Sooner Men Host Oklahoma State in Bedlam Game

GAME INFORMATION
Winner of six of its last seven games, Oklahoma (16-5 overall, 6-4 Big 12) hosts rival Oklahoma State (19-2, 9-1) on Monday at 8 p.m. CST inside Lloyd Noble Center. OU is tied for fourth place in the Big 12 while OSU is alone in first. The game, part of The Bedlam Series presented by the Bank of Oklahoma and Your Oklahoma Ford Dealers, 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 nationally by ESPN (Cox Cable 29 in OKC) with Ron Franklin (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) announcing.

TICKET INFORMATION
Restricted admission tickets will go on sale at 6:30 p.m. for $20 each. The tickets will be sold at Lloyd Noble Center's north and east box offices.

OKLAHOMA STATE PROJECTED STARTERS
F 14 Joey Graham (6-7, 217, Jr., 10.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F 23 Ivan McFarlin (6-8, 237, Sr., 11.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G 15 John Lucas (5-11, 152, Jr., 14.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.8 apg)
G 20 Daniel Bobik (6-6, 200, Jr., 8.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G 24 Tony Allen (6-4, 205, Sr., 16.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.0 apg)

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 32 Johnnie Gilbert (6-8, 265, Jr., 4.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.6 apg)
C 21 Jabahri Brown (6-10, 220, Sr., 7.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G 1   Lawrence McKenzie (6-2, 170, Fr., 8.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G 3   Drew Lavender (5-7, 155, Fr., 11.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.0 apg)
G 5   Jason Detrick (6-6, 215, Sr., 10.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.5 apg)

See how the Sooners stack up against OSU in the Bedlam Series presented by the Bank of Oklahoma and Your Oklahoma Ford Dealers!

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Following a 0-3 Big 12 start, Oklahoma has responded with a 6-1 record and notched a pair of nice wins last week to move to 6-4 in league action. The Sooners knocked off then-No. 18 Texas Tech on Wednesday in Norman, 63-48, and then gutted out a 78-72 victory at Texas A&M on Saturday. OU's four freshmen were stellar in the two games, combining for 85 of the team's 141 points (60 percent). They scored 32 of OU's 63 against Tech and 53 of its 78 versus the Aggies. Drew Lavender had a sensational week by averaging 21.0 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 steals and just 1.5 turnovers while going 8-for-14 (.571) from three-point range. The point guard registered 31 points, seven assists and three steals in College Station and went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. Lavender's 31 points were the most by on OU true freshman in 20 years (Tim McCalister scored 31 twice in 1983-84) and the second most in Big 12 play this year (Texas Tech's Andre Emmett had 32 against Oklahoma State). The 5-7 Lavender now leads the team in scoring (11.4 ppg), assists (4.0 apg), steals (1.6 spg), three-pointers (33) and minutes played (30.5 mpg). The Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year has made at least one trey in 19 of 21 games and has paced the squad in assists 14 times.

Fellow freshman guard Lawrence McKenzie has provided needed scoring punch of late thanks largely to solid three-point shooting. He has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and is averaging 14.0 points and 3.0 three-pointers in the team's last five wins (he's 15-for-30 from beyond the arc in those five victories). McKenzie now averages 8.4 points per game on the year and is tied with Lavender for the team lead in Big 12 play with a 10.3 scoring average. Senior guard Jason Detrick responded to a scoreless game against Texas Tech with a 14-point effort Saturday at Texas A&M. He was particularly big in the second half against the Aggies when he scored 10 points. Detrick averages 10.5 points per game on the year to rank second on the squad and also contributes 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.

Sophomore guard De'Angelo Alexander, who has played with a sprained ankle the last two games, scored four points at A&M after reaching double digits in the previous three. Alexander averages 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game to rank third on the team in both categories. He is also shooting a team-high .387 from beyond the arc and is 12-for-23 (.522) from long range over the last six games. Another guard, junior Jaison Williams has been extremely valuable this season. Coming off the bench in each game, the high-energy Williams is averaging 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a team-high 1.6 steals. He is shooting a team-high .920 from the foul line and has made 27 three-pointers. Williams is averaging 3.0 assists over the last four games despite playing just five minutes at Texas A&M due to a sprained ankle and a stomach virus.

On the inside, the Sooners have stomached the loss of Kevin Bookout's 7.6 points and 5.5 boards per outing rather well (he underwent successful season-ending shoulder surgery Feb. 5). Senior center Jabahri Brown hasn't scored in double digits in the last three games but has been solid in other categories. He averages 7.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 block per game on the year. Brown has 100 rejections in an OU uniform to rank sixth on the school's all-time list. Junior forward Johnnie Gilbert replaced Bookout as a starter the last seven games and has averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals in those contests. On the season, Gilbert is averaging 4.7 points, 4.0 boards and 1.4 rejections per game. Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner is also seeing more playing time and is averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds over the last eight contests. Turner has also rejected three shots three times in the last five games.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
Picked fifth in both Big 12 preseason polls, Oklahoma State stands alone in first place and is the league's highest nationally ranked team (No. 10 last week). The Cowboys, who have won nine straight and 15 of their last 16, are 12-0 at home and 5-1 on the road. Their only two losses came versus BYU (76-71 on Dec. 6) and at Texas Tech (83-62 on Jan. 10). OSU is coming off a 91-58 home win over Baylor on Saturday in which it shot .611 from the field while limiting the Bears to a .339 mark.

