QUICK PREVIEW
No. 17/17 Oklahoma (17-7, 8-4) tries for its sixth straight win when it plays at Kansas State (12-13, 5-7) on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan. The Sooners, who have won their last five games by an average of 19.0 points, are in sole possession of second place in the Big 12. They are 6-6 away from home (4-4 in true road games; 3-3 in Big 12 road games). The Wildcats, who have lost five straight, are 10-4 at home (4-2 in Big 12 home games).
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) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck calling the action. It will be televised by ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Stephen Howard announcing.
PREVIEWING KANSAS STATE
Picked by Big 12 coaches to finish fourth in the league, Kansas State is 12-13 overall and 5-7 in conference action (eighth place). The Wildcats started 5-2 in Big 12 play but have lost five in a row since. They are 4-2 in league home games with wins over TCU (58-53), Texas Tech (58-51), Baylor (63-61) and Oklahoma State (63-53), and losses to West Virginia (65-59) and Texas (61-57) in their last two games at Bramlage Coliseum. In Big 12 play, K-State averages 59.8 points a game (ranks eighth in league) on .423 field goal shooting (fourth), .338 3-point shooting (fifth) and .691 free throw shooting (fifth). It ranks second in scoring defense (62.8 ppg), eighth in field goal percentage defense (.433) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.327).
Sophomore guard Marcus Foster, a preseason All-Big 12 pick, leads three Wildcats who average double figures in scoring. Foster, who has missed the last three games due to a violation of team rules, ranks sixth in the Big 12 with his 14.0 points per game on the season and sixth with his .397 3-point mark. He has scored in double figures in his last eight Big 12 games and finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds in his most recent outing (at Kansas). Senior forward Nino Williams averages 11.5 points and a team-high 4.9 rebounds a game, while shooting .508 from the floor. Senior forward Thomas Gipson averages 11.1 points on .540 field goal shooting and grabs 4.8 boards a contest.
Kansas State is under the direction of head coach Bruce Weber, who is in his third season with the Wildcats (59-34 record). The 2013 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Weber is in his 16th season as a head coach (also coached at Southern Illinois and Illinois).
THE SERIES
Oklahoma owns a 105-95 all-time record against Kansas State and has won 12 of the last 20 meetings. The Sooners are 36-57 in the series in Manhattan and have lost two straight there. In this year's Jan. 10 meeting in Norman, OU led by four with 40 seconds left in regulation but dropped its lone home contest, 66-63, in overtime. Buddy Hield scored a career-high 31 points for the Sooners and TaShawn Thomas finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Kansas State's Stephen Hurt recorded still-season highs of 15 points and 8 rebounds while Marcus Foster scored 14 points. Foster hit the game-tying shot in the waning seconds of regulation and the game-winning 3-pointer in overtime.
