OU Meets Tech in Key Game Saturday

GAME INFORMATION
Ranked No. 25 in this week's AP poll and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (10-4, 1-2) plays host to Texas Tech (10-8, 2-2) on Saturday at noon CST at Lloyd Noble Center. The game 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. The contest will be televised regionally by ABC with Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Steve Lavin (analyst) announcing.

TICKET INFORMATION
A limited number of tickets for Saturday's game will be made available Friday at 8 a.m. Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased online here and from the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668 or 405-325-2424). After reserved tickets sell out, $20 restricted admission tickets will be available Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center's north and east windows beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Tickets | Game Notes PDF | Season Stats

PROMOTIONS
The first 5,000 fans through the Lloyd Noble Center doors Saturday will receive OU player trading cards, courtesy of OG&E. A postgame autograph session featuring the OU players and head coach Kelvin Sampson will be held following the game on the southwest portion of the upper concourse. Fans will be limited to one item per person.

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 238, Sr., 15.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 270, Sr., 12.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.1 apg)
G 3 Terrell Everett (6-4, 188, Sr., 10.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.2 apg)
G 15 David Godbold (6-5, 217, Jr., 5.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G 20 Austin Johnson (6-3, 168, Fr., 3.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.5 apg)

TEXAS TECH PROJECTED STARTERS
F 30 Michael Prince (6-7, 205, Fr., 2.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.1 apg)
F 32 Jon Plefka (6-8, 245, Jr.. 5.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F 44 Darryl Dora (6-9, 250, Jr., 6.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)
G 3 Martin Zeno (6-5, 202, So., 16.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.7 apg)
G 22 Jarrius Jackson (6-1, 185, Jr., 19.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg)

OU UPDATE
Following one- and two-point losses to Nebraska and Missouri to open Big 12 play, Oklahoma notched a one-point victory at Texas A&M on Saturday, 45-44. Terrell Everett's 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left was the game-winner and improved OU's all-time mark against the Aggies to 24-1. Everett, who scored a game-high 15 points and accounted for the Sooners' final 10 of the game, also hit an important 15-footer with 25 seconds left that drew OU to within two points. Oklahoma trailed 22-17 at halftime and was down by as many as seven in the second half. The Sooners outscored the Aggies 21-13 over the game's final 16 minutes. OU's 45 points were the fewest ever scored by a victorious team in Big 12 conference play.

Taj Gray, who had 13 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots at Texas A&M, leads Oklahoma in all three categories for the season. The senior forward is averaging 15.3 points, 7.9 boards and 1.3 rejections per outing. He is shooting .610 from the field (ranks third in the Big 12) and owns a .778 season free throw percentage (ranks fifth). Fellow senior forward Kevin Bookout ranks second on the squad in scoring and rebounding with his 12.4 and 7.6 averages. Bookout, OU's career leader in field goal percentage (.585), is shooting .622 from the field this year. He has grabbed at least seven rebounds in each of the last six and is averaging 8.7 during the stretch.

Everett ranks third on the squad in scoring with his 10.8 points per game and also averages 4.1 rebounds and a team-high 6.2 assists. In three league games, Everett is averaging 12.3 points, 5.7 boards, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals. The senior guard has led OU in assists in 12 of 14 contests this season.

Junior guard Michael Neal also averages double figures in points with 10.1 per contest. He returned to action Saturday after missing two games with a strained groin. Neal, who leads the Sooners with his 31 3-pointers (2.6 per game) and .344 mark from beyond the arc, had three points, two assists and two steals with no turnovers in 22 minutes at Texas A&M.

SATURDAY'S LEFTOVERS
OU was outrebounded for just the second time this season (31-29).
The Sooners' 45 points were their fewest in victory since a 40-39 home win over Air Force on Jan. 31, 1959 (a span of 1,395 games).
Terrell Everett scored OU's first two points of the game and then went scoreless until netting 13 points in the contest's final 11:16. He scored 10 points in the game's final 8:05 and five points in the last 26 seconds.
Kevin Bookout's 11 rebounds were his most since grabbing 11 against Missouri in last year's Big 12 Tournament.
OU entered the game as the Big 12's best free throw shooting team (.746) but was just 8-for-18 (.444) Saturday.
OU won for the 13th straight time against Texas A&M and for the seventh consecutive time in College Station.

ABOUT TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech comes to Norman with a 10-8 overall record and a 1-4 road mark. The Red Raiders are 2-2 in conference play with home wins over Baylor (79-61) and Iowa State (76-73), and losses at Texas A&M (63-55) and Texas (80-46 on Tuesday). Tech, which leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (.386), is shooting .458 overall and .707 from the free throw line. Opponents are shooting .422 from the field and .341 from beyond the arc.

