QUICK PREVIEW
Playing its first game in 11 days, Oklahoma takes on former Big 12 member Texas A&M in the All-College Classic on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT inside Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Sooners, who will be making their 30th straight appearance in the annual event, are 6-2 on the year following an 81-78 loss at Arkansas on Dec. 4. Texas A&M improved to 7-1 and won its fourth in a row by defeating Stephen F. Austin 62-54 on Dec. 5.
ON THE AIR
Saturday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 94; XM 191) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised by ESPNU with Dave Armstrong and Reid Gettys calling the action.
OU'S ALL-COLLEGE HISTORY
This year's All-College Classic marks the 35th such event for Oklahoma and the 30th straight. The Sooners own a 51-11 (.823) all-time record in the All-College and have claimed 25 championships. They have won 16 of their last 19 games in the event, including last year's 79-74 outcome against Houston. This marks the first year that the All-College is comprised of one game. The 11 All-College events immediately prior to this one featured a four-team "classic" or non-tournament format. For a complete list of OU's All-College Classic results, consult page 157 in this year's media guide.
PREVIEWING TEXAS A&M
Picked ninth out of 14 teams in the preseason SEC media poll, Texas A&M enters Saturday's game with a 7-1 record. The Aggies have won four straight contests following a 70-49 defeat to Saint Louis in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo. They are 5-0 at home, 1-0 on the road (70-58 win at Houston two games ago) and 1-1 at neutral sites.
Texas A&M is averaging 68.6 points per game and is shooting .471 from the field, .380 from 3-point range (5.1 treys per game) and .707 from the free throw line. The Aggies are holding their opponents to 60.5 points an outing, .398 field goal and .339 3-point shooting (7.1 treys per game). They outrebound their foes by 2.9 per contest.
Senior guard Elston Turner has led A&M in scoring in five of its eight games and is averaging a team-high 16.3 points a contest. The team's chief 3-point threat, he has made 22 treys (next highest total on squad is eight makes) and is shooting .431 from behind the arc. The University of Washington transfer has scored 26 points twice this season (vs. Troy and at Houston). In three games against OU last year, he averaged 16.0 points and shot .364 from 3-point distance (8-for-22).
Senior forward Ray Turner is averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best .642 from the field. Turner, who has led the team in scoring two times (season-high 17 vs. Prairie View A&M), has attempted a team-high 46 free throws (5.8 per game) and is shooting .739 from the foul line.
Billy Kennedy is in his second year as Texas A&M's head coach and sports a 21-19 record. He came to A&M from Murray State and owns a 232-198 career mark.
OU-TEXAS A&M HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 29-10 series advantage against Texas A&M and posted a 24-10 record against the Aggies when both teams were in the Big 12 Conference (1997-2012). Nine of the Aggies' 10 wins in the series have come over the past six seasons (they have won nine of the last 13 meetings). OU beat A&M in the 1988 All-College Tournament, 128-80, in Oklahoma City.
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE AGGIES
Oklahoma went 1-2 against Texas A&M last year, losing 81-75 in College Station in overtime in January, winning 65-62 in the regular season finale in Norman and falling 62-53 in the first round of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Mo.
