OU Looks for 23rd Straight Against Baylor

GAME INFORMATION
Ranked No. 24 in this week's AP poll and No. 22 in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (11-4, 2-2) plays at Baylor (0-4, 0-4) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST inside the Ferrell Center. The game 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. The contest will be televised in Oklahoma by the Sooner Sports Network (KWTV 9/Cox 10 in OKC and Cox 78 in Tulsa) with Bob Carpenter (play-by-play) and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst) announcing.

OU UPDATE
After playing four straight games that were decided by three points or fewer (Oklahoma went 2-2), the Sooners posted a 12-point win against Texas Tech on Saturday in Norman, 60-48. OU got out of the gate quickly and took a 16-2 lead at the 13:30 mark. The Sooners defense was stellar in the opening 20 minutes, limiting the Red Raiders to just five points in the first 14 minutes and only 12 for the half. It was the fewest points scored in a half by an OU conference opponent under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. Junior guard Michael Neal scored a team-high 15 points, 12 of them on four 3-pointers in the game's final four minutes after Texas Tech had cut a 22-point OU lead to two points.

Game Notes PDF | Season Stats | ESPN College GameDay Visits

Taj Gray, who was held to seven points against Tech but pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds, leads Oklahoma in both categories for the season. The senior forward is averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 boards per outing. He is shooting .587 from the field and owns a .760 season free throw percentage (ranks seventh in the Big 12). Fellow senior forward Kevin Bookout (nine points and 10 boards versus Texas Tech) ranks second on the squad in scoring and rebounding with his 12.1 and 7.7 averages. Bookout, OU's career leader in field goal percentage (.582), is shooting .598 from the field this year. He has grabbed at least seven boards in each of the last seven games and is averaging 8.9 during the stretch.

Senior guard Terrell Everett ranks third on the team in scoring with his 10.8 points per game and also averages 3.9 rebounds and a team-high 6.3 assists. In four league games, Everett is averaging a team-high 12.0 points, 4.5 boards, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals. He has led OU in assists in 13 of 15 contests this season.

Neal, who was named Big 12 Co-Rookie of the Week on Monday, also averages double figures in points with 10.5 per contest. He missed OU's first two league games with a strained groin but is averaging 9.0 points and is 5-for-11 from 3-point range in two outings since. Neal leads the Sooners with his 35 3-pointers (2.7 per game) and .361 mark from beyond the arc.

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 238, Sr., 14.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 270, Sr., 12.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 0.1 apg)
G 3 Terrell Everett (6-4, 188, Sr., 10.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 6.3 apg)
G 15 David Godbold (6-5, 217, Jr., 4.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg)
G 20 Austin Johnson (6-3, 168, Fr., 4.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.6 apg)

BAYLOR PROJECTED STARTERS
F 20 Tim Bush (6-6, 235, Jr., 4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.5 apg)
F 32 Tommy Swanson (6-10, 225, Sr., 1.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)
C 15 Mamadou Diene (7-0, 240, Fr., 5.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)
G 0 Curtis Jerrells (6-1, 200, Fr., 7.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.5 apg)
G 14 Aaron Bruce (6-3, 195, So., 10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)

ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY HEADS TO NORMAN
Although it is no stranger to Norman, ESPN College GameDay will make its first ever visit to Lloyd Noble Center this weekend in advance of OU's Saturday (8 p.m. CST) men's basketball game against Texas. On hand for Saturday's 10-11 a.m. CST show will be Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Andy Katz. Dick Vitale will join the crew for the 7-8 p.m. show. Lloyd Noble Center's west doors will open Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (admission is free) and fans will be allowed onto the court, serving as the background for the College GameDay set. A Lloyd Noble Center segment will begin the 9 a.m. SportsCenter.

