- Joined
- Oct 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,345
- Reaction score
- 0
http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=209929220
QUICK PREVIEW
In a battle of first- and second-place Big 12 teams, No. 15/15 Oklahoma (20-9, 11-6) plays its final home game of the year when it hosts No. 9/10 Kansas (24-6, 13-4) on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center. If it wins, OU will be a No. 2 or 3 seed in next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. If it loses, it will be the No. 3 or 4 seed. The Sooners are 13-1 at home this year (lone loss was in overtime) with an average scoring margin of +18.4. Kansas, which is 5-5 in true road games this year, clinched the outright Big 12 title with its 76-69 overtime win over West Virginia on Tuesday.
Saturday's game will mark the last at home in the careers of OU seniors D.J. Bennett, James Fraschilla and TaShawn Thomas. The trio will be honored during a 2:50 p.m. pre-game ceremony.
ON THE AIR
Saturday’s game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM "The Franchise" in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 91; XM 91) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by ESPN with Dave Flemming and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.
TICKETS
• Reserved seats are sold out. Restricted admission tickets will go on sale for $20 on Satuday at 1:30 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows.
THE SERIES
Kansas is the only current or former Big 12 team to hold an all-time winning record against Oklahoma. The Jayhawks own a 142-65 series lead and have won 13 of the last 14 meetings after OU had won four of six. The Sooners’ last win in the series was two years ago in Norman (72-66) when Kansas was ranked No. 5 in the AP poll. OU is 41-48 against KU in Norman.
PREVIEWING KANSAS
No. 9/10 Kansas claimed the outright Big 12 regular season title Tuesday with its 76-69 home overtime win over West Virginia. The Jayhawks, who have lost two of their last five games, are 24-6 overall and 13-4 in the Big 12. They are 4-4 in league road games, with all four losses coming by seven or fewer points. In conference play, KU is averaging 72.4 points per game (ranks second in Big 12) on .456 field goal shooting (second), .379 3-point shooting (first) and .717 free throw shooting (fourth). It is holding opponents to 65.0 points per game (ranks fourth) on .379 field goal shooting (first) and .312 3-point shooting (third). The Jayhawks rank third in the Big 12 with their +7.4 average rebounding margin.
Junior forward Perry Ellis and sophomore point guard Frank Mason are the only two Jayhawks who average double figures in scoring. Ellis, who is averaging team highs of 14.2 points and 7.0 rebounds a game while shooting .471 from the field, sprained his knee against West Virginia and will not play Saturday. He has been named Big 12 Player of the Week three times this season. Mason is averaging 12.4 points a game on .453 field goal and .420 3-point (34 for 81) shooting. He also averages team highs of 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Mason is coming off a 19-point performance against the Mountaineers (11 for 12 from free throw line). Sophomore guard Wayne Selden contributes 9.4 points (.385 3-point shooting; team-high 1.5 makes a game) and 3.0 assists while freshman wing Kelly Oubre averages 8.9 and 4.9 rebounds.
Bill Self is in his 12th year as Kansas’ head coach and owns a 349-75 record there. He is in his 22nd year overall (556-180).