Sooners Look to Rebound Versus ORU

GAME INFORMATION
Ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and No.15 in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (6-2) returns to Lloyd Noble Center to host Oral Roberts (5-5) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Brian Brinkley (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. It will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (KWTV 9/Cox 10 in OKC and KWBT 19/Cox 12 in Tulsa) with Bob Carpenter (play-by-play) and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst) announcing.

TICKET AVAILABILITY
A very limited number of upper-level reserved seats for Wednesday's game are still available for $15 and $20 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and online at SoonerSports.com. If the game sells out of reserved seats, restricted admission tickets will be available for $15 on gameday at the Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows beginning at 5:30 p.m.

ORAL ROBERTS PROJECTED STARTERS
F 30 Caleb Green (6-8, 240, Jr., 19.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F 52 Yemi Ogunoye (6-8, 210, So., 2.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 apg)
C 45 Mickey Michalec (6-11, 280, Sr., 8.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G 1 Ken Tutt (6-1, 205, Jr., 16.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.7 apg)
G 4 Larry Owens (6-7, 210, Sr., 10.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 238, Sr., 16.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 0.5 apg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 270, Sr., 11.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.0 apg)
G 2 Michael Neal (6-3, 191, Jr., 12.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G 3 Terrell Everett (6-4, 188, Sr., 11.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 6.1 apg)
G 20 Austin Johnson (6-3, 168, Fr., 1.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.6 apg)

OU UPDATE
The Sooners are looking to rebound from the worst neutral court loss under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. Despite a career-high 31 points from senior forward Taj Gray, West Virginia handed OU a 24-point defeat (92-68) in the All-College Classic at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City last Thursday. The Mountaineers' .667 field goal percentage was the second best against a Sampson-coached OU team and the best in 10 seasons.

Oklahoma scored on its first five possessions and opened an 11-2 lead, but West Virginia closed the half with a 39-23 spurt to lead by seven. Behind a 21-point second half by Gray, the Sooners drew within five points (61-56) with 11 minutes left. But the Mountaineers made eight of 11 field goal attempts and 12 of 13 free throw attempts thereafter to seal the victory.

Gray, who has scored at least 18 points in each of the last four games and is averaging 23.3 points during the stretch, averages team highs in scoring (16.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg) on the year while shooting .658 from the field and .776 from the free throw line. Since halftime of the Villanova game on Dec. 3, the 6-9, 238-pounder is 32-for-39 from the field for a remarkable .821 figure.

Michael Neal, who made four 3-pointers and netted all of his career-high 16 points in the first half against West Virginia, ranks second in the Big 12 with his 3.1 treys per game. The junior guard ranks second on the squad with his 12.0 points and 2.3 assists per contest. Senior forward Kevin Bookout averages 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per outing while shooting a team-high .667 from the field. He has shot .500 or better in all eight games. Senior guard Terrell Everett contributes 11.0 points, a team-high 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals a game. He has led OU in assists in 31 of his 41 career outings.

THURSDAY'S LEFTOVERS
Taj Gray scored 15 straight OU points between the 14:50 and 8:39 marks of the second half.
Gray's 9-for-9 free throw performance was the best of his career by percentage. His 31 points were a career high, bettering the 29 he had in his career debut last season against Cal State Northridge.
The Mountaineers were 24-for-28 from 2-point range on the night (13-for-14 in the first half).
West Virginia outscored OU 26-10 over the game's final 8:18.
Oklahoma outrebounded West Virginia 28-22 and has outboarded each of its eight opponents this year.

ABOUT ORAL ROBERTS
A member of the Mid-Continent Conference, intrastate foe Oral Roberts enters Wednesday's game with a 5-5 record. The Golden Eagles, who finished 25-8 last year and won the Mid-Con regular season title with a 13-3 mark, began this season 4-2 but have lost three of their last four. Most recent was a 65-64 setback at Utah State on Dec. 20. ORU is shooting .434 from the field, .323 from 3-point range and .717 from the free throw line while opponents are shooting .456 from the field and .327 from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles outrebound their foes by 4.6 per game.

Oral Roberts returns four starters from last year, including a pair of junior offensive forces. Forward Caleb Green, from Tulsa Memorial High School, leads the team with his 19.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. At 6-8, Green is shooting .507 from the field and .720 from the foul line. He has already attempted 75 free throws (7.5 per game). Guard Ken Tutt scores 16.9 points a game and is the squad's leading 3-point threat. Tutt has netted 27 treys on the year and is shooting .375 from long range. He scored a game-high 29 points at Utah State. Senior guard/forward Larry Owens contributes 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting .526 from the field. Senior center Mickey Michalec, a Texas Tech transfer, is averaging 8.0 points and 4.1 rebounds a contest.

