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http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020811aac.html
Teams: Oklahoma (12-10, 4-4) vs. No. 3/3 Texas (20-3, 8-0)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 9
Tip: 8:05 p.m. CT
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in OKC; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 127)
TV: ESPN2
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: OU leads 47-30
WEDNESDAY'S GAME BASICS
In a tie for fourth place in the Big 12, Oklahoma (12-10, 4-4) hosts league-leader Texas (20-3, 8-0) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. OU is coming off an 81-75 loss at Oklahoma State that snapped a four-game winning streak, while the third-ranked Longhorns have won 14 of their last 15.
Wednesday’s game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 127) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be nationally televised by ESPN2 with Mark Jones and Bryndon Manzer calling the action.
TEXAS' PROJECTED STARTERS
F 1 Gary Johnson (6-6, 238, Sr., 11.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
F 13 Tristan Thompson (6-8, 225, Fr., 12.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
G 3 Jordan Hamilton (6-7, 200, So., 18.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
G 4 Dogus Balbay (6-1, 175, Sr., 4.7 ppg, 2.5 apg)
G 5 Cory Joseph (6-3, 185, Fr., 11.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 4 Andrew Fitzgerald (6-8, 231, So., 13.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
G 2 Steven Pledger (6-4, 212, So., 12.3 ppg, 2.1 apg)
G 14 Carl Blair (6-2, 209, So., 7.8 ppg, 4.3 apg)
G 21 Cameron Clark (6-6, 189, Fr., 9.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 209, Sr., 12.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
PREVIEWING TEXAS
• Ranked No. 3 in both major polls, Texas owns a 20-3 overall record and an 8-0 Big 12 mark. The Longhorns have won 14 of their last 15 games, with their only loss during the stretch coming Jan. 8 in overtime to Connecticut (82-81). Their other two losses came against Pittsburgh (68-66 in New York City) and USC (73-56 on the road). UT is 5-1 in true road games on the season.
• In Big 12 play, Texas is shooting .504 from the field (ranks second in the Big 12), .427 from 3-point range (ranks second) and .645 from the free throw line (ranks 12th). Its +7.4 rebounding margin ranks first in the league.
• Sophomore guard/forward Jordan Hamilton leads four Longhorns who average double figures in scoring on the year. Hamilton ranks third in the Big 12 with his 18.9 points per game and also averages a team-high 7.6 rebounds to go along with 2.4 assists. He’s made 61 treys in his 23 games (2.7 average) and is shooting .424 from the behind the arc. He’s scored at least 20 points 10 times on the year.
• Freshman forward Tristan Thompson averages 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. From Canada, Thompson is shooting .525 from the field and leads UT with 166 free throw attempts (shooting .482 from the line). He has almost as many offensive rebounds (84) as defensive boards (86). Thompson has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games.
• Senior forward Gary Johnson contributes 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest while shooting .469 from the field.
• Rick Barnes is in his 13th year as Texas’ head coach and owns an 314-118 record there.
OU-TEXAS SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 47-30 series advantage against Texas despite losing nine of the last 11 meetings. OU is 23-9 against the Longhorns in Norman and is 14-6 at Lloyd Noble Center. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 18-17 against Texas (9-5 in Norman). Jeff Capel is 2-8 against the Longhorns as OU’s head coach. The two wins came in Norman (80-71 last year and 78-63 in 2008-09).
EARLIER THIS YEAR AGAINST THE LONGHORNS
• Oklahoma shot .392 from the field and .067 (1-for-15) from 3-point range in a 66-46 loss at No. 12 Texas on Jan. 15.
• The Sooners trailed by just six points one minute into the second half (27-21) but committed 11 of their 15 turnovers after halftime. Texas outscored OU 13-4 in the points-off-turnovers category on the day.
• The Longhorns entered the game outrebounding their opponents by an average of 7.6 boards per game, but they grabbed just one more than the Sooners (33-32).
• OU’s 46 points and .067 3-point field goal mark were season lows. The Sooners entered the game ranked third in the Big 12 with their 7.1 treys per game and fifth in 3-point percentage (.373).
• Oklahoma was whistled for 21 fouls to Texas’ 11. The Longhorns were 11-for-21 at the line while OU was 5-for-9.
• Sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half. He was 8-for-14 from the field and added five rebounds before fouling out. Freshman guard/forward Cameron Clark contributed nine points and five boards.
• Freshman forward Tyler Neal came off the bench to record eight points (third most of season) and five boards (second most) in 11 minutes.
• Senior guard Cade Davis (13.1 ppg) and sophomore guard Steven Pledger (11.8) entered the day with a combined 24.9 scoring average, but totaled just three points against the Longhorns (all by Davis). Pledger was 0-for-8 from the field while Davis was 1-for-4.
