THE TEAMS
Looking to snap a five-game losing streak, Oklahoma (13-12, 3-10) goes back to the site of last year’s lone road win when it plays at Iowa State (18-8, 8-5) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CT. The Sooners, coming off a 69-58 home loss to Texas on Tuesday, are 1-6 in true road games this season. The Cyclones have lost two of their last three outings after winning five of their previous six. They are 13-2 at home on the year.
ON THE AIR
Saturday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised by the Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in OKC; KTUL Ch. 8 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Chad McKee and Rich Zvosec calling the action.
PREVIEWING IOWA STATE
• After going 16-16 overall and 3-13 in the Big 12 last season, Iowa State is off to an 18-8 start this year and is in fourth place in the league race with an 8-5 mark (one game behind Baylor and one game ahead of Texas). The Cyclones are 13-2 at home with their two defeats coming to Northern Iowa (69-62) and Missouri (76-69).
• One of the most dangerous 3-point shooting teams in the country, the Cyclones lead the Big 12 with their 8.8 treys per game. They are one of only two squads in the nation to have four players each with at least 40 makes from behind the arc.
• Sophomore forward Royce White is the only player in the nation to lead his team in points (13.2), rebounds (9.2), assists (4.8), blocks (1.1) and steals (1.2). The 6-8, 270-pounder ranks second in the Big 12 with seven double-doubles, and recorded the fourth triple-double in school history with his 10 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists Feb. 7 at Texas A&M.
• Senior guards Chris Allen (12.3) and Scott Christopherson (10.8) also average double figures in scoring. Allen, a transfer from Michigan State, has made 59 treys and is shooting .383 from long range (ranks second in Big 12 play with his .407 mark). He was held to three points Monday at Baylor after averaging 23.5 the previous two games against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M (was 11-for-18 from deep). Christopherson, a transfer from Marquette, has 42 3-point makes and is shooting .429 from behind the arc.
• Junior guard Chris Babb, another long-range threat, contributes 8.8 points per game. The Penn State transfer has a team-high 56 makes from 3-point range and is shooting .348 from deep. He is 4-for-17 (.235) from behind the arc over the last three games.
• Fred Hoiberg is in his second year as a collegiate head coach and owns a 34-24 record. He was a 1995 third-team All-American at Iowa State and is the school’s third-leading all-time scorer (1,993 points). The Ames native played 10 years in the NBA.
FEB. 4 VS. THE CYCLONES
• Iowa State hit an Oklahoma-opponent-record 15 3-pointers on 30 attempts and held on for a 77-70 road win Feb. 4, snapping the Sooners’ five-game winning streak over the Cyclones. OU had won seven straight against ISU in Norman.
• Six Cyclones made at least one 3-pointer and five made at least two. Chris Babb, who was 5-for-28 from long distance over the previous six games, went 4-for-7.
• Oklahoma held just three leads in the game, each in the first half and each by one point. The Cyclones scored on their ensuing possession all three times to go back on top. After trailing by 10 (50-40), the Sooners rallied to tie the game at 56 with 7:49 remaining but were outscored 21-14 the rest of the way.
• Junior forwards Andrew Fitzgerald and Romero Osby teamed to score 44 of OU’s 70 points on 17-for-28 (.607) shooting. Fitzgerald was 11-for-19 from the field and finished with a career-high 27 points (previous high was 22). Osby was 6-for-9 from the floor and tallied 17 points. It was his seventh performance of at least 15 points in the last eight outings.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Clark’s 11 rebounds tied a career high and were his most since the first game of his collegiate career.
• Junior point guard Sam Grooms handed out nine assists (one shy of his career high) against just two turnovers.
• Iowa State sophomore Melvin Ejim recorded team highs of 21 points and nine rebounds in his 28 minutes.
