OU Looks to Avenge Texas Tech Loss

GAME INFORMATION
In a tie for second place in the Big 12, Oklahoma (22-6 overall, 11-4 Big 12) will try to avenge its only home loss the season when it plays at Texas Tech (18-8, 10-5) on Saturday at 5 p.m. CST inside United Spirit Arena.

The Sooners have won five straight games and have secured a first-round bye in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament (March 10-13 in Kansas City).

Saturday's game, the last of the regular season for both teams, will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action.

It will be nationally televised by ESPN (Cox Cable 29 in OKC) with Ron Franklin (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst) and Stacey Dales-Schuman (sideline reporter) announcing.

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

PROJECTED OKLAHOMA STARTERS (Stats averages)
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 235, Jr., 14.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.5 apg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 259, Jr., 11.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.6 apg)
G 3 Drew Lavender (5-7, 153, So., 9.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 3.5 apg)
G 4 David Godbold (6-5, 212, Fr., 4.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.0 apg)
G 20 Terrell Everett (6-4, 185, Jr., 12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.0 apg)

TEXAS TECH PROJECTED STARTERS (Stats averages)
F 21 Devonne Giles (6-8, 225, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 0.9 apg)
F 44 Darryl Dora (6-9, 235, So., 6.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.9 apg)
G 3 Martin Zeno (6-5, 190, Fr., 13.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.4 apg)
G 22 Jarrius Jackson (6-1, 185, So., 14.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.7 apg)
G 24 Ronald Ross (6-2, 185, Sr., 16.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.1 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
In their most impressive road performance of the season, the Sooners posted a 74-58 win at Texas on Monday and secured a Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament first-round bye in the process. OU led by 10 at the half and scored the first eight points of the second half to go up 47-29. The Longhorns got as close as nine points with 2:12 to go but Oklahoma made its final 13 free throw attempts to keep UT at bay and earn the season sweep. Sophomore Lawrence McKenzie made four 3-pointers off the bench and finished with a team-high 16 points while freshman David Godbold scored 14 points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds. A third guard, junior Terrell Everett, added 12 points, eight boards, five assists and four steals. Junior forward Taj Gray contributed 10 points and six boards while senior forward Johnnie Gilbert recorded seven points, six rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes off the bench. Oklahoma held Texas to .392 field goal and .278 3-point shooting while also posting a 39-29 rebounding advantage. The Sooners registered 13 steals on the night and forced 15 turnovers overall in improving to 6-4 in Austin under Kelvin Sampson. It was OU's fifth straight win.

TEXAS LEFTOVERS
The loss for Texas was just its second at home this year. It had won 44 of its previous 46 games at the Erwin Center.
Oklahoma's bench outscored Texas' 25-11. OU also had 23 points off turnovers to UT's 10 and outscored the Longhorns 14-0 in fast break points.
OU moved to 18-1 this year when committing fewer (or equal) turnovers than its opponent.
David Godbold fell one rebound shy of his first career double-double (14 points).
Oklahoma improved to 17-8 against Texas under Kelvin Sampson.
The 16-point margin of victory was the second largest at Texas by a Sampson-coached team. His 2000-01 squad won by 21 in Austin (75-54).
OU started 7-for-14 from the free throw line but made its final 13 attempts over the game's last 8:03.

ABOUT TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech, a 72-66 winner at Baylor on Wednesday, stands in fourth place in the Big 12 with a 10-5 record, one game behind OU and Oklahoma State, and two games ahead of Iowa State and Texas. The Red Raiders are 18-8 overall and 13-1 at home. Their only defeat at United Spirit Arena came at the hands of Oklahoma State, 76-66, on Jan. 8. Texas Tech is shooting .482 from the field (ranks fourth in Big 12), .405 from 3-point range (ranks second) and .768 from the foul line (ranks first).

Senior guard and All-Big 12 candidate Ronald Ross is averaging 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-high 2.5 steals per contest. In conference action, Ross is averaging 19.4 points (ranks second behind Kansas' Wayne Simien). He is shooting .545 from the field, .452 from 3-point range and .788 from the foul line on the year. Sophomore guard Jarrius Jackson averages 14.9 points and a team-high 3.7 assists per outing while shooting .453 from long range and .806 at the charity stripe. Another guard, freshman Martin Zeno, contributes 13.5 points, 4.3 boards and 3.4 assists. Forwards Devonne Giles and Darryl Dora average 11.8 and 6.4 points, respectively. Giles, a senior, also pulls down a team-high 6.2 rebounds a game and averages 1.8 blocked shots while Dora, a sophomore, averages 4.0 rebounds.

