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http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030411aab.html
Teams: Oklahoma (12-17, 4-11) vs. Oklahoma State (18-11, 6-9)
Date: Saturday, March 5
Tip: 3:01 p.m. CT
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 91; XM 231)
TV: Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in OKC; KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: Oklahoma leads 126-93
SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (12-17 overall, 4-11 Big 12) plays its regular season finale when it hosts Oklahoma State (18-11, 6-9) Saturday at 3 p.m. CT in Norman. The Sooners are looking to snap an eight-game losing streak, while the Cowboys have won two straight following a four-game skid. Saturday’s game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 91, XM 231) with Bob Barry and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by the Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in Oklahoma City; KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Brad Sham and Stephen Howard calling the action. A pre-game senior ceremony honoring OU guard Cade Davis will begin at 2:40 p.m.
OKLAHOMA STATE'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 31 Matt Pilgrim (6-8, 255, Sr., 5.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
F 33 Marshall Moses (6-7, 255 Sr., 14.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
G 5 Reger Dowell (6-1, 180, So., 5.7 ppg, 2.0 apg)
G 12 Keiton Page (5-9, 160, Jr., 13.3 ppg, 1.9 apg)
G 22 Markel Brown (6-3, 190, Fr., 6.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 4 Andrew Fitzgerald (6-8, 231, So., 13.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
F 15 Tyler Neal (6-7, 215, Fr., 4.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
G 14 Carl Blair (6-2, 209, So., 7.2 ppg, 4.5 apg)
G 21 Cameron Clark (6-6, 189, Fr., 9.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 209, Sr., 13.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
NOTEWORTHY
• Saturday’s game will mark the final one for longtime OU radio play-by-play announcer Bob Barry to call at home. In his 50th year of announcing, the 80-year-old Barry began his career at OU in 1961. He called Oklahoma State games from 1973 to 1990 before returning to the OU microphone in 1991. Barry will be honored at halftime Saturday.
• Oklahoma holds a 126-93 series lead against Oklahoma State and is 78-26 versus the Cowboys in Norman. The Sooners have won the last six meetings at Lloyd Noble Center and nine of the last 10.
• OU has won 42 times in its last 44 home games against unranked (AP) opponents. The only losses during those 44 games came by one point (this year to Nebraska and last year to Texas Tech).
• With just two players on the active roster taller than 6-7, guards have accounted for 66 percent of the team’s points this year.
• A big key for OU in its wins this year has been its positive assist-to-turnover ratio. In 12 victories, the Sooners have 189 assists to 167 turnovers. In its 17 losses, Oklahoma has accumulated 173 assists and 226 turnovers.
• During their four-game Big 12 winning streak, the Sooners averaged 26.5 free throw attempts per game. In eight losses since, OU is averaging just 17.4 attempts.
• Eight of OU’s top nine scorers are in their first or second year of Division I.
• Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 71 percent of OU’s points this year. The Sooners have one senior in Cade Davis.
• Davis is averaging 19.0 points and 5.6 rebounds over the last five games and is 11-for-23 (.478) from 3-point range during the stretch. He has led the Sooners in scoring in each of the last four outings (performances of 21, 21, 19 and 21 points) and has accounted for 35 percent of the team’s points in those contests.
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger, who turned in a 38-point performance Jan. 29 at Iowa State, has scored in double figures in 10 of OU’s 12 wins and is averaging a team-high 16.2 points in the team’s victories compared to 7.4 in losses. He averaged 18.3 points during the team’s four-game Big 12 winning streak but is averaging 7.4 over eight games since, all defeats.
• After averaging 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds during OU’s four-game winning streak, freshman Cameron Clark is averaging 6.4 points and 3.6 boards over the last eight games. Clark has attempted just four free throws during the losing streak.
