OU Tries for Sixth Straight at Kansas

GAME INFORMATION
Ranked No. 19 in this week's AP poll and No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (14-4, 5-2) plays at Kansas (14-6, 5-2) on Sunday at noon CST inside Allen Fieldhouse. 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 nationally by CBS (KWTV 9/Cox 10 in OKC and KOTV 6/Cox 6 in Tulsa) with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Clark Kellogg (analyst) announcing.

NOTEWORTHY
Oklahoma and Kansas are tied (with Colorado) for second place in the Big 12 at 5-2 ... OU has won four of its last six games against Kansas ... Michael Neal is 17 for his last 28 (.607) from 3-point range ... Terrell Everett is averaging 16.4 points over the last five games ... Kevin Bookout needs four points to reach 1,000 for his career ... No current Sooner has ever played at Allen Fieldhouse.

Notes PDF | Season Stats | Gameday Central

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 238, Sr., 15.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.4 bpg)
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 270, Sr., 11.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.8 bpg)
G 3 Terrell Everett (6-4, 188, Sr., 12.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 6.3 apg)
G 15 David Godbold (6-5, 217, Jr., 5.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G 20 Austin Johnson (6-3, 168, Fr., 3.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.8 apg)

KANSAS PROJECTED STARTERS
F 30 Julian Wright (6-8, 218, Fr., 7.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)
C 24 Sasha Kaun (6-11, 246, So., 9.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.0 bpg)
G 3 Russell Robinson (6-1, 196, So., 8.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.5 apg)
G 15 Mario Chalmers (6-2, 190, Fr., 9.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 4.1 apg)
G 25 Brandon Rush (6-6, 207, Fr., 14.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.4 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Terrell Everett's 3-pointer with 2:38 remaining and his steal and dunk with 52 seconds left helped seal the Sooners' fifth straight win, a 71-63 triumph over visiting Texas A&M on Wednesday that placed Oklahoma in a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12. OU led by seven at halftime and by as many as 14 in the second half (with 6:18 remaining) before the Aggies trimmed the margin to three points (64-61) with 3:10 to go. Everett's five late points were part of a 7-2 OU run that ended the game. The Sooners shot .500 from the field (their third straight .500-or-better game) and canned 8-of-19 3-point attempts (.421) while outrebounding the Aggies 40-27. Michael Neal made four 3-pointers for OU and finished with a game-high and career-high-tying 16 points.

Taj Gray, who had 13 points, five boards and four blocks against Texas A&M, leads Oklahoma in both scoring and rebounding this year with his 15.1 and 7.8 averages. The senior forward is shooting .608 from the field to rank second in the Big 12 and has shot .500 or better from the field in 16 of the team's 18 games this year. Fellow senior forward Kevin Bookout has played the last three games with a fractured navicular bone in his left wrist (he sustained the injury Jan. 21 against Texas Tech) and has averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 boards against Baylor, Texas and Texas A&M. Bookout ranks third on the squad in scoring and second in rebounding with his 11.8 and 7.3 season averages. OU's career leader in field goal percentage (.580), he is shooting .587 this year.

Everett, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, ranks second on the team in scoring with his 12.1 points per game and also averages 4.4 rebounds and a team-high 6.3 assists. In seven league games, Everett is averaging a team-high 14.9 points, 5.6 boards, 6.4 assists and 1.9 steals. He has led OU in assists in 16 of 18 contests this season.

Neal, OU's hot-shooting sixth man, is averaging 15.0 points over the last four games on 17-for-32 (.531) 3-point shooting. He has made at least four treys in each of the last four outings (4-for-7 against Texas Tech, 5-for-7 at Baylor, 4-for-8 against Texas and 4-for-9 against A&M. The junior, who missed OU's first two league games with a strained groin, is averaging 11.3 points on the year and leads the team with 48 treys and a .397 3-point percentage.

WEDNESDAY'S LEFTOVERS
The Sooners won their 14th straight game against Texas A&M and improved to 25-1 all-time versus the Aggies.
OU turned in a .500 field goal effort, marking its third straight game of .500 or better.
The Sooners grabbed double-digit offensive rebounds (14) for the 18th time in 18 games.
Michael Neal made four 3-pointers, marking the fourth straight game he made at least four treys.
Oklahoma endured 10-for-15 3-point shooting by Texas A&M. It was the most treys made by an OU opponent since Missouri canned 11 on Jan. 21, 2002 (a span of 135 games).
Texas A&M's Acie Law scored 13 points in the first half but was held scoreless after intermission.
Oklahoma improved to 6-0 this year and to 92-17 under Kelvin Sampson against teams from Texas.

