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From SoonerSports.com:
Teams: Oklahoma (10-9, 2-3) at Iowa State (14-7, 1-5)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 29
Tip: 8:06 p.m. CT
Site: Ames, Iowa (Hilton Coliseum)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa)
TV: Sooner Sports Network via Cyclone Television Network feed (KAUT Ch. 43 in OKC; Cox Cable Ch. 74 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: OU leads 109-77
SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
Tied with Nebraska for seventh place in the Big 12, Oklahoma (10-9, 2-3) looks for its third straight league win when it plays at Iowa State (14-7, 1-5) on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck calling the action. It will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (KAUT Ch. 43 in Oklahoma City; Cox Cable Ch. 3 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) via a feed from the Cyclone Television Network with B.J. Schaben and Kevin Lehman announcing.
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., 6.8 ppg, 4.5 apg)
G 21 Cameron Clark (6-6, 189, Fr., 9.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 209, Sr., 13.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
IOWA STATE'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 3 Melvin Ejim (6-6, 215, Fr., 11.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
F 23 Jamie Vanderbeken (6-11, 240, Sr., 11.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
G 5 Jake Anderson (6-2, 205, Sr., 12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg)
G 10 Diante Garrett (6-4, 190, Sr., 17.8 ppg, 5.9 apg)
G 11 Scott Christopherson (6-3, 195, Jr., 13.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
PREVIEWING IOWA STATE
• After going 13-2 in non-conference play, Iowa State is now 14-7 after a 1-5 Big 12 start. The Cyclones have lost three straight contests, the most recent at home to Texas Tech on Wednesday, 92-83. ISU’s conference win came Jan. 15 at home against Baylor, 72-57. It is 11-3 at home on the year, with its other two losses to California (76-73) and Kansas (84-79).
• In Big 12 play, Iowa State is shooting .398 from the field (ranks last in the conference), .336 from 3-point range (ranks ninth) and .839 from the free throw line (ranks first). Its -9.8 rebounding margin ranks last in the league.
• The Cyclones give up 79.8 points per league game (second most) while allowing opponents to shoot .452 from the field (Big 12’s eighth best defensive mark) and .336 from 3-point range (fifth best mark).
• Senior point guard Diante Garrett leads three ISU backcourt players who average double figures in scoring on the year. Garrett ranks fifth in the league with his 17.8 scoring average and first with his 5.9 assists per outing. He has scored at least 20 points seven times this season, including performances of 27 points versus Kansas, 25 at Oklahoma State and 27 against Texas Tech in league play. Junior Scott Christopherson is averaging 13.3 points per outing and ranks third in the Big 12 with his .464 3-point field goal percentage (58-for-125). Senior Jake Anderson contributes 12.0 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game. Anderson stands 6-2.
• Senior forward Jamie Vanderbeken averages 11.9 points and 5.8 boards per contest. At 6-11, Vanderbeken ranks fourth in the league with his .446 mark from behind the arc and fifth with his 2.6 treys per outing. In back-to-back games against Baylor and Oklahoma State, he went a combined 13-for-18 (.722) from long range. Freshman forward Melvin Ejim supplies 11.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.
• Fred Hoiberg is in his first year as a collegiate head coach. Hoiberg 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 — he’s nicknamed “The Mayor” — played 10 years in the NBA.
OU-IOWA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 109-77 series advantage against Iowa State but trails 45-36 in Ames. The Sooners have won 11 of the last 15 overall meetings, including each of the last four. OU is 11-5 against the Cyclones since the inception of the Big 12). Jeff Capel is 4-1 against ISU as OU’s head coach (1-1 in Ames).
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE CYCLONES
• Guards Tommy Mason-Griffin (38) and Cade Davis (24) combined for 62 points to help OU overcome .589 ISU field goal shooting in an 89-84 home win on Jan. 27. Mason-Griffin was 13-for-21 from the field and 5-for-10 from 3-point range while Davis was 4-for-9 from deep.
• Mason-Griffin’s 38 points were four more than any other Big 12 player scored on the year, the most by an OU freshman since Wayman Tisdale in 1982-83, the most by a freshman guard in school history, tied for the most by a point guard in school history and tied for the fifth most by a freshman in Big 12 history.
• OU made eight of its first 11 3-point attempts and led by as many as 21 before settling for a 48-32 halftime advantage. The Cyclones shot .625 from the field in the second half and made four treys in the last three minutes to draw as close as three points.
