Sooners, Seniors Face Baylor Saturday

GAME INFORMATION
No. 22/23 Oklahoma (20-6 overall, 9-4 Big 12) plays its final home game of the season when it hosts Baylor (9-15, 1-12) on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. CST at Lloyd Noble Center. The game, the last at home for seniors Johnnie Gilbert and Jaison Williams, 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 regionally televised by ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34/Cox Cable 11 in OKC) with Bill Doleman (play-by-play) and Paul Splittorff (analyst) announcing.

TICKET INFORMATION
Reserved seats for Saturday's game are sold out. A limited number of restricted admission tickets will go on sale Saturday at 11 a.m. at Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows for $20. Restricted admission tickets are good for unused seat in the upper level of the arena after tip-off. Should a ticket holder with that seat location arrive at the game, the restricted admission ticket holder will be asked to vacate the seat.

OU Radio Affiliates | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)

JERSEY PROMOTION
The first 500 children 12 and under through the Lloyd Noble Center doors on Saturday will receive an OU replica jersey.

Johnnie Gilbert Photo Gallery | Jaison Williams Photo Gallery

PROJECTED BAYLOR STARTERS (Stats averages)
F 20 Tim Bush (6-6, 235, So., 13.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg)
F 22 Richard Hurd (6-5, 200, Fr., 3.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.4 apg)
F 40 Mark Shepherd (6-9, 210, Fr., 2.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)
G 3 Roscoe Biggers (5-11, 195, So., 2.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.9 apg)
G 14 Aaron Bruce (6-3, 190, Fr., 17.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.7 apg)

PROJECTED OKLAHOMA STARTERS (Stats averages)
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 235, Jr., 14.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.5 apg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 259, Jr., 11.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.6 apg)
G 3 Drew Lavender (5-7, 153, So., 10.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 3.6 apg)
G 4 David Godbold (6-5, 212, Fr., 3.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.8 apg)
G 20 Terrell Everett (6-4, 185, Jr., 12.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.0 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners won their third straight game and knocked off their fourth ranked opponent of the year (second in the top 10) when they handed No. 8 Kansas its third straight loss, 71-63, at Lloyd Noble Center on Monday. Oklahoma received just 11 combined points from Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout its top two scorers on the season entering the night but got double-digit performances from Terrell Everett, David Godbold and Johnnie Gilbert as it won its 20th game of the year. Everett netted game highs of 19 points and eight rebounds (one shy of his career high in both categories) to go along with four assists while fellow starting guard Goldbold scored a career-high 15 points and added seven boards, two assists and two steals. Gilbert, playing in his next-to-last home game, spelled a foul-plagued Gray off the bench and contributed a career-high-tying 12 points and four rebounds, a season-high three assists, two blocks and two steals in a season-high 30 minutes. The Sooners used a 23-7 first-half run to take a 30-13 advantage and led 37-22 at the break. Kansas drew to within one, 49-48, with 7:38 remaining, but OU regrouped to outscore the Jayhawks 22-15 the rest of the way. Gray finished with six points and one rebound while Bookout added five points and five boards.

KANSAS LEFTOVERS
After coming off the bench for the first and second times of his career in OU's previous two games, Drew Lavender returned to the starting lineup and had eight points and four assists. He was 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute.
OU made four of its first five 3-point tries and ended the first half 5-for-11. It was 0-for-4 after intermission.
The win was Oklahoma's fourth in its last six games against Kansas and improved Kelvin Sampson's record to 6-10 against the Jayhawks.
Terrell Everett made his first four free throw attempts to run his streak of consecutive makes to 21. He then missed four of his next eight from the line.
The Sooners led for 38:53 of the contest (KU's last lead was 4-3 at the first half's 18:08 mark).

ABOUT BAYLOR
Baylor, which began the season with a 9-5 record, has lost its last 10 games and sports a 1-12 Big 12 mark. Its lone conference win was at home against Colorado on Jan. 19 (67-59). The Bears are 1-8 on the road this year with their only victory coming at Purdue on Dec. 30 (73-72). They are shooting .442 from the field (ranks eighth in the Big 12), .361 from 3-point range (ranks eighth) and .707 from the free throw line (ranks third).