ABOUT KANSAS
After starting 1-2 in Big 12 play with a four-point home loss to Kansas State and a three-point overtime loss at Missouri, Kansas has won four straight games by an average of 24 points. The Jayhawks are 9-2 at Allen Fieldhouse this season with their other defeat coming to Nevada (72-70) on Dec. 1. KU ranks No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage defense by allowing opponents to shoot just .358 from the field, while ranking second in the Big 12 with its .486 field goal percentage. It is outrebounding its foes by 7.5 a game (ranks third in the league).

Freshman guard Brandon Rush leads the Jayhawks in scoring and rebounding with his 14.6 and 6.0 averages, and also contributes 2.4 assists a game. Rush, who is shooting .524 from the field and .525 from 3-point territory (31-for-59), is averaging 18.0 points and 7.4 boards a game in Big 12 play. He registered 24 points and 11 rebounds in KU's 86-52 win over Texas Tech on Monday. Freshman guard Mario Chalmers, the reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week, is averaging 9.5 points, 4.1 assists and 2.7 steals a game (14.6 points, 6.0 assists and 3.6 steals in league action). He scored 21 points at Iowa State last Saturday. Sasha Kaun, a sophomore center, contributes 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds a game while shooting .576 from the field. Sophomore guard Russell Robinson and sophomore forward Darnell Jackson are averaging 8.9 and 8.3 points a contest, respectively, with Jackson supplying 9.7 points and 6.6 boards per Big 12 outing.

Head coach Bill Self is 61-22 (.734) in his third year at Kansas and is 268-127 (.678) overall in his 13th season.

SERIES WITH THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas, which is the only Big 12 program to own an all-time winning record against the Sooners, holds a 129-64 series advantage and is 66-16 against Oklahoma in Lawrence. OU has won three of the series' last four games and four of the last six. Kansas is the lone Big 12 program that Kelvin Sampson has not beaten on the road (he is 0-6 in Lawrence as OU's head coach) and the Sooners have lost seven straight at Allen Fieldhouse. Oklahoma's last win in Lawrence was on Feb. 17, 1993 (80-77). The two programs met in the 1988 national championship game with the sixth-seeded Jayhawks upsetting the top-seeded Sooners at Kansas City's Kemper Arena, 83-79.

LAST YEAR AGAINST KANSAS
Taj Gray (six points, one rebound) and Kevin Bookout (five points, five rebounds) were held to a combined 11 points and six boards, so the Sooners rode strong performances by starting guards Terrell Everett and David Godbold, and reserve forward Johnnie Gilbert, to post a 71-63 win over Kansas on Feb. 21, 2005, in Norman. Everett finished with a game-high 19 points and added eight rebounds and four assists while David Godbold contributed a then-career-high 15 points, seven boards and two assists. Gilbert played 30 minutes off the bench and logged 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. OU led by 19 late in the first half and by 15 at halftime (37-22) before the Jayhawks drew to within one (49-48) with 7:38 left in the second half. The Sooners closed the game on a 22-15 run. Kansas shot .523 from the field and was led by Wayne Simien's 17 points and Keith Langford's 16.

QUICK TIPS
Dating back to last year, Oklahoma has outboarded 23 of its last 26 opponents.
Of Kansas' 63 points against OU last year, only two were scored by players on this year's KU squad (Sasha Kaun).
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).
Taj Gray has shot .500 or better from the field in 16 of 18 games this year while Kevin Bookout has done it in 15 games. Gray owns a .608 season mark while Bookout is shooting .587.
Bookout needs four points to become the 34th member of the 1,000-point club at Oklahoma.
OU has appeared in the AP top 25 poll in each of the last 23 weeks.
Michael Neal ranks second in the Big 12 in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and has made at least two treys in 13 of his 16 games. He is 17-for-28 from 3-point range over his last 88 minutes of court time.
Opponents are shooting .389 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 18 games this year, with other games of 19, 18, 17, 17, 15 and 15.
OU has posted double-digit offensive boards in all 18 games while foes have done it just eight times.
OU posted a 3.14 team grade point average during the fall semester, a record for the Sooners under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. Eight team members posted at least a 3.0 GPA and all 12 registered at least a 2.5.