• The Sooners’ two leading scorers on the year entering the night (Willie Warren and Tony Crocker) did not play due to sprained ankles. Diante Garrett led six Cyclones in double figures with 17 points, and he added a game-high eight assists.
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma holds a 109-77 series lead against Iowa State and has won four straight against the Cyclones and 11 of the last 15. OU is 36-45 against ISU in Ames.
• Starters have accounted for 146 of Oklahoma’s 150 points (97 percent) over the last two games (home wins over Texas Tech and Colorado). All five starters scored in double figures in each of the two games (the only two contests in which that has happened this season).
• The Sooners are 10-1 at home this year and 0-8 away from Norman (0-4 in true road games). Their last road win came Dec. 12, 2010, at Utah (78-73 in overtime).
• 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.
• Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 70 percent of OU’s points this year (890 of 1,271). The Sooners have one senior in Cade Davis.
• Davis averaged 20.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in OU’s two wins last week. He led the team in scoring and rebounding in both contests.
• 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 5.4 boards over the last 11 outings (shooting .495 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 four games).
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger is averaging slightly more than 10.0 points per game on the year (11.9), but has scored in double figures in eight of OU’s 10 wins. He’s averaging 14.6 points in the Sooners’ victories compared to just 7.4 in their losses.
• In OU’s 10 wins, point guard Carl Blair has totaled 47 assists and 20 turnovers. In the team’s nine losses, Blair has 29 assists and 34 turnovers. The sophomore went 16-for-26 from the free throw line over his first 15 games, but is 18-for-24 over the last two outings (both wins).
• Oklahoma has been outrebounded in each of its five Big 12 games and owns a -5.0 rebounding margin in those contests. OU’s conference opponents have been particularly productive on the offensive glass, averaging 10.8 offensive boards per game. Fifty percent of league foes’ rebounds have come on the offensive end of the floor.
• In their 10 wins, the Sooners are shooting .500 from the field and .410 from 3-point range (7.7 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 170-145 in points off turnovers in its 10 wins, but has been outscored 162-103 in the category in its nine defeats.
INDIVIDUALS UPDATE
• Sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald has scored at least 17 points seven times this season, including three times in OU’s five conference games. He leads the team with his 14.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the year, and ranks fifth in the Big 12 with his .533 season field goal percentage. His free throw percentage (.740) is up significantly from last year (.638). In OU’s four true road games, Fitzgerald is the lone Sooner to average double figures in scoring (16.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest).
• A career .332 3-point shooter entering the year, senior guard Cade Davis is shooting a career-best .376 from behind the arc this season (ranks 12th in the Big 12) and is averaging 2.3 treys per game (ranks seventh). Going back to last year, he has made 72 treys over his last 30 games. Davis ranks eighth on OU’s career 3-point field goals list with 158 and needs nine to tie Brent Price for seventh place.
• Davis has been effective on the boards his last five games, averaging 7.2 rebounds during the stretch. Included was a career-high total of 12 against Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 3 (also scored 11 points for his first double-double of the year). Davis has led OU in rebounding in four of his last five games (he did not play Jan. 11 against Baylor due to the death of his grandmother).
• In OU’s 10 wins (all at home), sophomore guard Steven Pledger has scored at least 13 points seven times and is shooting .410 from 3-point range (25-for-61) and .879 from the free throw line (29-for-33). In the Sooners’ nine losses, Pledger has been held to single digits six times and is shooting .273 from deep (12-for-44) and .700 from the foul line (7-for-10).
• Freshman Cameron Clark’s top six scoring games have come over the last 11 outings. Clark, who finished with a career-high 26 points Dec. 30 against Central Arkansas, also netted 17 against Oral Roberts, 16 at Baylor, 14 against Maryland Eastern Shore and 13 versus Gardner-Webb and Colorado. He is averaging 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds over the last 11 games and is shooting .540 from the field and .444 from 3-point range in OU’s 10 wins.
• Sophomore point guard Carl Blair has rebounded nicely from a slow start to the year by averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists over the last 11 games. In his first six games, Blair averaged 4.0 points, 0.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He ranks fifth in the Big 12 in assists (4.5) and has led OU in the category in nine of the last 11 outings.
• After averaging 1.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting .235 from the field over his first 10 games, junior forward C.J. Washington has elevated his production over the last eight contests. During that span, Washington is averaging 3.9 points and 3.4 boards while shooting .611 from the floor. He’s shooting .667 from the field (10-for-15) over the last seven games. On the year, Washington leads OU in rebounds per minute (averaging 12.4 per 40 minutes).
