Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Auburn on February 24, 2026 , Win , 91, to, 79
Final
Men's Basketball
91
vs Auburn
79
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Battle Hogs Saturday at 2
December 13, 2007 | Men's Basketball
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GAME PREVIEW
After a week off for final exams, Oklahoma (7-3) returns to action against Arkansas (8-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. CST at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners are 5-1 in Norman this year and are coming off a 66-62 home loss to Stephen F. Austin. Arkansas, which has yet to play a true road game, has won six straight contests and is receiving votes (28th and 27th, respectively) in this week's AP and ESPN/USA Today top-25 polls.
Saturday's game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC-AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KMOD-FM 97.5 in Tulsa; Sirius channel 126) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 (Cox 28/721 in OKC; Cox 26/721 in Tulsa) with Jon Sciambi and Doug Gottlieb announcing.
TICKET INFORMATION
• Tickets for Saturday's game are available for $5 to fans affected by this week's ice storm (issued on a first-come, first-served basis). Fans should call the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-4668 or (405) 325-2424. Lloyd Noble Center ticket windows will open Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
• OU students will be admitted to Saturday's game free of charge with a valid OU I.D. (west entrance).
• Family packs are available for Saturday's game. For $10, fans get a game ticket, a hot dog, a soft drink and a coupon for a free T-shirt (a minimum purchase of four tickets is required).
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"NOTE" WORTHY
• Arkansas leads 12-9 in the overall series against OU, but the Sooners have won the last four meetings.
• OU's five starters (Tony Crocker, Blake Griffin, Austin Johnson, Omar Leary and Longar Longar) are shooting a combined .526 from the field on the year.
• Oklahoma held opponents to 59.6 points a game last year, the lowest figure since the 1977-78 season (a span of 29 years). Through 10 games this year, OU is surrendering 57.7 points a contest and ranks eighth nationally by allowing foes to shoot just .362 from the field.
• OU is averaging 73.4 points per game. Only once in the last five years has it averaged that many points per contest for a whole season (75.2 in 2004-05).
• The Sooners have used six different starting lineups in their 10 games (they have employed the same one the last three outings).
• Tony Crocker ranks second in the Big 12 with his .526 3-point shooting (20-for-38). He has made at least three treys in a game four times (he is 17-for-22 in those contests).
• OU has attempted four more field goals than its opponents this year (553 to 549) but has made 65 more of them (264 to 199).
• Austin Johnson is averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 boards while going 16-for-28 (.571) from the field and 8-for-16 (.500) from 3-point range over the last four games.
• OU has recorded 26 consecutive winning seasons, more than any other Big 12 program. Kansas ranks second (24) and Oklahoma State ranks third (19).
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OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners lost for just the second time in their last 60 home non-conference games last Saturday as Stephen F. Austin (7-1) left Lloyd Noble Center with a 66-62 victory. Oklahoma couldn't overcome a cold shooting first half (.269 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range) and never led after the half. Down five at intermission, OU watched the Lumberjacks go up by as many nine (44-35) with 11:46 remaining. The Sooners got to within one (46-45) but missed an opportunity to knot the score by missing a free throw with 5:06 left. Stephen F. Austin rebuilt its lead to eight (55-47) with 1:49 remaining and withstood an OU rally that cut the margin to as few as two with 22 seconds on the clock. The Sooners shot .400 from the field on the afternoon and registered their worst 3-point shooting effort of the year (2-for-14). The Lumberjacks shot .408 overall and were 7-for-19 from behind the arc.
Sophomore guard Tony Crocker, who averaged 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while going 15-for-21 from the field (.714) from the field and 9-for-11 from 3-point range (.818) over the previous two contests (wins at TCU and versus Tulsa), was held to four points (all free throws), four rebounds and one assist against Stephen F. Austin. He was 0-for-4 from the field. Crocker still averages 12.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 2.8 assists per game on the year, and is shooting .534 overall, .526 from behind the arc (ranks second in Big 12) and .852 from the free throw line.
Forward Blake Griffin is assembling one of the best freshman campaigns in school history and leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg), steals (1.6 spg) and field goal percentage (.573). He has scored in double figures in eight of 10 games. Griffin ranks 15th in the Big 12 in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage. He recorded three double-doubles in his first six games but has gone four straight without one. Longar Longar, Griffin's starting frontcourt mate, is averaging 11.9 points a game to rank third on the squad and 6.9 boards to rank second. Over the last three games, he is averaging 14.7 points and 7.3 points. Longar paced the team with 19 points, eight boards and two assists against Stephen F. Austin.
Prior to last Saturday's defeat, Austin Johnson and Omar Leary had enjoyed a solid stretch of play. Johnson had averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 boards and 3.3 handouts over three games while going 13-for-18 from the field and 7-for-10 from 3-point distance. That was before a 3-for-10 shooting game (1-for-6 on 3's) against Stephen F. Austin in which he finished with nine points. Johnson is now averaging 8.1 points a game on the year while sporting a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. Leary, who has started the last eight contests, has 12 assists over the last three outings (he had eight in OU's Dec. 2 game at TCU). The 5-10 lefty began the year 8-for-13 (.615) from 3-point distance but is just 3-for-16 (.188) over the last five games. He has been held to a combined four points over the last two outings and is now averaging 6.9 points on the year while shooting .472 from the field.