• In home games, OU is shooting .473 from the field, .385 from 3-point range and .758 from the foul line. On the road, the Sooners own .419, .299 and .690 figures.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING SCENARIOS
Oklahoma will be the No. 10 seed in next week’s Big 12 Championship if all three of the following happen on Saturday: OU beats Oklahoma State, Texas A&M beats Texas Tech (game is in College Station) and Colorado beats Nebraska (game is in Boulder). Otherwise, the Sooners will be the No. 11 seed.
PREVIEWING OKLAHOMA STATE
• Oklahoma State enters Saturday’s game with an 18-11 overall record and is in ninth place in the Big 12 at 6-9. The Cowboys have won two straight (home victories over Texas Tech and Baylor) following a four-game losing streak. OSU boasts a 13-2 home record but is 1-8 in true road games and 0-7 in conference play (lone win was at La Salle on Dec. 4).
• In Big 12 play, Oklahoma State is shooting .412 from the field (ranks last in the league), .262 from 3-point range (ranks last) and .718 from the free throw line (ranks seventh). Its -1.7 rebounding margin ranks eighth in conference play.
• The Cowboys give up 71.8 points per league game (sixth most) while allowing opponents to shoot .436 from the field (fourth best defensive mark) and .373 from 3-point range (ninth best mark).
• Senior forward Marshall Moses leads three Cowboys who score in double figures on the season. Moses averages team highs of 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best .561 from the field. He’s coming off a 16-point, 10-rebound game against Baylor in which he went 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
• Junior guard Keiton Page averages 13.3 points and 1.9 assists per contest and has made a team-high 49 3-pointers (shooting .308 from long range). Page, who leads the Big 12 with his .902 free throw percentage, is averaging 9.2 points over the last five games.
• Sophomore guard/forward Jéan-Paul Olukemi averages 11.6 points per game on the season and scores a team-high 12.9 points per Big 12 contest. The junior college product leads the squad with his 169 free throw attempts on the year (shooting .757). Olukemi averaged 19.6 minutes per non-conference game but is averaging 27.6 per league outing.
• Travis Ford is in his third year as Oklahoma State’s head coach and owns a 63-34 record.
OU-OKLAHOMA STATE HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 126-93 series advantage against Oklahoma State and is 78-26 against the Cowboys in Norman. OU has won six of the last overall 10 meetings and nine of the last 15, but OSU has won the last three. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 16-16 against the Cowboys and 11-3 in Norman. The Sooners have won six straight in the series at home, and nine of the last 10. Jeff Capel is 6-5 against Oklahoma State as OU’s head coach (4-0 at Lloyd Noble Center). OU posted a 62-57 overtime win last year in Norman.
EARLIER THIS YEAR AGAINST THE COWBOYS
• Oklahoma jumped out to a 21-6 lead and was up 47-39 early in the second half but couldn’t overcome Oklahoma State’s 36-for-44 free throw performance in an 81-75 loss in Stillwater on Feb. 5.
• OSU registered season highs in free throw makes and attempts. The 44 attempts are tied for the most by a team in Big 12 play this year.
• The Oklahoma State threesome of Keiton Page (11-for-12), Jean-Paul Olukemi (11-for-13) and Darrell Williams (8-for-10) combined to go 30-for-35 at the charity stripe.
• Oklahoma was even better at the free throw line from a percentage standpoint with its 24-for-26 (season-high .923) effort.
• Sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald and senior guard Cade Davis led OU with 18 points each. Fitzgerald had 14 by half and Davis 11.
• Sophomore point guard Carl Blair hit all nine of his free throw attempts and finished with 13 points, but registered no assists and six turnovers. He entered the game averaging 5.3 assists in Big 12 play to rank second in the league.
• After scoring 25 points versus Baylor the previous game, freshman guard Cameron Clark was held scoreless on 0-for-3 field goal shooting.
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger, who entered the game averaging 16.2 points during OU’s four-game winning streak, was forced to the bench less than two minutes into the contest with his second personal foul. Pledger finished the game with nine points in just 23 minutes, his least playing time in nine games.
