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
OU vs. West Virginia, Hoops Style
December 27, 2007 | Men's Basketball
|
| ||||||||||||||||
GAME PREVIEW
A winner over Arkansas and Gonzaga in its last two games, Oklahoma (9-3) continues its difficult late December schedule when it travels to face No. 23/23 West Virginia (10-1) on Saturday at 5 p.m. CST. To be played away from the West Virginia campus at the Charleston Civic Center, the game will be considered a true road game for the Sooners for RPI purposes. West Virginia is last year's postseason NIT champion and has won its last eight games this season.
Saturday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC-AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KMOD-FM 97.5 in Tulsa; Sirius channel 114) 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 Scott Graham and Len Elmore calling the action.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"NOTE" WORTHY
• Oklahoma and West Virginia have met on one previous occasion, with the Mountaineers posting a 92-68 win two seasons ago in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City.
• Dating back to last year when it won the postseason NIT, West Virginia has won 15 of its last 16 games.
• Saturday's game will mark Oklahoma's first in the state of West Virginia since Dec. 19-20, 1969, when it competed in the Marshall Invitational in Huntington (OU beat Marshall 80-79 and Xavier 101-89).
• Oklahoma assistant coach Mark Cline is a Williamson, W.Va., native. The 1983 Williamson High School graduate was a McDonald's, Parade and Street & Smith's All-American.
• OU's five leading scorers (Tony Crocker, Blake Griffin, Austin Johnson, Omar Leary and Longar Longar) are shooting a combined .516 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 12 games this year, OU is surrendering 59.8 points a contest and is allowing foes to shoot just .378 from the field.
• OU is averaging 74.1 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 eight different starting lineups in their 12 games.
• Tony Crocker ranks second in the Big 12 with his .510 3-point shooting (26-for-51). He has made at least three treys in a game six times (he is 23-for-35 in those contests).
• OU has attempted four fewer field goals than its opponents this year (670 to 674) but has made 63 more of them (318 to 255).
• Longar Longar has scored at least 16 points in each of the last four games and is averaging 17.0 during the stretch.
• Austin Johnson is averaging 12.0 points while going 23-for-48 (.479) from the field and 12-for-27 (.444) from 3-point range over the last six games.
| ||||||
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners posted their second consecutive "quality" win on Dec. 20, a 72-68 victory over then-No. 18/20 Gonzaga in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City that came five days after an 83-72 home win over Arkansas. Oklahoma overcame poor first-half shooting (.257) against the Bulldogs to net 48 second-half points on .654 shooting. It was OU's most points in a half since the third game of the year against Alcorn State. Rebounding and turnovers helped tell the story of the game, as the Sooners outboarded the Bulldogs 38-29 and held them to only five offensive caroms. OU also committed just five turnovers (its fewest in nearly two full seasons).
Senior center Longar Longar scored a team-high 16 points (11 after halftime and four in the final 2:26) and added three assists against Gonzaga to continue his recent streak of quality play. The 6-11, 234-pounder is averaging 17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots over the last five outings to up his respective season averages to 12.7, 6.7 and 0.9. He is 20-for-30 (.667) from the field over the last three games and is shooting .536 on the year. Frontcourt mate Blake Griffin is assembling one of the best freshman campaigns in school history and leads the Sooners in scoring (13.2 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg), steals (1.4 spg) and field goal percentage (.586). Coming off a 15-point, career-high 14-rebound game against Gonzaga, the forward has scored in double figures in 10 of 12 games and ranks 13th in the Big 12 in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage. Griffin also ranks third in the league with four double-doubles.
Sophomore guard Tony Crocker, the Big 12's second-best 3-point shooter at .510 (26-for-51), canned three more treys against Gonzaga for his sixth game of three or more this year. After scoring a career-high 24 points at TCU (20 by halftime) and another 22 against Tulsa, Crocker was held to four points (all free throws) against Stephen F. Austin. He rebounded for a 12-point, five-rebound, four-assist performance against Arkansas and a 15-point, six-rebound, two-assist game against Gonzaga. Crocker now averages 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 2.8 assists per game on the year while shooting .495 overall and .828 from the free throw line. He has started all but one game.
OU's chief ball-handlers, Austin Johnson and Omar Leary, who each made key 3-pointers against Gonzaga, have played well of late. Johnson scored all nine of his points against Gonzaga in the second half (he was 2-for-3 from behind the arc after the break) and was OU's defensive catalyst the final two minutes. He is averaging 12.0 points over the last six outings (he has scored at least nine points in all six) while shooting .444 (12-for-27) from 3-point distance. Johnson is now averaging 8.9 points a game on the year while sporting a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Leary, who has started eight games but has come off the bench the last two, was 2-for-6 from 3-point range against Gonzaga and is 6-for-10 over the last two games. The 5-10 lefty's 3-pointer with 3:44 left in the contest stopped an 8-0 Gonzaga run and brought the Sooners to within one at 62-61. Leary averages 7.4 points and 2.0 assists per contest on the year while shooting .477 from the field and .436 (17-for-39) from 3-point territory.