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LEFTOVERS
• Oklahoma fell to 0-3 this year when trailing at halftime (Stephen F. Austin led 25-20) and lost for the first time this year when winning the opening tip (it is now 5-1).
• For just the second time this season, OU committed more turnovers (15) than its opponent (13).
• OU shot .269 from the field in the first half (7-for-26) before rebounding for a .542 mark after halftime (13-for-24).
• The Sooners finished 2-for-14 from 3-point distance and didn't make their first trey until the 6:31 mark of the second half.
• Oklahoma's seven assists marked a season low.
PREVIEWING ARKANSAS
Returning its top nine scorers from last year's NCAA Tournament team, Arkansas is 8-1 and coming off a 67-42 home win over Texas-San Antonio on Wednesday in which it held the Roadrunners to .341 field goal shooting and posted a 43-23 rebounding advantage. The Razorbacks suffered their only loss of the year against Providence, 67-51, in the second round of the O'Reilly ESPNU Puerto Rico Tip-Off. They are 6-0 at home and 2-1 in neutral site games.
Sophomore guard Patrick Beverley leads a balanced scoring attack by averaging 12.8 points a contest. Last year's Southeastern Conference Newcomer and Freshman of the Year, Beverley also averages 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists, as well as team highs of 1.7 3-pointers and 3.8 made free throws per game. He did not start for the first time of the year on Wednesday but still grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. Senior forward Darian Townes ranks second on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and first in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg) despite coming off the bench in all nine outings. Townes is shooting .553 from the field in 21.1 minutes per contest. Senior guard Gary Ervin scored a season-high 17 points against Texas-San Antonio and is averaging 10.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and a team-high-tying 2.9 assists per game while shooting .522 from the floor. Two more seniors, guard Sonny Weems and forward Charles Thomas average 9.4 and 8.8 points, respectively. Weems has started 40 of his 43 career games and is also averaging 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season. Thomas, a 29-game starter last year, is collecting 4.6 boards per game while shooting .556 from the field.
John Pelphrey, who starred as a player at Kentucky (1989-92), is in his first season as Arkansas' head coach. He compiled an 80-67 (.544) record the last five seasons as head coach at South Alabama, leading the Jaguars to the 2006 NCAA Tournament and the 2007 NIT (lost in first round of each).
SERIES WITH THE RAZORBACKS
Saturday's game will mark the 22nd meeting between Oklahoma and Arkansas and the ninth in Norman. Despite OU's current four-game winning streak over the Razorbacks, Arkansas leads the all-time series by a 12-9 count. The Sooners lead 5-3 in Norman. OU swept a four-game home-and-home series between the 1998-99 and 2001-02 seasons, with an 87-57 win in Norman in 1998-99 (Arkansas was ranked 19th), a 66-52 victory in Fayetteville in 1999-00, an 88-79 overtime triumph in Norman in 2000-01 (OU was ranked 18th and Arkansas 25th) and a 69-54 win in Fayetteville in 2001-02.
THE LAST TIME IN NORMAN
The last time Oklahoma and Arkansas met in Norman, the Sooners pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in school history. OU rallied from nine points down with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to force overtime and eventually beat the 25th-ranked Razorbacks 88-79. Kelley Newton, who missed his first four 3-point attempts of the night, buried treys at the 1:08 and 0:34 marks of regulation to cut the margin to two (72-70). T.J. Cleveland put Arkansas up by three with a free throw with 30 seconds left before Hollis Price nailed two from the line to cut the Razorbacks' lead to one with 24 seconds remaining. Arkansas' Carl Baker made the first of two foul shots a second later to make the score 74-72, and then OU's Daryan Selvy rebounded an Aaron McGhee miss and converted a 10-foot putback to force overtime. Price paced the Sooners with nine points in the extra session and OU held the Razorbacks without a field goal as all five of their overtime points came at the foul line. Price scored all 21 of his points after halftime with the help of a 13-for-15 free throw effort. Nolan Johnson scored 18 points and McGhee added 15 for OU while Selvy recorded a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Arkansas was led by Jannero Pargo's 14 points.
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Last year, Oklahoma's strength under first-year head coach Jeff Capel was its defense. The Sooners held opponents to 59.6 points a game (the lowest average in 29 years) and to .406 field goal shooting (the second lowest figure over the past 46 seasons). Through 10 games in 2007-08, OU's defense has been just as good, if not better...
• OU is surrendering just 57.7 points per game (ranks third in the Big 12) and is allowing opponents to shoot .362 from the field (ranks second in the league and eighth nationally) and .301 from 3-point land (ranks second in the Big 12).