The Red Raiders' top two scorers are guards. Junior Jarrius Jackson ranks second in the Big 12 with his 19.3 points per game while sophomore Martin Zeno contributes 16.4 per contest to rank eighth in the league. Jackson has made a team-high 36 3-pointers (2.0 per game) and is shooting .434 from long range. He also leads the team with his 82 made free throws, 98 attempts and .837 percentage. The left-handed Zeno is shooting .514 from the field and also gets to the foul line frequently. He is 69-for-88 from the charity stripe (.784). In conference play, Jackson (21.8 ppg) and Zeno (18.5 ppg) have accounted for 63 percent of Tech's scoring. Freshman forward Dior Lowhorn averages 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 18.7 minutes a contest. He is shooting a team-high .567 from the field. Junior forward Darryl Dora adds 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds a game while junior forward Jon Plefka averages 5.2 points and 4.4 boards.

Head coach Bob Knight is 100-52 (.658) in his fifth year at Texas Tech and is 864-341 (.717) overall in his 40th season.

SERIES WITH THE RED RAIDERS
Oklahoma owns a 22-15 all-time record against Texas Tech and is 13-5 in Norman. The Sooners are 13-8 against the Red Raiders under Kelvin Sampson and own a 6-4 record in Norman. Since Sampson became OU's head coach, Texas Tech has won more games at Lloyd Noble Center (four) than any other Big 12 team (one victory came prior to the formation of the Big 12). Last year's 88-80 Red Raiders victory in Norman snapped a four-game series winning streak at home for OU.

LAST YEAR AGAINST TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech took two of three games against the Sooners last year, including the meeting in Norman (88-81 on Feb. 5). OU closed out the regular season with a 74-54 win in Lubbock on March 5 before the Red Raiders claimed the rubber match, 69-63, one week later in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals in Kansas City. With his 13.7 points per game, Terrell Everett led four Sooners who averaged double figures against Tech last year. Everett also averaged 7.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He nearly recorded a triple-double in Lubbock with 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Taj Gray averaged a double-double with 13.3 points and 10.3 rebounds while Kevin Bookout averaged 10.3 points and 5.7 boards. OU outrebounded Texas Tech by an average of 39.0 to 31.7.

MAKING THE GRADE
The fall semester was a productive one in the classroom for the Sooners. The squad posted a 3.14 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, setting a single-semester record for the 12-year Kelvin Sampson era. Eight of the 12 team members recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Each student-athlete posted at least a 2.5 GPA.

Sophomore Michael Ott earned a team-high 3.75 GPA and was followed by freshman Taylor Griffin (3.71), freshman Austin Johnson (3.63), senior Kevin Bookout (3.50), junior Nate Carter (3.50), sophomore Kellen Sampson (3.40), sophomore Longar Longar (3.00) and junior Michael Neal (3.00). OU's spring semester began Tuesday.

BIG 12 ANNIVERSARY FAN VOTING
Fan voting for the Big 12 Men's and Women's Basketball 10th Anniversary Teams is available through Thursday, Feb. 2, on the Big 12 Web site at www.big12sports.com. Ballots can be accessed through the “Vote” link on the left side of the www.big12sports.com front page. The Big 12 is naming anniversary teams for its sports during 2005-06 to celebrate its 10th anniversary season. The basketball anniversary teams will be selected by a combination of balloting of fans and a media panel.

On the 37-player ballot from Oklahoma are Corey Brewer, Taj Gray, Aaron McGhee, Eduardo Najera and Hollis Price.

QUICK TIPS
Dating back to last year, Oklahoma has outboarded 19 of its last 22 opponents.
OU averaged 13.5 turnovers over its first 10 games but has averaged 16.3 over the last four.
The Sooners held leads of at least seven points in all four losses (10 points at Villanova, nine vs. West Virginia, 10 at Nebraska and seven against Missouri).
Both Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray have shot .500 or better from the field in 13 of 14 games this year. Bookout owns a .622 season mark while Gray is shooting .610.
Bookout needs 43 points to become the 34th member of the 1,000-point club at Oklahoma.
Gray has made 58 of his last 72 free throw attempts (.806) and owns a .778 season mark. He shot .646 last year.
Bookout and Gray have accounted for 307 of OU's 638 points (48 percent) over the last 10 games.
Bookout has grabbed at least seven rebounds in each of the last six games and has at least six boards in each of the last nine outings.
Michael Neal ranks fourth in the Big 12 in 3-pointers made per game (2.6) and has made at least two treys in nine of his 12 games.
Opponents are shooting .379 from 3-point range through 14 games (OU ranks last in the Big 12 in the category). 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 14 games this year, with other games of 19, 17, 17, 15 and 15.
OU has posted double-digit offensive rebounds in all 14 games while foes have done it just six times.
The Sooners have won 24 of their last 26 home games and 72 of their last 78.