Senior Tony Allen and junior John Lucas lead a balanced scoring attack by averaging 16.2 and 14.1 points per game, respectively. Allen also averages 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and a team-high 2.0 steals per game, and gets to the foul line for 6.1 attempts per outing. Lucas averages 4.8 assists and sports a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also averages 2.0 treys per game and owns a .448 three-point mark. Senior forward Ivan McFarlin averages 11.9 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds while shooting .544 from the field. Junior forward Joey Graham scores 10.2 points per game and adds 4.6 boards while shooting .541. Junior guard Daniel Bobik rounds out the starting lineup and averages 8.9 points and 3.3 assists while shooting .500 (37-for-74) from beyond the arc.

OSU is shooting an NCAA-best .525 from the field and owns .411 three-point and .672 free throw marks. Opponents have shot .403 from the field and .326 from beyond the arc. The Cowboys outboard their foes by 5.1 per contest.

Head coach Eddie Sutton is 313-126 (.713) in his 14th year at Oklahoma State and 743-290 (.719) in his 34th season overall.

SERIES WITH OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Oklahoma State, 118-85, and holds a 72-25 advantage in Norman. Kelvin Sampson is 9-12 against the Cowboys as OU's head coach and is 7-2 at Lloyd Noble Center.

Oklahoma State won the season's previous meeting, 77-56, in OU's Big 12 opener on Jan. 14 in Stillwater. The Sooners shot .352 from the field and committed 20 turnovers their most since March 11, 2000. Drew Lavender was the only Sooner in double figures with 15 points. Kevin Bookout grabbed 11 rebounds in 25 minutes. Ten of his boards came in the first half. OSU shot .564 from the field and was led by John Lucas' 22 points and Tony Allen's 20. Ivan McFarlin added 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds as the Cowboys rebounded from a 21-point loss at Texas Tech in their league opener.

A WIN OVER OSU WOULD...
Give OU its second win against an AP top-10 opponent this season (the Sooners beat then-No. 5 Michigan State) and fourth against a top-25 foe this year (also beat then-No. 16 Purdue and then-No. 18 Texas Tech).
Move Oklahoma into sole possession of fourth place in the Big 12 (a half game in front of Texas Tech) with a 7-4 record. The top five regular season finishers earn first-round Big 12 Tournament byes.
Prevent a regular season series sweep by Oklahoma State (the last by the Cowboys was in 1998).
Give OU 49 victories in its last 51 home games and improve its home record this season to 12-1 (its only loss this year was to Missouri in overtime).
Give OU a 46-11 record (.807) in its last 57 games against Big 12 teams (including postseason play).

TEXAS A&M RECAP
Oklahoma led much of the game but, in the end, had to pull out a 78-72 victory at Texas A&M on Saturday. The Sooners were on fire early and used the three-point shot to build 13-5 and 34-23 leads before settling for a 39-34 halftime lead. Down 47-38 with 16:10 left, the Aggies used an 8-0 run to close to within one before OU quickly went back up by six. A&M went ahead for the first time at 5:24, 64-63, when Jesse King converted a three-point play and the Aggies pushed their advantage to three points on three occasions. The Sooners trailed 70-67 when Drew Lavender made a bucket and was fouled at the 1:51 mark. The freshman missed the free throw but OU got the rebound and Lavender drilled a three-pointer to give the Sooners a five-point possession and a two-point lead it would not relinquish. Jason Detrick put OU up 74-70 with a spinning shot in the lane with 40 seconds on the clock to help ice the victory. Lavender made six three-pointers on 10 attempts and finished with 31 points, seven assists, three steals and just two turnovers. Nine of his points came in the final 1:51. Detrick scored 14 while Lawrence McKenzie added 10 to give the starting backcourt 54 points on the day. OU shot .491 from the field and .522 from three-point range but was outboarded 40-27.

TEXAS A&M LEFTOVERS
Oklahoma's 12 three-pointers tied a season high (also versus Iowa State) and its .522 three-point performance was its second best of the year (.524 versus Missouri).
The Sooners' .491 field goal mark was its third best of the season (.509 vs. Missouri, .500 at Baylor).
OU scored 17 points off turnovers while Texas A&M registered just two.
The Sooners moved to 20-1 all-time against the Aggies while Kelvin Sampson improved to 16-1 at OU.
OU improved to 76-13 (.854) against teams from the state of Texas under Sampson and 60-13 (.822 against Big 12 teams from the state.