Australian point guard Aaron Bruce, just a freshman, ranks third in the league in scoring with his 17.8 points per contest and also averages a team-high 3.7 assists. He has scored in double figures in 22 of his 24 games and has reached the 20-point plateau nine times. Bruce is shooting .379 from 3-point territory to rank fourth in the Big 12 and has made 53 treys (2.2 per game). Sophomore forward Tim Bush, an LSU transfer, averages 13.7 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per contest. He has made 26 3-pointers in his 20 games and is shooting .366 from behind the arc. Junior center Tommy Swanson started in Baylor's first 23 games but didn't play Wednesday at Kansas State after being poked in the eye Saturday at Texas and then developing pink eye. Swanson is averaging 11.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals on the year while shooting .526 from the field. Sophomore guard/forward Patrick Fields, who came off the bench to score 22 points against Kansas State, is averaging 11.0 points, 4.3 boards, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals. He was 9-for-13 from the field against the Wildcats in 33 minutes of play.

Scott Drew is in his second year as Baylor's head coach and owns a 17-36 (.321) record there. He owns a 37-47 (.440) career mark after coaching Valparaiso to a 20-11 record in 2002-03.

SERIES WITH THE BEARS
Oklahoma has won its last 21 games against Baylor and leads the all-time series, 26-5 (12-2 in Norman). Kelvin Sampson is 19-0 versus the Bears as OU's head coach (his teams have won by an average of 17 points) and has guided the Sooners to an 8-0 mark inside Lloyd Noble Center (won by an average of 22 points).

In the first meeting this year on Jan. 15 in Waco, Drew Lavender scored a then-season-high 20 points and forward Kevin Bookout had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Sooners won 65-61. OU shot .533 from the field and outrebounded the Bears 32-25 as it won its seventh straight contest and improved to 2-0 in league play. Lavender was 3-for-5 from 3-point range and hit a clutch trey with 45 seconds left to give OU a 62-58 lead. His two free throws with nine seconds remaining were the final points of the game. Bookout scored 14 of his points in the first half. Taj Gray contributed 13 points, eight boards and three blocked shots while Terrell Everett (six points) was held under double digits in scoring for the first time since the season's first game, but he racked up eight assists. Baylor's Aaron Bruce led all scorers with 21 points and Tommy Swanson added 13.

SOONERS AT HOME
Oklahoma is 13-1 at home this year with its lone defeat coming to Texas Tech (88-81) on Feb. 5. The loss snapped OU's 14-game home winning streak, but the Sooners responded with home victories over Nebraska and No. 8 Kansas and have now won 64 of their last 69 in Norman (.928). Taj Gray has been extremely productive at Lloyd Noble Center this year, averaging 17.4 points and 9.1 boards while shooting .592 from the field. OU is shooting .479 from the field at home but just .323 from behind the arc. It is holding opponents to .417 and .256 respective figures.

A WIN OVER BAYLOR WOULD...
Give Oklahoma 26 straight victories against the Bears and improve Kelvin Sampson's record against them to 20-0 (9-0 at LNC).
Move the Sooners into a second-place tie in the Big 12 following Sunday's Oklahoma State-Kansas game.
Up OU's record to 9-2 on Senior Day under Sampson (losses were to Kansas in 1997 and Texas in 2003). The Sooners have beaten Baylor twice on Senior Day (1999 and 2004).
Give OU double-digit victories in Big 12 play for the seventh time in the last eight years (it was 8-8 last season).
Mark the Sooners' 65th victory in their last 70 home games (.929).

