SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
No. 2/1 Oklahoma returns home to host its second Big 12 game of the season Saturday, Jan. 9, versus Kansas State at 3:30 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. OU, which is 12-1 overall and 1-1 in conference, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Wildcats are 10-4 this season (0-2 Big 12) and are under the direction of Bruce Weber, now in his fourth season with the Wildcats.
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 Big 12 matchup will be televised by ESPNEWS with Mark Neely and Jerod Ward calling the action.
SCOUTING KANSAS STATE
Kansas State travels to Norman with a 10-4 overall record, including an 0-2 start in Big 12 play. Last game, the Wildcats were defeated by the Texas Longhorns in Austin by a 60-57 final.
Three of Kansas State’s four losses this season have come against ranked teams (No. 9/8 North Carolina, No. 25 Texas A&M, No. 19/17 West Virginia).
K-State is coached by Bruce Weber, now in his fourth season in Manhattan. Weber is 72-42 with the Wildcats.
The Wildcats, who have deployed the same starting five in all 14 games this season, have three players averaging double-figure scoring, led by Wesley Iwundu with 13.1 point per contest, followed by Justin Edwards (12.6) and Dean Wade (10.8). Wade also leads the team in rebounding with 6.1 boards per game.
Prior to the loss at Texas, Iwundu had eight straight games scoring in double figures. Edwards has scored in double figures in 11 of 14 games this season.
Kansas State is tough defensively, ranking 23rd in the country in scoring defense (63.2). The Wildcats rank first in the nation in 3-Point FG defense by holding opponents to .246 shooting from deep.
Barry Brown has scored in double figures in five games and has led the team in scoring on three occasions.
Oklahoma leads Kansas State in the all-time series by a 105-96 margin, including a 60-27 mark in Norman. Last season, the Wildcats topped the Sooners in both outings (66-63 in Norman and 59-56 in Manhattan).
GAMEDAY STORYLINES
• SCENE SETTER: No. 2/1 Oklahoma returns home to host its second Big 12 game of the season Saturday, Jan. 9, versus Kansas State at 3:30 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. OU, which is 12-1 overall and 1-1 in conference, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Wildcats are 10-4 this season (0-2 Big 12) and are under the direction of Bruce Weber, now in his fourth season with the Wildcats. OU is currently ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time since March 6, 1990.
• WILDCAT CONNECTIONS: OU head coach Lon Kruger was the 1973 and ’74 Big Eight Player of the Year as a Kansas State Wildcat and coached at the school for four years, compiling an 81-46 record from 1986-87 through 1989-90. Sooners assistant coach Steve Henson played for Kruger at K-State each of those four seasons and still holds school career records for assists (582), assists per game (4.58), free throw percentage (.900), minutes per game (35.2), starts (118), consecutive games played (127) and consecutive starts (118). Both are members of K-State’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
• SERVING TREYS: Oklahoma currently ranks third in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.457) by hitting 137-300 of its shots from downtown this season. Oklahoma’s all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a campaign is .414 (1986-87). OU has connected on at least 10 treys in eight games this year. Four Sooners are averaging at least .430 from beyond the arc, led by Jordan Woodard, who is shooting .552 (32-58, avg. 2.5 3FGM). OU’s average of 10.5 3-point makes per game ranks first in the Big 12 and ninth nationally.
• ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Sooners enter Saturday’s game ranked in the top 15 in both scoring offense with 88.5 points per game (fourth) and scoring margin (+17.8, 12th) by holding opponents to just 70.7 points per contest. Oklahoma has scored at least 80 points in seven straight games and in 11 of 13 contests this season.
• BUDDY BUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 26.3 points per game, which ranks second in the nation and first in the Big 12. He has scored at least 20 points in seven straight games and ranks sixth in the nation by shooting 50.0 percent (47-94) from 3-point range. The Bahamas native, who had a career-high 46 points last game versus Kansas, has five games of at least 30 points this season, including four times in the past seven contests.
• STEADFAST SOONERS: Oklahoma isn’t short on experience or leadership this season. The quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard have each started every game (81 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 324 combined starts. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (13 starts), Oklahoma boasts a starting five with 337 combined career starts.
