Auburn men’s basketball won’t play many Quad II games during this season’s Southeastern Conference schedule.

Tuesday night will be one of those games when Oklahoma comes to Neville Arena ranked No. 38 in the NET rankings and No. 34 in KenPom’s efficiency ratings.

The Sooners are coming off one of their best performances of the season, beating then No. 24 Vanderbilt 97-67. Oklahoma has won three of its last four games after starting SEC play 0-4, but two of its three conference wins came against the teams ranked 14th and 16th in the SEC.

Here’s a closer look at Oklahoma ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup:

The season so far

Oklahoma was one of the stories of the SEC in the non-conference, going into conference play 13-0 with wins over Arizona, Louisville and Michigan, among others.

The Sooners are 4-5 in Quad I games and have yet to lose a non-Quad I contest this season. Their best win — according to the NET and KenPom — came against Arizona on Nov. 28, beating the Wildcats 82-77 at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Oklahoma beat Louisville 69-64 the next day to win the tournament.

SEC play was not kind to Oklahoma at first, as the Sooners lost four straight before beating South Carolina, who currently occupies last place in the conference.

The most lopsided loss came to Alabama, losing 107-79 on the road in the SEC opener. However, Oklahoma’s most recent win was by 30 points over Vanderbilt.

“It may not have been one of those matchups that, at the beginning of the season, you would circle as a home game matchup, a Tuesday night against Oklahoma,” Bruce Pearl told reporters Monday. “But they’re 38th in the NET.”

Players to watch

Oklahoma’s roster features multiple players that Auburn previously recruited, according to Pearl, with both of the ones he mentioned being among the Sooners’ top players.

Jeremiah Fears and Duke Miles were the two Pearl highlighted during his Monday news conference, with the duo being Oklahoma’s second and third-leading scorers.

Jalon Moore leads the way however, averaging 18.2 points and six rebounds per game, and was teammates with Auburn guard Miles Kelly during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons. A native of Birmingham and graduate of Gardendale High School, Moore stands 6-foot-7 and shoots 43.1% from 3-point range, one of four Oklahoma players shooting over 40%.

“Miles remembered him being a good player, great athlete, but has transferred to Oklahoma and really developed,” Pearl said. “And again, a really tough cover.”

Fears, a freshman, has the highest usage rate on the team and averages 16.1 points and 4.2 assists per game. Pearl called him “the focal point of any scouting report,” and he scored 21 points in Oklahoma’s blowout win over Vanderbilt on Saturday.

His biggest weakness, though, is turnovers. Fears averages 3.6 turnovers per game and has a 22.7% turnover rate, according to KenPom.

Miles, another Alabama native, is the third Oklahoma player who averages double figures. He won a state championship at Percy Julian High School in Montgomery in 2020, and started his college career at Troy.

He spent a season at High Point before transferring to Oklahoma and is averaging 10.6 points per game with the Sooners this season. Miles is arguably Oklahoma’s best shooter, with his true shooting percentage (65.4%) ranking third in the SEC among qualifying players, according to KenPom.

Keys to the game

Dominate the glass

Oklahoma is one of few Auburn opponents in SEC play so far that does not live on the glass.

The Sooners rank in the bottom half of the country in both offensive rebound percentage and offensive rebound percentage allowed. Oklahoma’s opponents rebound 33.1% of their misses, ranking the Sooners 306th out of 364 Division I teams.

That gives Auburn a chance to put up similar rebounding numbers to its win over LSU, a game in which Auburn took 29 more shots than LSU and won by 13 despite having a relatively cold night from the field.

Play through the bigs

Oklahoma is not a terrible defensive team.

The Sooners rank 67th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, and have the fifth-best 3-point defense in the country. The Sooners are holding their opponents to 28.1% from beyond the and their steal percentage (12.6%) ranks in the top 30.

However, Oklahoma’s 2-point defense ranks in the bottom third of the country, allowing its opponents to make 53.1% of their 2-point shots.

That’s not a recipe for success when facing arguably the best center in college basketball, Johni Broome, and an Auburn front line that is big and physical. Combine that with Oklahoma’s poor rebounding numbers, and Auburn’s path to offensive success may be in the paint.

Perimeter defense

Most of Oklahoma’s offensive production comes from its guards, with the exception of Moore, who’s a slightly undersized power forward.

Playing solid and disciplined perimeter defense will be important for Auburn, facing a team with multiple scoring guards and that ranks in the top 25 in 3-point percentage.

Fortunately for Auburn, it’s an area where the Tigers have been successful in previous games. Prime examples came against Memphis, Purdue and Ohio State, games in which Auburn ran opponents off the 3-point line, significantly changing how each team was able to run its offense.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m