Bob Knight is in his fourth year as Texas Tech's head coach and owns a 86-41 (.677) record there. He is 850-330 (.720) in his 39th season as a collegiate head coach.

SERIES WITH THE RED RAIDERS
Oklahoma owns a 21-14 all-time record against Texas Tech and is 6-9 in Lubbock. Kelvin Sampson is 12-7 against the Red Raiders as OU's head coach and owns a 5-3 record in Lubbock. The Sooners, who have won 11 of the last 15 meetings in the series, were 88-81 losers in Norman on Feb. 5 (it was their only home defeat of the season). The Sooners committed 20 turnovers, their most since the fourth game of the year, and watched Tech shoot .571 from the field and make 29-of-34 free throw attempts (.853). Taj Gray battled his way to 20 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for his then-league-leading 10th double-double of the year. Eight of his rebounds were offensive. He also blocked two shots but had a career-high seven turnovers. Lawrence McKenzie, in his first start since Nov. 27, was 5-for-10 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points. It was the third time in Big 12 play that he made five triples in a game. Drew Lavender had 13 points, seven assists, three steals and no turnovers while Terrell Everett contributed 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Tech's Jarrius Jackson led all scorers with a career-high 32 points. His total is the second highest by a Big 12 player this year.

A WIN OVER TEXAS TECH WOULD...
Mark Kelvin Sampson's 100th victory in Big 12 play.
Keep alive OU's hopes of securing its first Big 12 Conference regular season title (Kansas would also have to lose at Missouri).
Secure a top-three seed for OU in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament.
Prevent the Red Raiders from notching their first-ever season sweep of the Sooners.
Give OU a winning road record (5-3) in Big 12 play for the seventh time in nine seasons.
Give OU a final 12-4 record in Big 12 competition, tying the 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2002-03 teams for its second best. The 2001-02 squad finished 13-3.

POSSIBLE OU SEEDS FOR BIG 12
Oklahoma can earn the No. 1, 2, 3 or 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament...

OU will earn the No. 1 seed if it wins at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State loses to Texas and Kansas loses at Missouri.
OU will earn the No. 2 seed if it wins at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State loses to Texas and Kansas wins at Missouri.
OU will earn the No. 3 seed if it wins at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State beats Texas and Kansas loses at Missouri.
OU will earn the No. 4 seed if it loses at Texas Tech.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
With the victory over Kansas on Feb. 21, Kelvin Sampson has now 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).
During its five-game winning streak, Oklahoma is shooting .522 from the field, .469 from 3-point range and .727 from the free throw line. Prior to the streak its respective season figures were .483, .361 and .667.
Oklahoma's guards have excelled during the team's five-game winning streak, accounting for 65 percent of OU's points. They tallied 50 points against Nebraska, 54 at Kansas State, 48 versus Kansas, 59 against Baylor and 49 at Texas. On the season, OU's guards account for 57 percent of the squad's scoring.
OU's bench has produced 156 points during its four-game winning streak (an average of 31 points) while the benches of Nebraska (20), Kansas State (2), Kansas (7), Baylor (15) and Texas (11) have combined for 55 (an average of 11.0).
Freshman David Godbold has started each of the last five contests (he now has six career starts) and is averaging 11.2 points in those five outings. In six starts this year Godbold is averaging 11.7 points. Ten of his 11 3-pointers have come as a starter. Over the last four games he is averaging 13.0 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 nine games since, Everett has scored in double figures each outing and is averaging 14.6 points while shooting .545 from the field (48-for-88).
Senior Johnnie Gilbert has provided a big boost off the bench of late. Over the last five games, the senior forward is averaging 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 blocked shot while shooting .552 from the field (16-for-29). Those numbers compare favorably to his season averages of 3.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.6 blocks. He is shooting .514 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 Feb. 21 and went a combined 6-for-11 against Baylor and Texas the last two games. McKenzie now owns a .432 3-point mark to rank second in the Big 12.
During Oklahoma's current five-game winning streak, Taj Gray is averaging 10.2 points and 3.6 rebounds while Kevin Bookout is averaging 7.0 points and 4.8 boards (both well below their season averages).
OU's win against No. 8 Kansas Feb. 21 was its fourth against a top-15 team this year. It also beat Connecticut (then No. 12), Texas (No. 15) and Oklahoma State (No. 9). The Sooners are 4-3 against top-25 teams.

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 99 following Saturday's triumph against Baylor. Sampson is 99-44 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 115-49) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed (he is 216-76).

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 99-44 league record for a .692 winning percentage. Only Kansas (118-25; .825) owns a better mark than OU. Texas ranks third at 97-46 (.678), while Oklahoma State ranks fourth at 95-48 (.664) and Missouri fifth at 76-67 (.531). Including Big 12 Tournament games, OU owns a 114-49 record (.699), second best in the conference behind Kansas (133-29; .821). The Sooners are 16-5 in the Big 12 Tournament and have won three of the eight titles.

LIGHTING IT UP
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 16 of their 28 games, including in 10 of the last 17 outings. Oklahoma turned in a school-record .661 field goal performance against Baylor last Saturday and is now shooting .489 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 five games since all wins he is averaging 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. 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, first 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 (.432), has made at least two treys in 19 of his 27 games and at least three in 14 contests. The Minneapolis, Minn., native has drained 64 treys on the year (19 more than he made last season) and ranks fifth in the league in 3-pointers made per game (2.4). Last year, McKenzie shot .321 from beyond the arc.

OU ON POSITIVE END OF 3-POINT DISPARITY
Oklahoma has made 186 3-pointers this season (an average of 6.6 a game) and is shooting .379 from beyond the arc. Opponents, by comparison, have canned just 104 treys (3.7 a game) and are shooting .291 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 64 3-pointers (2.4 a game) and ranks second in the Big 12 Conference with his .432 season percentage. Jaison Williams, Drew Lavender and Terrell Everett have made 44, 39 and 20 treys this year, respectively.

WHY DON'T WE STEAL AWAY
Oklahoma recorded a season-high 17 steals against Nebraska on Feb. 16, logged 14 last Saturday against Baylor and had 13 more Monday at Texas. OU now ranks second in the Big 12 with its 9.18 steals a game. The 17 thefts versus the Huskers were the most by 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 18 of the last 24 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 27 games (came off bench on Senior Day) and is averaging 12.3 points (ranks second on team), 4.5 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 17 of the last 22 games. He is averaging 5.5 assists over the last 15 outings and ranks second in the Big 12 (league games) with 5.3 assists a game. Everett has scored in double figures a team-high 23 times this year and netted a career-high 20 points against Texas A&M Feb. 2, 18 on Feb. 16 versus Nebraska, 16 on Feb. 19 at Kansas State and 19 Feb. 21 versus Kansas. He is shooting .796 from the foul line on the year (.864 in Big 12 play) and had a string of 21 straight makes snapped Feb. 21 against Kansas.

NET WORTH
Field goal attempts by Oklahoma's Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray find the bottom of the net more often than they don't. 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 (the figure would lead the Big 12 but he is one field goal shy of qualifying in the category). Junior newcomer Gray, meanwhile, leads the league with his .577 season mark. The 6-8, 259-pound Bookout has shot .500 or better in 23 of his 27 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 third-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 turned in a 6-for-6 performance against Baylor last Saturday, is shooting .619 over the last 12 games (70-for-113).

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 1,205 of the squad's 2,118 points, or 57 percent this season. Junior forwards Taj Gray (14.8 ppg) and Kevin Bookout (11.6 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.

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 2.0 blocks an outing to lead the Big 12 (he is averaging a Big 12-high 2.3 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 4.4 blocks a contest as a team to rank third in the league. Freshman Longar Longar has 17 blocks in his 23 games while Johnnie Gilbert has 16 and Kevin Bookout 13. Gilbert ranks fourth on OU's career list with 127 rejections.

GUARDS TIGHTEN DEFENSIVE SCREWS
OU'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 (.291). Only five opponents (Baylor twice, 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 24 of 28 games.

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 59 games. It has happened in the Sooners' last four losses, however. OU is 18-1 this year when committing the same number of or fewer turnovers than its opponent.

OKLAHOMA TIP INS
The Sooners have won 39 of their last 42 and 55 of their last 59 when scoring 80 or more points.
OU's bench has outscored opponents' reserves in 12 of 15 league games and in 20 of 28 games overall.
OU's starting frontcourt of Taj Gray (.615) and Kevin Bookout (.610) is shooting a combined .613 from the field in Big 12 play. They rank first and second, respectively, in the league in field goal percentage (conference games).
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 20 of 28 games this year and is 17-3 in those contests.
Only Baylor, Oklahoma State (twice) and Nebraska have made more 3-pointers than Oklahoma in head-to-head competition this year (28 games). OU leads the Big 12 by giving up just 3.7 treys per outing.
The Sooners have made 82 more 3-pointers than their opponents this season.
Everett has led the team in assists in 17 of the last 22 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.
Freshman center Longar Longar is 27-for-35 from the field this season (.800). His first six field goals were dunks and he has 16 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 99-44 (.692) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 147-21 (.875) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 65 of its last 70 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 (entering this year).
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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