# 2018–19 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Oklahoma Sooners basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Lon Kruger and played their home games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 20–14, finished in 7th place. They lost in the First Round of the Big 12 tournament to West Virginia. They received a at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Ole Miss in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Virginia.

## Previous season

The Sooners finished the 2017–18 season with an overall record of 18–14, 8–10 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the First Round of the Big 12 tournament to Oklahoma State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the First Round to Rhode Island.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Chris Giles | 2 | G | 6'3" | 193 | Freshman | Dallas, TX | Left team |
| Khadeem Lattin | 3 | F | 6'9" | 212 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Trae Young | 11 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Freshman | Norman, OK | Declared for 2018 NBA draft |
| Jordan Shepherd | 13 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Sophomore | Asheville, NC | Transferred to Charlotte |
| Kameron McGusty | 20 | G | 6'5" | 191 | Sophomore | Katy, TX | Transferred to Miami (FL) |
| Marshall Thrope | 30 | F | 6'9" | 235 | RS Sophomore | Tulsa, OK | Left team |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Aaron Calixte | 2 | G | 5'11" | 187 | Graduate Student | Stoughton, MA | Maine |
| Miles Reynolds | 3 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Graduate Student | Chicago, IL | Pacific |
| Kur Kuath | 12 | F | 6'9" | 173 | Junior | Kerans, UT | Salt Lake CC |
| Austin Reaves | 12 | G | 6'5" | 175 | Junior | Newark, AR | Wichita State |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jamal Bieniemy SG | Katy, TX | Tompkins High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 7, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2019 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| De'Vion Harmon #8 PG | Denton, TX | John H. Guyer High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Nov 3, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Pittsburg State | W 92–58 | | 15 – McNeace | 13 – Manek | 4 – Calixte | Lloyd Noble Center (6,312) Norman, OK |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2018* 7:30 pm, FSOK | | at Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 91–76 | 1–0 | 29 – James | 12 – Tied | 4 – Bieniemy | Bert Ogden Arena (5,071) Edinburg, TX |
| November 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UTSA | W 87–67 | 2–0 | 24 – James | 11 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Convocation Center (2,494) San Antonio, TX |
| November 18, 2018* 1:00 pm, FSOK | | Wofford Battle 4 Atlantis campus-site game | W 75–64 | 3–0 | 18 – Manek | 11 – Manek | 3 – James | Lloyd Noble Center (8,432) Norman, OK |
| November 21, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN | | vs. Florida Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals | W 65–60 | 4–0 | 18 – James | 7 – Manek | 2 – Tied | Imperial Arena (1,401) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 22, 2018* 12:30 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 25 Wisconsin Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals | L 58–78 | 4–1 | 18 – James | 6 – McNeace | 2 – Tied | Imperial Arena (1,182) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 23, 2018* 10:30 am, ESPN2 | | vs. Dayton Battle 4 Atlantis 3rd place game | W 65–54 | 5–1 | 21 – James | 8 – McNeace | 4 – James | Imperial Arena (1,052) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, FSOK | | North Texas | W 73–57 | 6–1 | 17 – Reynolds | 10 – McNeace | 4 – James | Lloyd Noble Center (6,553) Norman, OK |
| December 4, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. Notre Dame Jimmy V Classic | W 85–80 | 7–1 | 25 – James | 10 – James | 4 – Tied | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| December 8, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPNU | | vs. Wichita State Oklahoma City Showcase | W 80–48 | 8–1 | 14 – Tied | 13 – James | 3 – Tied | Chesapeake Energy Arena (4,137) Oklahoma City, OK |
| December 15, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. USC Tulsa Showcase | W 80–71 | 9–1 | 20 – Reynolds | 15 – James | 6 – Bieniemy | BOK Center Tulsa, OK |
