Red River Rivalry Hits Lloyd Noble Center Saturday

GAME INFORMATION
Winner of six of its last eight games, Oklahoma (16-6 overall, 6-5 Big 12) hosts No. 11/12 Texas (18-4, 9-2) on Saturday at 8 p.m. CST inside Lloyd Noble Center. OU is tied for fourth place in the Big 12 while Texas is alone in second, one game behind Oklahoma State. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KRXO 107.7 FM 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
Reserved seats are sold out. Restricted admission tickets will be sold for $20 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Centers north and east box offices.

TEXAS PROJECTED STARTERS
F 2   P.J. Tucker (6-5, 220, Fr., 11.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 0.9 apg)
C 0   James Thomas (6-8, 235, Sr., 6.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.3 apg)
G 3   Brandon Mouton (6-4, 205, Sr., 12.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G 12 Kenton Paulino (6-1, 170, So., 5.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
G 24 Royal Ivey (6-4, 205, Sr., 9.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.2 apg)

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 32 Johnnie Gilbert (6-8, 265, Jr., 4.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.5 apg)
C 21 Jabahri Brown (6-10, 220, Sr., 7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G 1   Lawrence McKenzie (6-2, 170, Fr., 8.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G 3   Drew Lavender (5-7, 155, Fr., 11.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G 5   Jason Detrick (6-6, 215, Sr., 10.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
In a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big 12 with Colorado, Missouri and Texas Tech, the Sooners will try to rebound from Monday's 65-52 home loss to Oklahoma State when they host Texas on Saturday. And “rebound” will likely be a key word for Oklahoma as it has outboarded just one of its last 13 opponents and was handled on the glass two weeks ago in Austin, 44-30. OU has been outrebounded in Big 12 play by 5.3 caroms per game.

Drew Lavender was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Tuesday after 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 in wins versus Texas Tech and at Texas A&M last week. The point guard registered 31 points, seven assists and three steals in College Station last Saturday 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, who tallied five points against Oklahoma State, leads the team in scoring (11.1 ppg), assists (3.8 apg), three-pointers (34) and minutes played (30.3 mpg). He also ranks second in steals (1.5 spg). The Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year has made at least one trey in 20 of 22 games.

Fellow freshman guard Lawrence McKenzie had provided needed scoring punch recently prior to a scoreless effort against OSU. Thanks largely to solid three-point shooting, McKenzie had scored in double figures in five of the last six games prior to Monday. He 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 8.0 points per game on the year, 9.4 in Big 12 games. Senior guard Jason Detrick responded to a scoreless game against Texas Tech Feb. 11 with a 14-point effort at Texas A&M an 11-point performance against the Cowboys (he also had three steals versus OSU). Detrick averages 10.5 points per game on the year to rank second on the squad and also contributes 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.

Sophomore guard De'Angelo Alexander, who has battled a sprained ankle the last several games, has scored in double figures in four of the last five games. 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 .385 from beyond the arc and is 13-for-26 (.500) from long range over the last seven 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 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a team-high 1.5 steals. He is shooting a team-high .920 from the foul line and has made 27 three-pointers. Battling a sprained ankle, Williams has not scored in the last two games and has not reached double digits in nine straight outings since doing it six times in the first 13.

On the inside, the Sooners have had to stomach the loss of Kevin Bookout's 7.6 points and 5.5 boards per outing (he underwent successful season-ending shoulder surgery Feb. 5). Senior center Jabahri Brown is coming off a career-high-tying 16-point game against Oklahoma State and now averages 7.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 block per game on the year. Brown has 101 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 eight games and has averaged 5.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 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 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the last nine contests. Turner has also rejected three shots four times in the last six games.

ABOUT TEXAS
Picked second in the Big 12 coaches' preseason poll and third in the media version, Texas is alone in second place at 9-2 following a 77-57 home win over Texas A&M on Wednesday. The Longhorns trail Oklahoma State by a game and lead Kansas by one. UT's lone league losses came at home to OSU (72-67) and on the road last weekend to Iowa State (78-77). The Horns have won six of their last seven games.

