Tag: Utah Valley Wolverines

No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners beat Utah Valley 13-0 in Puerto Vallarta

The Oklahoma Sooners erupted for three home runs in the first two innings to beat Utah Valley 13-0.

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up right where they left off in their season-opening 13-0 win over Utah Valley.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] threw three innings of one-hit ball and Oklahoma had their long-ball game going strong throughout. May collected two strikeouts and allowed just one base runner in the outing.

The fireworks started in the first inning when Kasidi Pickering launched a grand slam with two outs to give the Sooners a 4-0 lead early. It was the first at bat in Pickering’s career and she made it count.

More: Social media reacts to Kasidi Pickering’s grand slam in first career at bat.

After another scoreless inning from May in the top of the second, another true freshman came through in a big way in the bottom of the second. Ella Parker came to the plate with two on and nobody out. Parker sent a line drive up the middle, which brought in [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]. Parker advanced to second on the throw home and then came around to score when Utah Valley missed second base and the ball went through to center field.

With Oklahoma up 7-0, the veterans on the team began to show off their power as [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] went back-to-back to put the Sooners up 9-0 through two innings.

In the bottom of the third, Coleman added a couple more runs with a double to right field that brought in Alynah Torres and Hannah Coor to extend the lead to 11-0. With the Sooners in run-rule territory for the first time in 2024, they added a pair of sacrifice flys pushed the score to 13-0.

Kierston Deal worked around a bases loaded jam for a scoreless fourth inning, and Peytn Monticelli threw a scoreless fifth to give the Sooners the win and extend their record-setting winning streak to 54 games.

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Social Media Reacts: Kasidi Pickering hits a grand slam in first career at bat for Sooners

Kasidi Pickering hit a grand slam in her first career at bat for the Oklahoma Sooners and here’s how social media reacted.

In the Oklahoma Sooners’ season opener in the Puerto Vallarta College Classic, a couple of true freshman are making their debut. Kasidi Pickering drew the start in right field and Ella Parker filled the designated player role.

Both made an impact in Oklahoma’s first game of the weekend. It didn’t take long for Pickering to make her presence felt. She hit a grand slam with two outs in the first inning for her first career home run. Pickering took the ball to the opposite field to give the Sooners a 4-0 lead.

It was quite a statement for the former top 10 prospect. Oklahoma is in control of its opener against Utah Valley, and Pickering’s grand slam helped get the party going.

Here’s how social media reacted to Pickering’s grand slam.

Sooners cross the century mark, blast Arkansas-Pine Bluff in McCasland Field House

Oklahoma shot 57 percent from the field and had five double digit scorers in a 21 point win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Oklahoma had a fun night Thursday evening. Porter Moser’s basketball team had a blast in front of a packed house at historic McCasland Field House. – The Sooners dominated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 107-86 in front of 3,124 Oklahoma students.

The game was a back-and-forth affair for the first seven or eight minutes until the Sooners flipped a switch and turned up the defensive pressure. That allowed OU to go on a 16-2 run right near the halfway mark in the first half. From there, the Sooners never looked back.

Oklahoma earned 27 of their 52 first-half points via the three ball, where they shot a blistering 47 percent. The Golden Lions out of the SWAC couldn’t stop the avalanche once it got going.

[autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag] had quite the first half, leading the way with 14 points, six boards, and two of the team’s nine first-half triples. Sophomore [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag] chipped in 10 of his game-high 20 in the first. [autotag]Javion McCollum[/autotag] and Utah Valley transfer [autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag] also finished in double figures. Pittsburgh transfer big man [autotag]John Hugley[/autotag] rounded out the double-digit scorers with his double of 15 points and ten boards. Team captain and starting point guard [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] ran the show as smoothly as silk while dropping eight assists in transition and the halfcourt offense.

Oklahoma’s defense was far from elite, but the Sooners locked in enough to separate, and the offense never allowed Arkansas-Pine Bluff back in the game.