In conjunction with College GameDay's visit, a Dick Vitale sound-alike contest will be held Friday from noon to 1 at the Oklahoma Memorial Union food court. Students may call 405-325-7811 for more information. Also, OU athletics officials are planning a “WhiteOUt the Lloyd Noble Center” promotion whereby each reserved seat ticketholder will be given a “Cheer Like a Champion” T-shirt at Saturday's game. The T-shirts will be provided by Carl's Jr., Hudiburg Auto Group and USA Screen Printing.

College GameDay has visited Norman and the OU campus four previous times, all for football events.

SATURDAY'S LEFTOVERS
Oklahoma outrebounded its 13th opponent of the year in 15 games (38-23). The Sooners ruled the offensive glass, 18-6. It was the 15th time in 15 outings that OU grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds.
Michael Neal made four 3-point attempts on five OU possesions during a span of 2:47 with under four minutes remaining in the game.
Oklahoma led by 22 points (34-12) early in the second half before Texas Tech trimmed the margin to two (40-38). OU responded with an 11-2 run to go up 51-40.
OU's 14 steals were its second most of the season (15 on Nov. 30 at Tulsa).
The Sooners held their second straight opponent to a point total in the 40s (Texas A&M scored 44 on Jan. 14).
Taj Gray (11) and Kevin Bookout (10) both had double-digit rebounds for the first time of the season.
OU's 21 turnovers were a season high and Texas Tech's 21 were an opponent season high.

ABOUT BAYLOR
Wednesday's game will mark just the fifth of the season for Baylor, which did not play any non-conference contests due to NCAA sanctions. The Bears are 0-2 at home and 0-2 on the road with losses at Texas Tech (79-61), versus Oklahoma State (66-48), at Colorado (81-48) and versus Texas (66-47). BU is shooting .327 from the field, .294 from 3-point range and .538 from the foul line while opponents are shooting .479 overall and .408 from long range.

Sophomore guard Aaron Bruce is the only Bear who averages double figures in points (10.5). Bruce has made nine 3-pointers on 28 attempts (.321) and also averages 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a team-high 31.8 minutes a game. Freshman guards Henry Dugat (has not started) and Curtis Jerrells (has started all four games) are scoring 8.8 and 7.3 points a game, respectively. Jerrells also averages 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 3.5 assists. A third freshman, forward Kevin Rogers, averages 6.8 points and 4.8 boards. Junior guard/forward Patrick Fields tallied 20 points Saturday versus Texas after scoring a total of five in Baylor's first three games. Fields is now averaging 6.3 points a contest. He is 5-for-10 from 3-point territory (he was 5-for-6 against Texas).

Head coach Scott Drew is 17-44 (.386) in his third year at Baylor and is 37-55 (.402) overall in his fourth season.

SERIES WITH THE BEARS
With a 22-game winning streak against Baylor in hand, the Sooners own a 27-5 series advantage. Oklahoma, which is 20-0 against the Bears under Kelvin Sampson, owns a 12-2 series lead in games played in Waco and has won 12 straight there. The last Baylor win against OU came on Dec. 6, 1977, in Norman (75-67) and the last Baylor victory against the Sooners in Waco was on Dec. 4, 1954 (86-79).

LAST YEAR AGAINST BAYLOR
Oklahoma won in Waco last year, 65-61, and in Norman, 103-60. In the first meeting on Jan. 15, Drew Lavender netted 20 points and Kevin Bookout posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Taj Gray added 13 points, eight boards and three blocks while Terrell Everett contributed eight assists. Baylor's Aaron Bruce scored a game-high 21 points. In the rematch, OU set a school record by shooting .661 from the field, tied a season high by shooting .579 from 3-point range (11-for-19) and shot a season-high .875 (14-for-16) from the free throw line. In their final career home game, senior Johnnie Gilbert scored a career-high 13 points and senior Jaison Williams had 15 points and career highs in assists (10) and steals (four). It was his only career double-double. Gray scored a team-high 16 points for OU while Bruce netted a game-high 22 for Baylor.

