OKLAHOMA VS. NORTH TEXAS

[IE]

Three things to know
? The Sooners have scored at least 90 points in all four of their wins this season. Oklahoma is fourth in KenPom.com's adjusted tempo measurement and third in average possession length ? 13.1 seconds.
? Oklahoma had more than 15 assists just four times last season. Through five games, the Sooners have already hit the mark four times. OU is 13th in the nation with 19.2 assists per game.
? The Sooners are 4-1 all-time against North Texas, winning the past four meetings. The most recent meeting was in 2013, a 95-82 win in the home opener. The Mean Green's lone win in the series came in 1966 in Norman.

---

? For the seventh straight year under head coach Lon Kruger, the Sooners have started the season with at least four wins in their first five games. Oklahoma returns to Lloyd Noble Center on Thursday after winning back-to-back games at PK80 in Portland, Ore. - including a 10-point win over Oregon, a 2017 Final Four team. Dating back to last season, Oklahoma has won five straight games at the LNC. Oklahoma is 75-20 at home under Kruger and boasts a 36-5 record in home non-conference contests.


? Freshman guard Trae Young combined for 104 points in the three games at PK80 - the most of any player in the 16-team event. Young enters Thursday?s game coming off a 43-point performance against Oregon, which represents the most scored in a game by any player in Division I hoops this season. The freshman is second in the country in scoring (28.2) and third in assists per game (8.6). Young?s scoring average is 10 points more than the second-highest Big 12 player (Svi Mykhailiuk of Kansas with 18.2).

 

[IE]

UNT projected starting lineup:


PG: Ryan Woolridge (6-3, Soph.) -- Wooldridge has scored in double figures in six of UNT's seven games and is coming off an 11-point performance in UNT's win over Grambling. He is averaging 14.0 points per game has has 28 assists on the season.

G: A.J. Lawson (6-5, Soph.) -- Lawson scored 12 points in UNT's win over Grambling and has scored in double figures in four of the Mean Green's last five games. He is averaging 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

G: Roosevelt Smart (6-3, Soph.) -- Smart eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season when he scored 23 in UNT's win over Grambling. Smart went 6-for-9 from the field and hit three 3s. Smart has hit at least three 3s in each of UNT's last three games. He is averaging 17.4 points per game and is shooting 45 percent (18-of-40) from 3-point range.


F: Zachary Simmons (6-9, Fr.) -- Simmons scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in UNT's win over Grambling. The freshman is averaging 5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 71.4 percent from the field.

F: Shane Temara (6-9, Sr.) -- Temara scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds in UNT's win over Grambling. The senior is shooting 60 percent from the field and has hit 6 of his 13 attempts from 3-point range. He is averaging 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.



What you need to know:

UNT will face one of its bigger challenges of the season in a game at Oklahoma. The Sooners finished just 11-20 last season, but look like an NCAA tournament team this year.


UNT has struggled at times on the glass and enter Wednesday's game averaging 2.9 fewer rebounds than their opponents.

UNT will need Temara and Simmons to hold their own in the paint against a big Oklahoma front line that features Lattin, a 6-9 senior who is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game.

UNT is averaging 79.9 points per game behind Smart, one of five players averaging in double figures for the Mean Green.

UNT will need Smart and Woolridge to be at their best to keep pace with Oklahoma and Young. The Oklahoma native was a consensus top 25 recruit and a five-star player in the Class of 2017.