No. 1 Seed Oklahoma Battles Mizzou

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
After earning its first regular season conference championship since 1989, Oklahoma (23-6 overall, 12-4 Big 12) is the No. 1 seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament to be played at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

The Sooners, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are the top four seeds, respectively, and will not play Thursday. OU will begin its quest for a fourth Big 12 Tournament title in the last five years on Friday at 11:30 a.m. CST against No. 8 seed Missouri, which beat No. 9 seed Nebraska on Thursday 70-67.

If OU wins on Friday, it will play a semifinal contest Saturday at 1 p.m. Sunday's championship game will start at 2 p.m. CST.

All of OU's Big 12 Tournament games will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action.

OU Radio | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tournament Notes (PDF)

The Sooners' Friday contest will be televised by ESPN Plus (KOCB channel 34 in Oklahoma City) and ESPNU (DirecTV channel 609). Saturday's semifinal contests will be televised by ESPN Plus in Big 12 markets and by ESPN2 outside of the region. Sunday's championship game will be shown nationally by ESPN.

OU AND THE BIG 12 TOURNEY
Oklahoma has claimed three Big 12 Tournament titles, tying Kansas for the most in league history. OU won in 2001, '02 and '03.
OU has made five Big 12 Tournament championship game appearances in the eight previous events. Knsas has made four while Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas have made two each. Iowa State has made one.
OU's 16-5 (.762) Big 12 Tournament record stands as the league's best. Kansas is 15-5 (.750), Missouri is 11-8 (.579) and Oklahoma State is 9-7 (.563).
Oklahoma is 10-1 over the last four Big 12 Tournaments. It won a record-tying 10 straight before losing to Texas last year.

PROJECTED OKLAHOMA STARTERS (Stats averages)
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 235, Jr., 14.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.4 apg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 259, Jr., 11.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.5 apg)
G 3 Drew Lavender (5-7, 153, So., 9.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 3.4 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, 4.7 rpg, 5.1 apg)

TOP RESERVES (Stats averages)
G 1 Lawrence McKenzie (6-2, 175, So., 9.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.3 apg)
G 2 Jaison Williams (6-3, 181, Sr., 7.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.4 apg)
F 32 Johnnie Gilbert (6-8, 228, Sr., 3.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.6 apg)
C 30 Longar Longar (6-11, 215, Fr., 3.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.4 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
In their second consecutive impressive performance on the road to finish the regular season, the Sooners notched their sixth straight win with a 74-54 victory at Texas Tech on Saturday. It followed a 74-58 win at Texas five days earlier. Exactly one month after allowing Texas Tech to shoot .571 from the field in Norman, Oklahoma held the Red Raiders to a .345 figure in Lubbock, including a .276 mark after halftime. OU also posted a 45-33 rebounding advantage. The Sooners led 30-29 at intermission and scored the first 12 points of the second half to go up by 13. Tech cut OU's lead to nine with 13:57 remaining but got no closer as Kelvin Sampson's squad buried six second-half treys and led by as many as 22. Kevin Bookout turned in his best performance in a month with 15 points and nine rebounds while Terrell Everett nearly recorded a triple-double by registering 14 points, 10 boards and eight assists. It was his first career double-double. Taj Gray netted 12 points and five boards while Johnnie Gilbert, playing in his final regular season game as a Sooner, grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds off the bench (he had 10 in the first half). Drew Lavender was 3-for-5 from 3-point range and finished with nine points while fellow guards Lawrence McKenzie and Jaison Williams each came off the bench to nail two treys and finish with eight points. The Sooners held Tech guard Jarrius Jackson, who scored 32 points in the teams' first meeting, to just seven on 2-for-7 field goal shooting.