QUICK TIPS
Dating back to last year, Oklahoma has outboarded 20 of its last 23 opponents.
OU averaged 13.5 turnovers over its first 10 games but has averaged 17.2 over the last five.
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 15 games this year. Bookout owns a .598 season mark while Gray is shooting .587.
Bookout needs 34 points to become the 34th member of the 1,000-point club at Oklahoma.
Gray has made 61 of his last 78 free throw attempts (.782) and owns a .760 season mark. He shot .646 last year.
Bookout and Gray have accounted for 323 of OU's 698 points (46 percent) over the last 11 games.
Bookout has grabbed at least seven rebounds in each of the last seven games and has at least six boards in each of the last 10 outings.
Michael Neal ranks third in the Big 12 in 3-pointers made per game (2.7) and has made at least two treys in 10 of his 13 games.
Opponents are shooting .381 from 3-point range (OU ranks 11th 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 15 games this year, with other games of 19, 18, 17, 17, 15 and 15.
OU has posted double-digit offensive rebounds in all 15 games while foes have done it just six times.
The Sooners have won 25 of their last 27 home games and 73 of their last 79.

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 Jan. 17.

WINDOW WIPERS
Oklahoma ranks second in the nation in rebounding margin. The Sooners are outboarding their opponents 568-377 on the year for a per-game margin of +12.6. Only LSU (+13.4) averages a larger rebounding margin. Here are some more rebounding notes.

OU has outrebounded 13 of its 15 opponents. Included were margins of 28 against Samford, 22 against Belmont and Alabama, 20 versus SMU, 18 against Binghamton, 17 versus Missouri, 16 versus Tulsa and 15 against Texas Tech.
Oklahoma has grabbed 246 offensive boards (16.4 per game) while its foes have secured just 115 (7.7).
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, 18, 17, 17, 15 and 15 offensive boards.
Taj Gray averages a team-high 8.1 rebounds while Kevin Bookout averages 7.7. 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 15 games (eight times by Gray and seven by Bookout).
Pro-rated to 40 minutes, Taylor Griffin, a freshman, is averaging a team-high 11.4 boards per outing. He has averaged 11.6 minutes in his 13 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 12.1 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting .598 from the field and .692 from the foul line. Over the last seven contests, Bookout is leading the team with his 12.7 points and 8.9 boards while shooting .789 from the free throw line (15-for-19). He leads the Big 12 (league games) in rebounding with 9.3 per game.

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 16.4 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting .602 from the field over the last 11 contests. Gray, who averages 14.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 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 seven of the team's last eight.

CHARITY CASE
Despite shooting .533 (16-for-30) from the foul line over the last two games, Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 with its .724 team free throw percentage (Oklahoma State is shooting .725). 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 15 games. Taj Gray ranks seventh in the Big 12 with his .760 season mark. 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 .742 and .739 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 13 games, OU has gone 59-for-210 (.281) from beyond the arc to drop its season figure to .304 (ranks 11th in the Big 12). Junior guard Michael Neal is 35-for-97 (.361) from 3-point range on the year while the rest of the squad is only 41-for-153 (.268). 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 73-for-122 (.598) from the field this year and has upped his career mark to .582, bettering Wayman Tisdale's .578 figure that previously ranked No. 1 in school annals. Bookout, who has started 93 of his 94 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 6.3 assists per game (he trails only Iowa State's Will Blalock, who averages 6.6) and leads the conference in league games with his 6.5 average. 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 37 times in his 48 career games, including 13 times in 15 outings this year.

WANTED: DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
The Sooners have allowed 59.3 points per game third fewest in the Big 12 but the figure would be significantly lower if OU didn't rank eighth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense and 11th in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Oklahoma is allowing foes to shoot .436 from the field and .381 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 102 regular season Big 12 victories, most in league history. He is 102-46 (.689) 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 119-52) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed (he is 229-81).

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 79 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 102-46 (.689) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 155-22 (.876) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 73 of its last 79 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

OU Looks for 23rd Straight Against Baylor

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