- Joined
- Oct 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,345
- Reaction score
- 0
Source: SoonerSports.com
GAME SPECIFICS
Teams: Oklahoma (9-6) vs. Oklahoma State (13-2)
Date: Monday, Jan. 11
Tip: 8:05 p.m. CST
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa)
TV: ESPN
Webcast: ESPN360.com
Series: OU leads 125-90
MONDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (9-6 overall, 0-1 Big 12) plays its first conference home game of the season when it hosts Oklahoma State (13-2, 1-0) Monday at 8 p.m. CST. The Sooners, who are 9-4 in Big 12 home openers, are coming off a 91-60 loss at Baylor on Saturday. OSU, meanwhile, posted an 81-52 home win over No. 22 Texas Tech the same day. Monday’s contest, part of the Bedlam Series and sponsored by Oklahoma Farm Bureau and The Oklahoman, will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised nationally by ESPN with Brent Musburger, Bob Knight and Holly Rowe calling the action.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are available for $30, $45 and $60 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office and at SoonerSports.com. If the Sooners beat OSU, each person in attendance who purchased advance tickets can receive the same number of discounted tickets ($7 and $17) to any future game (except Texas) as part of the "OU Wins, You Win" promotion. Tickets to future games are based on availability.
PREVIEWING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State enters Monday’s contest with a 13-2 record and is coming off an 81-52 home win over No. 22 Texas Tech Saturday. The Cowboys’ only losses came at Tulsa (86-65 on Dec. 2) and versus Rhode Island (63-59 on Jan. 2). They are 1-1 in true road games (loss at Tulsa and a 71-70 win at Stanford). OSU is averaging 75.1 points a game (ranks 10th in the Big 12) and is surrendering 61.9 points a contest (ranks fourth). It is shooting .450 from the field (ranks 10th), .328 from 3-point range (ranks 12th) and .704 from the free throw line (ranks fifth).
Junior guard James Anderson leads four Cowboys who average double figures in points. Anderson is scoring a Big 12-high 21.9 points per contest and adds 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals an outing. The 6-6, 210-pounder scored 28 points Saturday against Texas Tech and 37 in Norman last year against the Sooners. Senior guard Obi Muonelo is averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting a team-high .419 (26-for-62) from 3-point range. Junior forward Marshall Moses averages 10.5 points and a team-high 9.5 boards while sophomore guard Keiton Page supplies 10.3 points a contest with the help of .368 3-point shooting (2.1 makes per game).
Travis Ford is 36-14 (.720) in his second year as OSU’s head coach. He’s in his 13th year as a college head coach and is 226-188 (.546).
OU-OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 125-90 series advantage against Oklahoma State and has won eight of the last 11 meetings. The Sooners possess a 77-26 series lead in games played in Norman (29-6 at Lloyd Noble Center) and have won five straight at home. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 15-13 against the Cowboys and is 10-3 in Norman. The Sooners have swept the regular season series three of the last four years. Jeff Capel is 5-2 against Oklahoma State as OU’s head coach.
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE COWBOYS
The Sooners went 2-1 against Oklahoma State last year, posting an 89-81 win in Stillwater and an 82-78 victory in Norman before losing 71-70 in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals (in Oklahoma City). Oklahoma shot .544 from the field but just .288 from 3-point range over the three games, while OSU combined to shoot .436 from the field and .373 from behind the arc. OU also held a 38.3-25.3 rebounding advantage. Blake Griffin averaged 25.3 points and 17.3 rebounds to lead the Sooners in the three meetings, while Austin Johnson averaged 15.3 points and Willie Warren 11.7. James Anderson averaged 21.0 points for Oklahoma State.
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma owns a 125-90 all-time record against Oklahoma State and has won five of the last six meetings and eight of the last 11. The Sooners have swept the regular season series three out of the last four years.
• OU is 29-6 against OSU at Lloyd Noble Center and has won five straight meetings in the building. It is 10-3 versus OSU in Norman since the Big 12 was formed.
• The Sooners have won 27 of their last 28 home games (.964).
• Oklahoma is averaging 8.7 3-point makes per game. The school record for average treys per contest in a season is 8.5 in 1998-99.
• OU is allowing 72.7 points per contest. The last time it gave up that many points per game for an entire season was in 1995-96 (73.1).
• In its wins, Oklahoma is giving up 63.2 points a game and is holding opponents to .404 shooting from the field. In its losses, OU is surrendering 86.8 points and allowing foes to shoot .506 from the floor.
