SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (9-2) returns home following a 56-55 Thursday loss at Cincinnati to host Northwestern State (7-6) on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center in the final regular season non-conference game for both teams. The Sooners are aiming for their 34th straight non-conference home victory and will face a Demons squad that has won three of its last four. Saturday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa; Sirius 112; XM 195) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (Cox 3/703 in OKC and Tulsa) with Brian Brinkley and Billy Tubbs calling the action.
PREVIEWING NORTHWESTERN STATE
Southland Conference member Northwestern State, located in Natchitoches, La., enters Saturday’s game with a 7-6 record. The Demons had won three straight prior to an 82-67 defeat to Mississippi State in their last outing (Dec. 22) in Jackson, Miss. They are 5-0 at home and 2-5 in true road games.
Northwestern State has experienced a sharp increase in shooting percentages over the last five games. The Demons shot .386 from the field and .272 from 3-point range in their first eight contests, but are shooting .472 from the field and .389 from long range over the last five.
After leading the nation in blocked shots (7.0 per game) last year, NSU is averaging 6.8 rejections this season. It also averages 10.0 steals per outing, giving the Demons top-10 national rankings in both categories this year.
Junior guard Shamir Davis is averaging team highs of 13.3 points, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has scored in double figures in each of the last five contests and poured in 28 points at Louisiana Tech on Dec. 6.
Senior guard Louis Ellis contributes 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per outing. He has made a team-high 27 3-pointers (2.1 per game) and is shooting .333 from deep.
Senior center William Mosley contributes 9.1 points and team highs of 9.7 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots per game. The 6-7, 220-pounder led the nation with his 4.9 rejections a game last year and ranks No. 4 nationally this season.
• Head coach Mike McConathy is 191-194 in his 13th year at Northwestern State. He led the Demons to regular season Southland titles in 2005 and 2006, and to conference tournament crowns (and NCAA Tournament appearances) in 2001 and 2006.
OU-NORTHWESTERN STATE SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 2-0 series lead over Northwestern State, with home wins over the Demons during the 1984-85 and 1998-99 seasons. In the first meeting, Wayman Tisdale scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace the Sooners to a 98-62 win. With 11:29 left in the first half, Tisdale notched his fifth and sixth points of the game to pass Kansas State’s Mike Evans as the Big Eight Conference’s career scoring leader. It was just the 15th game of Tisdale’s junior season. In the second meeting, OU guard Michael Johnson scored a then-career-high 23 points and logged a career-high six steals in a 75-55 victory, while four other Sooners scored 10 points each.
