OU-Texas Tech Pregame Notes

[OUHoops]

From SoonerSports.com:

Teams: Oklahoma (8-9, 0-3) vs. Texas Tech (8-10, 0-3)
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 18
Tip: 7:04 p.m. CT
Site: Norman, Okla. (Lloyd Noble 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: SoonerSports.com
Series: OU leads 29-18

TUESDAY'S GAME BASICS

Oklahoma (8-9, 0-3) returns home following a two-game road trip to host Texas Tech (8-10, 0-3) on Tuesday at 7 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 calling the action. It will be televised by the Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in Oklahoma City; KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Doug Bell, Bryndon Manzer and Melissa Knowles announcing.

TEXAS TECH'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 1 Brad Reese (6-6, 195, Sr., 11.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
F 15 Robert Lewandowski (6-10, 256, Jr., 9.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
F 32 Mike Singletary (6-6, 235, Sr., 12.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
G 21 John Roberson (5-11, 168, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 4.0 apg)
G 25 David Tairu (6-3, 177, Sr., 10.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg)

OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 4 Andrew Fitzgerald (6-8, 231, So., 13.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
G 2 Steven Pledger (6-4, 212, So., 11.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
G 14 Carl Blair (6-2, 209, So., 6.1 ppg, 4.3 apg)
G 21 Cameron Clark (6-6, 189, Fr., 9.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 209, Sr., 12.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg)

PREVIEWING TEXAS TECH

• Texas Tech enters Tuesday’s game with an 8-10 overall record and a 0-3 Big 12 mark. The Red Raiders have lost conference home games to Baylor (71-59) and Texas (83-52) and one on the road Saturday to Kansas State (94-60).

• Texas Tech is shooting .449 from the field (ranks 11th in the Big 12), .327 from 3-point range (ranks 10th) and .722 from the free throw line (ranks third). Its -4.6 rebounding margin ranks last in the league.

• The Red Raiders give up 75.1 points per game (most in the league) while allowing opponents to shoot .457 from the field (Big 12’s worst defensive mark) and .374 from 3-point range (second-worst mark).

• Texas Tech’s top four scorers are seniors, with forwards Mike Singletary and Brad Reese leading the way. Singletary averages team highs of 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds a game to go along with 2.8 assists, but is averaging 6.5 points over the last two games. He has attempted 106 free throws (shooting .689), 49 more than the team’s next highest total. Reese averages 11.9 points and 4.8 boards a contest and is shooting .439 from 3-point range (18-for-41).

• Guards John Roberson and David Tairu also average double figures in scoring. Roberson, who had 18 points and five assists Saturday at Kansas State, contributes 11.8 points and a team-high 4.0 assists per outing. He’s also made a team-high 32 3-pointers (shooting .364). Tairu provides 10.2 points a game and has made 18 treys (shooting .360).

• Pat Knight is in his fourth year as Texas Tech’s head coach and owns a 45-52 record.

OU-TEXAS TECH SERIES HISTORY

Oklahoma owns a 29-18 series advantage against Texas Tech and has won five of the last seven meetings. OU is 17-6 against the Red Raiders in Norman and is 11-4 at Lloyd Noble Center. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 20-10 against Texas Tech (10-4 in Norman). Jeff Capel is 5-3 against the Red Raiders as OU’s head coach (3-1 in Norman).

LAST YEAR AGAINST THE RED RAIDERS

• Texas Tech won both meetings last year, 75-65 in Lubbock and 72-71 in Norman. Then-senior Tony Crocker averaged 18.0 points and 12.0 rebounds for the Sooners, while current Texas Tech senior Mike Singletary averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 boards.

• It was a tale of two halves in the first meeting, as OU held the Red Raiders to 23 points on .250 field goal shooting in the first 20 minutes but gave up 52 points on .516 shooting after halftime. Texas Tech was 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half and 7-for-11 after. The Sooners led 34-23 with 19 minutes left in the game but were outscored 52-31 the rest of the way. Crocker finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Singletary racked up 24 points and 10 boards.

• In the rematch in Norman, the Sooners had their 31-game home winning streak against unranked AP opponents snapped as a late rally came up just short. Down 10 with 5:20 to go, OU drew to within one but missed two 3-pointers on its final possession (one by Willie Warren and one by Tommy Mason-Griffin at the buzzer). It gave Texas Tech its first series sweep of OU since the Big 12 was formed. Warren led OU with 18 points while Crocker added 16 points and 11 rebounds. John Roberson scored 22 points for the Red Raiders.

NOTEWORTHY

• Oklahoma holds a 29-18 series lead against Texas Tech and is 17-6 in Norman. The Red Raiders won both games last year, 75-65 in Lubbock and 72-71 in Norman.

• OU has won 39 of its last 40 home games against unranked (AP) teams. The only loss in those 40 contests came last year to Texas Tech.

• The Sooners are 8-1 at home this year and 0-8 away from Norman. They are 61-13 (.824) under fifth-year head coach Jeff Capel at Lloyd Noble Center.

• OU’s three Big 12 opponents (Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas) have posted a 7-1 combined league record (best opponent mark of any team in the league).

• Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 70 percent of OU’s points this year (782 of 1,121). Eighty-nine percent of the team’s points at Texas on Saturday were scored by freshmen and sophomores.

• 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.

• 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 a team-high 12.7 points and 5.0 boards over the last nine outings (shooting .495 from the field). Clark is averaging 37.2 minutes per game during the span and played all 40 minutes four times (including each of the last two games).

• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger is shooting .478 from 3-point range over the last five games (11-for-23), and that’s including a 0-for-6 performance at Texas on Saturday in which he was held scoreless. Pledger shot .324 from deep over OU’s first 12 contests. He’s averaging a team-high 15.1 points in the Sooners’ wins but just 7.4 in their losses.

• In OU’s eight wins, point guard Carl Blair has totaled 35 assists and 10 turnovers. In the team’s nine losses, Blair has 29 assists and 34 turnovers.

• Oklahoma has been held to .404 field goal and .255 3-point shooting in Big 12 play. In their final two non-conference games, the Sooners shot a combined .598 from the field and .485 from behind the arc. Included was a Capel-era-best .612 field goal mark against Central Arkansas.

• In their eight wins, the Sooners are shooting .500 from the field and .439 from 3-point range (8.5 makes per game). In their nine losses, they’re shooting .429 from the field and .282 from behind the arc (5.1 makes per game).

• Oklahoma has outscored opponents 139-124 in points off turnovers in its eight wins, but has been outscored 162-103 in the category in its nine defeats.

• Seven different Sooners have led the team in scoring this year.