Sooners Look for Revenge Against Red Raiders

GAME INFORMATION
Unranked in the AP poll for the first time in 46 weeks, Oklahoma (14-5 overall, 4-4 Big 12) tries to get back on track following a loss at Texas when it hosts No. 18 (AP)/19 (ESPN/USA Today) Texas Tech (17-5, 5-3) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST inside Lloyd Noble Center. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. It will be televised regionally by ESPN Plus (KOCB Ch. 34/Cox Cable 11 in OKC) with Doug Bell (play-by-play) and Chris Piper (analyst) announcing.

TICKET INFORMATION
A limited number of $20 upper-level tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (800)456-4668 or by visiting SoonerSports.com.

TEXAS TECH PROJECTED STARTERS
F 14 Andre Emmett (6-5, 225, Sr., 21.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.7 apg)
F 21 Devonne Giles (6-8, 225, Jr., 7.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F 55 Robert Tomaszek (6-9, 250, Sr., 7.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G 22 Jarrius Jackson (6-1, 185, Fr., 10.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.9 apg)
G 24 Ronald Ross (6-2, 185, Jr., 10.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.4 apg)

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 32 Johnnie Gilbert (6-8, 265, Jr., 4.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.4 apg)
C 21 Jabahri Brown (6-10, 220, Sr., 7.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G 1   Lawrence McKenzie (6-2, 170, Fr., 7.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
G 3   Drew Lavender (5-7, 155, Fr., 10.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.7 apg)
G 5   Jason Detrick (6-6, 215, Sr., 10.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.5 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Following a four-game winning streak that saw them move to 4-3 in Big 12 Conference play, the Sooners turned in one of their worst offensive outings in recent memory in a 66-37 loss at Texas on Sunday. OU coupled .264 field goal shooting (the worst of the Kelvin Sampson era) with a 1-for-21 (.048) three-point performance and was outrebounded 44-30, its largest board deficit of the year. Adding injury to insult, sophomore guard De'Angelo Alexander sustained a severe ankle sprain in the second half after posting team highs of 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Alexander also led the team with 17 points last Wednesday in a 75-48 victory over Iowa State when he made a career-high five three-pointers on seven attempts. His status for Wednesday is uncertain.

Just as Oklahoma appeared to have completely rebounded from a four-game January losing streak in which it struggled offensively, the Sooners' 37 points at Texas marked their lowest scoring output in 49 years. All nine Sooners who played shot less than .500 from the field. The production of freshman guard Lawrence McKenzie had been a huge boost for OU over the previous three games as he averaged 15.0 points on 11-for-20 (.550) three-point shooting. At Nebraska on Feb. 1, he scored 18 points, grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and made treys on OU's first three possessions of the game. McKenzie, who now averages 7.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game on the season, also turned in a 16-point effort last Wednesday in the win over Iowa State. Senior guard Jason Detrick had also been key to OU's resurgence with a 14.5 scoring average during the team's four-game winning streak. Included were games of 24 (Kansas State) and 15 (Baylor and Iowa State) points. He now averages a team-high 10.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Point guard Drew Lavender ranks third on the team with his 10.4 points per game and second with 27 treys, and leads with 3.7 assists per outing. The Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year has made at least one trey in 17 of 19 games and leads the team with 29.8 minutes played per contest.

Alexander, who has come off the bench the last five games after starting the first 14, had gone seven straight games without scoring in double figures prior to the last two outings. He has battled shoulder problems all year but still ranks second in scoring and third in rebounding with his 10.5 and 4.9 season averages. Another guard, junior Jaison Williams has been extremely valuable this season. Coming off the bench in each game, the high-energy Williams is averaging 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals. He is shooting a team-high .920 from the foul line and has made 26 three-pointers. Williams had a career-high seven assists against Iowa State and led the team with three against Texas.

On the inside, the Sooners have stomached the loss of Kevin Bookout's 7.6 points and 5.5 boards per outing rather well. Bookout underwent successful season-ending shoulder surgery last Thursday. Senior center Jabahri Brown had played consistently in the six games prior to Texas and averaged 10.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals during the stretch. He now averages 7.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game on the season following his two-point, zero-rebound effort against the Longhorns. Junior forward Johnnie Gilbert replaced Bookout as a starter the last five games and has averaged 4.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steal in those contests. Gilbert is averaging 4.4 points, 3.8 boards and 1.4 rejections per game. Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner is also seeing more playing time and is averaging 4.8 points and 3.0 rebounds over the last six contests.