The Sooners take the floor in the Lloyd Noble Center on Dec. 5 when they play host to the Providence Friars for the Big East-Big 12 Battle. The game will tip at 6 p.m. and be shown on ESPNU.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Sooners land fourth transfer of offseason in guard Utah Valley’s Le’Tre Darthard

Oklahoma continues to attack the portal hard, landing a commitment from Utah Valley transfer guard Le’Tre Darthard.

Oklahoma’s attempt to bounce back from a tumultuous season is firmly underway. The last few weeks have been busy among the Oklahoma basketball office reconfiguring a roster that lost eight bodies to either the transfer portal, graduation, or, professional basketball opportunities.

The project has gone well as Oklahoma has brought in multiple transfers already. All of the incoming Sooners have been productive players at their previous spots.

That trend continued on Thursday as the Sooners earned a commitment from Le’Tre Darthard.

Darthard is a 6-foot-4 guard from Utah Valley University, where he played three seasons. He started all 37 games for the Wolverines this season.

In 2022-2023, he averaged a career-high 13.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on 42.5 percent shooting. He was an All-WAC first-team selection and all-defensive team member as well.

Darthard’s offensive efficiency (117) and defensive efficiency (97) numbers rank among the best in the nation. The sport of basketball has morphed so that teams with a surplus of efficient two-way players have an infinitely higher ceiling than a team that doesn’t.

Darthard won’t dominate the ball. He has a strong ability to score off the ball will be a huge boost. He’ll fit well with Siena transfer [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] who is likely to take the reigns as the primary ball handler and playmaker in half-court sets.

Darthard shot 36 percent from beyond the three-point line, which is more than serviceable and helps alleviate one of Oklahoma’s biggest offensive weaknesses last year.

The Sooners continue to add up productive and experienced guard depth via the portal, as this commitment marks the third guard transfer of the offseason. Oklahoma also added Pitt center [autotag]John Hugley[/autotag] a few weeks back.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Utah Valley-Kentucky odds: UK heavily favored over UVU

Previewing Monday’s Utah Valley Wolverines at Kentucky Wildcats sports betting odds and lines, with college basketball analysis and picks.

The Utah Valley Wolverines (3-1) head east to face the Kentucky Wildcats (2-1) at Rupp Arena Monday at 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Utah Valley-Kentucky odds and betting lines, while providing college basketball betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Utah Valley at Kentucky: Three things you need to know

1. Not many expected Utah Valley would have a win more recently than Kentucky, but the Wildcats were tripped up by Evansville last time out by a 67-64 score as 24.5-point favorites.

2. Kentucky’s offense has been sluggish, averaging just 74.7 points per game (PPG), and they’re 334th on 3-pointers at just 24.5 percent from behind the arc.

3. G Ashton Hagans (leg) is a question mark for Monday’s game against the Wolverines.

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!

Utah Valley at Kentucky: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Kentucky 79, Utah Valley 54

Moneyline (ML)

There is no moneyline for this game at the time of publishing due to the large spread, but even if one were to be released by tip-off, the risk is not worth the meager reward.

Against the Spread (ATS)

KENTUCKY (-24.5, -115) had cashed in nine straight games against the spread before its loss to the Purple Aces last time out. The Wildcats are also 5-2 ATS in the past seven at Rupp Arena.

Utah Valley (+24.5, -105) is just 1-5 ATS in the past six games overall, and 2-5 ATS in the past seven non-conference tilts. The Wolverines have three wins, but they haven’t faced a team remotely close to the caliber of Big Blue.

Over/Under (O/U)

The UNDER 136.5 (-121) is the play. Kentucky is still working out the kinks on offense, and should do just that against the Wolverines. However, UVU won’t contribute much to the total in this game where it’ll be quite overwhelmed. Look for freshman G Tyrese Maxey to show out in this one.

Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

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