2023-24 Monmouth Basketball Gameday Preview: Game Thirteen
                                                                                     
Monmouth Hawks (7-5, 0-0 CAA) at #12/13 Oklahoma Sooners (11-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Sunday, December 31, 2023 - 3:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. CST
Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
 
TV
Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Chad McKee
Analyst: Bryndon Manzer

RADIO
Monmouth Digital Network
Play-by-Play: Joe Vasile

QUICK BULLETS
-Monmouth comes off a win over Manhattan on 12/21, 77-71
-Collins and Konstantynovskyi both recorded double-doubles vs. Manhattan
-Xander Rice topped 20 points for the eighth time this season on 12/21
-MU can tie a program record today with its eighth non-conference victory
-MU is playing a ranked team for the first time since 1/19/23 (#18 Charleston)
-The Hawks are 1-0 against the Big 12 this season, topping West Virginia
-This is MU's final non-league game
-Monmouth and Oklahoma have never met in men's basketball competition
-Monmouth's 47 rebounds against Manhattan were its most this season
-Jakari Spence dished out seven assists vs. Manhattan, a season high 
-The Hawks have started the same five in all 12 games

A MONMOUTH WIN WOULD...
-top Monmouth's win total from 2022-23
-mark the eighth win of the season for Monmouth
-be MU's second true road win of the season
-be MU's second win this season over a Big 12 opponent
-tie a program record for non-conference victories with eight
-register as the 197th win of Rice's career
-hand Oklahoma its second loss of the season
-run Monmouth's winning streak to three
-secure an 8-5 record in non-league play
-be MU's 14th win in the calendar year of 2023

MORE INFO ON THE ALL-TIME SERIES
-This is the first meeting between the two schools in men's basketball
-MU is taking on its second Big 12 opponent this year
-Monmouth is 2-7 against current Big 12 members
-Those wins came over West Virginia this November and in 2021 over Cincinnati, who was an AAC member at the time
-This is the first time MU will ever play in the state of Oklahoma
-MU saw Oklahoma's Javian McCollum during his freshman season at Siena twice in MAAC play, with the guard totaling 16 points
on 4-11 shooting in the two contests
-Monmouth has also played against John Hugley IV in 2021 at Pitt, a Hawks win in which Hugley finished with 14 points and 13
rebounds

NOTES FROM THE LAST TIME OUT
-Monmouth wins its seventh non-conference game of the season, one off a record
-Konstantynovskyi and Collins recorded double-doubles, the first time since January 24, 2020 against Niagara that MU had two do it
in the same game (Ray Salnave and Marcus McClary).
-The double-double was the second of both Konstantynovskyi's and Collins' careers.
­-Xander Rice scored 20+ points for the eighth time this season.
-Collins' 13 rebounds marked a career high.
-Jakari Spence's seven assists marked a season high and the most by a Hawk in a game this year.
-Xander Rice went 8-8 from the line, the most makes without a miss from the stripe by a Hawk this year.
-MU's 47 rebounds as a team was the most this season and most since 47 against Norfolk State on 11/17/22.
-Monmouth won its second straight game by the same score, 77-71.
-The Hawks are 2-0 against MAAC competition this season.
-Monmouth started the same lineup for the 12th straight game this season.
-Monmouth outshot Manhattan 47% to 36%.

NEXT UP
-Monmouth will open CAA play on January 4 at home against Towson
-MU is 1-3 all time against the Tigers
-The Hawks are entering their second season in the CAA 
-The game will air on SNY and FloSports