ABOUT TEXAS TECH
Picked seventh in both Big 12 preseason polls, Texas Tech stands in fourth place and is ranked No. 18 and 19 in this week's top-25 polls. After a 12-game winning streak that helped it get off to a 14-2 start, Tech has dropped three of its last four, including a 96-77 contest at Kansas on Saturday. The Red Raiders are 3-1 in Big 12 play at home and 2-2 on the road (beat Baylor and Texas A&M while losing to Oklahoma State and Kansas).

Senior forward Andre Emmett is the leading candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year honors as he averages a conference-best 21.6 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per outing. Emmett is shooting .535 from the field and gets to the foul line for 7.0 attempts per game. A pair of guards rank second and third in scoring in freshman Jarrius Jackson and junior Ronald Ross. Jackson averages 10.5 points, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game while Ross averages 10.1 points, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals. Senior forward Robert Tomaszek supplies 7.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists a contest while junior forward Devonne Giles contributes 7.3 points and 4.3 boards per game. Giles scored 15 points against Kansas on Saturday.

Texas Tech is shooting .468 from the field and owns .333 three-point and .730 free throw marks. Opponents have shot .415 from the field and .333 from beyond the arc. The Red Raiders get outboarded by 1.2 per contest.

Head coach Bob Knight is 62-27 (.697) in his third year at Texas Tech and 826-316 (.723) in his 38th season overall.

SERIES WITH TEXAS TECH
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Texas Tech, 20-13, and holds a 12-4 advantage in Norman. Kelvin Sampson is 11-6 against the Red Raiders as OU's head coach and is 5-3 at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners have won three of the series' last four games and five of the last seven. OU won all three games against Tech last year (two in overtime) but fell in Lubbock this season on Jan. 19, 67-47. The Red Raiders shot .500 from the field and held the Sooners to a .328 figure. Andre Emmett led four Tech players in double figures with 21 points while Jason Detrick paced OU with 11 points. Also, redshirt freshman Larry Turner posted career highs with nine points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes for the Sooners. Texas Tech outrebounded Oklahoma 39-31 and the teams combined for 34 turnovers (18 by Tech and 16 by OU).

A WIN OVER TEXAS TECH WOULD...
Move Oklahoma into at least fifth place in the Big 12 standings (fourth place if Missouri beats Colorado Tuesday in Columbia). The top five regular season finishers earn first-round Big 12 Tournament byes.
Give OU 48 victories in their last 50 home games and improve its home record this season to 11-1 (its only loss this year was to Missouri in overtime).
Give OU a 44-11 record in its last 55 games against Big 12 teams (including postseason play).

TEXAS RECAP
In their lowest scoring performance in 49 years, the Sooners dropped a 66-37 decision at Texas on Sunday afternoon. Oklahoma turned in season lows from the field (.264) and three-point range (.048) while committing 17 turnovers and getting outrebounded 44-30. OU trailed 9-6 when back-to-back three-pointers gave Texas six straight points to start a 26-14 run that closed the half. The Sooners trailed 35-20 at the break and never got closer in the second half as the Longhorns led by as many 30 points (58-28). OU missed its first 18 three-point attempts of the game and finished just 1-for-21 from beyond the arc. Texas, meanwhile, made its first three trey attempts and ended up 7-for-12 from long range. De'Angelo Alexander came off the bench to lead the Sooners with 12 points and seven rebounds before leaving the game with a severely sprained ankle in the second half. Senior Jason Detrick tallied nine points but had no rebounds or assists and Drew Lavender scored seven. No other Sooner scored more than two points. Brandon Mouton and Brian Boddicker scored 13 points apiece for the Longhorns, who remained in a tie for first place in the Big 12 with Kansas and Oklahoma State. The win was Texas' 27th in its last 28 home games.

TEXAS LEFTOVERS
The last time OU was held to 37 points or less was on March 2, 1955, versus Oklahoma A&M (38-34).
The .264 field goal performance was the team's worst of the 10-year Kelvin Sampson era while its .048 three-point mark was its worst since going 0-for-13 at Memphis on Dec. 23, 1996 (span of 244 games).
Jaison Williams had three assists to lead the team in the category for the second straight game.
The Oklahoma and Texas coaching staffs wore sneakers as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Awareness Day.

BOOKOUT'S SURGERY A SUCCESS
Kevin Bookout underwent successful right shoulder surgery last Thursday (Feb. 5) afternoon in Oklahoma City. Team physicians Brock Schnebel and Don McGinnis performed the two-hour shoulder reconstruction that corrected instability in the joint. Bookout, a 6-8, 265-pound sophomore forward who earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors last year when he led the league in field goal percentage (.587), will be in a sling for three weeks. According to team medical personnel, standard recovery time for surgery of this nature is three to five months. Bookout played in 13 games this season and averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and shot .516 from the field (his final game was at Texas Tech on Jan. 19). Last year he averaged 9.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The Stroud native also earned All-America honors in the shot put last June. Bookout, who will redshirt in track and field this year, will have two seasons of basketball eligibility remaining and three in track. He hurt the shoulder during basketball practice on Oct. 21.

SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
Oklahoma owns an impressive 74-13 (.851) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (17-0), Texas (15-6), Texas A&M (14-1) and Texas Tech (12-6), OU is 58-13 (.817) under Sampson.

SERVED ON A TREY
Before its 1-for-21 performance against Texas on Sunday, Oklahoma shot extremely well from three-point range during a recent four-game winning streak. OU made at least eight treys in each of the four victories (averaged 9.0 makes) and shot .414 during the stretch (the team owned a .310 season mark prior to the three-game winning streak). Freshman Lawrence McKenzie has 12 treys over the last five games while sophomore De'Angelo Alexander has made nine.

MORE FROM THE LAND OF THREE
Sophomore De'Angelo Alexander became the fourth Sooner to make five three-pointers in a game this year when he went 5-for-7 against Iowa State last Wednesday. Jaison Williams was 5-for-9 against Texas-Pan American (Dec. 29), Drew Lavender was 5-for-8 at Connecticut (Jan. 11) and Lawrence McKenzie was 5-for-8 against Nebraska (Feb. 1). The last time four Sooners made five three-pointers in a game in a season was in 1998-99 when Tim Heskett, Michael Johnson, Eric Martin and Eduardo Najera accomplished the feat.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR
Kelvin Sampson's Oklahoma teams have been known to peak in the latter portion of the regular season over his nine-plus years in Norman. The Sooners are now 37-11 (.771) in February and March regular season games since the start of the 1998-99 campaign.

BALANCED ATTACK
In OU's 78-67 win at Baylor Jan. 28, eight of the nine Sooners who saw action scored. What makes the feat interesting is that all eight scored at least eight points. It marked the first time since the first game of the 1995-96 season (Kelvin Sampson's second year as OU head coach) that eight players scored at least eight points in a contest. On the season, seven Sooners average between 6.7 and 10.9 points per game. Eight players have scored at least 10 points in a game this year and seven have scored at least 15.

COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES
The Sooners' biggest downfalls in their four losses have been shooting, rebounding and turnovers. Below is a statistical comparison between OU's 14 wins and its five losses.

FG Percentage -- .434 in wins, .341 in losses
Opp. FG Percentage -- .382 in wins, .490 in losses
3FG Percentage -- .336 in wins, .277 in losses
Opp. 3FG Percentage -- .338 in wins, .414 in losses
Rebounding Margin -- +4.3 in wins, -10.4 in losses
Turnovers Per Game -- 13.1 in wins, 17.4 in losses

HOME IS WHERE THE “W” IS
Lloyd Noble Center has always been extremely kind to the Sooners. Oklahoma, which posted a perfect 16-0 mark at home in 2001-02 and finished 15-1 last season, is 366-61 (.857) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 129-18 (.878) at home under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 47 of their last 49. OU had won 37 straight at home before losing to Texas in last year's regular season finale. The 37-game home winning streak 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 streak in Big 12 history (Kansas held the previous league record with 33 straight home wins).

BIG 12 DOMINANCE
Oklahoma had more than its fair share of success against Big 12 opponents the last couple of seasons by winning 43 of its last 54 games (.796) against conference competition (including postseason play). Aiding that record is a 9-0 Big 12 Tournament mark over the last three years.

OU'S SCHEDULE NO PICNIC
By the time the regular season is over, Oklahoma will have played eight games against teams in this week's AP top 25 (one vs. No. 5 Connecticut, two vs. No. 10 Oklahoma, two vs. No. 11 Texas, one vs. No. 12 Kansas and two vs. No. 18 Texas Tech). The Sooners also beat preseason AP No. 3 Michigan State and Purdue, and lost in overtime to preseason AP No. 5 Missouri.

LOW LEADER
Jason Detrick leads the team with his 10.9 points per game. The last time a Sooner averaged fewer points per game as the team's season scoring leader was in 1959-60 when Warren Fouts averaged 10.4.

LIFT THE LID
The Sooners have struggled making shots this year and own a .410 overall season mark to rank last in the Big 12. The last OU team to shoot less than .410 for an entire season was the 1963-64 squad (it shot .398). Kevin Bookout (.516) and Larry Turner (.512) are the only Sooners with a field goal percentage at or above .500 this year. The Missouri and Baylor games marked the only times this season OU shot .500 or better.

