National Basketball Association
Oklahoma 79, Arkansas 70
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 9, 2023
Where: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Officials:
# K.B. Burdett Jr., # Owen Shortt, # Keith Kimble
Attendance:
17485
By Field Level Media
Javian McCollum scored 20 points to lead No. 19 Oklahoma to a 79-70 win over Arkansas on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
McCollum added five rebounds and four assists.
The Sooners (9-0) continued their best start since their Final Four run in 2015-16 while the loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Razorbacks (6-4).
When Arkansas made a run to get back into the game early in the second half, McCollum kept slamming the door.
First, he hit a 3-pointer in the opening minutes after the Razorbacks had quickly cut the Sooners' 12-point halftime lead to six.
Not long afterward, McCollum drew a foul on a 3-pointer and hit all three shots to kick off a 12-0 Oklahoma run.
It was during that stretch that Arkansas coach Eric Musselman picked up back-to-back technicals to end his day after berating officials during a stoppage.
It was the second time in three seasons Musselman was ejected against the Sooners. He was also ejected late in the Razorbacks' 88-66 loss to Oklahoma in Tulsa in December 2021.
Khalif Battle led Arkansas with 13 points but was just 2 of 10 from the floor. Jeremiah Davenport added 12.
The Razorbacks shot just 40 percent from the floor.
The game was back-and-forth for much of the first half before Oklahoma took control with a 14-2 run over the last 4:11 before halftime.
Rivaldo Soares scored six of the Sooners' points during the stretch -- four on free throws.
Much of Soares' production came off of rebounds as Oklahoma outrebounded the Razorbacks 19-11 at the break and outscored Arkansas 26-10 in the paint.
The Sooners finished with a 33-25 rebounding edge.
Otega Oweh added 14 points, Soares 13 and Milos Uzan 11 for Oklahoma.
The Sooners were 25 of 49 from the field (51 percent) and outscored Arkansas 36-26 in the paint overall.
Six technical fouls were called in the game, all in the second half. The teams combined for 42 fouls.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Arkansas |
|
Oklahoma |
|
Khalif Battle 13 |
Scoring |
Javian McCollum 20 |
|
Jalen Graham 2 |
Assists |
Javian McCollum 4 |
|
Makhi Mitchell 6 |
Rebounds |
Rivaldo Soares 7 |
|
Khalif Battle 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Javian McCollum 8 |
|
Trevon Brazile 2 |
Steals |
Milos Uzan 3 |
|
Makhi Mitchell 3 |
Blocks |
N/A |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Arkansas
|
70 |
40.0 |
4-18 |
26-31 |
8 |
24 |
6 |
10 |
13 |
| Oklahoma
|
79 |
51.0 |
7-18 |
22-28 |
11 |
30 |
0 |
6 |
15 |
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