- Joined
- Oct 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,345
- Reaction score
- 0
Source
Teams: Oklahoma (11-8, 2-3) vs. Iowa State (12-7, 1-3)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 27
Tip: 8:05 p.m. CST
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in OKC; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 126)
TV: Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in OKC; KJRH-DT 2.1 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast: ESPN360.com
Series: OU leads 108-77
GAME PREVIEW
Oklahoma (11-8 overall, 2-3 Big 12) plays its first home game in 11 days when it hosts Iowa State (12-7, 1-3) Wednesday at 8:05 p.m. CST. The Sooners, who are coming off a 75-65 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday, are 9-0 at home on the year. Iowa State, which lost 84-61 to Kansas Saturday in Ames, is 2-2 in true road games. Wednesday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by the Big 12 Network with Dave Armstrong and Reid Gettys calling the action.
TICKET INFORMATION
A limited number of tickets are available for $10, $25 and $35 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online here. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east box offices will open Wednesday at 6 p.m.
PROMOTION
Wednesday's game will mark First Responders Night. Fan banners will be presented to the first 2,500 fans in attendance.
PREVIEWING IOWA STATE
Iowa State enters the week with 12-7 overall and 1-3 Big 12 records. Its only win in league play came Jan. 16 at Nebraska (56-53). It has lost at home to No. 1 Texas (90-83) and No. 3 Kansas (84-61), and at Texas Tech (78-71). The Cyclones, who average 75.0 points per game (rank eighth in Big 12), are shooting .466 from the field (fifth), .420 from 3-point range (first) and .624 from the free throw line (11th). They are 2-2 in true road games on the season (other contests were a 90-70 win at Drake on Nov. 17 and an 82-63 loss at California on Dec. 5).
ISU’s frontcourt combo of junior forward Craig Brackins and senior forward Marquis Gilstrap is one of the most productive in the conference. Brackins, a preseason All-American, leads the team with his 16.0 points per contest and ranks second with his 7.8 boards per game. He has recorded six double-doubles on the year and has scored in double figures in all but two games. Brackins already ranks 15th in school history in scoring and 18th in rebounding. Gilstrap, a transfer from Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College, averages 15.1 points and a team-high 9.3 boards an outing. In Big 12 play, he’s averaging a double-double with his 18.0 points and a league-high 12.3 rebounds a game. A five-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week, Gilstrap has nine double-doubles on the year, including four in the team’s four league contests. Junior point guard Diante Garrett is averaging 8.0 points and team highs of 5.4 assists and 1.4 steals a game. He has recorded at least seven assists six times on the year. The Cyclones lost guard Lucca Staiger last week when he opted to pursue a professional playing opportunity in his native Germany. A junior, Staiger started all 17 of his games this year and averaged 9.4 points. He made a team-high 48 3-pointers (2.8 per game) and shot .425 from long range.
Greg McDermott is in his fourth season as Iowa State’s head coach and owns a 56-58 (.491) record. He’s in his 16th year as a collegiate head coach and is 277-185 (.596).
OU-IOWA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 108-77 series advantage against Iowa State and has won the last three meetings, seven of the last nine and 10 of the last 14. OU is 59-21 against the Cyclones in Norman and has won the last six at home. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 10-5 against ISU (6-0 in Norman). Jeff Capel is 3-1 against the Cyclones as OU’s head coach (1-0 in Norman).
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE CYCLONES
In the only meeting between the two teams last season, Oklahoma shot .654 from the field in the second half and outscored Iowa State 13-2 over the last 4:26 to post a 78-68 win in Ames. OU led by as many as 11 points in the first half, only to see the Cyclones knot the score at 33-33 by halftime. Willie Warren (29) and Blake Griffin (23) combined for 52 points for the Sooners, including 32 of the team’s 45 second-half points. Warren was 9-for-18 from the field and 5-for-10 from behind the 3-point arc, and added four assists and a then-career-high six rebounds. Griffin was 10-for-13 from the floor and grabbed a game-high 15 boards. Craig Brackins and Diante Garrett paced Iowa State with 19 and 17 points, respectively, while Garrett also handed out 10 assists. Each team committed just seven turnovers. OU’s win snapped a two-game losing streak in Ames.
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma is 108-77 all-time against Iowa State and 59-21 in Norman. OU has won the last three overall meetings and six straight at Lloyd Noble Center.
• The Sooners have won 10 consecutive games at home and 29 of their last 30.
• Big 12 teams are a combined 128-8 (.941) at home this year.
• OU has held its foes to sub-.400 field goal shooting in six of the last eight halves.
• Oklahoma is averaging a Big 12-high 8.2 3-point makes per game. The school record for average treys per contest in a season is 8.5 (in 1998-99).
• In its wins, Oklahoma is giving up 62.5 points a game and is holding opponents to .386 shooting from the field. In its losses, OU is surrendering 82.6 points and allowing foes to shoot .488 from the floor.
• Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 with its .740 free throw mark. The Sooners have made 301 free throws while their opponents have attempted 318.
• Six of the top-10 teams in the AP poll this time a year ago are not ranked currently (OU, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Louisville, Marquette and Xavier).
• Tommy Mason-Griffin has made at least one 3-pointer in 18 of 19 games this year, and at least two treys in 12 of the last 15 outings. He ranks third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.442), fourth in assists (4.6 apg), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and ninth in 3-pointers per game (2.0).
• In Oklahoma’s five conference games, Mason-Griffin is shooting .500 (15-for-30) from 3-point range. The rest of the team is shooting .195 (15-for-77).
• No OU freshman has ever shot better from 3-point range for a season than Mason-Griffin’s current .442 mark.
• Senior guard Tony Crocker, who has started 85 consecutive games, has recorded his only six career double-doubles over the last 13 outings.
• Crocker needs 10 rebounds to become just the second Sooner to ever record 1,000 points, 500 boards and 150 3-pointers in a career (Ryan Minor is the other).