GONZAGA LEFTOVERS
• After Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo scored 12 straight points to give the Bulldogs a 66-63 lead with 2:41 left, Jeff Capel switched defensive assignments and had Austin Johnson defend the Bulldogs' point guard. Johnson held Pargo scoreless the rest of the way, forcing two missed shots and blocking a 3-point attempt with six seconds left that could have tied the game.
• For just the second time this season, three Sooners scored at least 15 points. Longar Longar netted 16 while Tony Crocker and Blake Griffin added 15 each.
• OU used its eighth different starting lineup of the year (Tony Crocker, David Godbold, Blake Griffin, Austin Johnson and Longar Longar).
• Crocker was 3-for-5 from 3-point range, marking the fourth time in the last five games he hit at least three treys.
• OU improved to 51-12 (.810) in the All-College Classic and won for the 14th time in the last 15 games in the event.
• The win was OU's first over a top-25 opponent since defeating No. 17 Oklahoma State, 67-60, on Feb. 7 last season.
PREVIEWING WEST VIRGINIA
• West Virginia is 10-1 with wins in each of its last eight games. Its average victory margin on the year is 28.9 points.
• The Mountaineers' only loss (74-72) came to Tennessee (now ranked 11th in the AP poll) on Nov. 23 in Newark, N.J.
• West Virginia has scored at least 70 points in all 11 of its games, at least 80 points in seven contests and at least 100 in two games. It is averaging 86.1 points an outing to rank in the top 10 nationally.
• One of the country's best shooting teams, West Virginia owns a .507 season mark from the field and a .409 mark from behind the arc. It has made 50 more 3-pointers than its opponents and is averaging 9.5 makes per game from long range.
• Thirty-eight percent of West Virginia's field goal attempts this year have been 3-pointers.
• Junior guard Alex Ruoff is averaging a team-high 16.0 points and is shooting .570 from the field and .487 (37-for-76) from 3-point range. Ruoff scored a career-high 28 points against Auburn on Dec. 5 when he made six 3-pointers.
• Junior forward Joe Alexander is averaging 15.5 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds a game, and is 40-for-45 from the free throw line (.889). Alexander scored a career-high 26 points against Duquesne on Dec. 8.
• Sophomore forward Da'Sean Butler is averaging 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds and is 11-for-22 from 3-point range (.500).
• Senior guard Darris Nichols is averaging 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-high 3.5 assists per contest. He has made 18-of-45 3-point field attempts (.400).
• The Mountaineers claimed last year's postseason NIT title with a 78-73 win over Clemson in the championship game. They finished the season with a 27-9 record under former head coach John Beilein (now at Michigan).
• First-year West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins is 600-212 (.739) in his 26th year overall.
SERIES WITH THE MOUNTAINEERS
West Virginia won the only previous meeting between the Sooners and Mountaineers, a 92-68 decision on Dec. 22, 2005, in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City. The Mountaineers' offense hit on all cylinders, as the team shot .667 from the field, .400 from 3-point range (8-for-20) and .870 from the free throw line (20-for-23). The .667 field goal percentage was the second highest against an OU team during the 12-year Kelvin Sampson era. West Virginia was particularly effective from inside the arc, hitting 24 of its 28 two-point attempts under former head coach John Beilein. Kevin Pittsnogle paced the Mountaineers with 25 points while Johannes Herber added 21 and Mike Gansey 15. OU's Taj Gray scored a career-high 31 points on 11-for-14 shooting.
|
GETTING A HANDLE ON THINGS
Following a five-game stretch during which they averaged 14.6 turnovers, the Sooners have improved dramatically the last two games in terms of taking care of the basketball. Against Arkansas' pressure defense on Dec. 15, OU committed a then-season-low eight turnovers. Jeff Capel's squad was even better on Dec. 20 against No. 18 Gonzaga when it committed just five turnovers. The five offensive miscues were OU's fewest since also registering five against Oral Roberts on Dec. 28, 2005 (a span of 63 games).
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 .475 mark from the field and a .378 figure from 3-point range (last year OU shot .435 and .326, respectively). It has shot .500 or better from the floor in six of 12 games. OU's five leading scorers are all shooting at least .462 from the floor. Forward Blake Griffin owns a team-high .586 field goal mark and is followed by center Longar Longar (.536), guard Tony Crocker (.495), guard Omar Leary (.477) and guard Austin Johnson (.462). Combined, the quintet owns a .518 field goal mark.