Senior guards Brandon Mouton and Royal Ivey lead a balanced scoring attack that features six players who average between 7.1 and 11.5 points per Big 12 game. Mouton averages 12.8 points per game on the season (11.5 in league action) and is averaging 24.5 over the last two outings. Ivey averages 9.8 points per contest (9.7 in Big 12 play) and team highs in assists (4.2 apg) and steals (1.5 spg). One of the conference's top freshmen, forward P.J. Tucker averages 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds this year while shooting .591 from the field. Senior forward Brian Boddicker averages 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting .478 from three-point distance (33-for-69). Junior guard Kenny Taylor scores 8.1 points per game off the bench and makes 2.1 treys per outing.

Texas is shooting .452 from the field and owns .378 three-point and .678 free throw marks. Opponents have shot .395 from the field and .308 from beyond the arc. The Longhorns outboard their foes by 9.3 per contest.

Head coach Rick Barnes, a North Carolina native like Kelvin Sampson, is 134-54 (.713) in his sixth year at Texas and 336-188 (.641) in his 17th season overall.

SERIES WITH TEXAS
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Texas, 42-19, and holds a 19-6 advantage in Norman. Kelvin Sampson is 15-6 against the Longhorns as OU's head coach and is 6-2 at Lloyd Noble Center.

Texas has won the series' last three meetings, including a 66-37 decision in Austin two weeks ago. The Sooners posted a .264 field goal mark, their worst under Sampson, and registered their lowest point total since the 1954-55 season. OU was 1-for-21 from beyond the three-point arc and did not make its first trey until 2:27 remained in the game. De'Angelo Alexander was the only OU player in double figures with 12 points as all nine Sooners who played shot below .500 for the day. Texas, which outrebounded Oklahoma by a 44-30 margin, was led by Brandon Mouton's and Brian Boddicker's 13 points each.

The Longhorns swept the two-game series last year, which included a 76-71 triumph in the regular season finale in Norman. OU's loss snapped a 37-game home court winning streak, the nation's longest at the time.

A WIN OVER TEXAS WOULD...
Give OU its fourth win against an AP top-25 opponent this season (the Sooners have beaten then-No. 5 Michigan State, then-No. 16 Purdue and then-No. 18 Texas Tech).
Keep the Sooners in at least a tie for fourth place in the league standings.
Snap a three-game losing streak to Texas and give OU 25 wins in its last 32 games against the Longhorns.
Give OU 49 victories in its last 52 home games.
Give OU a 46-12 record (.793) in its last 58 games against Big 12 teams (including postseason play).

OKLAHOMA STATE RECAP
After leading by one, 27-26, at halftime, Oklahoma shot .200 in the second half and lost at home to No. 7 Oklahoma State on Monday by a 65-52 score. The Sooners shot .309 for the game, their worst mark at Lloyd Noble Center since shooting .300 in a loss to Cincinnati in December 1999. Down by one at the break, OSU used an 11-2 run to open the second half and take an eight-point lead. The Sooners cut the margin to four, 44-40, with 8:42 left in the game before a 9-0 Cowboys run helped seal OU's fate. OSU's Ivan McFarlin tied a season high with 21 points while John Lucas and Joey Graham added 21 and 18 points, respectively. McFarlin (10-for-12) and Graham (6-for-8) combined to go 16-for-20 from the field (.800). OU's Jabahri Brown tied a career-high with 16 points. He was 2-for-2 from three-point range and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Jason Detrick contributed 11 points, four boards and three steals while De'Angelo Alexander came off the bench to supply 11 points and five rebounds.