TEXAS TECH LEFTOVERS
Kelvin Sampson notched his 100th regular season Big 12 victory, five more than Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton who ranks second.
The 20-point win marked Texas Tech's worst home defeat under fourth-year head coach Bob Knight. Tech's 54 points were its fewest at home this season by 12 (it scored 66 in a home loss to Oklahoma State).
Oklahoma improved to 3-0 this year on a Senior Day and won those contests by an average of 26 points. OU also won at home versus Baylor (103-60) and at Texas (74-58).
The Sooners' victory gave them a 5-3 league road record, marking the seventh time in nine Big 12 campaigns that they posted a winning record away from home.
Oklahoma reached double digits in 3-point makes (10) for the third time in the last five games. They are the only three games the Sooners have made at least 10 treys this year.
OU made seven more 3-pointers than Texas Tech and has now canned 89 more than its opponents on the year.
The Sooners improved to 19-1 when committing fewer (or the same number of) turnovers than their opponent.
One game after scoring the first eight points of the second half at Texas, OU scored the first 12 of the second stanza in Lubbock.

OKLAHOMA IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The Sooners are 39-21 (.650) in conference postseason action (16-5 in eight seasons of the Big 12 format). Oklahoma has participated in 12 tournament championship games, including five of the last seven, and has won seven crowns. OU's 2003 title was its third in a row. The Sooners also earned titles in 1979, 1985, 1988 and 1990. Head coach Kelvin Sampson is 17-7 in 10 previous tournament appearances (he was 1-2 in the Big Eight Tourney) 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 152-154 of the media guide.

OU IN THE LAST FOUR BIG 12 TOURNAMENTS
2001: Beat Missouri, 67-65; Beat Kansas, 62-57; Beat Texas, 54-45
2002: Beat Kansas State, 63-52; Beat Texas, 67-51; Beat Kansas, 64-55
2003: Beat Colorado, 74-59; Beat Texas Tech, 67-60 (OT); Beat Missouri, 49-47
2004: Beat Nebraska, 63-59; Lost to Texas, 66-63

SERIES VERSUS MISSOURI
Oklahoma holds a 109-91 all-time record against Missouri and is 18-14 against the Tigers at neutral sites (including an 8-5 mark in Big Eight/Big 12 Tournament action). Kelvin Sampson boasts a 12-8 overall record versus MU and holds a 4-2 mark in conference tournament play. The Sooners have won their last four games in the Big 12 Tourney against Missouri (in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003). OU has won 10 of the last 13 meetings overall, but the Tigers have taken three of the last four.

A BIG 12 TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS WIN WOULD...
Be the Sooners' seventh straight victory, dating back to a Feb. 12 overtime loss at Missouri.
Give Oklahoma 11 victories in its last 12 conference tournament games.
Be the Sooners' seventh straight Big 12 Tournament triumph inside Kemper Arena (and ninth in their last 10).
Mark the sixth straight season that OU has won its opening league tournament contest.
Mark the eighth time in nine Big 12 Tournaments the No. 1 seed has won its quarterfinals contest. Iowa State is the only No. 1 seed to go winless in a Big 12 Tournament (it lost to No. 8 seed Baylor in 2001, 62-49).

LAST YEAR IN DALLAS
Oklahoma failed to earn a Big 12 Tournament first-round bye for the first time since the inaugural year of the conference (1996-97) and saw its three-year league tournament reign come to an end after beating No. 10 seed Nebraska and losing to No. 2 seed Texas.
The No. 7 seed Sooners disposed of Nebraska in the first round, 63-59. OU trailed by 13 at halftime but shot .552 from the field in the second half and led by as many as 11. Drew Lavender scored 16 of his game-high 19 points after the break and Jason Detrick added 16 on the night. Lavender's total was the highest by an OU freshman in Big 12 Tournament history. The Sooners committed just two turnovers in the second half and finished with only six for the game. OU held Nebraska to .280 field goal shooting after intermission (the Huskers were 0-for-6 from 3-point territory). It was Oklahoma's 10th straight Big 12 Tournament victory.
Against the Longhorns, the Sooners led by nine at halftime and by 12 points with seven minutes remaining before losing 66-63. With OU ahead 63-61, Brandon Mouton hit a driving shot in the lane and was fouled with 26 seconds left. The free throw put Texas up for good. Oklahoma shot .520 from the field in the first half but only .231 after the break. Texas shot .512 for the game and outrebounded OU 39-28. Texas went on to beat Kansas in the semifinals and then lose to Oklahoma State in the title game.

