Former Gators Basketball Coach Lon Kruger has Sooners on a roll

Oklahoma Sooners basketball head coach Lon Kruger led his team to a 80-79 victory over the Texas Longhorn Tuesday night. The Sooners currently stand at (10-4) this season and ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll.

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Oklahoma Sooners

He has been coaching the Sooners for the past 10 seasons. The furthest he has taken the team in the NCAA tournament was a Final Four appearance in 2016. Last year his team had a 19-12 record before the cancellation of the NCAA tournament.

Kruger spoke on the impact COVID-19 had on his players.

Kruger has also been very concerned about his players’ wellbeing this year and last year due to all of the United States’ situations during the pandemic.

Head coach Kruger spoke on the Big 12 conference and the challenges of competing against strong opponents.

Oklahoma will look to continue their strong season as the potential NCAA tournament approaches this March.

Kruger’s Time at Florida

Before joining the Florida Gators coaching staff in 1990, Kruger coached at Texas-Pan American for four seasons in the early ’80s and later moved to Kansas State in 1987 coaching for four seasons. During his time at Kansas State, he led the team to the NCAA Division 1 National tournament each season he was there and made it as far as the Elite Eight.

Kruger spent six seasons with the Florida Gators from 1990 -1996. While coaching the Gators, he led the team to their first-ever Final Four appearance in 1994 with a 29-8 record and tied for first in the SEC East.

During his time at Florida, he went 104-80 before leaving the Gators after the 96 season to go coach for the Illinois Fighting Illini. He was also named the SEC coach of the year in 1992 and 1994.

Next Matchup

The No. 24 Sooners will face the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday at noon in Oklahoma. Alabama has been very dominant this season as they are currently on a 10 game winning streak.