- Joined
- Oct 22, 2008
- Messages
- 9,345
- Reaction score
- 0
Source: SoonerSports.com
GAME SPECIFICS
Teams: Oklahoma (8-5) vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (3-9)
Date: Monday, Jan. 4
Tip: 7:07 p.m. CST
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa)
TV: Sooner Sports Network (KAUT Ch. 43, Cox Cable 7 in OKC; KQCW Ch. 19 in Tulsa)
Webcast: SoonerSports.com
Series: OU leads 1-0
Last Meeting: OU won 100-64 (Jan. 5, 2009)
MONDAY’S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (8-5) looks to snap a two-game losing streak when it hosts Maryland Eastern Shore (3-9) Monday at 7 p.m. CST. The Sooners, who will play at Lloyd Noble Center for the first time since Dec. 19, are coming off an 83-69 loss to Gonzaga on Thursday in Spokane, Wash. The Hawks have lost four in a row and are coming off a 74-60 road loss to Nebraska on Saturday. Monday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network with Bob Carpenter and Charlie Spoonhour calling the action.
PREVIEWING MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Maryland Eastern Shore enters Monday’s game with a 3-9 record. It has lost four straight contests after a three-game winning streak (home victories over American, Delaware State and Navy) that started in late November. The Hawks, who are 0-6 in true road games, are shooting .376 from the field, .270 from 3-point range (4.4 makes per game) and .645 from the free throw line (13.0 makes) on the year. They are allowing foes to shoot .474 from the field and .359 from behind the arc (6.7 makes per game).
Sophomore guard Hillary Haley is one of just two Hawks averaging double figures in points. Haley scores a team-high 11.8 points a contest and shares the team lead with 20 makes from 3-point range (shooting .286). Junior guard Kevin White is averaging 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and team highs of 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. Junior guard Tim Burns supplies 9.5 points and 1.4 assists per outing, and has made a team-high 30 free throws (shooting .833 from the line).
Frankie Allen is in his second year at Maryland Eastern Shore and owns a 10-32 (.238) record. He’s in his 20th year as a collegiate head coach and is 233-326 (.417). Allen has also served as head coach at Virginia Tech, Tennessee State and Howard. A 1971 graduate of Roanoke College, he remains the all-time leading scorer (2,780) and rebounder (1,758) at any collegiate level in the state of Virginia.
OU-MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE SERIES HISTORY
In the only previous meeting between the two schools, Oklahoma dealt Maryland Eastern Shore a 100-64 defeat last season (Jan. 5, 2009) in Norman. OU head coach Jeff Capel missed the game due to a stomach virus that resulted in his hospitalization, and assistant coach Mark Cline led the team in his absence. The Sooners shot .500 from the field while holding the Hawks to a .311 figure, and posted a 52-43 rebounding advantage. OU’s 52 boards were a season high, as were its 11 blocked shots. Blake Griffin racked up 20 points and 16 rebounds in just 22 minutes of action while Tony Crocker and Willie Warren finished with 15 points each (Crocker was 10-for-10 from the free throw line). Center Orlando Allen came off the bench to record 10 points, five rebounds and five blocked shots (all career highs at the time) in 14 minutes of court time. The Sooners’ 100 points were their most in four seasons. Neal Pitt led the Hawks with 18 points while Chris Conner scored 12 off the bench.
NOTEWORTHY
• Monday’s game will mark just the second meeting between Oklahoma and Maryland Eastern Shore. OU beat the Hawks 100-64 last season in Norman.
• The Sooners are allowing 72.7 points per contest. The last time they gave up that many points per game for an entire season was in 1995-96 (73.1).
• In its wins, Oklahoma is giving up 64.4 points a game and is holding opponents to .417 shooting from the field. In its losses, OU is surrendering 86.0 points and allowing foes to shoot .490 from the floor. Over the last two games, opponents have shot .544 from the field and .500 (21-for-42) from long distance.
• Oklahoma is averaging 8.8 3-point makes per game. The school record for average treys per contest in a season is 8.5 in 1998-99.
• OU ranks second in the Big 12 and fourth nationally with its .772 free throw mark. It has made more foul shots (217) than its foes have attempted (204).
• Senior guard Tony Crocker, who has started 79 consecutive games, is averaging 16.1 points and 9.0 rebounds over the last seven contests. He has recorded his only four career double-doubles during the stretch. The 6-6, 209-pounder has five double-digit rebounding games over the last nine outings, the only ones of his career.
• Junior guard Cade Davis, who has started each of the last nine games (31.1 minutes per contest), scored a career-high 25 points Dec. 19 against Northern Colorado but has totaled three points over the last two outings.
