Saturday's Men's Basketball Game Versus Baylor Will Tip at 5 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Oklahoma (17-9 overall, 7-8 Big 12) closes out its 10th regular season under head coach Kelvin Sampson by hosting Baylor (8-20, 3-12) on Saturday at 5 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 by the Sooner Sports Network (KSBI 52/Cox Cable 9 in OKC) with Chuck Cooperstein (play-by-play) and Renzi Stone (analyst) announcing.

TICKET INFORMATION
A limited number of $20 upper-level tickets are still available and may be purchased at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) or online here at SoonerSports.com.

POSTGAME AUTOGRAPH SESSION
The men's basketball team will participate in an autograph session following the postgame senior ceremony. Sooner trading cards will be handed out.

BAYLOR PROJECTED STARTERS
F 15 Harvey Thomas (6-8, 205, Jr., 15.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.2 apg)
F 24 Terrance Thomas (6-6, 230, Sr., 16.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.3 apg)
F 32 Tommy Swanson (6-9, 200, So., 6.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.4 apg)
G 10 Carl Marshall (5-10, 165, Fr., 4.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.9 apg)
G 13 Matt Sayman (6-4, 205, Sr., 8.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.0 apg)

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 32 Johnnie Gilbert (6-8, 265, Jr., 4.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.6 apg)
C  44 Larry Turner (6-11, 235, Fr., 3.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.4 apg)
G 3   Drew Lavender (5-7, 155, Fr., 11.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G 5   Jason Detrick (6-6, 215, Sr., 11.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G 15 De'Angelo Alexander (6-5, 215, So., 10.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.4 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
With a 7-8 conference record, Oklahoma stands in a tie for seventh place with Iowa State, one game behind Texas Tech and a game ahead of Nebraska. Coupled with a Texas Tech win over Iowa State in Lubbock, an OU victory would secure a No. 7 seed in next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament in Dallas (March 11-14). The Sooners would drop to a No. 8 seed even with a win if Iowa State beats Tech. The Cyclones and Red Raiders will tip off Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CST. The No. 7 seed will play the No. 10 seed (either Kansas State or Nebraska) on Thursday at 6 p.m. inside the American Airlines Center. The No. 8 seed will meet the No. 9 seed (also K-State or Nebraska) on Thursday at noon.

On Friday, head coach Kelvin Sampson announced that senior center Jabahri Brown will miss the remainder of OU's games this year due to a violation of team rules. Said Sampson, “Jabahri has been a valuable member of our program the last three years and was an integral part of our Final Four and Elite Eight teams. He will remain on scholarship and is scheduled to graduate in May. We will do everything we can as a staff to ensure that he continues to move forward and earn his degree. Our commitment to the core values of our program guides us in our support of Jabahri in this way, but also requires that we must move forward on the court without him.”

Without Brown, the Sooners snapped a four-game losing streak Wednesday with an 86-60 home win over Texas A&M. Sophomore De'Angelo Alexander scored 15 of his game-high 17 points after halftime and paced OU in scoring for the sixth time this season. Alexander ranks third on the team with his 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest and is shooting a team-high .396 from three-point range (he is 19-for-39 over the last 11 games for a .487 figure). Fellow guard Jason Detrick, who scored a career-high 35 points at Colorado on Feb. 25 (the most by a Sooner in six seasons), averages a team-high 11.7 points per game and has reached double figures in each of the last six games (averaging 16.0 during the stretch).

Two more guards, both true freshmen, Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie have played well of late and are the team's top three-point producers with 46 and 40 makes, respectively. Lavender, whose 31 points against Texas A&M Feb. 14 were the most by an OU true freshman in 20 years, averages 11.4 points per contest and leads the team in assists (3.9 apg), steals (1.7 spg) and minutes played (30.8 mpg). The Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year has made at least one trey in 23 of 26 games and has made 17 over the last six games (2.8 average). McKenzie has scored in double digits in eight of the last 11 games and scored a team-high 15 points Sunday at Kansas. McKenzie now averages 8.5 points per game, 9.9 in conference play.

