Sooners Back in Action Saturday

GAME INFORMATION
Coming off a 66-48 win at Purdue, Oklahoma (5-1) will try for its fourth straight victory when it hosts Northern Colorado (2-8) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CST at Lloyd Noble Center. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr., (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. It will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (KWTV Channel 9 in OKC) with Bob Carpenter (play-by-play) and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst) announcing. Other SSN stations carrying the game will be KWBT in Tulsa, KSWO in Lawton, KOMI in Woodward and Metro Sports (tape delayed) in Kansas City.

TICKET AVAILABILITY
Upper-level reserved seats for Saturday's game are still available for $15 and $20 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online at SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Game Notes in PDF

TOYS FOR TOTS
The U.S. Marine Corps will be collecting toys for its "Toys for Tots" program at Lloyd Noble Center prior to Saturday's men's basketball game versus Northern Colorado and before the women's basketball game later that day against Southwest Missouri State. All toys collected will be distributed to families in the Oklahoma City area. Fans are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys and place them in the collection bins outside the arena entrances.

PROJECTED NORTHERN COLORADO STARTERS (Stats averages)
F 24 James Randle (6-7, 211, Sr., 6.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.9 apg)
F 35 Trei Steward (6-7, 248, So., 1.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 6.0 apg)
G 10 Matt Kline (5-11, 180, So., 8.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G 11 Sean Nolen (6-0, 188, Sr., 7.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G 33 Erik Olson (6-4, 207, Jr., 7.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.2 apg)

PROJECTED OKLAHOMA STARTERS (Stats averages)
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 235, Jr., 12.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.8 apg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 259, Jr., 14.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 0.7 apg)
G 2 Jaison Williams (6-3, 181, Sr., 9.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G 3 Drew Lavender (5-7, 153, So., 11.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 4.8 apg)
G 20 Terrell Everett (6-4, 185, Jr., 12.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.3 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners picked up their second win of the year against a Big Ten team when they posted a 66-48 win at Purdue on Wednesday. Oklahoma shot .549 from the field while limiting the Boilermakers to a .370 figure. It marked the fifth time in six games this season that Kelvin Sampson's squad shot better than .500 from the floor. OU's guards scored 30 of the team's 34 first-half points and carried the Sooners to an 11-point halftime lead. Drew Lavender, Lawrence McKenzie and Jaison Williams each made a pair of first-half 3-pointers. Forward Kevin Bookout, who was 0-for-4 from the field in the first half, came alive after the break. He scored all 12 of his points in the second half when he was 6-for-6 from the field. Fellow junior forward Taj Gray scored eight of his 10 points after intermission, as well. Lavender and Terrell Everett netted 11 points apiece while Williams finished with 10. All five starters reached double figures. McKenzie totaled eight off the bench, all in the first half.

Oklahoma is shooting .514 from the field on the year (ranks third in Big 12) and has outrebounded its opponent in all five victories. It is also forcing its foes into 18.3 turnovers per game.

PURDUE LEFTOVERS
Oklahoma beat Purdue for the second straight year and moved to 5-3 all-time against the Boilermakers.
The Sooners improved to 5-1 in their last six games against Big Ten Conference competition.
OU's guards scored 30 of the team's 34 first-half points while frontcourt players accounted for 20 of the team's 32 second-half points.
OU held its opponent to sub-.400 field goal shooting for the third consecutive game. Purdue shot .370.
Kevin Bookout scored in double figures for the sixth time in six games. His 12 points were a team high. He has been OU's high scorer four times this season.

ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO
After a 0-6 start, independent Northern Colorado has won two of its last four and enters Saturday's game with a 2-8 record. The Bears are coming off an 86-52 loss at New Mexico on Thursday. Both of UNC's wins came at home 76-58 against Western State (Nov. 30) and 80-49 versus Great Falls (Dec. 4). On the season, the Bears are getting outscored by an average 71-58 margin. They are shooting .395 from the field, .333 from 3-point distance and .677 from the foul line.

Freshman guard Sean Taibi is the only Bear who averages double figures in scoring. A two-game starter, Taibi nets 11.2 points a game and has made 15 3-pointers on 36 attempts (.417). Matt Kline, a sophomore guard, averages 8.6 points and a team-high 3.3 assists in a team-high 29.7 minutes per contest. He has also made a team-high 16 treys (shooting .381 from beyond the arc). Northern Colorado's top returning scorer from last season, junior guard Erik Olson is averaging 7.8 points this season to go along with a team-high 5.9 boards. A fourth guard, senior Sean Nolen, averages 7.3 points a game and has gone 21-for-25 (.840) from the foul line.

Craig Rasmuson is in his sixth season as Northern Colorado's head coach. He owns a 52-92 (.361) record at the school. He is in his 11th season overall and owns a 118-158 (.428) career mark.

SERIES WITH NORTHERN COLORADO
Oklahoma and Northern Colorado have never met in men's basketball.

SOONERS SPORTING MORE SCORING BALANCE IN 2004-05
Oklahoma's guards accounted for 68 percent of the team's points last season. That figure is down this year, however, as the Sooners have showcased a potent inside attack. OU's guards have scored 264 of the squad's 466 points, or 57 percent this season. Junior forwards Kevin Bookout (14.2 ppg) and Taj Gray (12.7 ppg) are the main reasons OU's frontcourt production has increased from 32 percent of the team's points last year to 43 percent this year. Bookout and Gray are Oklahoma's top two scorers.

