OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City opens the Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball season at Southwestern Christian on Saturday.
 
The SAC opener for both teams begins at 4 p.m.
 
OCU Notebook
Bounce Back: The Stars are looking to bounce back from a three-game slide after starting the season at 2-0. After beating Randall and Hastings, the Strs lost a buzzer-beater against LSU-Shreveport before falling to Concordia (Neb.) and Hastings in the Cattle Classic in Nebraska.
 
SAC Openers: The Stars are 3-1 in SAC openers since the Covid season. Last year, OCU defeated Nelson 77-74 in the conference opener. James Cloud scored 13 points in that game.
 
SAC Picks: The coaches of the Sooner Athletic Conference didn't have much love for either team. The Stars are the ninth-place pick and the Eagles were picked to finish 12^th.
 
All-Classic: The good news from OCU's 0-2 weekend in Nebraska was that Jonas Carlisle was named to the All-Cattle Classic team. He averaged 18 points and nine rebounds in the two games.
 
On the Road: The Stars are 0-1 in true road games this season – an 87-76 loss at Concordia. Jonas Carlisle scored 22 points in that game and Brian Alexander added 12. Jackson Hopps and SaVaughn Smith scored 11 apiece. While OCU won the turnover and rebounding columns, Concordia shot nearly 60 percent from the field.
 
Last Game: Hastings evened the score in the season series with an 80-65 win. The Broncos shot 51 percent from the field. Brian Alexander had 20 points, Jonas Carlisle added 14 and Jackson Hopps scored 11.
 
Scoring: Starters Jonas Carlisle and Brian Alexander lead the team in scoring, averaging 16.4 and 15.2 points per game, respectively. Sixth man Jackson Hopps averages 11.4 points per game. Carlisle leads the team with 11 three-pointers and carries a 36.7 shooting percentage. Alphonse Muteba averages 8.4 points per game and is shooting 73.7 percent from the field – all inside the arch. Jackson Hopps leads the team in free throw percentage at 92.9.
 
Board Games: OCU gets to the boards. The Stars average almost eight more rebounds per game than their opponents. Jonas Carlisle leads OCU with 7.8 rebounds per game, including a team-best 17 offensive rebounds.
 
Assistance: The Stars average 12.6 assists per game. Brian Alexander leads the team with three per game.
 
Defense: Jonas Carlisle gets after opponents defensively. He leads the team with seven blocked shots and shares the team lead of six steals with Jackson Hopps and SaVaughn Smith.
 
History with SCU: The Eagles interrupted an 11-game OCU win streak in the series with a 91-84 overtime win in Bethany last season.
 
Scouting the Eagles: SCU is 2-1 this season with a Tuesday game at Incarnate Word upcoming. The Eagles and OCU have one common opponent, Randall. OCU won that game by 49 points. SCU beat Randall by three. Michal Wooldridge, a 6-9 forward, leads the team with 15.3 points per game.