WEDNESDAY'S GAME BASICS
No. 3/3 Oklahoma hits the road to Lubbock to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders this Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. OU, which is 20-4 overall and 8-4 in the Big 12, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Red Raiders are 15-9 this season (5-7 Big 12) and are under the direction of Tubby Smith, who is in his third campaign with Tech.
It marks the second matchup between the two schools this season. OU defeated Tech in Norman on Jan. 26, 91-67. The Red Raiders enter Wednesday's game coming off two consecutive wins over ranked opponents (No. 14 Iowa State, No. 21 Baylor).
ON THE AIR
Wednesday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM “The Franchise” in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Scott Thompson announcing. The matchup will be televised by ESPNU with Clay Matvick and Reid Gettys calling the action.
FIVE FAST FACTS ON TECH
• Texas Tech is led by Tubby Smith, now in his third season in Lubbock (42-46 record). This is Smith’s 25th season as a head coach. He’s also had stops at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky and Minnesota. Overall, he owns a 553-272 record at the helm.
• This season, Tech is 15-9 overall and 5-7 in the Big 12. The Red Raiders are 11-3 at home, 2-5 on the road and 2-1 on neutral sites. The team has won three of its last four games overall.
• Tech is coming off of two huge wins versus ranked opponents. TTU downed No. 14 Iowa State (Feb. 10) and No. 21 Baylor (Feb. 13) prior to OU’s visit on Wednesday. It marked the first time the team has topped ranked opponents in back-to-back games since the 2006-07 season.
• The Red Raiders have three players averaging double-figure scoring: Devaugntah Williams (11.8), Toddrick Gotcher (10.2) and Zach Smith (10.0). Smith also leads the club in rebounding (6.9).
• When Texas Tech gets to the charity stripe, it is among the nation’s best at knocking them down, as the team is ranked 17th in the country in free-throw percentage (.752).
GAMEDAY STORYLINES
• SCENE SETTER: No. 3/3 Oklahoma hits the road to Lubbock to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders this Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. OU, which is 20-4 overall and 8-4 in the Big 12, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Red Raiders are 15-9 this season (5-7 Big 12) and are under the direction of Tubby Smith, who is in his third campaign with Tech. Tech is coming off of two victories over ranked opponents last week (No. 14 Iowa State at home and No. 21 Baylor on the road).
• SERVING TREYS: Oklahoma currently ranks first nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.443) by hitting 262-591 of its shots from downtown. Oklahoma’s all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a campaign is .414 (1986-87). OU has connected on at least 10 treys in 16 games this year (a school record) and it’s 10.9 3-point makes per game ranks fourth nationally. OU’s starting five is averaging 46.1 percent from 3-point range (223 for 484, Hield has 101 of those makes).
• STRONG ON BOTH ENDS: The Sooners rank in the nation’s top 26 in both scoring offense with 83.6 points per game (11th) and scoring margin (+12.0, 26th) by holding opponents to just 71.6 points per contest. Oklahoma has scored at least 80 points in 15 of 24 contests this season. On the other end, OU is second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (.402).
• BUDDY BUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 25.6 points per game, which ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally (first among Power 5 conferences). The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year has scored at least 20 points in 18 games this season and his 49.8 percent (96-192) shooting from downtown ranks third in the country. His 4.21 3FGM per game is tops in the nation. He has eight games of at least 30 points this season (same total as rest of Big 12 combined).
• STEADFAST SOONERS: Oklahoma isn’t short on experience or leadership this season. OU’s quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard have each started every game (92 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 368 combined starts during that span. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (24 starts), OU boasts a starting five with 419 combined career starts.