Another guard, junior Jaison Williams has been hot lately with a 16-point game at Colorado last week and a 12-point, seven-rebound effort Wednesday against Texas A&M. Coming off the bench each game this year, he now averages 6.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting a team-high .889 from the free throw line and now has 34 three-point makes after a 3-for-6 effort versus A&M.

On the inside, the Sooners have struggled generating offense since Kevin Bookout's season-ending surgery on Feb. 5. Bookout averaged 7.6 points and a team-high 5.5 boards on a sore and weak right shoulder over his 13 outings. Junior forward Johnnie Gilbert has started in 11 of OU's 12 games since Bookout's departure and is now averaging 5.0 points, 4.0 boards and a team-high 1.6 rejections per game. Gilbert scored a career-high 12 points versus Texas A&M in OU's last game. Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner is also seeing more playing time (he's started two of the last three games) and is averaging 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds over the last 13 contests. True freshman Brandon Foust, a 6-6 forward, is averaging 10.8 minutes per game in conference play but played a career-high 28 minutes Wednesday against A&M and contributed a career-high-tying seven points, four rebounds and two assists.

ABOUT BAYLOR
Picked to finish last in both Big 12 preseason polls, Baylor will play its final game of the 2003-04 season Saturday in Norman as it will not participate in postseason play. The Bears are 3-12 in conference action and have played well of late. BU posted a 67-61 overtime win at Texas A&M Feb. 25 and has since lost a pair of close home games, 72-65 versus Oklahoma State and 64-62 to Kansas State. Its last three defeats have been by a total of 13 points. The Bears have defeated A&M twice and handled Iowa State at home.

Terrance Thomas, one of three seniors who will be playing their final collegiate game on Saturday, paces the team in both scoring and rebounding with 16.2 and 7.0 averages. The forward has made 54 three-pointers on the year (2.2 per game) and also averages 3.3 assists. Junior forward Harvey Thomas adds 15.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per outing in his 20 games. Senior point guard Matt Sayman averages 8.3 points, 4.4 boards and a team-high 4.0 assists per contest. R.T. Guinn, a senior forward, scores 9.2 points a game and adds 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals. He has also made 24 three-pointers on the year.

Baylor is shooting .424 from the field and owns .316 three-point and .692 free throw marks. Opponents have shot .479 from the field and .365 from beyond the arc. The Bears get outrebounded by 2.0 a game.

Head coach Scott Drew is in his first season at Baylor and sports a 28-31 (.475) career record after going 20-11 at Valparaiso last year.

SERIES WITH BAYLOR
Oklahoma has won its last 19 games against Baylor and leads the all-time series, 24-5 (11-2 in Norman). Kelvin Sampson is 17-0 versus the Bears as OU's head coach and owns a 7-0 series mark inside Lloyd Noble Center. In seven games in Norman since the Big 12 was formed, Oklahoma has beaten Baylor by an average of 24.3 points (OU won 91-42 last year in Norman).

Earlier this year, OU posted a 78-67 win in Waco behind an extremely balanced scoring attack. Eight of the nine Sooners who scored tallied at least eight points. Jason Detrick led the way with 15 while Lawrence McKenzie contributed 11 and Drew Lavender 10. Oklahoma shot .500 from the field and .444 from beyond the arc (8-for-18). Harvey Thomas scored 19 points for the Bears while Terrance Thomas supplied 18 off the bench.

A WIN OVER BAYLOR WOULD...
Give the Sooners their 20th straight victory against Baylor and improve Kelvin Sampson's mark versus the Bears to 18-0.
Give OU 50 victories in its last 54 home games.
Cement a 10th straight .500-or-better conference season for 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson.