| December 18, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Creighton | W 83–70 | 10–1 | 18 – Manek | 12 – James | 4 – Reynolds | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| December 21, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern | W 76–69 $^{OT}$ | 11–1 | 14 – Doolittle | 9 – Tied | 6 – Calixte | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 2, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 23 | at No. 5 Kansas | L 63–70 | 11–2 (0–1) | 16 – Manek | 12 – James | 3 – Calixte | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 5, 2019 1:00 pm, FSSW | No. 23 | Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | W 74–64 | 12–2 (1–1) | 16 – Doolittle | 11 – James | 5 – Bieniemy | Lloyd Noble Center (10,906) Norman, OK |
| January 8, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 23 | at No. 8 Texas Tech | L 59–66 | 12–3 (1–2) | 14 – James | 8 – Doolittle | 5 – Bieniemy | United Supermarkets Arena (14,090) Lubbock, TX |
| January 12, 2019 1:00 pm, FSSW | No. 23 | No. 25 TCU | W 76–74 | 13–3 (2–2) | 24 – Doolittle | 10 – Doolittle | 4 – Tied | Lloyd Noble Center (8,005) Norman, OK |
| January 16, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | Kansas State | L 61–74 | 13–4 (2–3) | 20 – James | 7 – James | 4 – Doolittle | Lloyd Noble Center (7,597) Norman, OK |
| January 19, 2019 7:00 pm, LHN | No. 20 | at Texas | L 72–75 | 13–5 (2–4) | 20 – James | 8 – Doolittle | 2 – Tied | Frank Erwin Center (11,991) Austin, TX |
| January 23, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | W 70–61 | 14–5 (3–4) | 17 – Bieniemy | 7 – Doolittle | 5 – Tied | Gallagher-Iba Arena (11,086) Stillwater, OK |
| January 26, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Vanderbilt Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 86–55 | 15–5 | 21 – James | 5 – Tied | 7 – Bieniemy | Lloyd Noble Center (8,848) Norman, OK |
| January 28, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Baylor | L 47–77 | 15–6 (3–5) | 12 – Doolittle | 7 – James | 6 – Bieniemy | Lloyd Noble Center (10,193) Norman, OK |
| February 2, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | at West Virginia | L 71–79 | 15–7 (3–6) | 18 – Manek | 12 – Doolittle | 5 – Bieniemy | WVU Coliseum (11,611) Morgantown, WV |
| February 4, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 17 Iowa State | L 74–75 | 15–8 (3–7) | 19 – Doolittle | 9 – Doolittle | 2 – Tied | Lloyd Noble Center (8,889) Norman, OK |
| February 9, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 18 Texas Tech | L 54–66 | 15–9 (3–8) | 14 – Odomes | 11 – Manke | 3 – Bieniemy | Lloyd Noble Center (9,463) Norman, OK |
| February 11, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Baylor | L 53–59 | 15–10 (3–9) | 14 – Doolittle | 10 – Odomes | 3 – Bieniemy | Ferrell Center (4,517) Waco, TX |
| February 16, 2019 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | at TCU | W 71–62 | 16–10 (4–9) | 21 – Doolittle | 10 – Doolittle | 5 – Doolittle | Schollmaier Arena (6,464) Fort Worth, TX |
| February 23, 2019 11:00 am, ESPNU | | Texas | W 69–67 | 17–10 (5–9) | 19 – James | 8 – James | 8 – Bieniemy | Lloyd Noble Center (9,116) Norman, OK |
| February 25, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Iowa State | L 61–78 | 17–11 (5–10) | 15 – Doolittle | 11 – Doolittle | 2 – Doolittle | Hilton Coliseum (13,976) Ames, IA |
| March 2, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | West Virginia | W 92–80 | 18–11 (6–10) | 22 – Bieniemy | 9 – Doolittle | 6 – Bieniemy | Lloyd Noble Center (6,193) Norman, OK |
| March 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 13 Kansas | W 81–68 | 19–11 (7–10) | 24 – Doolittle | 11 – Doolittle | 8 – Bieniemy | Lloyd Noble Center (9,839) Norman, OK |
| March 9, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 18 Kansas State | L 53–68 | 19–12 (7–11) | 14 – Doolittle | 7 – Odomes | 4 – Bieniemy | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| Big 12 Tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPNU | (7) | vs. (10) West Virginia First Round | L 71–72 | 19–13 | 22 – Manek | 9 – Doolittle | 6 – Bieniemy | Sprint Center (18,858) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 11:40 am, truTV | (9 S) | vs. (8 S) Ole Miss First Round | W 95–72 | 20–13 | 20 – Tied | 14 – Doolittle | 5 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (15,417) Columbia, SC |
| March 24, 2019* 6:45 pm, truTV | (9 S) | vs. (1 S) No. 2 Virginia Second Round | L 51–63 | 20–14 | 13 – Tied | 7 – Reynolds | 3 – James | Colonial Life Arena (16,332) Columbia, SC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 23 | 20 | RV | RV | — | — | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 19 | | | | | | | | | | RV |