NOTING OU'S SIX-GAME WINNING STREAK
During its six-game winning streak, Oklahoma is shooting .505 from the field, .485 from 3-point range and .719 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 six-game winning streak, accounting for 64 percent of OU's points. They tallied 50 points against Nebraska, 54 at Kansas State, 48 versus Kansas, 59 against Baylor, 49 at Texas and 44 at Texas Tech. On the season, OU's guards account for 57 percent of the squad's scoring.
Junior guard Terrell Everett has been a statistical wonder over the last six outings, averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals. He is shooting .561 from the field, .538 (7-for-13) from 3-point range and .826 (19-for-23) from the free throw line during the stretch. Everett has scored 24 more points than any of his teammates during the span.
OU's bench has produced 177 points during its six-game winning streak (an average of 29.5 points) while the benches of Nebraska (20), Kansas State (2), Kansas (7), Baylor (15), Texas (11) and Texas Tech (12) have combined for 67 (an average of 11.2).
Freshman David Godbold has started each of the last six contests (he now has seven career starts) and is averaging 9.8 points in those six outings. In seven starts this year Godbold is averaging 10.4 points. Eleven of his 12 3-pointers have come as a starter. Over the last four games he is averaging 11.5 points.
Jaison Williams (.600), Everett (.538), Godbold (.538) and Drew Lavender (.500) are shooting a combined .537 from 3-point range (36-for-67) over the last six games.
Senior Johnnie Gilbert has provided a big boost off the bench over the last six outings. The senior forward is averaging 7.2 points, a team-high 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot while shooting .500 from the field (17-for-34). 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 .494 from the field on the year.
The Sooners have outrebounded their last six foes by an average of 35.3 to 28.2 (+7.1). They have also averaged 10.3 steals and have turned the ball over 18 fewer times than their opponents.
Over the last six games, Taj Gray is averaging 10.5 points and 3.8 rebounds while Kevin Bookout is averaging 8.3 points and 5.5 boards (both well below their season averages).

EIGHT STRAIGHT
With the victory over Kansas on Feb. 21, Kelvin Sampson has now coached Oklahoma to eight consecutive 20-win seasons. Only seven other coaches have also 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).

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 100 following Saturday's 74-54 triumph at Texas Tech. Sampson is 100-44 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 116-49) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed (he is 217-76).

SOONERS HAVE WON 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 100-44 regular season league record for a .694 winning percentage. Only Kansas (118-26; .819) owns a better mark than Oklahoma. Texas ranks third at 98-46 (.681), while Oklahoma State ranks fourth at 95-49 (.660) and Missouri fifth at 77-67 (.535). Including Big 12 Tournament games, OU owns a 116-49 record (.703), second best in the conference behind Kansas (133-30; .816). The Sooners are 16-5 in the Big 12 Tournament and have won three of the eight titles.

TALK ABOUT IMPROVEMENT
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 29 games, including in 10 of the last 18 outings. Oklahoma turned in a school-record .661 field goal performance against Baylor Feb. 26 and is now shooting .487 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 COOLS AS SOONERS HEAT UP
After a statistically torrid stretch from late January to mid February, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Taj Gray has cooled somewhat. 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, however. In six games since all wins he is averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 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 13th in the league in scoring, fourth 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 third in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (.434), has made at least two treys in 20 of his 28 games and at least three in 14 contests. The Minneapolis, Minn., native has drained 66 treys on the year (21 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.

