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From SoonerSports.com:
Teams: Oklahoma (13-14, 4-9) vs. No. 24 Baylor (21-6, 8-5)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 27
Tip: 12:47 p.m. CST
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa)
TV: Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in OKC; KQCW Ch. 19 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast: ESPN360.com
Series: OU leads 35-6
GAME PREVIEW
Oklahoma (13-14 overall, 4-9 Big 12) will try to snap a five-game losing streak when it hosts No. 24 Baylor (21-6, 8-5) Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CST. The Sooners, who have lost two straight at home after notching 11 wins at Lloyd Noble Center to start the year, are tied with Texas Tech for eighth place in the Big 12 standings. Baylor, coming off a 70-66 victory over No. 22 Texas A&M, has won four of its last five games. The Bears are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference race with Texas and Texas A&M. Saturday’s game will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck calling the action. It will be televised regionally by the Big 12 Network with Bob Carpenter and Bryndon Manzer announcing.
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 Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
PROMOTIONS
• The first 2,000 children in attendance will receive a free OU Boomer Build-a-Bear.
• Former men's basketball players and coaches will be in Norman for an OU reunion and will be recognized at halftime.
PREVIEWING BAYLOR
Baylor enters Saturday’s game with a 21-6 overall record and an 8-5 Big 12 mark (three-way tie for fourth place). It is 2-4 in league road games with wins over Texas (by three in overtime) and Nebraska (by two), and losses to Colorado (by seven), Kansas (by six), Texas A&M (by seven) and Oklahoma State (by seven). The Bears have won four of their last five games and six of their last eight. In Big 12 play, they rank first in field goal percentage (.471), free throw percentage (.765) and blocked shots (6.5 bpg), second in 3-point field goal percentage (.387) and fourth in 3-pointers per game (7.2).
Junior guard LaceDarius Dunn leads a trio of Bears who average double figures in scoring. Dunn ranks second in the Big 12 with his 19.1 points a game (20.8 in league play) and is shooting .417 from behind the arc (league-high 3.3 makes per outing) and .853 from the free throw line (ranks second in Big 12). He has scored at least 20 points 12 times on the year. Senior guard Tweety Carter, who missed the team’s first four games due to a suspension, is averaging 16.0 points and a league-high 6.1 assists over his 23 contests. Carter, who is shooting .391 from long range (2.7 makes per game), scored 25 points last Saturday at Oklahoma State but was held to eight in Wednesday’s win over Texas A&M. Junior forward/center Ekpe Udoh, who transferred after playing two years at Michigan, has been a welcome addition on the inside. The 6-10, 240-pounder from Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe High School is averaging 13.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a conference-best 4.3 blocks per game. He ranks second in the Big 12 with 13 double-doubles.
Scott Drew is 102-101 (.502) in his seventh year as Baylor’s head coach. His BU squads have posted a 34-75 (.312) record in Big 12 play.
OU-BAYLOR SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 35-6 series advantage against Baylor and has won 30 of the last 31 meetings. The Sooners possess a 17-2 series lead in games played in Norman and have won 14 straight there. The last Baylor win in Norman came on Dec. 6, 1977 (75-67). OU is 26-1 against the Bears since the inception of the Big 12 Conference and has won its 13 series home games during the span by an average of 23.5 points.
EARLIER THIS YEAR AGAINST THE BEARS
• Oklahoma dropped a 90-61 decision at Baylor to open Big 12 play on Jan. 9. The loss broke OU’s 30-game winning streak against the Bears and snapped its 16-game victory streak in Waco. Baylor had not beaten OU since Dec. 6, 1977.
• OU went 7-for-10 from the field and held a 20-11 lead after the game’s first eight minutes, but shot just .118 (2-for-17) the rest of the half as Baylor went on a 30-6 run over the final 12 minutes to go up 41-26 at the break. OU never got closer than 12 points in the second half.
• Baylor shot an OU opponent season high of .586 from the field and knocked down 10 of its 20 3-point attempts. The Sooners shot .357 from the field and .250 from behind the arc (5-for-20) for their second worst marks of the season.
• Tiny Gallon led OU with 17 points and grabbed a team-high-tying five rebounds in 30 minutes of play.
• Tony Crocker was 3-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points and a season-high five assists.
• LaceDarius Dunn went 6-for-8 from behind the arc and scored a game-high 28 points for Baylor.
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma is 35-6 all-time against Baylor and has won 30 of the last 31 meetings. OU is 17-2 against the Bears in Norman (has won 14 straight there).
• Baylor’s last win in Norman came on Dec. 6, 1977 (75-67).
• OU has won its 13 Big 12 home games vs. Baylor by an average of 23.5 points.
• In OU’s last five games (all losses), opponents are averaging 82.0 points and shooting .507 from the field, .500 from 3-point range (40-for-80).
• Due to injuries, an illness and suspensions, the Sooners have used seven different starting lineups in their 13 conference games.
• OU entered the week ranked first in the Big 12 and 16th nationally with its 8.4 3-point makes per game. The school record for average 3-pointers per contest in a season is 8.5 in 1998-99.
• Four of Oklahoma’s top seven scorers are freshmen.
• OU is the only Big 12 team with five players who each average double figures in scoring.
• Over the last 10 games, Tommy Mason-Griffin is averaging 20.9 points and 4.5 assists.
• Mason-Griffin has made at least one 3-pointer in 26 of 27 games, and at least two treys in 12 of 13 league outings. On the year, he ranks fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (.439), fourth in assists (4.7 apg) and fourth in 3-point makes per game (2.4).
• In OU’s 13 league contests, Mason-Griffin is shooting .457 from 3-point range (42-for-92). The rest of the team is shooting .280 (58-for-207).
• Mason-Griffin did not lead OU in scoring in any of its first 17 games. He has done it eight times in the last 10 outings.
• Mason-Griffin has played at least 38 minutes in 11 of the last 12 games (35 in the other). He has logged 40 or more minutes six times in those 12 outings.
• Junior guard Cade Davis is averaging 14.5 points and 4.8 rebounds over the last eight outings. He is 23-for-58 (.397) from behind the arc during the stretch and has made at least three treys in six of the last 10 games.
• Senior guard Tony Crocker, who has started his last 92 games, has recorded his only seven career double-doubles over his last 20 outings. Crocker leads all Big 12 guards in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and double-doubles.
• OU’s leading scorer on the year (16.3 ppg), sophomore guard Willie Warren has missed five Big 12 games (ankle, illness), including the last two. He ranks ninth in the league in scoring and seventh in assists (4.1 apg).