• OU has had a player score at least 20 points in a half three times in the last five games. Crocker set a Big 12 record for points in a half with 29 in the first stanza against Centenary Dec. 9 (he made seven 3-pointers), Davis netted 20 in the opening 20 minutes against Northern Colorado Dec. 19 (canned six treys) and Tommy Mason-Griffin scored 20 in the second half against UTEP Dec. 21 (four 3-point makes).
• Sophomore guard Willie Warren is averaging team highs of 18.8 points (ranks fourth in Big 12) and 4.5 assists (also ranks fourth), and is shooting .833 from the free throw line (ranks third).
• Warren has scored at least 24 points in six of his 12 outings.
• Freshman forward Tiny Gallon ranks sixth in the Big 12 with his 8.6 rebounds per game. Gallon, who is shooting a team-high .596 from the field, has four double-doubles to rank sixth in the conference.
• Mason-Griffin is 19-for-40 (.475) from 3-point range over the last nine games. He’s made at least two treys in all but two of those outings. The point guard is averaging 13.8 points over the last four contests.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINS AND LOSSES
• In their eight wins, the Sooners are holding opponents to .417 field goal and .333 3-point shooting. In OU’s five losses, foes have shot .490 from the field and .431 from behind the arc.
• Similarly, OU is shooting .469 from the field and .416 from 3-point territory in wins, but just .437 and .310, respectively, in defeats.
• The Sooners have outrebounded their opponents by 3.5 per game in wins but have been outboarded by an average of 4.2 in losses.
• Tony Crocker is averaging 16.1 points (.487 from 3-point range) and 8.0 boards in wins compared to 9.0 points (.235 from deep) and 5.6 boards in losses. All four of his double-doubles have come in victories.
• Willie Warren is averaging 21.6points in losses and 16.7 points in victories. He is 28-for-30 (.933) from the foul line in defeats.
GUARDS SHOULDERING THE SCORING LOAD
Five of OU’s top six scorers, including its top two, are guards. The Sooners’ backcourt has accounted for 764 of the team’s 1,007 points, or 76 percent. Three guards average double figures in scoring while two more average at least 7.7 points. Willie Warren averages 18.8 points per outing and is followed by Tony Crocker (13.4), Tommy Mason Griffin (10.8), Steven Pledger (8.2) and Cade Davis (7.7). All five of those players have surpassed the 20-point mark at least once this year (Warren has done it six times, Crocker and Pledger have done it twice each and Davis and Mason-Griffin have done it once each).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The freshman foursome of Tiny Gallon (11.8 ppg), Tommy Mason-Griffin (10.9), Steven Pledger (8.4) and Andrew Fitzgerald (4.3) has combined to score 438 of the team’s 1,007 points this year, or 43 percent. Gallon, who is shooting .596 from the field, ranks sixth in the Big 12 in rebounds per game (8.6) and sixth with four double-doubles (he missed out on another by one rebound). Mason-Griffin ranks third in the league with his 5.0 assists per game and fifth with his .431 3-point shooting percentage. Among the Big 12’s leaders in 3-point makes, Pledger has knocked down a team-leading 24 treys on 64 attempts (.375) and has two games of more than 20 points. Fitzgerald is averaging 4.3 points in 11.3 minutes per game. He is shooting .500 from the field and is 13-for-18 from the free throw line (.722).
HEATING UP FROM OUTSIDE
After shooting .286 from 3-point range and averaging 6.0 treys through its first four games, OU is shooting .404 and averaging 10.0 makes from behind the arc over the last nine outings. Freshman Tommy Mason-Griffin and senior Tony Crocker have been the main guns during the stretch, going 19-for-40 (.475) and 19-for-44 (.432), respectively.
CROCKER CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior guard Tony Crocker entered the year ranked 34th in school history in points (1,008) and seventh in 3-point makes (158). With a strong start to the season, the 6-6 San Antonio, Texas, product has vaulted to the No. 24 spot in points (1,182) and the No. 4 spot in 3-pointers (181). Crocker, who has started OU’s last 79 games, needs 29 points to tie Corey Brewer (1997-98) for 23rd. At his current pace of 13.4 points per game, Crocker would finish the regular season ranked 13th on the Sooners’ all-time scoring chart. Crocker’s next target on the career 3-point makes list is Tim Heskett (1997-01). He needs 34 makes to tie Heskett for third on that list.
Crocker also has a chance to make a run at the top spot on OU’s games played list. He entered the year with 102 career appearances and would finish the regular season with 132 if he plays in every game. Depending on the Sooners’ postseason fortunes, Crocker could challenge the record of 137 career games played by Darryl “Choo” Kennedy (1984-87).
UP NEXT
Oklahoma opens Big 12 Conference play on the road Saturday at Baylor at 5 p.m. The game will be televised regionally by the Big 12 Network.
