Early in the season, Xzayvier Brown teamed with Nijel Pack to help spark Oklahoma’s offense.
After a few games of struggling through an injury, the Saint Joseph’s transfer guard appears to be returning to form ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against Kansas City in Norman, Okla.
“That three-game stretch, he was playing his heart out, but just to see him getting it going (Saturday), he looked more like X,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said. “He makes us different.”
The Sooners (7-3) are coming off an 85-76 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday in Oklahoma City, led by Brown’s 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting and five assists.
After an ankle injury Nov. 23 against Alcorn State, Brown scored just 22 total points over a three-game span, missing 23 of 30 shots from the field before bouncing back over the weekend.
Pack is one of four Sooners averaging 11 or more points per game, leading the way with 17.3. Brown is second at 13.9 ppg.
While Brown is resuming his position as a major contributor, freshman Kai Rogers appears to be emerging into a more significant role.
Rogers has played at least 11 minutes in the last two games after averaging just 7.1 minutes over his first seven games.
“Kai makes plays for us,” Moser said. “He’s making his minutes count.”
The Sooners are averaging 84.7 points per game, while Kansas City is allowing 81 ppg.
The Roos are led by CJ Evans, who is averaging 12.5 points and 3.4 assists. Evans scored just four points in 11 minutes in Kansas City’s 102-75 home win over Div. II Spurgeon on Saturday.
The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Roos (2-9).
Kansas City’s Jayson Petty is averaging 11.8 points while Kasheem Grady II scores at a 10.4 clip.
Tuesday’s game marks the first of four consecutive at home for Oklahoma, which is 4-0 on its home court this season.
The game will be the first of back-to-back games in the state for Kansas City, which will visit Oklahoma State on Thursday.
The Roos haven’t beaten a power conference team since knocking off Missouri in November 2021.