RIM RATTLERS
With Kevin Bookout undergoing shoulder surgery Feb. 5, OU is down to nine available players on its roster (four are freshmen).
OU freshmen Drew Lavender (31 points), Lawrence McKenzie (10), Brandon Foust (6) and Larry Turner (6) combined for 53 of OU's 78 points (68 percent) at Texas A&M Saturday.
The Sooners are 57-for-132 (.432) from three-point range in their last six wins. They've made more treys than free throws in three of the last five outings.
Oklahoma fell out of the AP top-25 poll last week for the first time since December 2001 (46 weeks). OU was ranked in the top 10 in 34 of the previous 45 polls.
The Sooners have committed more turnovers than their foes just four times in 21 games.
OU has outrebounded just one opponent (Kansas State on Jan. 24) in its last 12 games.
True freshmen have led OU in scoring in 10 of 21 games. Drew Lavender has done it six times and Lawrence McKenzie four times.
Oklahoma has averaged 13.3 turnovers per game in its 16 wins but has committed 17.4 per contest in its five losses.
OU has made at least one three-point basket in 246 straight games dating back to the 1996-97 season.
Eight Sooners have scored at least 10 points in a game this season while a ninth, Larry Turner, has tallied nine twice. Seven players have scored at least 15 points in a game.

OU'S YOUNG GUNS
Against Eastern Washington, Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie became the third and fourth freshmen to start the first game of a season under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson (the others were Kevin Bookout last year and guard Prince Fowler in 1994-95, Sampson's first OU campaign). Lavender and McKenzie now lead OU in scoring in Big 12 play by averaging 10.3 points a game each. No true freshman duo has ever led the Sooners in scoring over an entire conference season. Lavender has scored in double figures a team-high 12 times while McKenzie has done it eight times. Lavender has led the team in scoring six times while McKenzie has done it on four occasions. No team in last week's AP top-25 poll starts two freshman guards.

LOVING "LAV"
Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Drew Lavender has led OU in scoring six times this season with 14-, 13-, 23-, 22-, 15- and 31-point efforts against Purdue, Prairie View A&M, Jackson State, Connecticut, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, 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 11.4 points, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has also made a team-high 35 three-pointers, an average of 1.7 a game. The last Oklahoma freshman to average 11.4 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).

SERVED ON A TREY
With the exception of a 1-for-21 performance against Texas on Feb. 8, Oklahoma has shot extremely well from three-point range over the last seven games. OU has made at least eight treys in six of the last seven outings (it has averaged 9.5 makes and shot .432 in those six wins). Freshman Lawrence McKenzie has 16 treys over the last seven games while sophomore De'Angelo Alexander has made 13. Frosh Drew Lavender made six treys Saturday at Texas A&M and has eight over the last two outings. Four Sooners have made at least 27 three-pointers on the year (35 by Lavender, 33 by McKenzie, 29 by Alexander and 27 by Jaison Williams).

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 on Feb. 4 (Drew Lavender since made six against Texas A&M). 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 at least 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.

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 16 wins and its five losses.

FG Percentage -- .437 in wins, .341 in losses
Opp. FG Percentage -- .386 in wins, .490 in losses
3FG Percentage -- .355 in wins, .277 in losses
Opp. 3FG Percentage -- .338 in wins, .414 in losses
Rebounding Margin -- +2.8 in wins, -10.4 in losses
Turnovers Per Game -- 13.3 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 367-61 (.857) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 130-18 (.878) at home under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 48 of their last 50. 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).

BOOKOUT'S SURGERY A SUCCESS
Kevin Bookout underwent successful right shoulder surgery Feb. 5 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 the first week of basketball practice (on Oct. 21).

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 39-11 (.780) in February and March regular season games since the start of the 1998-99 campaign.

BIG 12 DOMINANCE
Oklahoma had more than its fair share of success against Big 12 opponents the last couple of seasons by winning 45 of its last 56 games (.804) 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 past week's AP top 25 (one vs. No. 5 Connecticut, two vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State, 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
Drew Lavender leads the team with his 11.4 points per game. The last time a Sooner averaged fewer points as the team's season scoring leader was in 1960-61 when Warren Fouts averaged 11.1.

LIFT THE LID
The Sooners have struggled making shots this year and own a .414 overall season mark to rank last in the Big 12. The last OU team to shoot less than .414 for an entire season was the 1963-64 squad (it shot .398). Larry Turner (.540), Kevin Bookout (.516) and Johnnie Gilbert (.506) 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 21 games, the Sooners have registered 109 blocked shots, an average of 5.2 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 30). Senior center Jabahri Brown has 21 blocked shots on the year while freshman center Larry Turner has 18 (sophomore forward Kevin Bookout recorded 13 in his 13 games). Brown ranks sixth on the school's career list with 100 blocks while Gilbert ranks seventh with 94.

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 21 games, the group has accounted for 573 of OU's 1,417 points (40 percent), 158 of its 282 assists (56 percent) and 97 of its 137 three-pointers (71 percent). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner has also seen action in 20 games and scored a career-high nine points against both Prairie View A&M and Texas Tech (Jan. 19). Five of OU's 11 roster players are freshmen (walk-on Kellen Sampson is the fifth) while seven are freshmen or sophomores.

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 60.4 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 .728 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 127-31 record the last four-plus years for the NCAA's third-best winning percentage (.804) behind only Duke and Stanford.
OU has posted an 86-36 (.705) 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 130-18 (.878) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 48 of its last 50 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

Sooner Men Host Oklahoma State in Bedlam Game

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