LIFTING THE LID
OU shot .435 from the field over its first 15 games and turned in performances of .500 or better just twice. The last three games have told a different story, however, as the Sooners have shot at least .500 in all three and have combined for a .518 mark. Five of the seven Sooners who are averaging at least 10 minutes of court time over the past three games are shooting better than .500 (Taj Gray is shooting .704 during the brief stretch).

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Oklahoma's current five-game winning streak coincides with some gritty defensive performances. During the streak, the Sooners have limited their foes to an average of 55.8 points and to combined .388 field goal shooting. OU has also forced an average of 15.4 turnovers per game during the stretch.

RETURNED TO FORM
Over the last four games, senior guard Terrell Everett has looked like the player that Kelvin Sampson labeled as OU's MVP last year. Everett is averaging 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 steals during the Sooners' five-game winning streak while shooting .500 from the field and .450 from 3-point territory (9-for-20). Everett's recent performances are reminiscent of his efforts late last season when he averaged 14.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals over OU's final 10 games (the Sooners were 8-2 in those contests).

THE REAL DEAL
Michael Neal, nicknamed “Real Deal,” missed OU's first two Big 12 games with a strained groin (the Sooners lost both contests by a combined three points). Neal has returned to play in each of the last five games, all wins. In his five league outings, Neal is averaging 12.6 points and is shooting .514 from beyond the 3-point arc (18-for-35). He is averaging 15.0 points and 4.3 treys over the last four contests.

WINDOW WIPERS
The Sooners are outboarding their opponents 684-466 on the year and lead the nation with a +12.1 rebounding margin per game. LSU ranks second with a +11.3 margin. Here are some more rebounding notes.

OU has outrebounded 16 of its 18 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 285 offensive boards (15.8 per game) while its foes have secured just 146 (8.1).
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 7.8 rebounds while Kevin Bookout averages 7.3. 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 18 games (10 times by Gray and eight by Bookout).
Freshman Taylor Griffin leads OU in rebounds per minute. Pro-rated to 40 minutes, Griffin is averaging a team-high 12.8 boards per outing. He has averaged 11.8 minutes in his 16 games.

ROCK SOLID BOOKOUT
Senior forward Kevin Bookout is having a more-than-solid senior season. A two-time All-American in the shot put, 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 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting .587 from the field and .647 from the foul line. He ranks fourth in the Big 12 (league games) in rebounding with 7.4 per game, despite playing the last three contests with a broken bone in his left wrist. The wrist and his thumb are heavily taped, limiting his ability to catch the basketball.

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 performed as one of the league's top big men since. The 6-9, 238-pounder is averaging 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds over the last 14 contests while shooting .624 from the field. Gray, who averages 15.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on the year, scored a career-high 31 points in a loss to West Virginia on Dec. 22. He averaged 19.0 points and 7.5 rebounds while going 13-for-18 from the field (.722) in wins over Baylor and Texas last week.

CHARITY CASE
About the only thing Oklahoma has done poorly during its five-game winning streak is convert at the free throw line. The Sooners are just 52-of-92 from the foul line for a .565 figure over the last five contests. Despite its recent troubles, OU still ranks fourth in the league with a .699 season mark.

WINTER WARMTH
Oklahoma endured below-average 3-point shooting over its first 13 games but has turned up the heat in its last five outings. In their first 13 contests, the Sooners shot .294 from beyond the arc and averaged 5.0 treys. Over the past five games, however, OU is shooting .414 from long range and is averaging 7.2 makes. Michael Neal has made 18 treys on 35 attempts (.514) during OU's five-game winning streak while Terrell Everett is 9-for-20 (.450).

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 84-for-143 (.587) from the field this year and has upped his career mark to .580, bettering Wayman Tisdale's .578 figure that previously ranked No. 1 in school annals. Bookout, who has started 96 of his 97 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
Although 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 6.5) and leads the conference in league games with his 6.4 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 40 times in his 51 career games, including 16 times in 18 outings this year.

BIG 12 KING
Kelvin Sampson has amassed 104 regular season Big 12 victories, most in league history. He is 105-46 (.695) 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 122-52) and holds the mark for most overall wins by a conference coach since the Big 12 was formed (he is 232-81).

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 129-13 (.908) when reaching the 80-point plateau. OU has won 46 of its last 49 and 62 of its last 66 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 22 times in 82 games (27 percent of the time). OU finished 20-2 last year when committing fewer (or the same number of) turnovers than its foe.

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.

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 105-46 (.695) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 157-22 (.877) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 75 of its last 81 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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