The guard trio of Crocker, Johnson and Leary has combined to shoot .447 from 3-point range (59-for-132). Crocker is shooting .510 from behind the arc (26-for-51) to rank second in the Big 12, Leary is shooting .436 (17-for-39) and Johnson is shooting .381 (16-for-42). Taylor Griffin owns a .417 mark from long range but has attempted considerably fewer shots (he is 5-for-12). Seven Sooners have made at least five treys each.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNING AND LOSING
The following notes compare Oklahoma's stats in wins and losses this year...
• In its nine wins this year, OU is outrebounding its opponents by 8.0 a game. In its three losses, it is getting outboarded by 4.3.
• Oklahoma is shooting .506 from the field, .422 from 3-point range and .717 from the free throw line in its wins. In its losses, it is shooting .378, .250 and .653, respectively.
• OU's assist-to-turnover ratio in its victories is +1.4 (152 assists and 11 turnovers). The ratio in losses is -1.6 (27 and 44).
• Tony Crocker is averaging 15.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting .561 in the Sooners' wins. In losses, those numbers fall to 4.0 points, 3.7 boards, 1.3 assists and .176 (3-for-17), respectively. Crocker is also shooting .595 from 3-point range in OU's victories (25-for-42), but just .111 in defeats (1-for-9).
• Blake Griffin is averaging 15.1 points and shooting .629 in OU's victories, but just 7.3 points and .409 in its losses.
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...
• 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.
After his Dec. 20 performance of 15 points, six rebounds and two assists in the win over Gonzaga, Crocker is now averaging 12.3 points (ranks third on team), 4.5 rebounds (ranks third) and 2.8 assists (ranks first) while shooting .495 from the field, .510 from 3-point land (ranks second in Big 12) and .828 from the free throw line.
JOHNSON INCREASES PRODUCTION
Junior guard Austin Johnson is just two points shy over the last three contests of owning a streak of six consecutive double-figures scoring games (he scored nine points against both Stephen F. Austin and Gonzaga). Johnson entered the Nov. 29 USC game averaging 5.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists an outing and was shooting .433 from the field and .267 (4-for-15) from long range. That all changed with OU's game against the 22nd-ranked Trojans in Los Angeles...
• Playing with strep throat, Johnson came off the bench against USC and finished with a team-high 13 points. He was 3-for-4 from 3-point range and added three assists without a turnover.
• At TCU on Dec. 2, Johnson scored another 13 points (he was 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point distance) while grabbing a career-high eight rebounds and handing out four assists.
• Johnson netted 11 points against Tulsa on Dec. 5 on 3-for-3 field goal shooting (made his only 3-point attempt) and 4-for-5 free throw shooting.
• After a nine-point game against Stephen F. Austin, Johnson rebounded for a season-high 17-point effort against Arkansas Dec. 20. He made two more 3-pointers and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
Following a nine-point performance against No. 18 Gonzaga in OU's last contest, the 6-3, 165-pounder is averaging 12.0 points and 3.8 rebounds over the last six games while going 23-for-48 from the floor and 12-for-27 from 3-point distance. He is now averaging 8.9 points, 3.0 boards and 2.1 assists on the season while shooting .462 from the field and .381 from deep.
GRIFFIN: A BREATH OF FROSH AIR
• Freshman forward Blake Griffin is averaging team highs of 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds this season in 26.1 minutes a game. The last OU freshman to average as many points per contest for a season was Jeff Webster in 1990-91 (18.3 ppg). The last OU freshman to average at least 8.3 boards per game was Wayman Tisdale in 1982-83 (10.3 rpg).
• Griffin has led OU in scoring four times and has paced the squad in rebounding in seven contests. He is shooting a team-high .586 from the field (ranks third in Big 12) and leads the team with his 1.4 steals per outing. He has also registered seven games of multiple assists (averages 1.7).
• Griffin's 18 points Nov. 8 against San Francisco were the most by an OU freshman in a collegiate debut in 22 years (center Stacey King netted 22 off the bench in the first game of the 1985-86 season against UC Santa Barbara).
• Also against San Francisco, guard Cade Davis (six points in 27 minutes) and Griffin became just the second OU freshman pair to start a season opener in the last 24 years. Prior to 2003-04 when guards Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie did it, a freshman tandem had not started the opening game of a season since guard Tim McCalister and forward Darryl Kennedy in 1983-84.
"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 this year 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.
Porter Moser Postgame vs West Virginia
Sunday, April 05
MBB Highlights: OU 82, Baylor 69
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser, Xzayvier Brown, and Tae Davis Postgame vs Baylor
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser and Nijel Pack Postgame vs Colorado
Thursday, April 02
