- Joined
- Oct 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,345
- Reaction score
- 0
From SoonerSports.com:
Teams: Oklahoma (9-9, 1-3) vs. Colorado (14-5, 3-1)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 22
Tip: 12:47 p.m. CT
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa)
TV: Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in OKC; KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: OU leads 87-49
SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (9-9, 0-3) looks for its second straight Big 12 win when it hosts Colorado (14-5, 3-1) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa; Sirius 126; XM 231) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck calling the action. It will be televised by the Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in Oklahoma City; KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Mitch Holthus and Stephen Howard announcing.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are available for $10, $25 and $35 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online at SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS
• Saturday's game marks Star Wars Day at Lloyd Noble Center. Actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, will meet fans and sign autographs following the game. Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Clones, R2-D2 and many more characters will be on hand. Fans may have their photo taken with Darth Vader from 11 a.m. to noon in Legacy Court (off the middle south concourse). The first 1,000 youth in attendance will receive a LEGO Darth Vader or Chewbacca keychain.
• The OU Athletics Department will honor the late Lester Lane, former OU All-American (1955) and head coach who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August as a player on the gold-medal-winning 1960 USA Olympic team.
COLORADO'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 33 Austin Dufault (6-9, 225, Jr., 8.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
G 1 Nate Tomlinson (6-3, 190, Jr., 2.9 ppg, 2.6 apg)
G 5 Marcus Relphorde (6-7, 220, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
G 10 Alec Burks (6-6, 195, So., 19.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
G 11 Cory Higgins (6-5, 180, Sr., 16.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 4 Andrew Fitzgerald (6-8, 231, So., 14.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
G 2 Steven Pledger (6-4, 212, So., 11.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
G 14 Carl Blair (6-2, 209, So., 6.4 ppg, 4.3 apg)
G 21 Cameron Clark (6-6, 189, Fr., 9.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 209, Sr., 13.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
PREVIEWING COLORADO
• Picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 by league coaches, Colorado enters Saturday’s game tied for third place with a 3-1 record (it is 14-5 overall). The Buffaloes opened conference play with three wins (89-76 vs. Missouri, 74-66 at Kansas State and 75-71 vs. Oklahoma State) before losing Tuesday at Nebraska (79-67). CU is 11-0 at home and 2-4 in true road games.
• One of the Big 12’s most efficient offensive teams, Colorado is shooting .490 from the field (ranks second in the conference), .375 from 3-point range (ranks fourth) and .778 from the free throw line (ranks first). Its +4.6 rebounding margin ranks seventh in the league.
• The Buffaloes give up 71.6 points per game (second most in the league) while allowing opponents to shoot .441 from the field (Big 12’s third worst defensive mark) and .351 from 3-point range (fourth worst mark).
• Four Colorado players average double figures in scoring, with two of them among the league’s leaders. Sophomore guard Alec Burks ranks second in the Big 12 with his 19.8 points per contest and also contributes 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists an outing. He averages 7.5 free throw attempts per game and is shooting .831 from the line. In Big 12 play, Burks averages 22.5 points and 8.5 boards. Senior guard Cory Higgins ranks ninth in the league with his 16.2 scoring average and adds 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Higgins ranks sixth in CU history in points (1,698), first in free throw makes and second in minutes played.
• One of the Big 12’s best long-range shooters, senior guard Levi Knutson is averaging 11.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest. Knutson leads the league with his .500 mark from 3-point distance (39-for-78) and ranks ninth with his 2.1 treys per game. He was 5-for-11 from behind the arc Tuesday at Nebraska and went 6-for-8 in wins against both Oregon State (home) and Kansas State (road). Another senior guard, Marcus Relphorde, contributes 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per outing.
• Tad Boyle is in his first year as Colorado’s head coach after serving as the head coach at Northern Colorado the previous four years. Last season, Boyle directed the Bears to a 25-8 record and nearly beat the Sooners in Norman (OU won 80-79 on Dec. 19).
OU-COLORADO SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns an 87-49 series advantage against Colorado and is 46-12 in Norman. OU has won 45 of the last 52 overall meetings, but the teams have split the last eight. The Sooners have won 23 straight games against the Buffaloes in Norman, and 35 of the last 36. Colorado’s last win at Lloyd Noble Center came on Feb. 9, 1980 (60-59). Jeff Capel is 3-2 against CU as OU’s head coach (2-0 in Norman).
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE BUFFALOES
• Oklahoma trailed by three at halftime and by 15 with 6:18 remaining before rallying to within five twice in the last 2:18 of a 77-67 loss in Boulder. The Colorado scored 44 second-half points on .519 field goal, .571 3-point (4-for-7) and .800 free throw (12-for-15) shooting.
• The Buffaloes committed just seven turnovers and outscored the Sooners 22-6 in fast break points.
• Tommy Mason-Griffin and Willie Warren each scored 19 points to pace OU. Andrew Fitzgerald scored all nine of his points in the first half and did not attempt a shot after halftime. Cade Davis added eight points and seven rebounds in 39 minutes.
• Guards Cory Higgins (18 points) and Alec Burks (17) led four Buffaloes in double figures. Marcus Relphorde and Nate Tomlinson added 13 points each.
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma holds an 87-49 series lead against Colorado and is 46-12 in Norman. The Buffaloes won last year in Boulder, 77-67.
• The Sooners have won 23 straight games against the Buffaloes in Norman, and 35 of the last 36. Colorado’s last win at Lloyd Noble Center came on Feb. 9, 1980 (60-59).
• OU has won 40 times in its last 41 home games against unranked (AP) opponents. The only loss during those 41 games came last year to Texas Tech (72-71).
• The Sooners are 9-1 at home this year and 0-8 away from Norman. They are 62-13 (.827) under fifth-year head coach Jeff Capel at Lloyd Noble Center.
• Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 70 percent of OU’s points this year (840 of 1,204). The Sooners have one senior in Cade Davis.
• Eight of OU’s top nine scorers are in their first or second year of Division I basketball. Five of the nine are in their first year.
• After averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in OU’s first eight games (he shot .450 from the field), freshman Cameron Clark is averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 boards over the last 10 outings (shooting .490 from the field). Clark is averaging 37.3 minutes per game during the span and has played all 40 minutes four times (including twice in the last three games).
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger is shooting .448 from 3-point range over the last six games (13-for-29), and that’s including a 0-for-6 performance at Texas last Saturday in which he was held scoreless. Pledger shot .324 from deep over OU’s first 12 contests. He’s averaging a team-high 15.0 points in the Sooners’ wins but just 7.4 in their losses.
• In OU’s nine wins, point guard Carl Blair has totaled 40 assists and 15 turnovers. In the team’s nine losses, Blair has 29 assists and 34 turnovers.
• Oklahoma has been held to .423 field goal and .271 3-point shooting in Big 12 play. In their final two non-conference games, the Sooners shot a combined .598 from the field and .485 from behind the arc. Included was a Capel-era-best .612 field goal mark against Central Arkansas.
• In their nine wins, the Sooners are shooting .498 from the field and .425 from 3-point range (8.2 makes per game). In their nine losses, they’re shooting .429 from the field and .282 from behind the arc (5.1 makes per game).
• Oklahoma has outscored opponents 157-134 in points off turnovers in its nine wins, but has been outscored 162-103 in the category in its nine defeats.
• Seven different Sooners have led the team in scoring this year.