Scott Sutton is in his seventh year as a collegiate head coach, all at Oral Roberts, and owns a 105-84 (.556) record.

SERIES WITH ORAL ROBERTS
Oklahoma holds an 8-2 overall record against Oral Roberts (it has won the series' last eight games) and is 4-1 versus the Golden Eagles at Lloyd Noble Center. Kelvin Sampson owns a 5-0 mark against ORU with wins coming in 1994-95 (87-53 in Norman), 1995-96 (87-53 in Tulsa), 1998-99 (83-72 in Oklahoma City), 2000-01 (84-51 in Oklahoma City) and 2003-04 (84-68 in Norman). The Golden Eagles' lone victory in Norman was on Jan. 3, 1976, when they dealt the Sooners a 64-58 defeat in the series' first game. OU has won its other four home games against ORU by an average of 30 points.

QUICK TIPS
The Sooners rank third in the nation in rebounding margin (+15.6 per game).
Taj Gray is shooting .821 from the field (32-for-39) over the last three-and-a-half games. He was 8-for-8 in the second half against Villanova, 5-for-6 versus Coppin State, 8-for-11 against Southern and 11-for-14 against West Virginia.
Kevin Bookout is shooting .727 from the field over the past five games and owns the OU career record in field goal percentage with a .586 mark.
Gray has made 25 of his last 30 free throw attempts (.833) and owns a .776 season mark. He shot .646 last year.
Michael Neal ranks second the Big 12 in 3-pointers made per game (3.1) and ranks sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.362). He has made at least two treys in all eight games.
Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponents in all eight games this year.
Gray is averaging 23.3 points while shooting .733 from the field over the last four games.
Opponents are shooting .410 from 3-point range through eight games. Last year, OU set a school record by allowing foes to shoot just .292 from beyond the arc.
In 33 games last year, OU logged 20 or more offensive rebounds twice. It has at least 20 offensive boards three times already in eight games this year, and 19 in another.
The Sooners have won 70 of their last 75 games at Lloyd Noble Center (.933).
Taj Gray is on preseason watch lists for both the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy player-of-the-year awards.

AS DIFFERENT AS NIGHT AND GRAY
After a somewhat slow start in which he averaged 10.3 points over OU's first four games, Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Taj Gray has more than come to life since. The 6-9, 238-pounder is averaging 23.3 points and shooting .733 from the field over the last four contests (against Villanova, Coppin State, Southern and West Virginia). He has 89 points over the last three-and-a-half games. Gray, who also averages 7.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots, averages just 26.8 minutes per game and has played more than 30 minutes just twice in eight outings.

First 4 games: 15-28 FGs (.536), 11-15 FTs (.733), 10.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Last 4 games: 33-45 FGs (.733), 27-34 FTs (.794), 23.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg

HOME IS WHERE THE “W” IS
Lloyd Noble Center has been overly kind to the Sooners, as they have won 70 of their last 75 games (.933) in the building dating back to January 2001. Oklahoma posted a 14-1 home mark in 2004-05 and is now 152-21 (.879) at Lloyd Noble in Kelvin Sampson's 11-plus years as head coach. OU is 389-64 (.859) in the building since it opened prior to the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners have posted home winning streaks of 51 games (1987-90) and 37 games (2001-03). The 37-game streak is a Big 12 Conference record.

HOME COURT NON-CONFERENCE RULE
The Sooners have won 44 straight non-conference home games and 52 of their last 53. The 44 consecutive home non-conference wins gives them the longest current streak in the country (tied with Illinois). Cincinnati is the last non-conference opponent to hand OU a loss inside Lloyd Noble Center, a 72-57 outcome on Dec. 22, 1999. Oklahoma holds an 82-5 (.943) home non-conference record under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. Besides Cincinnati, the four non-league teams to beat a Sampson-coached OU team in Norman were Texas Tech (81-69 on Nov. 29, 1995 [pre-Big 12]), Mississippi State (76-71 on Feb. 10, 1996), Memphis (80-78 on Dec. 13, 1997) and Murray State (68-64 on Nov. 28, 1998).

Trailing Oklahoma and Illinois in consecutive home non-conference wins are Duke (40), Utah State (33), Tennessee-Martin (28), Maryland (27), Sam Houston State (26) and Wisconsin (26).

WINDOW WIPERS
Oklahoma ranks third in the nation in rebounding margin, according to the NCAA's Web site. The Sooners are outrebounding their opponents 310-195 on the year for a per-game margin of +14.4. Only LSU (+20.1) and College of Charleston (+15.2) average a larger rebounding margin. Here are some more rebounding notes.