• No opponent has scored more than 66 points this season and six of OU's 10 foes have been held under 60 points.
• Second-ranked Memphis, which averaged 78.9 points last year and is averaging 82.3 points this season, was held to 63 points Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden.
• Through 10 games, Oklahoma has forced eight of its opponents into at least as many turnovers as it has committed. Foes are averaging 16.1 turnovers per contest (OU is averaging 14.2).
• All nine opponents have shot under .460 from the field and seven have finished with a mark less than .400. Gardner-Webb, which won at Kentucky by 16 points when it shot .531 from the field, was held to a .279 performance against OU in New York.
HOT HANDS
With the exception of the Memphis and USC games when they combined for a .362 field goal mark, the Sooners have displayed solid shooting this year. On the season, Oklahoma sports a .477 mark from the field and a .371 figure from 3-point range (last year OU shot .435 and .326, respectively). OU's five starters are all shooting at least .472 from the floor. Forward Blake Griffin owns a team-high .573 field goal mark and is followed by guard Tony Crocker (.534), center Longar Longar (.511), guard Austin Johnson (.500) and guard Omar Leary (.472). Combined, the quintet owns a .526 field goal mark.
The starting guard trio of Crocker, Johnson and Leary has combined to shoot .439 from 3-point range (43-for-98). Crocker is shooting .526 from behind the arc (20-for-38) to rank second in the Big 12, Johnson is shooting .387 (12-for-31) and Leary is shooting .379 (11-for-29). Taylor Griffin owns a .455 mark from long range but has attempted considerably fewer shots (he is 5-for-11). Seven Sooners have made at least five treys each through 10 games.
FOR STARTERS
Even though he has started the same five players in each of the last three contests, head coach Jeff Capel has used six different starting lineups through 10 games. Nine different Sooners have started this season, with only Blake Griffin getting the nod in each outing. The five who have started the last three games are guards Tony Crocker, Austin Johnson and Omar Leary, forward Blake Griffin and center Longar Longar.
GET THE ROCK TO T-CROCK
Guard Tony Crocker, who has had a highly productive sophomore season, was especially impressive in two recent games. Averaging 10.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest through OU's first seven outings, Crocker averaged 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in OU's wins at TCU (Dec. 2) and versus Tulsa (Dec. 5). The San Antonio, Texas, product shot .714 from the floor (15-for-21) in the two games and a torrid .818 from behind the 3-point arc (9-for-11). Here is a recap of Crocker's week...
• Crocker, who entered the game at TCU with a career high of 19 points (versus Villanova last December), scored 20 in the first half against the Frogs when he was 6-for-7 from 3-point range. He finished the game with 24 points (he did not attempt a 3-pointer in the second half) and a career-high-tying nine rebounds.
• Against Tulsa, Crocker scored 22 points (with the help of 3-for-4 shooting from long range) despite not scoring until 10:06 remained in the first half and exiting the game for the final time with 6:19 left in the second. He added three boards, a game-high five assists and committed no turnovers.
Crocker is now averaging 12.1 points (ranks second on team), 4.3 rebounds (ranks third), 2.8 assists (ranks first) while shooting .534 from the field, .526 from 3-point land (ranks second in Big 12) and .852 from the free throw line.
HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS
Lloyd Noble Center has been overly kind to the Sooners, as they have won 48 of the last 55 games and 103 of the last 115 in the building. OU is 415-70 (.856) at Lloyd Noble since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners have posted home winning streaks of 51 games (1987-90) and 37 games (2001-03). The 37-game streak is a Big 12 Conference record (the league's first year was in 1996-97).
HOME COURT NON-CONFERENCE RULE
The Sooners have won 58 of their last 60 non-conference home games (and 66 of their last 69). Since the 1999-2000 season, only non-conference opponents Cincinnati (Dec. 22, 1999), Villanova (Dec. 6, 2006) and Stephen F. Austin (last Saturday) have posted wins at Lloyd Noble Center.
"SOONER HOOPS WITH JEFF CAPEL" NOW AIRING
Hosted by Bob Carpenter, the 2007-08 version of the "Sooner Hoops with Jeff Capel" television show began airing on Dec. 6. The 30-minute program, which is taped at OU's SoonerVision studio, will be seen across the state and on regional and national stations this year. In Oklahoma City, the show will air on Cox Cable Channel 7 on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., on KWTV Channel 9 on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and on KAUT Channel 43 on Sundays at 8:30 p.m. In Tulsa, it will be shown on Cox Cable Channel 7 on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and KQCW Channel 19 on Saturdays at 3:30 p.m.
"Sooner Hoops with Jeff Capel" will also air in the Enid, Guymon, Lawton, Ponca City and Woodward markets inside the state of Oklahoma, as well as in Sherman, Texas, and Kansas City, Mo. It will be carried regionally by FSN Southwest and nationally by CSTV (beginning Jan. 12) and Fox College Sports. Check local listings for air dates and stations.
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