OKLAHOMA STATE LEFTOVERS
Jabahri Brown made his second and third career three-pointers on two attempts. All three of his career makes and all four of his career attempts have come over the last three games.
The Sooners' .737 free throw performance (14-for-19) was their best in 10 games (they also went 14-for-19 in the first Bedlam matchup in Stillwater).
OU missed 16 consecutive field goal attempts at one stage of the second half.

SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
Oklahoma owns an impressive 76-13 (.854) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (17-0), Texas (15-6), Texas A&M (15-1) and Texas Tech (13-6), OU is 60-13 (.822) under Sampson.

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 rank second and third on the team in scoring in Big 12 play by averaging 9.8 and 9.4 points a game, respectively (Jason Detrick averages 10.2). 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 on six occasions while McKenzie has done it four times. No team in this 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 (Jan. 14) 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. He is also the reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week. Lavender is averaging 11.1 points, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has also made a team-high 36 three-pointers, an average of 1.6 a game. The last Oklahoma freshman to average 11.1 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
Oklahoma's three-point shooting has been a key factor in its Big 12 victories this year. OU has made at least eight treys in each of its six league wins (it has averaged 9.5 makes and shot .432). Freshman Lawrence McKenzie has 16 treys in those six games while sophomore De'Angelo Alexander has 13 and freshman Drew Lavender has 12 (he made six treys last Saturday at Texas A&M). Four Sooners have made at least 27 three-pointers on the year (36 by Lavender, 33 by McKenzie, 30 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 at 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 at Nebraska (Feb. 1). The last time four Sooners made at least five treys in a game in a season was in 1998-99 (Tim Heskett, Michael Johnson, Eric Martin and Eduardo Najera).

COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES
The Sooners' biggest downfalls in their six losses have been shooting, rebounding and turnovers. Below is a statistical comparison between OU's 16 wins and its six losses.

FG Percentage -- .437 in wins, .336 in losses
Opp. FG Percentage -- .386 in wins, .500 in losses
3FG Percentage -- .355 in wins, .269 in losses
Opp. 3FG Percentage -- .338 in wins, .412 in losses
Rebounding Margin -- +2.8 in wins, -10.0 in losses
Turnovers Per Game -- 13.3 in wins, 16.0 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 367-62 (.855) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 130-19 (.872) at home under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 48 of their last 51. 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 39-12 (.767) 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 57 games (.789) 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 (two vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State, one vs. No. 8 Connecticut, two vs. No. 11 Texas, one vs. No. 21 Kansas and two vs. No. 22 Texas Tech). The Sooners also beat preseason AP No. 3 Michigan State and Purdue, and lost in overtime to preseason AP No. 5 Missouri.

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Through 22 games, the Sooners have registered 115 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 1.5 blocks per game (total of 32). Senior center Jabahri Brown has 22 blocked shots on the year while freshman center Larry Turner has 21 (sophomore forward Kevin Bookout recorded 13 in his 13 games). Brown ranks sixth on the school's career list with 101 blocks while Gilbert ranks seventh with 96.

LOW LEADER
Drew Lavender leads the team with his 11.1 points per game. The last time a Sooner averaged as few points as the team's season scoring leader was in 1960-61 when Warren Fouts also averaged 11.1.

LIFT THE LID
The Sooners have struggled making shots this year and own a .409 overall season mark to rank last in the Big 12. The last OU team to shoot less than .409 for an entire season was the 1963-64 squad (it shot .398). Kevin Bookout (.516), Johnnie Gilbert (.512) and Larry Turner (.509) 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.

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 22 games, the group has accounted for 578 of OU's 1,469 points (39 percent), 164 of its 290 assists (57 percent) and 98 of its 141 three-pointers (70 percent). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner has also seen action in 21 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 60.6 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 127-32 record the last four-plus years for the NCAA's third-best winning percentage (.799) behind only Duke and Stanford.
OU has posted an 86-37 (.699) 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 130-19 (.872) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 48 of its last 51 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

Red River Rivalry Hits Lloyd Noble Center Saturday

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors