Men's Basketball Team Meets Texas in Big 12 Quarterfinals

GAME INFORMATION
Seventh-seeded Oklahoma (19-9 overall, 8-8 Big 12) takes on No. 2 seed Texas (21-6, 12-4) in Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals action on Friday at 6 p.m. CST inside American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The victor will play the winner of tonight's No. 3 seed Kansas/No. 6 seed Missouri game on Saturday at 3:20 p.m. OU advanced to quarterfinal play with a 63-59 win over Nebraska on Thursday while Missouri knocked off Texas A&M, 74-68.

Big 12 Live Gametracker

All of Oklahoma's Big 12 Tournament games will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. Friday's quarterfinal game against Texas will be televised by ESPN Plus (KOCB 34/Cox Cable 11 in Oklahoma City).

OU BOUNCES NEBRASKA IN OPENING ROUND
After shooting only .250 from the field in the first half, Oklahoma turned in a .552 effort in the second and overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to win its record-tying 10th straight Big 12 Tournament game, 62-59, over No. 10 seed Nebraska on Thursday. The Huskers led by as many as 15 in the first 20 minutes and were up 35-22 at the break before the Sooners scored the first seven points of the second half to trail by just six. Oklahoma took its first lead one it would not relinquish at the 12:07 mark, 41-40, on a follow dunk by Larry Turner. The Sooners pushed their advantage to 11 (59-48) with 4:58 to go and held on for the four-point triumph. Drew Lavender scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and Jason Detrick added 16 on the night to improve OU's record to 19-9 overall. Corey Simms paced Nebraska with 14 points as the Huskers fell to 16-12. The Sooners committed only six turnovers on the night (one more than their season low) and had just two after halftime. OU turned in a solid defensive effort in the second half by limiting Nebraska to .280 field goal shooting and a 0-for-6 three-point effort.

FIRST ROUND LEFTOVERS
Oklahoma tied the record for consecutive Big 12 Tournament victories (10). Kansas won its first 10 Big 12 Tourney games (1997-2000).
The win was OU's sixth straight versus Nebraska.
Oklahoma's six turnovers marked its fifth single-digit turnover game in the past seven outings.
Nebraska went a 10:52 stretch in the second half without a field goal. The Huskers made only seven baskets after the break (six in the last 6:08).
De'Angelo Alexander's nine rebounds were one shy of his career high.
Drew Lavender led Oklahoma in scoring (19 points) for the ninth time this season. Fellow guard Lawrence McKenzie has paced the Sooners five times this year, meaning a true freshman has led OU in scoring in half of the team's 28 games.

OU IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNEY
With their win on Thursday, the Sooners are now 39-20 (.661) in conference postseason action (16-4 in seven-plus seasons of the Big 12 format). Oklahoma has participated in 12 tournament championship games, including five of the last six, and has won seven crowns. OU's title last year was its third in a row. The Sooners also earned titles in 1979, 1985, 1988 and 1990. Head coach Kelvin Sampson is 17-6 in nine in Big Eight/Big 12 Tournament appearances (16-4 in Big 12) and has guided five squads to championship games (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003). For more information on Oklahoma's Big Eight/Big 12 Tournament history, consult pages 155-157 of the media guide.

SERIES WITH TEXAS
Despite losing its last four games to Texas (two this year and two last), Oklahoma leads the overall series 42-20 and has won 24 of the last 32 meetings. OU had won eight in a row prior to last season. The Sooners are 15-7 versus the Longhorns under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and are 4-0 against Texas in Big 12 Tournament play. Following is a look at OU's four previous league tourney matchups versus UT...

1998.....OU 68, Texas 55.....Semifinals
2000.....OU 81, Texas 65.....Semifinals
2001.....OU 54, Texas 45.....Final
2002.....OU 67, Texas 51.....Semifinals

OKLAHOMA 0-2 VERSUS TEXAS THIS YEAR
In the first meeting in Austin on Feb. 8, Oklahoma struggled mightily on offense in a 66-37 loss. The Sooners' .264 field goal mark was their lowest under Kelvin Sampson and their 37 points were their fewest since the 1954-55 season. OU did not make a three-pointer until 2:27 remained in the contest and finished 1-for-21 from beyond the arc. De'Angelo Alexander led the team with 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench before leaving the game in the second half with a severely sprained ankle. The loss dropped OU out of the AP top-25 poll for the first time in 46 weeks. Brandon Mouton and Brian Boddicker both scored 13 points to lead Texas.

Two weeks later in Norman, the Sooners led 33-32 at halftime before eventually falling 68-63 as the Longhorns scored the game's final five points. Drew Lavender scored a team-high 18 points for OU and the team's guards accounted for 54 of its 63 points. Oklahoma's five turnovers marked a season low, but Texas posted a 46-30 rebounding advantage (the Longhorns outboarded OU by a 44-30 count in the first meeting). Mouton was 9-of-16 from the field for the Horns and finished with a game-high 25 points.

A WIN OVER TEXAS ON FRIDAY WOULD...
Advance OU to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals for the fifth straight year.
Give OU 20 wins for the seventh straight season.
Snap a four-game losing streak to Texas and move to the all-time series to 43-20 in favor of Oklahoma.