SOONERS ON POSITIVE END OF 3-POINT DISPARITY
Oklahoma has made 196 3-pointers this season (an average of 6.8 a game) and is shooting .385 from beyond the arc. Opponents, by comparison, have canned just 107 treys (3.7 a game) and are shooting .290 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 66 3-pointers (2.4 a game) and ranks third in the Big 12 Conference with his .434 season percentage. Jaison Williams, Drew Lavender and Terrell Everett have made 46, 42 and 22 treys this year, respectively.

WHY DON'T WE STEAL AWAY
Oklahoma recorded a season-high 17 steals against Nebraska on Feb. 16, logged 14 on Feb. 26 against Baylor, had 13 more Feb. 28 at Texas and added nine Saturday in the regular season finale at Texas Tech. OU now ranks second in the Big 12 with its 9.2 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 A JACK OF ALL TRADES
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 28 games (he came off bench on Senior Day) and is averaging 12.3 points (ranks second on team), 4.7 rebounds (ranks third) and a team-high 5.1 assists a game. He is coming off a 14-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist and two-steal game at Texas Tech. Everett has led OU (or tied for the team lead) in assists in 18 of the last 23 games. He is averaging 5.6 assists over the last 16 outings and ranks second in the Big 12 (league games) with 5.4 assists a game. Everett has scored in double figures a team-high 24 times this year and netted a career-high 20 points against Texas A&M on Feb. 2, 18 on Feb. 16 versus Nebraska, 16 on Feb. 19 at Kansas State and 19 on 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.

BOOKOUT, GRAY PACE BIG 12 IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
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 .605 from the field this season to lead the Big 12. Junior newcomer Gray, meanwhile, ranks second in the league with his .570 season mark. The 6-8, 259-pound Bookout has shot .500 or better in 23 of his 28 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 fifth-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 on Feb. 26, is shooting .600 over the last 13 games (72-for-120).

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 1,249 of the squad's 2,192 points, or 57 percent this season. Junior forwards Taj Gray (14.7 ppg) and Kevin Bookout (11.8 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 2.2 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 4.3 blocks a contest as a team to rank third in the league. Senior Johnnie Gilbert and freshman Longar Longar both have 17 blocks while Kevin Bookout has 13. Gilbert ranks fourth on OU's career list with 128 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 (.290). 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 25 of 29 games.

PREACHING PROTECTION
Dating back to the start of the 2003-04 season, Oklahoma has committed more turnovers than its foe just 13 times in its last 60 games. OU is 19-1 this year when committing fewer (or the same number of) turnovers than its opponent.

OKLAHOMA TIP INS
The Sooners are ranked No. 17 this week in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls.
Oklahoma became the first school to win a Big 12 football championship and a regular season men's basketball title in the same academic year. Counting Big 12 Tournament titles, OU's football and men's basketball teams have earned league crowns in the same year three times (also in 2001 and 2002). No other Big 12 school has claimed a football league title the same year as a men's basketball regular season or tournament championship.
Kevin Bookout was named a First-Team Academic All-Big 12 selection on March 2.
Kelvin Sampson is one of 20 finalists for the Naismith national coach of the year award.
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.
The Sooners have won 39 of their last 42 and 55 of their last 59 when scoring 80 or more points.
OU's bench outscored opponents' reserves in 13 of 16 league games and has done it in 21 of 29 games overall.
OU's starting frontcourt of Taj Gray (.599) and Bookout (.594) is shooting a combined .597 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 nine 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 three times (including this week).
Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponent in 21 of 29 games this year and is 18-3 in those contests.
Only Baylor, Oklahoma State (twice) and Nebraska have made more 3-pointers than Oklahoma in head-to-head competition this year (29 games). OU leads the Big 12 by giving up just 3.7 treys per outing.
The Sooners have made 89 more 3-pointers than their opponents this season.
Everett has led the team in assists in 18 of the last 23 games. He is averaging 5.1 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 100-44 (.694) 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 six seasons (including this year).
OU has won three of the past four Big 12 Tournaments and has made five championship game appearances in the last seven events.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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