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
With the victory over Kansas on Monday, Kelvin Sampson has coached Oklahoma to eight consecutive 20-win seasons. Entering the 2004-05 campaign, only eight other coaches had also posted 20 victories each of the last seven years: Lute Olson (14 straight 20-win seasons entering this year), Tubby Smith (11), Mike Krzyzewski (8), Skip Prosser (8), Gary Williams (8), Jim Boeheim (7), Jim Calhoun (7) and Eddie Sutton (7).
Oklahoma's guards have come to life during the team's three-game winning streak, accounting for 68 percent of the team's points. They tallied 50 points against Nebraska, 54 at Kansas State and 48 versus Kansas. On the season, OU's guards account for 57 percent of the squad's scoring.
Drew Lavender started the first 53 games of his career but came off the bench the two games prior to Monday's win against Kansas. He averaged 19.5 points, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals in those two outings. He had 10 points and a career-high-tying five steals Feb. 16 versus Nebraska (all five steals came in the first half) and registered 29 points on 6-for-9 3-point shooting Saturday at Kansas State. He made a last-second left-handed runner off the glass to give OU a one-point win against the Wildcats. Back in the starting lineup against Kansas, the point guard contributed eight points and four assists in 34 minutes of action.
OU's bench has produced 86 points during its three-game winning streak (an average of 28.7 points) while the benches of Nebraska (20), Kansas State (2) and Kansas (7) have combined for 29 (an average of 9.7).
Freshman David Godbold has made his second, third and fourth career starts the last three games and averaged 9.3 points in those three contests. In four starts this year Godbold is averaging 10.5 points. Eight of his nine 3-pointers have come as a starter. Over the last two games he is averaging 12.0 points.
Terrell Everett scored in double figures in 13 of OU's first 14 games and then failed to reach double digits in four of the next five. In seven games since, Everett has scored in double figures each outing and is averaging 15.4 points while shooting .548 from the field (40-for-73).
Senior Johnnie Gilbert has provided a big boost off the bench of late. The senior forward is averaging 6.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocked shots while shooting .750 from the field (9-for-12) over the last three games. Those numbers compare favorably to his season averages of 2.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.7 blocks. He is shooting .545 from the field on the year.
Lawrence McKenzie snapped a three-game 1-for-11 streak from 3-point range by going 2-for-5 against Kansas on Monday. Prior to the Missouri game on Feb. 12, he was shooting .455 from beyond the arc to lead the Big 12. McKenzie now owns a .423 3-point mark to rank second in the league behind OSU's John Lucas (.424).
During Oklahoma's current three-game winning streak, Taj Gray is averaging 8.3 points and 2.7 rebounds while Kevin Bookout is averaging 6.3 points and 5.7 boards.

SAMPSON ATOP BIG 12 LADDER
Kelvin Sampson passed former Kansas head coach Roy Williams for most Big 12 regular season victories with OU's 83-60 win over Nebraska Feb. 16 and now has 97 following Monday's triumph against Kansas. Sampson is 97-44 in conference play since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97. The OU head coach also holds the Big 12 record for most combined regular season and conference tournament wins (he is 113-49) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed. He is 214-76 since the start of the 1996-97 season.

SOONERS HAVE WON NEARLY 70 PERCENT OF THEIR BIG 12 GAMES
Dating back to the start of Big 12 Conference play during the 1996-97 season, Oklahoma has posted a 97-44 league record for a .688 winning percentage. Only Kansas (116-25; .823) owns a better mark than OU. Texas ranks third at 96-45 (.681), while Oklahoma State ranks fourth at 94-47 (.667) and Missouri sixth at 76-65 (.539). Including Big 12 Tournament games, OU owns a 112-49 record (.696), second best in the conference behind Kansas (131-29; .819). The Sooners are 16-5 in the Big 12 Tournament and have won three of the eight titles.

OU'S FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED
Last season, OU shot .408 from the field its worst mark in 40 years and posted a .500-or-better figure just three times. This season, the Sooners have shot .500 or better from the field in nine of the last 15 games and have done so in 15 of 26 games overall. Among OU's performances this year was a .613 effort against Florida A&M on Dec. 30, its third best mark under 11th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and best in 234 games. The Sooners are shooting .484 on the season to rank third in the Big 12. OU is on pace for its best season field goal mark since the 1988-89 team finished with a .491 figure.

