- Joined
- Oct 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,345
- Reaction score
- 0
Source
GAME PREVIEW
Oklahoma (4-3) plays its second of three straight home games Sunday when it hosts Arizona (3-3) at 6 p.m. CST in a Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup. The Sooners are coming off a pair of wins while the Wildcats have lost two straight. Sunday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in OKC; KMOD FM 97.5 in Tulsa; Sirius 91) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by ESPNU with Doug Bell and Reid Gettys calling the action.
TICKET INFORMATION
Reserved seats are available for $15, $30 and $45 at SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
PROMOTIONS
• Members of the OU football team will sign autographs prior to the game. The autograph session will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Clinton Lounge (Lloyd Noble Center's upper concourse, east side). Fans will be allowed to bring one item per person to be autographed (no larger than 10" x 10" x 10").
• The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive an OU beanie hat.
• Lee Roberts of KRXO 107.7 FM will give away pairs of tickets (fans 18 and older) to the upcoming Elton John, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley concerts, courtesy of KRXO and Oklahomatickets.com.
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma has won 73 of its last 75 home non-conference games, including its last 15. It is 4-1 all-time against Arizona (1-0 in Norman).
• OU is 1-1 in Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series games (both vs. USC).
• The Sooners rank second in the Big 12 Conference with their .790 free throw percentage and have made more free throws (128) than their opponents have attempted (115).
• Junior guard Cade Davis has started the last three games and is averaging 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in those contests. He is 8-of-19 (.421) from 3-point range and 10-of-10 from the free throw line during the stretch. Davis, who averaged 3.8 points over the team's first four games coming off the bench, has made his last 14 free throw attempts and is 15-of-16 on the year (.938).
• Sophomore guard Willie Warren is averaging team highs of 19.2 points (ranks third in Big 12) and 5.7 assists (ranks second) in his six games. He has scored 70 points from the field and 45 from the free throw line (averaging 9.2 free throw attempts).
• Freshman forward Tiny Gallon is nearly averaging a double-double (11.4 points and 9.9 rebounds). His 9.9 rebounds per outing rank second in the Big 12 and his 15 boards in the season opener were the most in an OU freshman debut since Alvan Adams grabbed 28 caroms in 1972-73.
• Freshman guard Steven Pledger is averaging 12.3 points in 25.3 minutes a contest. He is 20-for-47 from long distance (.426) and has hit at least four treys in three games. He has already surpassed the 20-point mark twice this season (21 vs. Mount St. Mary's and 23 vs. Houston).
• Guards have accounted for 406 of Oklahoma's 541 points (75 percent).
• The freshman foursome of Pledger (86), Gallon (80), Tommy Mason-Griffin (66) and Andrew Fitzgerald (30) has scored 48 percent of OU's points.
PREVIEWING ARIZONA
Arizona enters Sunday's contest with a 3-3 record. The Wildcats opened with home wins over Northern Arizona (87-70) and Rice (66-49) before heading to the Maui Invitational where they went 1-2 (lost 65-61 to Wisconsin, beat Colorado 91-87 in overtime, lost 84-72 to Vanderbilt). They returned home Wednesday to face No. 24 UNLV and dropped a 74-72 double-overtime decision. Arizona is averaging 74.8 points and is shooting .439 from the field, .342 from 3-point range (6.5 makes per game) and .716 from the free throw line. Opponents are averaging 71.5 points and are shooting .404 from the field and .241 from behind the arc (4.7 makes per outing).
Senior guard Nic Wise, who was on the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy preseason watch lists, leads the Wildcats with his 16.8 points and 5.0 assists per game. He is also averaging 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest, has made a team-high 11 treys (.367) and is 26-for-27 (.963) from the free throw line. Wise scored 30 points in the win over Colorado. Freshman forward Derrick Williams is coming off a 28-point effort against UNLV, and is averaging 15.2 points and 6.0 boards per contest. Williams, who set a school record with 21 free throw attempts against Wisconsin, is shooting .580 from the field and .640 from the foul line (32-for-50). Junior forward Jamelle Horne is averaging 10.2 points and team highs of 9.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, while freshman forward Solomon Hill contributes 10.0 points and 5.5 points a contest. Horne ranks second on the team with nine 3-point makes and was 5-for-5 from deep versus Colorado.
Sean Miller is in his first season as Arizona's head coach. Miller, who compiled a 120-47 (.719) record as head coach at Xavier over the past five seasons, is a 1992 Pittsburgh graduate. Miller coached Xavier to four NCAA Tournament appearances and four 20-win campaigns.
OU-ARIZONA SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's game will mark the sixth between Oklahoma and Arizona, with the Sooners holding a 4-1 series lead. Both schools are 1-0 on their home court, but OU is 3-0 at neutral sites (all three in the NCAA Tournament). The programs last met in the Sweet 16 round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif. No. 2 seed OU outscored the third-seeded Wildcats 55-30 in the second half to post an 88-67 win to advance to the Elite Eight.
HOME NON-CONFERENCE DOMINATION
The Sooners have dominated home non-conference games over the last decade, winning 73 of their last 75 non-league contests inside Lloyd Noble Center going back to Jan. 3, 2000 (good for a .973 winning percentage). Included was a streak of 49 non-conference home victories that was snapped by Villanova on Dec. 6, 2006. The current string stands at 15 games.
FEARSOME FRESHMAN FOURSOME
The freshman foursome of Steven Pledger (12.3 ppg), Tiny Gallon (11.4), Tommy Mason-Griffin (9.4) and Andrew Fitzgerald (5.0) has combined to score 262 of the team's 541 points this year, or 48 percent. Among the Big 12's leaders in 3-point makes, Pledger has knocked down 20 treys on 47 attempts (.426) and has two games of more than 20 points. He has made 11 treys over the last three outings. Gallon, who is shooting .604 from the field, leads the Big 12 with his 9.9 rebounds per game and ranks second with his three double-doubles (he missed out on another by one rebound). Mason-Griffin ranks fourth in the league with his 4.9 assists per game. Fitzgerald is shooting .526 from the field and is 10-for-13 from the free throw line (.769).
HEATING UP FROM OUTSIDE
After shooting .286 from 3-point range and averaging 6.0 treys through its first four games, OU is shooting .471 and averaging 11.0 makes from behind the arc over the last three outings. Freshman Steven Pledger has been the main gun, going 11-for-26 (.423) over the last three contests. Fellow freshman Tommy Mason-Griffin is 7-for-10 (.700), senior Tony Crocker is 6-for-13 (.462) and junior Cade Davis is 8-for-19 (.421) over the same three games.
UP NEXT
OU hosts Centenary on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST (televised by the Sooner Sports Network). The Sooners lead the series 4-0.
