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Source: SoonerSports.com
Teams: Oklahoma (12-9, 3-4) vs. No. 9/10 Texas (19-3, 5-2)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 6
Tip: 3:05 p.m. CST
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in OKC; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa; Sirius 154)
TV: ESPN
Webcast: ESPN360.com
Series: OU leads 46-28
SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (12-9 overall, 3-4 Big 12) plays the first of two straight home games when it hosts No. 9/10 Texas (19-3, 5-2) Saturday at 3 p.m. CST. The Sooners are 10-0 at home this year and have won 30 of their last 31 in Norman. Texas, coming off a 72-60 win at Oklahoma State on Monday, is 4-2 in true road games and is the first ranked opponent to visit Norman this year. Saturday’s game will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by ESPN with Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.
TICKET INFORMATION
A limited number of tickets are available at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online at SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east box offices will open Saturday at 1 p.m.
OU TO CELEBRATE LIFE OF WAYMAN TISDALE
The Oklahoma athletics department will celebrate the life and playing career of all-time leading scorer and rebounder Wayman Tisdale on Saturday. Tisdale passed away last May from cancer at the age of 44.
Tisdale’s family, as well as former teammates, coaches and band mates, will be in attendance. Members of Tisdale's band will perform before the game and will join superstar Toby Keith at halftime in performing Keith's hit single "Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song)." Also at halftime, a portion of the upcoming documentary "The Wayman Tisdale Story" will be shown on Lloyd Noble Center's video board.
HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS
Oklahoma has won 11 straight games at Lloyd Noble Center and 30 of its last 31. The Sooners, who went 16-1 in Norman last year, are 10-0 this season and 450-73 (.860) since the building opened in 1975. They are 13-6 (.684) against Texas at Lloyd Noble Center.
PREVIEWING TEXAS
Texas, ranked No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today version, is 19-3 on the year and 5-2 in Big 12 play. It was ranked No. 1 in both polls just two weeks ago after winning its first 17 games. The Longhorns lost three out of four games after reaching No. 1 status, but rebounded for a 72-60 win at Oklahoma State on Monday. In conference play, UT ranks No. 2 in scoring offense (81.6 ppg), No. 9 in scoring defense (75.7 ppg), No. 3 in field goal percentage (.457), No. 5 in 3-point percentage (.372) and No. 12 in free throw percentage (.609).
Senior forward Damion James leads a trio of Longhorns who average double figures in points. James, who originally signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma, produces 18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. He ranks sixth in the Big 12 in scoring, first in rebounding and fourth in steals. Freshman guard Avery Bradley averages 12.1 points and 2.3 assists per game. A McDonald’s All-American last year, Bradley ranks second on the team with his 29 3-point makes (shooting .392 from behind the arc). He sports a .480 free throw mark (24-for-50). Senior center Dexter Pittman is averaging 11.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and a team-high 2.2 blocks in just 19.6 minutes a contest. The 6-10, 290-pounder is averaging 6.6 points and 4.0 boards in league play (19.7 minutes per game). Freshmen J’Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton rank fourth and fifth on the squad in scoring. Brown, a guard, averages 9.7 points and 2.3 assists a contest, and is shooting .926 from the free throw line (50-for-54). Hamilton supplies 9.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17.4 minutes an outing, and leads the team with his 35 treys (shooting .380 from long distance). Hamilton is coming off a career-high 27 point game at Oklahoma State in which he went 11-for-16 from the field (5-for-8 from 3-point range) in just 19 minutes of action. His previous career high was 17 points.
Rick Barnes is in his 12th year as Texas’ head coach and is 289-108 (.747). He owns a 491-242 (.670) career record.
OU-TEXAS SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 46-28 series advantage against Texas despite losing seven of the last eight meetings. OU is 22-9 against the Longhorns in Norman and is 13-6 at Lloyd Noble Center. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 17-15 against Texas (8-5 in Norman). Jeff Capel is 1-6 against the Longhorns as OU’s head coach (1-2 in Norman).
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE LONGHORNS
Oklahoma and Texas split their two meetings last year, with OU posting a 78-63 win in Norman on Jan. 12 and UT claiming a 73-68 triumph in Austin on Feb. 21. In the first matchup, Blake Griffin recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for the Sooners while Willie Warren added 17 points, Tony Crocker 16 and Austin Johnson 15. OU, which jumped out to a 24-8 lead and shot .509 from the field on the night, held Texas to .338 field goal and .217 (5-for-23) 3-point shooting. A.J. Abrams led the Longhorns with 22 points but was 8-for-27 (.296) from the floor and 3-for-15 (.200) from behind the arc. The Sooners saw their 13-game winning streak end in the rematch in Austin, as Griffin sustained a first-half concussion and scored just two points in 11 total minutes. Warren, who was 6-for-12 from 3-point distance and scored 27 points, led a charge that put OU up 61-56 with 5:00 remaining. Texas outscored the Sooners 17-7 the rest of the way, however. Abrams, who scored 18 of Texas’ final 20 points, finished with a team-high 23. Damion James added 16 points and 10 boards.
NOTEWORTHY
• OU is 46-28 all-time against Texas and 22-9 in Norman.
• The Sooners are averaging 8.3 3-point makes per game. The school record for average 3-pointers per contest in a season is 8.5 (in 1998-99). Five Sooners have made at least 25 treys (no other Big 12 school has more than three players).
• OU ranks second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally with its .739 free throw mark.
• Over the last four games, Tommy Mason-Griffin is averaging 23.5 points and 4.0 assists. He is 14-for-28 (.500) from 3-point range during the stretch.
• Mason-Griffin has made at least one 3-pointer in 20 of 21 games, and at least two treys in 14 of the last 17 outings. He ranks second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (.446), fourth in assists (4.6 apg) and sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.1).
• In OU’s seven conference games, Mason-Griffin is shooting .489 (22-for-45) from 3-point range. The rest of the team is shooting .245 (27-for-110).
• Last week, Mason-Griffin became the first OU guard to score at least 20 points in three consecutive games since first-team All-American Hollis Price did it in 2002-03 as a senior. Tim McCalister in 1983-84 was the last OU freshman (regardless of position) to pull off the feat.
• Senior guard Tony Crocker, who has started his last 86 games, has recorded his only six career double-doubles over his last 14 outings.
• Crocker needs eight 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).
• Junior guard Cade Davis has scored at least 13 points four times in the last eight games and is averaging 11.8 points over the stretch (he averaged 7.7 points in the team’s first 13 games). A .391 field goal shooter on the year, Davis has shot .500 or better in five of the last eight outings. Over the last two games, he is averaging 18.5 points and is 7-for-15 (.467) from behind the arc.
• Sophomore guard Willie Warren is averaging 14.1 points over his last nine games (4.3 free throw attempts per contest) after averaging 19.6 points over his first nine (7.9 free throw attempts per game).