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma holds a 47-30 series lead against Texas and is 23-9 in Norman (14-6 at Lloyd Noble Center). OU won 80-71 last year in Norman but Texas won 66-46 earlier this season (Jan. 15) in Austin.
• The Sooners are 11-1 at home this year with their only loss coming to then-No. 16 Texas A&M. Oklahoma is 64-13 (.831) at Lloyd Noble Center under fifth-year head coach Jeff Capel.
• Starters have accounted for 345 of Oklahoma’s 380 points (91 percent) over the last five games (four wins). Starters have posted 19 individual double-figure scoring efforts in the five games and each of the five players is averaging at least 12.0 points per outing during the stretch.
• Starters are also averaging 35.2 minutes per game over the last five.
• A big key for OU 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 10 losses this year, Oklahoma has accumulated 102 assists and 144 turnovers (39 and 53 in Big 12 defeats).
• The Sooners committed more turnovers than their opponent in 10 of their first 17 games. That trend has reversed itself the last five games, however, as OU has totaled fewer turnovers than each of its last five foes. It is averaging just 11.3 turnovers over the last three outings.
• Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 72 percent of OU’s points this year (1,075 of 1,501) and 77 percent of its points during the four-game winning streak (293 of 380). The Sooners have one senior in Cade Davis.
• Eight of OU’s top nine scorers are in their first or second year of Division I basketball. Five of the nine are in their first year.
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger, who turned in a career-high 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 7.6 in losses). He is shooting .415 from 3-point range in wins (.260 in defeats).
• Pledger’s 38 points at Iowa State stand as the most by a Big 12 player in conference play this year and the second most by a Big 12 player in any game (Baylor senior guard LaceDarius Dunn scored 43 against Morgan State on Jan. 4).
• After averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in OU’s first eight games (he shot .450 from the field), freshman Cameron Clark is averaging 12.4 points (.500 shooting) and 5.4 boards over the last 14 outings (scored 25 points versus Baylor last Wednesday). Clark has played at least 40 minutes six times in the 14-game stretch, including four times in the last seven games.
• In OU’s 12 wins, point guard Carl Blair has totaled 57 assists and 27 turnovers. In the team’s 10 losses, Blair has 29 assists and 40 turnovers. The sophomore went 16-for-26 (.615) from the free throw line over his first 15 games, but is 37-for-46 (.804) over the last five outings.
INDIVIDUALS UPDATE
• Sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald has scored at least 17 points eight times this season, including four times in OU’s eight conference games. He leads the team with his 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the year, and ranks fifth in the Big 12 with his .525 season field goal percentage. His free throw percentage (.731) is up significantly from last year (.638). Fitzgerald has shot .500 or better from the field in 15 of 22 outings on the year.
• A career .332 3-point shooter entering the year, senior guard Cade Davis is shooting a career-best .360 from behind the arc this season (ranks 13th in the Big 12) and is averaging 2.1 treys per game (ranks eighth). Going back to last year, he has made 76 treys over his last 33 games. Davis ranks eighth on OU’s career 3-point field goals list with 162 and needs five to tie Brent Price for seventh place.
• Davis has been effective on the boards his last eight games, averaging 6.1 rebounds during the stretch (he’s led the team on the glass in six of those eight outings). Over OU’s first 13 games, the 6-foot-5 Davis averaged 4.4 rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger has scored in double figures in four of the last five games (had nine points Saturday at Oklahoma State). Included was a career-high 38-point effort at Iowa State on Jan. 29 in which he registered career highs in field goals (12), 3-point field goals (7) and free throw makes (7). Pledger scored 17 of OU’s final 21 points of the game, including the team’s first 10 in overtime.
• Freshman Cameron Clark’s top seven scoring games have all come over the last 14 outings. Clark, who finished with a career-high 26 points Dec. 30 against Central Arkansas, also netted 25 versus Baylor last Wednesday, 17 against Oral Roberts, 16 at Baylor, 14 against Maryland Eastern Shore and 13 versus Gardner-Webb and Colorado. In the team’s 12 wins, he is shooting .549 from the field and .457 from 3-point range (16-for-35).
• Sophomore point guard Carl Blair has rebounded nicely from a slow start to the year by averaging 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists over the last 14 games. In his first six games, Blair averaged 4.0 points, 0.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He ranks fifth in the Big 12 with his 4.3 assists per contest (fourth in league games only at 4.6) and has led OU in the category in 10 of the last 14 outings.
• After averaging 1.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting .235 from the field over his first 10 games, junior forward C.J. Washington has elevated his production over the last 11. During that span, Washington is averaging 3.6 points and 3.5 boards. He’s shooting .700 from the field (14-for-20) over the last 10 games. On the year, Washington leads OU in rebounds per minute (averaging 12.3 per 40 minutes; next highest on team is Tyler Neal at 8.9).