WINDOW WIPERS
Oklahoma ranks second in the nation in rebounding margin. The Sooners are outboarding their opponents 530-354 on the year for a per-game margin of +12.6. Only LSU (+15.1) averages a larger rebounding margin. Here are some more rebounding notes.

OU has outrebounded 12 of its 14 opponents. Included were margins of 28 against Samford, 22 against Belmont and Alabama, 20 versus SMU, 18 against Binghamton, 17 versus Missouri and 16 versus Tulsa.
Oklahoma has grabbed 28 offensive boards (16.3 per game) while its foes have secured just 109 (7.8).
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 other games of 19, 17, 17, 15 and 15 offensive boards.
Taj Gray averages a team-high 7.9 rebounds while Kevin Bookout averages 7.6. The last time two Sooners both averaged more than 7.0 rebounds a game was in 1998-99 (Eduardo Najera and Ryan Humphrey averaged 8.3 and 7.5 boards, respectively).
Bookout or Gray have led OU in rebounding in all 14 games (seven times each).
Pro-rated to 40 minutes, Taylor Griffin, a freshman, is averaging a team-high 11.6 boards per outing. He has averaged 11.3 minutes in his 12 games.

BOOKOUT'S HOT HAND
Senior forward Kevin Bookout is having a more-than-solid senior season. A two-time All-American in the shot put (outdoor), Bookout averaged 9.9 points and 6.1 rebounds a game while shooting .578 from the field and .556 from the free throw line over his first three years (he missed more than half of his sophomore season with a shoulder injury). This season, he is averaging 12.4 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting .622 from the field and .686 from the foul line. Over the last six contests, Bookout is averaging 13.3 points and 8.7 boards while shooting .777 from the free throw line (14-for-18).

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 17.3 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting .633 from the field over the last 10 contests. Gray, who averages 15.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on the year, scored a career-high 31 points in a loss to West Virginia on Dec. 22. He played 30 minutes once in the OU's first seven games but has played at least that many in each of the team's last seven.

CHARITY CASE
Despite a season-low .444 performance on Saturday at Texas A&M (8-for-18), Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 with its .727 team free throw percentage (Oklahoma State is shooting .728). Last year, OU ranked sixth in the conference with a .690 season mark and shot .675 in league games to rank 10th. The Sooners have shot better than .750 in eight of their 14 games. Taj Gray ranks fifth in the Big 12 with his .778 season mark while Kevin Bookout ranks 14th with a .686 figure. Nate Carter is shooting .791 from the foul line (he is one make shy of the minimum needed to qualify in the category) while Terrell Everett and Michael Neal own .759 and .727 marks.

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 12 games, OU has gone 53-for-194 (.273) from beyond the arc to drop its season figure to .299 (ranks 11th in the Big 12). Junior guard Michael Neal is 31-for-90 (.344) from 3-point range on the year while the rest of the squad is only 39-for-144 (.271). Terrell Everett ranks second on the team with 15 3-pointers while David Godbold has made 13.

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 69-for-111 (.622) from the field this year and has upped his career mark to .585, bettering Wayman Tisdale's .578 figure that previously ranked No. 1 in school annals. Bookout, who has started 92 of his 93 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 6.2 assists per game (he trails only Iowa State's Will Blalock, who averages 6.6). 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 36 times in his 47 career games, including 12 times in 14 games this year.

WANTED: DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
The Sooners have allowed 60.1 points per game third fewest in the Big 12 but the figure would be significantly lower if OU didn't rank ninth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense and last in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Oklahoma is allowing foes to shoot .437 from the field and .379 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.

BIG 12 KING
Kelvin Sampson has amassed 101 regular season Big 12 victories, most in league history. He is 101-46 (.687) 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 118-52) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed (he is 228-81).

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).

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.

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.

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 127-13 (.907) when reaching the 80-point plateau. OU has won 44 of its last 47 and 60 of its last 64 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 21 times in 78 games (27 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 101-46 (.687) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 154-22 (.875) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 72 of its last 78 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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