The Wisconsin Badgers will head down to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in a marquee non-conference matchup. Wisconsin comes into this one at 4-2 and unranked while Oklahoma comes in 3-0 and ranked seventh in the nation.
The Badgers lost a lot of star power from last years runners up yet they were still ranked 17th in the preseason poll as they do have some key returnees. So far this season though, the Badgers have struggled, specifically on defense, as they lost their season opener against Western Illinois and have also dropped a game to Georgetown. Wisconsin did beat VCU earlier this year which is a nice win but winning at Oklahoma would be their best this year by far.
Bo Ryan's squad this season is led by junior point guard Bronson Koenig who is off to a fantastic start to the season. Koenig leads the team with his 17.3 points per game and he has been incredibly efficient as he is making 50 percent of his field goals and 42 percent of his three pointers.
Part of the reason the Badgers have struggled early this season is because of the play of Nigel Hayes. The junior forward was expectd to be one of the best players in the country this season but has gotten off to a bit of a slow start as he is averaging 14.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while making just 39 percent of his field goals. Hayes is the key to Wisconsin turning things around and getting back on track.
Oklahoma on the other hand has looked very good this year, albeit against some inferior competition, but will face their toughest test on Sunday when they play Wisconsin. The Sooners did have a nice win at Memphis to start their season but then beat two cupcakes.
Oklahoma has won 19 of its last 20 home games and are ranked the highest they have been since the 2008-09 season, Blake Griffin's final year there. The biggest reason for Oklahoma's recent success is senior guard Buddy Hield. Hield is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and is off to a tremendous start to this season too as he is among the leaders in the nation with his 25.3 points per game.
Another player to watch for the Sooners is senior forward Ryan Spangler. Spangler has had his struggles from the free throw line so far this season as he has made just 2-9 from there but he leads the team with 8.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while adding 10.7 points per contest.
These two schools met up just last year in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship game and Wisconsin won by 13 as they limited Hield to just two field goals. Overall the Badgers have taken four of the seven all-time meetings between these two programs including one of two in Norman but this year Oklahoma comes in as the big favorites.
The game tips off at 2:30 P.M. Eastern time and to watch the live broadcast go here. For the Oklahoma radio broadcast go here and for the Wisconsin radio broadcast go here.