• OU ranks second in the Big 12 and 21st nationally with its .748 free throw mark. It has made more foul shots (241) than its foes have attempted (233).
• Senior guard Tony Crocker, who has started 81 consecutive games, is averaging 15.9 points and 8.6 rebounds over the last nine contests. He has recorded his only five career double-doubles during the stretch. The 6-6, 209-pounder has six double-digit rebounding games this year, the only ones of his career.
• Crocker needs 34 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).
• Sophomore guard Willie Warren is averaging a team-high 17.8 points (ranks sixth in Big 12) and 4.4 assists (ranks fifth) per game, and is shooting .833 from the free throw line (ranks fourth).
• Warren has scored at least 24 points in six of his 14 outings.
• Junior guard Cade Davis has started each of the last 11 games and is averaging 9.7 points during the stretch. He averaged 3.8 points off the bench in OU’s first four games. Davis’ 25 steals are 10 more than his closest teammate.
• Freshman forward Tiny Gallon ranks fifth in the Big 12 with his 8.6 rebounds per game. Gallon, who is shooting a team-high .568 from the field, has five double-doubles to rank fourth in the conference.
• Tommy Mason-Griffin has 18 assists and just two turnovers over the last three games. The freshman handed out 10 assists against one turnover against Gonzaga Dec. 31 and had seven assists without a miscue against Maryland Eastern Shore Jan. 4.
HOME IS WHERE THE “W” IS
Oklahoma has won eight straight games at Lloyd Noble Center and 27 of its last 28. The Sooners, who went 16-1 in Norman last year, are 7-0 this season and 447-73 (.860) since the building opened in 1975. OU is 29-6 (.829) against Oklahoma State at Lloyd Noble Center.
GUARDS SHOULDERING THE LOAD
Five of OU’s top six scorers, including its top two, are guards. The Sooners’ backcourt has accounted for 867 of the team’s 1,155 points, or 75 percent. Three guards average double figures in scoring while two more average at least 7.7 points. Willie Warren averages 17.8 points per outing and is followed by Tony Crocker (13.6), Tommy Mason Griffin (10.1), Cade Davis (8.1) and Steven Pledger (7.7). All five of those players have surpassed the 20-point mark at least once this year (Warren has done it six times, Crocker and Pledger have done it twice each and Davis and Mason-Griffin have done it once each).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The freshman foursome of Tiny Gallon (11.9 ppg), Tommy Mason-Griffin (10.1), Steven Pledger (7.7) and Andrew Fitzgerald (4.3) has combined to score 497 of the team’s 1,155 points this year, or 43 percent. Gallon, who is shooting .570 from the field, ranks fifth in the Big 12 in rebounds per game (8.6) and fourth with five double-doubles (he missed out on another by one rebound). Mason-Griffin ranks third in the league with his 4.9 assists per game and ninth with his .417 3-point shooting percentage. Pledger has knocked down 25 treys on 73 attempts (.342) and has two games of more than 20 points. Fitzgerald is averaging 4.3 points in 13.0 minutes per game. He is shooting .529 from the field and is 16-for-24 from the free throw line (.667).
CROCKER CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior guard Tony Crocker entered the year ranked 34th in school history in points (1,008) and seventh in 3-point makes (158). With a strong start to the season, the 6-6 San Antonio, Texas, product has vaulted to the No. 23 spot in points (1,212) and the No. 4 spot in 3-pointers (186). Crocker, who has started OU’s last 81 games, needs 17 points to become one of the school’s top 20 all-time scorers. At his current pace of 13.6 points per game, Crocker would finish the regular season ranked 13th on the Sooners’ all-time scoring chart. Crocker’s next target on the career 3-point makes list is Tim Heskett (1997-01). He needs 29 makes to tie Heskett for third on that list.
Crocker also has a chance to make a run at the top spot on OU’s games played list. He entered the year with 102 career appearances and would finish the regular season with 132 if he plays in every game. Depending on the Sooners’ postseason fortunes, Crocker could challenge the record of 137 career games played by Darryl "Choo" Kennedy (1984-87).
Also, Crocker is 34 rebounds shy of becoming just the second Sooner (and first of the Big 12 era) to register at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 150 3-pointers in a career. Ryan Minor (1993-96) racked up 1,946 points, 767 rebounds and 170 treys.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma plays host to Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 16 at noon CST. The game will be televised by ESPN2.
