Teams: Oklahoma (8-8, 0-2) at No. 12/14 Texas (13-3, 1-0)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 15
Tip: 3:01 p.m. CT
Site: Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in OKC; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa)
TV: Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in OKC; KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: OU leads 47-29
SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (8-8, 0-2) plays its second straight road game when it takes on Texas (13-3, 1-0) on Saturday in Austin at 3 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa) with Bob Barry Sr. 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 Dave Armstrong and Reid Gettys calling the action.
OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 4 Andrew Fitzgerald (6-8, 231, So., 13.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
G 2 Steven Pledger (6-4, 212, So., 11.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
G 14 Carl Blair (6-2, 209, So., 6.2 ppg, 4.5 apg)
G 21 Cameron Clark (6-6, 189, Fr., 9.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 209, Sr., 13.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
TEXAS' PROJECTED STARTERS
F 1 Gary Johnson (6-6, 238, Sr., 11.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
F 13 Tristan Thompson (6-8, 225, Fr., 12.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
G 3 Jordan Hamilton (6-7, 200, So., 19.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
G 4 Dogus Balbay (6-1, 175, Sr., 4.3 ppg, 3.0 apg)
G 5 Cory Joseph (6-3, 185, Fr., 11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
PREVIEWING TEXAS
• Ranked 12th in the AP poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today poll, Texas owns a 13-3 overall record and a 1-0 Big 12 mark following its 83-52 win at Texas Tech on Tuesday. Among the Longhorns’ wins were victories over Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan State and Arkansas. Their only three losses came to Pittsburgh (68-66 in New York City), USC (73-56 on the road) and Connecticut (82-81 in overtime at home).
• Texas is shooting .455 from the field (ranks eighth in the Big 12), .364 from 3-point range (ranks seventh) and .647 from the free throw line (ranks 11th). Its +7.6 rebounding margin ranks fifth in the league.
• Sophomore guard/forward Jordan Hamilton leads four Longhorns who average double figures in scoring. Hamilton ranks third in the Big 12 with his 19.4 points per game and also averages 7.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He’s made 42 treys in his 16 games and is shooting .408 from the behind the arc. He’s scored at least 20 points eight times on the year, including four times in the past six outings.
• Freshman forward Tristan Thompson (20 points against Texas Tech last game) averages 12.7 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds on the year. Thompson, from Canada, is shooting .529 from the field and leads UT with 117 free throw attempts (shooting .487 from the line). He has more offensive rebounds (65) than defensive (59). Thompson had 17 points and 15 boards in a win at Michigan State.
• Senior forward Gary Johnson contributes 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest while shooting .472 from the field.
• Rick Barnes is in his 13th year as Texas’ head coach and owns an 307-118 record there.
OU-TEXAS SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 47-29 series advantage against Texas despite losing eight of the last 10 meetings. OU is 16-16 against the Longhorns in Austin but has lost its last five there. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 18-16 against Texas (5-9 in Austin). Jeff Capel is 2-7 against the Longhorns as OU’s head coach.
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE LONGHORNS
• Oklahoma and Texas split their two meetings last year, with OU winning 80-71 in Norman and Texas winning 87-76 in Austin. Cade Davis averaged 21.0 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Sooners while going 10-for-21 from 3-point range (.476).
• In the first meeting, Tommy Mason-Griffin scored 24 points while Davis (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Ryan Wright (11 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double-doubles in the Sooners’ win over the No. 9 Longhorns. OU was 20-for-28 from the free throw line (.714) while UT was just 10-for-27 (.370) on a night OU celebrated the life and career of the late Wayman Tisdale.
• In the rematch in Austin, the Sooners led 51-40 with 15:30 left in the second half and didn’t trail until the 9:08 mark. The Longhorns’ 38-21 rebounding advantage and 38-22 margin in paint points proved too much to overcome. Tony Crocker led OU with 24 points while Davis went 6-for-10 from 3-point range en route to a 22-point night. Jordan Hamilton recorded a double-double for Texas with 12 points and 11 boards.
