Newcomers Shine in Oklahoma’s Season-Opening Win Against Saint Francis

The Sooners struggled early against the Red Flash, but their crop of newcomers allowed them to pull away and win their season opener comfortably.

Oklahoma forward Derrion Reid | Carson Field, Sooners On S

NORMAN — Rust showed early in Oklahoma’s season opener on Monday — but the Sooners eventually scrubbed it off.

OU beat Saint Francis 102-66 in its first game of the 2025-26 season.

The Sooners held a one-point, 45-44 lead at halftime, but in the final 20 minutes, they dominated. Oklahoma outscored the Red Flash 57-22 in the second half to win comfortably.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

New guys off to promising starts

The Sooners got production from all four of their transfers.

Three of the four players that OU signed from the transfer portal — Nijel Pack, Xzayvier Brown and Tae Davis — finished Monday’s game in double figures. Pack, Brown and Davis each logged 16 points.

The only transfer that didn’t hit double figures, forward Derrion Reid, ended with five points, three rebounds and three assists.

"These guys have come in working, not entitled, wanting the right things," OU coach Porter Moser said. "‘Hey, I’m going to get better here at Oklahoma and also we’re going to be a part of a team that tries to win big.’ These guys have believed in that."

While not a transfer, forward Kuol Atak is a newcomer in the sense that Monday was his first game for the Sooners.

Atak, a 6-9, 192-pound forward from Texas, redshirted the 2024-25 season. 

The redshirt freshman scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first contest of his college career. He also registered two rebounds and a block.

Strong second half down low

After several lapses plagued the Sooners in the paint early on, they tightened up in the final 20 minutes.

In the second half, OU outrebounded Saint Francis 23-13. SFU won the rebounding battle 20-19 in the first 20 minutes.

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"We guarded the dribbler better," Moser said. "We had better team defense. We got back in transition. We just settled down and did so many more things aggressively, but within what we were doing."

Oklahoma finished the game with 10 blocks, while the Red Flash notched just one. 

Forward Mohamed Wague, playing his fifth season of college basketball, had a team-high 10 rebounds. Jeff Nwankwo had nine boards, while Davis had eight.

Freshman post misses opener

Kai Rogers, OU’s freshman big man from Wisconsin, did not play in Monday’s game.

Rogers dressed in street clothes and sat on the bench. A source told Sooners On SI that he has an unspecified injury and that he isn’t expected to play in Saturday’s game against Gonzaga either.

After Monday's game, Moser revealed that Rogers' status is "day-to-day."

A 6-10, 247-pound player that can play both forward and center, Rogers was a consensus 4-star prospect in the Class of 2025. On3 ranked him as the No. 11 center in the 2025 class, and Rogers chose the Sooners over his other finalists, Iowa State and SMU.

Redshirt senior guard Jadon Jones also didn’t play against the Red Flash.

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported early on Monday that Jones would miss the contest with a groin injury.

Oklahoma’s Jadon Jones (groin) is OUT for tonight’s game against Saint Francis, per Porter Moser.

Jones sat out last season, but averaged 12.1 PPG in 2023-24 at Long Beach State.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 3, 2025

Jones transferred to Oklahoma ahead of the 2024-25 season but didn’t appear last year, due to a back injury that he suffered in the offseason.

Before that, Jones played four seasons at Long Beach State and averaged 12.1 points per game in 2023-24.