OU has outrebounded each of its eight opponents. Included were margins of 28 against Samford, 22 against Belmont, 18 against Binghamton, 16 versus Tulsa and 13 against Southern.
Oklahoma has grabbed 139 offensive boards (17.4 per game) while its foes have secured 59 (7.4).
Last year, OU registered 20 or more offensive rebounds twice in 33 games. This year's squad has already accomplished the feat three times with another game of 19 offensive boards.
Six of OU's seven leading scorers are averaging at least 3.0 rebounds, led by Taj Gray's 7.8 (Michael Neal averages 2.9).
Pro-rated to 40 minutes, Taylor Griffin, a freshman, is averaging a team-high 12.7 boards per outing. He has averaged 13.0 minutes per game.

GRAY, BOOKOUT POSTING GAUDY NUMBERS
Senior big men Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout are showing why they're regarded as one of the nation's top frontcourt tandems. Over the last four games, the pair has scored 147 of the team's 267 points, or 55 percent (Gray is averaging 23.3 points while Bookout is averaging 13.5). During the same span, they have shot a combined .724 from the field (55-for-76).

Since halftime of the Villanova game on Dec. 3, Gray is shooting a stellar .821 from the field (32-for-39). Bookout has shot .500 or better in all eight games and has posted a .710 figure over the past four outings (22-for-31).

CHARITY CASE
After ranking sixth in the Big 12 last year in free throw percentage with a .690 season mark (and ranking 10th in league games with a .675 figure), the Sooners rank third in the conference so far this year by shooting .724. OU has shot better than .750 in five of its eight games. Taj Gray ranks ninth in the Big 12 with his .776 season mark while Nate Carter ranks 10th at .730.

Gray is averaging 8.5 free throw attempts over the last four contests.

DECEMBER 3-POINT COLD SPELL
The Sooners went 17-for-37 (.459) from 3-point range over their first two games of the year but have struggled since. Over the last six games, OU has gone 26-for-107 (.243) from beyond the arc to drop its season figure to .299 (ranks last in the Big 12). Junior guard Michael Neal is 25-for-69 (.362) from 3-point range on the year while the rest of the squad is only 18-for-75 (.240). Terrell Everett and David Godbold rank second on the team with six 3-pointers each.

POLL VAULTING
Oklahoma has been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll 108 weeks since Kelvin Sampson became head coach in 1994. The Sooners made their top-10 debut under Sampson during their 2001-02 Final Four season and since then have been ranked in the top 10 in 41 of the polls. This marks the first time in eight weeks this year that OU is not ranked in the top 10 (it is No. 14).

BOOKOUT PASSES TISDALE FOR FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE RECORD
For the moment, at least, Kevin Bookout holds the Oklahoma school record for career field goal percentage. The 6-8, 270-pound senior is 36-for-54 (.667) from the field this year and has upped his career mark to .586, bettering Wayman Tisdale's .578 figure that previously ranked No. 1 in school annals. Bookout, who has started 86 of his 87 games at OU (he yielded as a freshman on Senior Day), shot .587 from the field as a frosh, .516 in 13 games as a sophomore and .592 last year as a junior. Tisdale, regarded as the best player in school history, played the 1982-83 through 1984-85 seasons and was an All-American all three years. He holds six OU career records, including points (2,661), points per game (25.6) and rebounds (1,048).

DIME DROPPER
Though he was not recruited to OU as a point guard, senior Terrell Everett ranks second in the Big 12 with his 6.1 assists per game (he trails only Iowa State's Will Blalock, who averages 7.3). Everett, a natural wing who played some point last year, is the Big 12's leading returning assists man from last season when he averaged 5.0. The slender 6-4 lefty has led the Sooners in assists 31 times in his 41 career games, including seven times in eight games this year.

WANTED: DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
The Sooners have allowed 61.4 points per game fifth fewest in the Big 12 but the figure would be significantly lower if OU didn't rank last in the Big 12 in both field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense. Oklahoma is allowing foes to shoot .449 from the field and .410 from beyond the arc. Last year, opponents shot a mere .292 from 3-point territory when OU set a school record for 3-point field goal percentage defense.

OU TURNOVER PRONE SO FAR
Taking care of the basketball has been one of Oklahoma's weaknesses this year as the Sooners are averaging 14.8 offensive miscues per contest. The most turnovers averaged by OU during the 12-year Kelvin Sampson era was 15.5 in 1997-98.