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Through 19 games, the Sooners have registered 97 blocked shots, an average of 5.1 per contest. The school record for rejections per game is 5.8 (1988-89) and last year's squad averaged just 3.6. Junior Johnnie Gilbert leads Oklahoma and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with his 1.4 blocks per game (total of 26). Senior center Jabahri Brown has 18 blocks this year while sophomore forward Kevin Bookout recorded 13 in 13 games. Brown ranks sixth on the school's career list with 99 blocks while Gilbert ranks seventh with 90.

LOVING LAV
Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Drew Lavender has led OU in scoring five times this season with 14-, 13-, 23-, 22-, and 15-point efforts against Purdue, Prairie View A&M, Jackson State, Connecticut and Oklahoma State, respectively. Lavender became the first frosh and the shortest player to ever win Big 12 Player of the Week honors when he reeled in the award Dec. 16. Lavender, who hit the game-winning shot with 1.1 seconds left to give OU a 47-45 victory over Purdue, is averaging 10.4 points, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has also made 27 three-pointers, an average of 1.4 a game. The last Oklahoma freshman to average 10.4 points per game for an entire season was Jeff Webster (18.3 ppg in 1990-91). Since Oklahoma assist statistics were first kept during the 1976-77 season, Terry Evans is the only freshman to average more assists for an entire campaign (4.4 in 1989-90).

FRESH FACES
Making their Oklahoma debuts in the season opener against Eastern Washington were freshmen Brandon Foust, Drew Lavender, Lawrence McKenzie and junior Jaison Williams. Through 18 games, the group has accounted for 495 of OU's 1,276 points (39 percent), 137 of its 243 assists (56 percent) and 83 of its 116 three-pointers (72 percent). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner has also seen action in 18 games and scored a career-high nine points against both Prairie View A&M and Texas Tech. Five of OU's 11 roster players are freshmen (walk-on Kellen Sampson is the fifth) while seven are freshmen or sophomores.

STARTING FRESH(MEN)
Against Eastern Washington on Nov. 21, Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie became the third and fourth freshmen under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson to start the first game of a season. The others were Kevin Bookout last season and guard Prince Fowler in 1994-95, Sampson's first OU campaign. Lavender's 23 points against Jackson State Dec. 20 represent the most by a freshman during the Sampson era while McKenzie's 19 points versus Oral Roberts Nov. 22 stand as the sixth most by an OU frosh under Sampson.

SOONER MISCELLANY
The Sooners made their ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance last year and 18th in the last 21 years.
Oklahoma is 16-3 over the last three postseasons (9-0 in Big 12 and 7-3 in NCAA Tournaments).
The Sooners have won at least 26 games each of the last four seasons.
The Sooners' scoring defense mark of 60.0 points per game last year marked their lowest in 25 years. Opponents are scoring 60.5 points per game this season.
Oklahoma is 18-9 in overtime games under Sampson and has won 12 of its last 15. OU went 3-0 in overtime affairs last season (beat Texas Tech twice and Kansas State).
Sampson's .726 winning percentage is the best in OU history (Billy Tubbs ranks second at .716).

NINE STRAIGHT...AND COUNTING
Oklahoma has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of Kelvin Sampson's nine years in Norman. Only seven other schools have made the “Big Dance” each of the past nine seasons (Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and Stanford).

KELVIN'S SCHOOL OF DANCE
Last year's NCAA Tournament appearance marked Kelvin Sampson's 10th straight as a head coach (nine with Oklahoma and one with Washington State). That string ranks fourth among current coaches. Only Arizona's Lute Olson (19 straight), North Carolina's Roy Williams (14) and Cincinnati's Bob Huggins (12) have taken teams to more consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Kentucky's Tubby Smith and Maryland's Gary Williams have also been to 10 straight “Big Dances” while Stanford's Mike Montgomery has been to nine.

OU OWNS NATION'S SECOND-LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 22 consecutive postseason appearances (18 NCAA and four NIT), the second-longest streak among Division I programs. Only Indiana owns a longer postseason streak. The last time OU did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81.

SIX STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
The Sooners have compiled six straight seasons of at least 22 wins under head coach Kelvin Sampson. Last year marked the 21st 20-win season in school history and seventh under Sampson (this is his 10th year).

UNDER KELVIN SAMPSON...
OU has a 125-31 record the last four-plus years for the NCAA's third-best winning percentage (.801).
OU has posted an 84-36 (.700) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has made nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
OU has advanced to the Sweet 16 (1999), Final Four (2002) and Elite Eight (2003).
OU has recorded a 129-18 (.878) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 47 of its last 49 home games.
OU has won at least 26 games each of the last four seasons and at least 22 games each of the last six years.
OU has won three straight Big 12 Tournaments and has made five title game appearances in the last six events.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Look for Revenge Against Red Raiders

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