TIGHTENING THE DEFENSIVE SCREWS
Over its last three games, OU has held Minnesota, Coppin State and Purdue to an average of 48.7 points and a combined .362 field goal mark. Those three opponents also averaged just 2.7 3-point makes per contest and shot .250 from beyond the arc.

SOONERS DISPLAY MUCH IMPROVED SHOOTING
After posting a .408 field goal mark last year its worst in 40 seasons Oklahoma is off to a tremendous shooting start in 2004-05. The Sooners have shot better than .500 from the field in five of their six games and own a .514 season figure to rank third in the Big 12 Conference. OU shot .509 against Cal State Northridge in the season opener, .532 versus High Point, .550 against Washington, .529 versus Minnesota and .549 at Purdue. The 2003-04 Sooners shot .500 or better from the field just three times all season. OU also shot a combined .500 from the field in its two exhibition games this year.

MORE SHOOTING NOTES
Oklahoma's leader in field goal percentage his first two seasons, junior forward Kevin Bookout is shooting a gaudy .712 from the field this season (37-for-52) to lead the Big 12. The 6-8, 259-pounder has showcased a reliable mid-range jumper and made nine of his 10 field goal attempts against then-No. 22 Washington on Nov. 26. He was also 5-for-5 against Cal State Northridge in the season opener and was 6-for-6 in the second half at Purdue on Wednesday. Bookout shot .587 as a freshman to lead the Big 12 Conference and posted a .516 mark last year in 13 games.

Five OU regulars are shooting .500 or better through six games. Last year, Bookout (.516) and Johnnie Gilbert (.512) were the only Sooners who finished above .500.

BETTER TO GIVE THAN RECEIVE
The Sooners have registered 105 assists through six contests for an average of 17.5 a game (ranks fourth in Big 12). An assist has been credited on 62 percent of OU's field goals. Last year's team averaged 12.1 assists a contest and 53 percent of its baskets were assisted.

GENEROUS GUARDS
Starting guards Drew Lavender and Terrell Everett lead the team in assists with 4.8 and 4.3 per game, respectively. The last time OU had two players average 4.0 or more assists for an entire season was in 1993-94. John Ontjes averaged 6.5 assists while Pete Lewis averaged 4.0 in Billy Tubbs' final season as Oklahoma's head coach.

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Junior forward Taj Gray (6-9) and freshman center Longar Longar (6-11) have been intimidating in the paint with their shot-blocking ability. Gray has registered two games of four rejections while Longar has blocked three shots in two games. Gray is averaging 2.0 swats an outing. Longar is averaging 1.4 blocks in 10.0 minutes a game. The Sooners are averaging 4.8 blocks a contest as a team. Senior Johnnie Gilbert, who has two blocked shots this year, ranks fifth on OU's career list with 113. His next rejection will tie him with Ryan Humphrey (1997-97 and 1998-99) for fourth place.

TURNOVERS UP, BUT...
Partially because of OU's up-tempo style of play this season, the team's turnover average has increased by three a game from last year. The Sooners are averaging 16.2 offensive miscues a game compared to 13.1 per contest last season. However, Oklahoma has committed fewer turnovers than five of its six opponents this year. Foes are averaging 18.6 turnovers a game.

ANOTHER TURNOVER NOTE
Dating back to the start of the 2003-04 season, Oklahoma has committed more turnovers than its opponent just five times in its last 37 games (14 percent of the time).

HOME IS WHERE THE “W” IS
Lloyd Noble Center has always been extremely kind to the Sooners. Oklahoma went 14-3 at home last year and has gone 135-20 (.871) inside the building during Kelvin Sampson's 10 years as head coach. Over the past three-plus seasons, OU is 47-4 (.922) at Lloyd Noble (it finished 15-1 in 2002-03 and 16-0 in 2001-02). Oklahoma is 371-63 (.855) inside Lloyd Noble since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign and has won 53 of its last 57. OU's 37-game home winning streak (started Jan. 20, 2001, and ended March 8, 2003) was OU's longest since winning 51 in a row in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was the nation's longest streak at the time. It also stands as the longest home streak in Big 12 history.

OKLAHOMA TIP INS
The Sooners have won 53 of their last 57 home games (.930).
OU shot .500 or better from the field three times all of last season. It has shot better than .500 in five of its six games this season. The Sooners shot .408 last year but own a .514 mark this year.
Junior forward Kevin Bookout went 5-for-5 from the field against Cal State Northridge and 9-for-10 against Washington. He also went 6-for-6 in the second half at Purdue. Bookout leads the Big 12 with his .712 season field goal percentage.
Oklahoma was outrebounded by 10 in its loss to Washington. In its five wins, OU is outboarding its foes by 5.6 a game.
Freshman guard David Godbold, who played a combined eight minutes off the bench in OU's first four games, started and played 36 minutes Dec. 1 against Coppin State. He scored a game-high 14 points, pulled down seven rebounds (five offensive) and was 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
Freshman center Longar Longar is 7-for-7 from the field this season. His first six field goals were dunks.
Drew Lavender, a .782 free throw shooter a year ago, is 13-for-14 (.929) from the charity stripe this season.
A career .527 free throw shooter, Bookout is off to an 11-for-14 start this year (.786).
OU averaged 2.3 dunks a game last year. Through six games this season it is averaging 3.8 a contest.
Six players are averaging at least 8.4 points a game. Four average 11.0 or more.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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