Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack, forwards Tae Davis and Derrion Reid and center Mohamed Wague. Baylor has started five lineups.
• First-year Sooners Pack (21.0), Reid (17.3), Davis (16.3) and Brown (11.3) all averaged double figures in points per game over OU's three SEC Tournament games in Nashville.
• Over the last eight games (7-1 record), the Sooners have trailed for only 69:51 out of 330 minutes.
• Oklahoma has outshot seven of its last eight opponents from the field (combined 48%-41%) after outshooting foes just four times in its first 14 SEC games. OU has held each of its last eight opponents to sub-50% field goal shooting.
• Wague is in the midst of the most productive stretch of his career, averaging 9.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 blocked shots and 1.3 steals over the last nine games while going 37 for 48 (77%) from the free throw line against Texas A&M (twice), Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas and Colorado. Included for the fifth-year center was a 12-point, 13-rebound performance against the Aggies (Feb. 21) and 18 points, nine boards and career highs of four blocks and four steals vs. Auburn (Feb. 24). He entered the nine-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.
• The Sooners are without guard Dayton Forsythe for the Crown, as the sophomore had successful right ankle surgery on March 25. Forsythe played in 28 games off the bench this season, averaging 5.3 points in 17.3 minutes per outing. He scored in double figures six times on the year, including in four of OU's last 11 games.
OU-BAYLOR SERIES HISTORY
• Oklahoma owns a 46-25 (.639) all-time record against Baylor. The teams first played in the 1916-17 season (OU won 42-28 in Norman) and last met during the 2023-24 campaign (No. 12 BU won 79-62 in Waco).• OU is 23-9 against the Bears in Norman, 19-14 in Waco and 4-2 at neutral sites.
• The Sooners posted a 35-5 record in the first 40 series meetings (through the 2008-09 season) but is 11-20 since. The Bears have won 11 of the last 12 meetings.
OU BEATS CU IN CROWN QUARTERS
• Oklahoma trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and by eight with 16 minutes left in the second but pulled out a 90-86 overtime win over Colorado in the College Basketball Crown quarterfinals on Wednesday night. OU's 15-2 run from the 10:30 to 7:05 marks lifted it from a six-point deficit to a seven-point lead (65-58).• CU cut the deficit to one (67-66) before the Sooners pushed it back to seven (74-67) on a 3-pointer from forward Kuol Atak with 1:51 remaining. The Buffs responded by scoring the last seven points of regulation to force the extra session, where OU outscored them 16-12 to earn the victory.
• Guard Nijel Pack logged team highs of 20 points and five assists, while forward Tae Davis scored 19 points, guard Xzayvier Brown 17 and Atak 16. Center Mohamed Wague added seven points (7 for 8 on free throws) and a team-high eight boards.
• Atak had not played in OU's last seven outings, but made four 3-pointers in a career-high 27 minutes. He added a block and a steal, and made two key free throws with three seconds left in overtime.
• OU won despite shooting just 37% from the field and getting outrebounded 45-38. The Sooners committed only nine turnovers to CU's 15 and held the Buffaloes to 25% field goal shooting after halftime.
PACK MENTALITY
• First-year Oklahoma guard Nijel Pack surpassed the 2,000-points mark Jan. 11 at Texas A&M and has 2,327 for his career to rank third nationally among active players.• Pack leads active Division I players and ranks 18th all-time with 429 career 3-point field goals. Pack needs two 3-point makes to move into the top 15 all-time.
• Pack leads the SEC with his .446 season 3-point field goal percentage and 3.3 treys per game. Nationally, he ranks fifth and 13th, respectively.
• Pack has scored 20-plus points in four of the last five games and six of the last eight (22 vs. Auburn, 21 at LSU, 23 at Texas, 24 vs. South Carolina, 20 vs. Texas A&M and 20 vs. Colorado).
• Pack has made at least one 3-pointer in 33 of 35 games, at least three in 23 contests and at least five in 10 outings. His 10 games of at least five treys are tied for fourth most among Power Five players (Texas Tech's Donovan Atwell leads with 12) and pace the SEC (next most is eight).
• 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 156 of his 157 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 15.3 points per contest on the season. He also leads the team with 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per outing.• After averaging 8.5 points over a recent four-game span, Brown is averaging 14.9 over the last seven, with 20- and 21-point efforts at LSU and Texas.
• Brown ranks third in the SEC by shooting 88% from the free throw line (98 for 112). 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.
• After scoring at least 20 points in 14 of 35 games last year at Saint Joseph's, Brown has a team-high 13 games of 20-plus in 34 outings this season. He has 33 career games of at least 20.
MORE OU NOTES AND NUGGETS
• At 20-15, Oklahoma has reached 20 victories for the third straight season.• Oklahoma 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 11 games, the Sooners are shooting 40% (108 for 271) from behind the arc. They have made at least eight triples in 14 of the last 16 games. On the season, OU is averaging 9.7 treys per outing (the school record is 10.3 in 2015-16).
• The Sooners have committed single-digit turnovers 20 times, their most such outings for an entire season in at least 40 years. They average just 9.9 turnovers per contest. Over the past 50 seasons, the fewest turnovers OU averaged per game was 11.0 in 2020-21.
• OU has led for over 20 minutes in 12 of the last 16 games and has been ahead for 363 out of 490 minutes (74% of game play) in those 12 contests.
• The Sooners have scored at least 85 points in 17 of their 35 games (49%). It's their most 85-point efforts since also 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%).
• OU's top four scorers are all transfers in their first year in the program. Nijel Pack averages a team-high 16.6 points per game, while Xzayvier Brown (15.3), Tae Davis (12.7) and Derrion Reid (11.6) also average double figures. Mohamed Wague rounds out the starting five with his 7.1 per contest.
• Long Beach State transfer Jadon Jones shot 30% from 3-point range over his first 19 outings, but over the last 12 games is 18 for 41 (44%) from behind the arc. The sixth-year player has drawn 15 fouls while attempting a 3-pointer this season. The 2021-22 Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year has 21 steals and 20 blocks over the past 18 games.
• 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 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per contest over his 23 games. He is shooting 53% from the field, 33% (11 for 33) 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 42 3-point makes (shooting 42%) despite playing in just 22 of 35 games and averaging only 12.9 minutes in those contests. Twice this season he has made six treys in a game. Atak, who is 27 for 52 (52%) from long distance in home outings, has played in just six of OU's last 18 games (one of the last eight).
UP NEXT
• If OU beats Baylor, it will play the Creighton-West Virginia winner in Sunday's 4:30 p.m. CT championship game at T-Mobile Arena (televised by FOX).
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/ Men's BasketballPorter Moser and Nijel Pack Postgame vs Colorado
Thursday, April 02
MBB Highlights: OU 90, Colorado 86
Wednesday, April 01
Porter Moser Media Availability - 3/30/26
Monday, March 30
Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack Media Availability - 3/30/26
Monday, March 30