BIG 12 TOURNEY NOTES
Oklahoma has not lost a Big 12 Tournament game since the 2000 championship contest (Iowa State won 70-58). It has won 80 percent of its league tournament games (16-4 record). Only two other teams have reached double figures in tournament wins (Kansas has 14 and Missouri 11).
The Sooners have shot just .392 (221-for-564) from the field in their last 10 tourney games (all victories) but have held their opponents to .376 (193-for-513) shooting.
Drew Lavender's 19 points against Nebraska on Thursday were the most by an OU freshman in a Big 12 Tournament game.

RIM RATTLERS
OU is down to eight available players on its roster. Four are freshmen and one is a sophomore.
Entering this year's event, only three of OU's available players had participated in the Big 12 Tournament. Johnnie Gilbert (6), De'Angelo Alexander (3) and Jason Detrick (3) had a combined 12 games of experience.
The Sooners are 17-3 over the past four postseasons (including this year) with a 10-0 Big 12 Tournament record and a 7-3 NCAA Tournament mark.
True freshman point guard Drew Lavender is tied for the team lead in scoring with Jason Detrick (11.6 ppg) and also paces the squad in assists (3.9), steals (1.8 spg), three-pointers (1.8 per game), three-point percentage (.385) and minutes (31.0 mpg).
Over the last six games, Oklahoma's guards have scored 316 of the the team's 403 points (78 percent).
Oklahoma is averaging just 9.1 turnovers over its last seven games and has had single-digit totals in five of those outings.
The Sooners lead the Big 12 in turnover margin, averaging 4.7 fewer turnovers per game than their opponents. OU has committed more turnovers than its foe just four times in 28 games.
OU has outrebounded just three opponents in its last 19 games.
True freshmen have led OU in scoring in 14 of 28 games. Drew Lavender has done it nine times and Lawrence McKenzie five times.

GUARDS LEADING THE WAY
Despite the fact that Oklahoma lost three starting guards from last year's team, the Sooners' top four scorers this season are all members of the backcourt. Jason Detrick and Drew Lavender pace the squad with 11.6 points per game each and are followed by De'Angelo Alexander (9.8) and Lawrence McKenzie (8.2). OU's guards have scored 1,297 of its 1,872 points, or 69 percent. Over the last six games, Sooner guards have scored 316 of the team's 403 points (78 percent).

YOUNG GUNS
Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie finished second and third on the team in scoring in Big 12 play by averaging 10.6 and 9.7 points a game, respectively (Jason Detrick averaged 11.8). With his 19-point effort against Nebraska on Thursday, Lavender has now scored in double figures a team-high 16 times while McKenzie has done it 10 times. Lavender has led the team in scoring on nine occasions while McKenzie has done it five times.

PREACHING PROTECTION
Oklahoma has done an excellent job taking care of the basketball over the last seven games, averaging just 9.1 turnovers during the stretch. The Sooners recorded single-digit turnovers in five of those contests (nine versus Oklahoma State, a season-low five versus Texas, eight at Colorado, nine against Baylor and six versus Nebraska in the Big 12 Tourney first round). OU has committed more turnovers than its foes just four times in 28 games this season and leads the Big 12 in turnover margin (it averages 4.7 fewer turnovers per game than its opponents).

LOVING “LAV”
Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Drew Lavender has led OU in scoring nine times this season and has tallied at least 22 points on three occasions. 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 also garnered Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors Feb. 17. Lavender averages a team-high-tying 11.6 points and leads the team with his 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 treys per game. His .385 three-point percentage also paces the squad. The last Oklahoma freshman to average 11.6 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).

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Through 28 games, the Sooners have registered 144 blocked shots, an average of 5.1 per contest (ranks third in Big 12). 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 seventh in the Big 12 with his 1.5 blocks per game (total of 43) and has recorded at least two rejections in 10 of the last 14 outings. Freshman center Larry Turner has 30 blocked shots in 27 games on the year and had three against Nebraska on Thursday night (he has blocked three shots in a game five times this year). Gilbert ranks fifth on the school's career list with 107 blocks.

SOONERS LEAD BIG 12 IN STEALS
Oklahoma's defense has been sound this season (OU ranks second in the Big 12 by giving up just 62.0 points per game) and its ability to come up with steals has been a major reason. The Sooners lead the conference by averaging 8.9 steals per contest. OU has reached double digits in steals nine times this year and logged 26 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 2 (the most under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson). Jason Detrick and Drew Lavender both recorded five steals in that game. On the season, Lavender averages 1.8 steals to pace the team and has recorded at least two in the past five games. He is averaging 3.7 steals over the past three outings.

SOONER MISCELLANY
Oklahoma is 17-3 over the last four postseasons (10-0 in Big 12 and 7-3 in NCAA Tournaments).
The Sooners have made nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances and 18 in the last 21 years.
The Sooners have won at least 26 games each of the previous four seasons.
The Sooners' scoring defense mark of 60.0 points per game last year marked their lowest in 25 years. Opponents are scoring 62.0 points per game this season.
Oklahoma is 18-10 in overtime games under Sampson and has won 12 of its last 16. OU went 3-0 in overtime affairs last season and is 1-2 this year.
Sampson's .721 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 previous 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 made nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
OU has advanced to the Sweet 16 (1999), Final Four (2002) and Elite Eight (2003).
OU has posted an 88-40 (.688) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 132-20 (.868) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 50 of its last 54 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

Men's Basketball Team Meets Texas in Big 12 Quarterfinals

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