GRAY COOLING DOWN
After a statistically torrid stretch from late January to mid February, unanimous Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Taj Gray has cooled. Gray registered six straight games of 14-or-more points (five games of 19 or more) and averaged 20.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots while shooting .635 from the field from Jan. 24 to Feb. 12. The Sooners lost four of those six games. In three games since all wins he is averaging 8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 block while shooting .467 from the floor. The junior forward ranks second in the Big 12 in double-doubles with 10 (the most in a season during the Kelvin Sampson era is 14 by Eduardo Najera during the 1999-2000 campaign). Gray ranks 14th in the league in scoring, third in rebounding, second in field goal percentage, first in blocked shots and first in offensive rebounds. Gray has been named Big 12 Rookie of the Week four times (the record is five by former Texas A&M guard Clifton Cook in 1998-99).

LONG DISTANCE DIALER
Sophomore guard Lawrence McKenzie, who ranks second in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (.423), has made at least three 3-pointers in eight of the last 15 games and at least four treys in six of the last 15. The Minneapolis, Minn., native, who has drained 58 treys on the year (13 more than he made last season), has made at least two 3-pointers in 17 of his 25 games and at least three in 13 contests. He ranks fourth in the league in 3-pointers made per game (2.3). Last year, McKenzie shot .321 from beyond the arc.

OU ON POSITIVE END OF 3-POINT DISPARITY
Oklahoma has made 169 3-pointers this season (an average of 6.5 a game) and is shooting .370 from beyond the arc. Opponents, by comparison, have canned just 90 treys (3.5 a game) and are shooting .282 from long range. Only four opponents (Baylor, Oklahoma State twice and Nebraska) have made more treys than OU in a game this year. Lawrence McKenzie has made 58 3-pointers (2.3 a game) and ranks second in the Big 12 Conference with his .423 season percentage. Jaison Williams, Drew Lavender and Terrell Everett have made 39, 38 and 19 treys this year, respectively.

WHY DON'T WE STEAL AWAY
Oklahoma recorded a season-high 17 steals against Nebraska on Feb. 16 and now ranks second in the Big 12 with its 8.8 steals a game (Iowa State averages 9.3). The 17 thefts versus the Huskers were the most for OU against a conference opponent under 11th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. Drew Lavender had five steals in 11 minutes of play in the first half of that game to match a single-game career high. The Sooners have recorded more steals than their opponents in 16 of the last 22 outings.

EVERETT HAS SUPPLIED HELPING HAND
Junior college transfer Terrell Everett has been steady at the wing and point guard spots this year. The 6-4, 185-pound lefty has started all 26 games and is averaging 12.3 points (ranks second on team), 4.4 rebounds (ranks third) and a team-high 5.0 assists a game. Everett has led OU (or tied for the team lead) in assists in 16 of the last 20 games. He is averaging 5.7 assists over the last 13 outings and ranks second in the Big 12 (league games) with 5.4 assists a game. Everett has scored in double figures 21 times this year and netted a career-high 20 points against Texas A&M Feb. 2, 18 on Wednesday versus Nebraska, 16 Saturday at Kansas State and 19 Monday versus Kansas. He is shooting .784 from the foul line on the year (.842 in Big 12 play) and had a string of 21 straight makes snapped against the Jayhawks.

BOOKOUT, GRAY RANK FIRST AND SECOND IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Oklahoma's leader in field goal percentage his first two seasons, junior forward Kevin Bookout is shooting a stout .615 from the field this season to lead the Big 12 Conference and rank 12th nationally. Junior newcomer Taj Gray, meanwhile, ranks second in the league with his .570 season mark. The 6-8, 259-pound Bookout has shot .500 or better in 21 of his 25 games this year. The Jan. 24 Big 12 Player of the Week has earned the honor twice this year the first time on Jan. 10 after a 13-for-14 field goal performance against Colorado in which he scored 27 points. It ranks as the second-best field goal percentage performance in the country this year. Bookout also made nine of his 10 field goal attempts against Washington on Nov. 26. He shot .587 as a freshman to lead the Big 12 and posted a .516 mark last year in 13 games. Gray, who had an 8-for-9 performance against Texas A&M Feb. 2, is shooting .606 over the last 10 games (60-for-99).