TEXAS A&M RECAP
Oklahoma jumped out to a 21-2 lead and cruised to an 86-60 victory over Texas A&M in Norman on Wednesday. The Sooners kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive while the Aggies moved one step closer to becoming the Big 12's second ever 0-16 conference team. OU scored the game's first two points and after A&M made a layup to knot things the Sooners went on a 19-0 run over a 7:20 span. The Aggies shot just .167 from the field in the first 20 minutes as Oklahoma led 35-20 at the break. A&M got to within 11 points with 18:16 remaining in the game but the Sooners gradually pulled away with the help of a strong second-half performance by De'Angelo Alexander (he scored 15 of his game-high 17 points after halftime). Joining Alexander in double digits for OU were Drew Lavender (14 points), Jason Detrick, Johnnie Gilbert and Jaison Williams (12 each). Gilbert's 12 marked a career high. Lawrence McKenzie added nine points and Brandon Foust tied a career high with seven. Lavender recorded a career-high eight assists (also the most by a Sooner this year) against only one turnover, and matched a career best with five steals. He was also 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Jesse King led Texas A&M with 13 points while Antoine Wright and LaKeith Blanks added 12 and 11, respectively. The Aggies entered the game as the Big 12's top rebounding squad in league games, but OU won the board battle 36-33.

TEXAS A&M LEFTOVERS
Oklahoma outrebounded its first opponent in 11 games (Kansas State was the last on Jan. 24).
The Sooners' .588 field goal effort marked their best of the season while their 86 points constituted their second most of the year (94 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 2).
Johnnie Gilbert scored all of his career-high 12 points in the game's first 14:17. He was 5-for-6 from the field and added five boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal in 26 minutes of action.
In two games against Texas A&M this year, Drew Lavender totaled 45 points, 15 assists, eight steals and just three turnovers while going 10-for-16 from beyond the three-point arc.

RIM RATTLERS
With Kevin Bookout undergoing shoulder surgery Feb. 5 and head coach Kelvin Sampson announcing Friday that Jabahri Brown will no longer play this year, OU is down to eight available players on its roster. Four are freshmen and one is a sophomore.
The Sooners are averaging 7.7 three-point makes during Big 12 play while opponents are averaging 4.9. In its seven league victories, OU has averaged 9.6 treys per game.
Over the last four games, Oklahoma's guards have scored 236 of the the team's 294 points (80 percent).
Oklahoma is averaging just 9.8 turnovers over its last five games.
The Sooners lead the Big 12 in turnover margin, averaging 4.5 fewer turnovers per game than their opponents. OU has committed more turnovers than its foe just four times in 26 games.
Oklahoma fell out of the AP top-25 poll three weeks ago for the first time since December 2001 (46 weeks). OU was ranked in the top 10 in 34 of the previous 45 polls.
OU has outrebounded just two opponents in its last 17 games.
True freshmen have led OU in scoring in 12 of 26 games. Drew Lavender has done it seven times and Lawrence McKenzie five times.
Oklahoma has made at least one three-point basket in 251 straight games dating back to the 1996-97 season.

SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
Oklahoma owns an impressive 77-14 (.846) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (17-0), Texas (15-7), Texas A&M (16-1) and Texas Tech (13-6), OU is 61-14 (.813) under Sampson.

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 paces the squad with 11.7 points per game and is followed by Drew Lavender (11.4), De'Angelo Alexander (10.2) and Lawrence McKenzie (8.5). OU's guards have scored 1,217 of its 1,763 points, or 69 percent. Over the last four games, Sooner guards have scored 236 of the team's 294 points (80 percent).

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 10.6 and 9.9 points a game, respectively (Jason Detrick averages 12.2). Lavender has scored in double figures a team-high-tying 14 times while McKenzie has done it 10 times. Lavender has led the team in scoring on seven occasions while McKenzie has done it five times.