LOOKING TO JOIN THE CLUB
Kevin Bookout (877 career points) and Taj Gray (615) have an excellent chance of increasing OU's 1,000-point club to 35 members. Bookout would have to average 4.9 points thre rest of the season over a 33-game schedule (the number of games OU played last year) to reach 1,000 points while Gray would have to average 15.4 points (he is averaging 16.8 this year).

VETERAN STAFF
Kelvin Sampson has compiled a staff that boasts a wealth of collegiate head coaching experience 68 years to be exact. Sampson has been a head coach for 22 seasons, while assistants Bob Hoffman and Ray McCallum have spent 17 and 11 years, respectively, guiding college programs. Jerry Green, the program's new director of basketball operations, returned to college basketball after four years of retirement. Green has 18 years of head coaching experience at UNC Asheville, Oregon and Tennessee.

BACK TO BACK?
Oklahoma, co-Big 12 champs last year with Kansas, will attempt to earn back-to-back regular season conference titles for the fourth time in school history. The Sooners won the 1928 Missouri Valley Conference crown and followed by claiming the 1929 Big Six title. Under head coach Billy Tubbs, OU won Big Eight championships in 1984, '85, '88 and '89.

OU BOASTS NATION'S LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 24 consecutive postseason appearances (19 NCAA and five NIT), good for the longest current streak among Division I programs. The last time OU did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81. The Sooners have competed in the NCAA Tournament 10 times in the last 11 seasons.

EIGHT STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
With a 25-8 record last year, Kelvin Sampson has now coached OU to eight consecutive 20-win seasons. Only seven other coaches have posted 20 victories each of the last eight years: Lute Olson (15 straight seasons), Tubby Smith (12), Mike Krzyzewski (9), Skip Prosser (9), Jim Boeheim (8), Jim Calhoun (8) and Eddie Sutton (8).

BIG 12 KING
Kelvin Sampson has amassed 100 regular season Big 12 victories, most in league history. He is 100-44 (.695) in conference play since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97. Sampson also holds the Big 12 record for most combined regular season and conference tournament wins (he is 117-50) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed (he is 224-79).

BREAKING 80
The Sooners have been tough to beat under Kelvin Sampson when they score at least 80 points. During the 12-year Sampson era, Oklahoma is 126-13 (.906) when reaching the 80-point plateau. OU has won 43 of its last 46 (.935) and 59 of its last 63 (.937) when scoring 80 or more.

PREACHING PROTECTION
Dating back to the start of the 2003-04 season, Oklahoma has committed more turnovers than its opponent just 18 times in 72 games (25 percent of the time). OU finished 20-2 last year when committing fewer (or the same number of) turnovers than its foe.

RECRUITING HAUL
Kelvin Sampson announced the signing of five prep players on Nov. 9, a recruiting class that ranks as the nation's fourth best by Rivals.com and fifth best by Scout.com. Joining the Sooners as freshmen in 2006-07 will be Keith Clark (Oklahoma City/Putnam City HS), Tony Crocker (San Antonio, Texas/The Patterson School [N.C.], Damion James (Nacogdoches, Texas/Nacodoches HS), Jeremy Mayfield (Irving, Texas/Gulf Shores Academy [Houston]) and Scottie Reynolds (Herndon, Va./Herndon HS).

“This is as good a class as we've had since I've been here,” said Sampson, who is in his 12th year at OU. “Sure, all five players are rated high, but just as important is the fact that they're high-character kids. They love to play basketball and they're fun to be around. Our staff is very, very happy with this class.”

2005-06 SIGNEES
Keith Clark (F, 6-8, 220, Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Ranked No. 43 in nation by Hoopmasters

Tony Crocker (G, 6-5, 180, San Antonio, Texas)
Ranked No. 6 post grad prep by Scout.com

Damion James (F, 6-8, 225, Nacogdoches, Texas)
Ranked No. 16 in nation by Rivals.com

Jeremy Mayfield (F/C, 6-10, 234, Irving, Texas)
Ranked No. 4 post grad prep by Scout.com

Scottie Reynolds (G, 6-0, 170, Herndon, Va.)
Ranked No. 31 in nation by Scout.com

UNDER KELVIN SAMPSON...
OU shared the 2005 Big 12 regular season title with Kansas (the Sooners won the only head-to-head meeting).
OU has made 11 straight postseason showings (10 NCAA and one NIT).
OU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (1999), Final Four (2002) and Elite Eight (2003).
OU has posted a 100-44 (.694) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 152-21 (.879) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 70 of its last 75 home games.
OU has won at least 20 games each of the last eight years.
OU has averaged 26 victories over the past six seasons.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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