SCORING MORE BALANCED IN 2004-05
Oklahoma's guards accounted for 68 percent of the team's points last season. That figure is down this year, however, as the Sooners have showcased a potent inside attack. OU's guards have scored 1,097 of the squad's 1,941 points, or 57 percent this season. Junior forwards Taj Gray (14.9 ppg) and Kevin Bookout (11.9 ppg) are the main reasons OU's frontcourt production has increased from 32 percent of the team's points last year to 43 percent this year. Gray and Bookout rank first and third on the squad in scoring.

GUARDS TIGHTEN DEFENSIVE SCREWS
Oklahoma's guards have done an admirable job of defending the 3-point line this season as the team leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.282). Only four opponents (Baylor, Oklahoma State twice and Nebraska) have made more than five 3-pointers against OU this year. Conversely, the Sooners have made at least five treys in 22 of 26 games.

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Junior forward Taj Gray (6-9) has been intimidating in the paint with his shot-blocking ability. Gray has registered 10 games of three-or-more rejections and is averaging 2.1 swats an outing to lead the Big 12 (he is averaging a Big 12-high 2.5 blocks per conference game). No Oklahoma player has ever led the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots per game at the end of a season. The Sooners are averaging 4.5 blocks a contest as a team to rank third in the league rankings. Freshman Longar Longar has 17 blocks in his 21 games while Johnnie Gilbert has 16 and Kevin Bookout 13. Gilbert ranks fourth on OU's career list with 127 rejections.

PREACHING PROTECTION
Dating back to the start of the 2003-04 season, OU has committed more turnovers than its foe just 13 times in its last 57 games. It has happened in the Sooners' last four losses, however. OU is 16-1 this year when committing the same number of or fewer turnovers than its opponent.

OKLAHOMA TIP INS
The Sooners have won 64 of their last 69 home games (.928).
An Oklahoma win on Saturday would give it a final 14-1 home record this season and mark the fifth time in Kelvin Sampson's 11 years as head coach that the Sooners finished with one or no home defeats.
OU's bench has produced more points than opponents' reserves in 10 of 13 league games this year and in 18 of 26 games overall.
OU's starting frontcourt of Kevin Bookout (.609) and Taj Gray (.603) is shooting a combined .606 from the field in Big 12 play. They rank first and second, respectively, in the league in field goal percentage.
Three Sooners have been honored a total of eight times by the Big 12 Conference this season. Bookout has been named Big 12 Player of the Week twice. Gray has earned Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week honors four times (the record is five) while Terrell Everett has garnered the rookie honor twice (including this week's).
Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponent in 18 of 26 games this year and is 15-3 in those contests.
Only Baylor, Oklahoma State (twice) and Nebraska have made more 3-pointers than Oklahoma in head-to-head competition this year (26 games). OU leads the Big 12 by giving up just 3.5 treys per outing (the next lowest figure is 5.3 surrendered a game by OSU).
The Sooners have made 79 more 3-pointers than their opponents this season.
Everett has led the team in assists in 16 of the last 20 games. He is averaging 5.0 assists per game on the year. Tyrone Foster (5.6 in 1995-96) is the last Sooner to average as many assists over a season.
OU shot .500 or better from the field three times all of last season, but has done it in 15 of its 26 games this year. The Sooners shot .408 last year but own a .484 mark this season to rank third in the league.
Freshman center Longar Longar is 25-for-32 from the field this season (.781). His first six field goals were dunks and he has 14 slams on the year.

UNDER KELVIN SAMPSON...
OU has made 10 straight postseason showings (nine 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 97-44 (.688) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 146-21 (.874) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 64 of its last 69 home games.
OU has won at least 20 games each of the last eight years.
OU has averaged 26 victories over the past five seasons.
OU has won three of the past four Big 12 Tournaments and has made five title game appearances in the last seven events.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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