PREACHING PROTECTION
Oklahoma has done an excellent job taking care of the basketball over the last five games, averaging just 9.8 turnovers during the stretch. The Sooners recorded single-digit turnovers in three of those contests (nine versus Oklahoma State, a season-low five versus Texas and eight at Colorado). OU has committed more turnovers than its foes just four times in 26 games this season and leads the Big 12 in turnover margin (it averages 4.5 fewer turnovers per game than its opponents).

BOARDED UP
Normally considered an Oklahoma strength, rebounding has been anything but this season. The Sooners outrebounded Texas A&M on Wednesday, 36-33, marking just the second time in the last 17 games they have outboarded an opponent. OU is now getting outrebounded by 6.2 per Big 12 contest. On the year, opponents are grabbing 36.2 rebounds per game to OU's 34.3. The last time the Sooners were outrebounded for an entire season was in 1993-94 (Billy Tubbs' final season at OU).

LOVING “LAV”
Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Drew Lavender has led OU in scoring seven 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 11.4 points and leads the team with his 3.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.8 treys per game. His .393 three-point percentage ranks second on the squad. 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
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 seven league wins (it has averaged 9.6 makes and has shot .432). Freshmen Lawrence McKenzie and Drew Lavender have 17 and 16 treys in those seven games, respectively, while sophomore De'Angelo Alexander has 14. Lavender totaled 10 treys in two games against Texas A&M. Four Sooners have made at least 34 three-pointers on the year (46 by Lavender, 40 by McKenzie, 36 by Alexander and 34 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).

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Through 26 games, the Sooners have registered 137 blocked shots, an average of 5.3 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 seventh in the Big 12 with his 1.6 blocks per game (total of 41) and has recorded at least two rejections in eight of the last nine outings (he had an OU-season-high four last Sunday at Kansas). Freshman center Larry Turner has 25 blocked shots in 25 games on the year while senior center Jabahri Brown finished his season with 23 (sophomore forward Kevin Bookout recorded 13 in his 13 games). Gilbert ranks fifth on the school's career list with 105 blocks while Brown ranks sixth with 104.

COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES
The Sooners' biggest downfalls in their nine losses have been shooting and rebounding. Below is a statistical comparison between OU's 17 wins and its nine defeats.

FG Percentage -- .445 in wins, .358 in losses
Opp. FG Percentage -- .382 in wins, .496 in losses
3FG Percentage -- .361 in wins, .311 in losses
Opp. 3FG Percentage -- .333 in wins, .422 in losses
Rebounding Margin -- +2.8 in wins, -10.8 in losses

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 62.9 points per game) and its ability to come up with steals has been a major reason. The Sooners lead the conference by averaging 8.8 steals per contest. OU has reached double digits in steals eight 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 1.7 steals and is followed by Detrick (1.4), Jaison Williams (1.4) and Jabahri Brown (1.2). De'Angelo Alexander has recorded 21 steals and Lawrence McKenzie has 20.

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), was in a sling until last week. 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).

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 367-63 (.853) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 131-20 (.868) at home under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 49 of their last 53. 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).

FRESH FACES
Through 26 games, OU's rookie group of freshmen Brandon Foust, Drew Lavender, Lawrence McKenzie and junior Jaison Williams has accounted for 717 of OU's 1,763 points (41 percent), 191 of its 338 assists (57 percent) and 122 of its 176 three-pointers (69 percent). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner has also seen action in 25 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).

LOW LEADER
Jason Detrick leads the team with his 11.7 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 averaged 11.1.

LIFT THE LID
Despite a season-high .588 field goal performance Wednesday versus Texas A&M, 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). Johnnie Gilbert (.535), Kevin Bookout (.516) and Larry Turner (.500) are the only Sooners with a field goal percentage at or above .500 this year. OU has shot .500 or better just three times this year (versus A&M and Missouri and at Baylor).

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 62.9 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 .720 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 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 87-40 (.685) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 131-20 (.868) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 49 of its last 53 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

Saturday's Men's Basketball Game Versus Baylor Will Tip at 5 p.m.

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