SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
No. 3 Oklahoma faces No. 11 Iowa State in both schools’ Big 12 Conference opener this Saturday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. OU, which is 11-0 and coming off a championship at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Cyclones are 11-1 this season and are under the direction of first year head coach Steve Prohm.
ON THE AIR
Saturday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM “The Franchise” in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Scott Thompson announcing. The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.
SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
ISU has won 19 games against ranked opponents in the last three seasons, the most in the nation. Iowa State has 18 total losses in that span. ISU has defeated four ranked opponents in a row, dating back to last season.
The Cyclones are ranked No. 11 in this week’s Associated Press poll. The Cyclones have been ranked in a school-record 44 consecutive polls. ISU is No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Cyclones are 17-74 all-time against top-5 teams. ISU’s last win against a top-5 team was Jan. 28, 2012 (Kansas, 72-64). The last win against a top-5 on the road was March 6, 2010 (Kansas State, 85-85 (ot)).
Iowa State has had five different players score 20 or more points in a game this season. A sixth, Matt Thomas, scored 19 points against Iowa. Hallice Cooke has been in double figures three times this season and b twice in three games. In the last three games, ISU has six players averaging 9.3 points or better.
Georges Niang is leading the Cyclones in scoring with 18.8 points per game. Niang is the leading active scorer in the Big 12 (1,736). He is second in the Big 12 in scoring average after tallying 30-point games twice this season. He’s averaging 23.0 points the last three games and shooting 57.8 percent from the field. Niang has scored in double figures in 21 consecutive games. He has two double-doubles this season after having just two in his first three seasons at ISU.
Monté Morris is averaging career highs in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. In the last six games, Morris is averaging 9.0 assists. He leads the Big 12 in assists (7.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (5.9) and is third and second nationally. He’s averaging just one turnover every 26.4 minutes this season and one every 31.6 minutes in his career.
Jameel McKay has been a force inside for the Cyclones. McKay is averaging just under a double-double with 14.4 points and 9.5 rebounds.
The Sooners hold a 113-84 edge over the Cyclones in the all-time series. OU went 1-2 vs. ISU last season. Oklahoma came out on top in the first meeting in 2014-15 at home by a 94-83 margin on Feb. 9. Iowa State downed the Sooners in Ames 77-70 on March 2. In the Big 12 Tournament, the Cyclones outlasted the Sooners 67-65 on March 13 in the semifinals.
GAMEDAY STORYLINES
SCENE SETTER: No. 3 Oklahoma faces No. 11 Iowa State in both schools’ Big 12 season opener this Saturday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. OU, which is 11-0 and coming off a championship at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Cyclones are 11-1 this season and are under the direction of first year head coach Steve Prohm. The Sooners are unbeaten headed in to conference play for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
SERVING TREYS: OU, one of just three remaining undefeated D-I teams, currently ranks first in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.462) by hitting 110-238 of its shots from downtown this season. Oklahoma’s all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a season is .414 (1986-87). Five Sooners are averaging at least .425 from beyond the arc, led by Buddy Hield, who is shooting .529 (37-70, avg. 3.4 3FGM). OU’s average of 10.0 3-point makes per game ranks first in the Big 12 and 19th nationally.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Sooners enter Saturday’s game ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense with 87.0 points per game (ninth) and scoring margin (+20.9, eighth) by holding opponents to just 66.1 points per contest. OU is led in scoring by 2015 Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield, who is averaging 24.9 points (fourth nationally, first among players from Power 5 conferences).
THE BUCK(ETS) STOP HERE: OU is once again proving it is an elite team on defense, as 2015-16 opponents have struggled to score on the Sooners. OU ranks No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.356), including 14th nationally in 3-point field goal defense (.281). On the season, OU foes are just 77-274 from downtown (compared to Oklahoma’s 110-238, .462 3FG% effort).
STEADFAST SOONERS: Oklahoma isn’t short on experience or leadership this season. The quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard have each started every game (79 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 316 combined starts. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (11 starts), Oklahoma boasts a starting five with 327 combined career starts.
