OU vs. ISU: Game of Importance

OU (15-8, 3-5) vs. Iowa State (13-11, 3-6)
Date & Tip Time	Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. CST
Location	Norman, Okla. \| Lloyd Noble Center
Tickets	OU Athletics Ticket Office
TV	ESPN Plus KOCB Ch. 34/Cox 11 in Oklahoma City KWHB Ch. 47/Cox 11 in Tulsa ESPN Full Court
Radio	Sooner Radio Network KOKC AM-1520 in Oklahoma City KTBZ AM-1430 in Tulsa Sirius 122
Webcast	None
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com / GameTracker
Game Info	Gameday Central \| Game Notes (PDF)

GAME PREVIEW
Still projected as an NCAA Tournament team despite three straight losses, Oklahoma (15-8, 3-5) plays host to Iowa State (13-11, 3-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST inside Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners, who are halfway through their Big 12 schedule, stand in a tie with Nebraska and Texas Tech for sixth place in the league race. Iowa State has also lost three straight contests and is a half game behind OU in the standings. The Cyclones are coming off an overtime loss to Texas. Oklahoma is 10-3 at home this year while Iowa State is 1-6 in true road games.

Wednesday's game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520-AM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430-AM in Tulsa; Sirius 122) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised regionally by ESPN Plus (KOCB Ch. 34/Cox 11 in OKC; KWHB Ch. 47/Cox 7 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Bob Carpenter and Reid Gettys calling the action.

TICKET INFORMATION
• Tickets for Wednesday's game are available for as little as $10. They may be purchased online at SoonerSports.com or at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668). Lloyd Noble Center ticket windows will open Wednesday at 5 p.m.
• Family packs are available for Wednesday'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).
• Tickets for OU students are $10 at the door.

Iowa State's Projected Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Year	Stats / Notes
F	13	Rahshon Clark	6-6	210	Sr.	9.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 50.9 FG%
F	21	Craig Brackins	6-10	230	Fr.	11.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 27 blocks
G	33	Jiri Hubalek	6-11	240	Sr.	12.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 48.7 FG%
G	4	Wesley Johnson	6-7	210	So.	13.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 78.6 FT%
G	22	Bryan Petersen	6-1	180	Jr.	4.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.3 apg

Oklahoma's Projected Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Year	Stats / Notes
F	23	Blake Griffin	6-10	243	Fr.	15.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 58.9 FG%
F	32	Taylor Griffin	6-7	230	Jr.	6.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 72.9 FT%
G	5	Tony Crocker	6-6	193	So.	10.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 44.7 3FG%
G	15	David Godbold	6-5	221	Sr.	8.0 ppg, 4.1 apg, 2.2 apg
G	20	Austin Johnson	6-3	165	Jr.	7.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.5 apg

SATURDAY'S COLORADO RECAP
• Oklahoma entered the game holding opponents to .395 field goal shooting on the year, but Colorado shot .606 in a 72-58 win. It was the best shooting performance against an OU team since West Virginia shot .667 on Dec. 22, 2005 (a span of 75 games).
• The Buffaloes also went 7-for-11 (.636) from 3-point range and 25-for-29 (.862) from the free throw line.
• OU turned in a 4-for-26 (.154) effort from 3-point range, its second worst of the season. It pulled down 17 offensive rebounds (their second most of the year) but only converted them into 10 points.
• OU's 14-point losing margin was its second largest of the season, despite the fact it attempted 27 more field goals than Colorado. The Buffaloes' 33 field goal attempts matched an OU opponent season low.
• Blake Griffin was the only Sooner to score in double figures. He was 11-for-17 from the field and finished with 25 points, five rebounds and a career-high five assists.
• For the second straight game, OU played without the services of starting center Longar Longar (broken bone in right leg).

Who's Hot?
	Blake Griffin \| Fr. \| Forward • Leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.589) and ranks fourth in rebounding (8.5 rpg) and ninth in scoring (15.0 ppg) • Averaging 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his six full Big 12 games • Owns OU's top three individual scoring efforts this year and six of its top seven rebounding games • Coming off a 25-point game against Colorado

TEAM UPDATE
• The Sooners (3-5) stand in a sixth-place tie with Texas Tech and Nebraska in the Big 12 race, two games out of fifth place (Baylor is 5-3) and a half game in front of Iowa State and Missouri (3-6). OU plays at Texas Tech on Saturday.
• Despite losing their last three games, CollegeRPI.com has the Sooners as a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament (as of Monday) while ESPN.com projects OU as a No. 9 seed.
• During its three-game losing streak, Oklahoma is shooting .380 from the field, .265 from 3-point range and .684 from the free throw line. Opponents are shooting .428, .413 and .843, respectively, during the stretch.
• OU's guards are shooting a combined .289 from the field and .273 from behind the 3-point arc over the last three games.
• OU's last three opponents have combined to make 21 more free throws than the Sooners have attempted. OU is 26-for-38 while foes are 59-for-70. Blake Griffin has attempted half of the Sooners' foul shots over the last three games.
• Over the last two contests, OU is 10-for-50 (.200) from 3-point territory. Texas and Colorado combined to go 16-for-34 (.471).
• Four Sooners are averaging at least 5.2 rebounds per Big 12 game. Blake Griffin is averaging 8.0 boards and is followed by Taylor Griffin (7.0), David Godbold (5.9) and Longar Longar (5.2).
• OU's eight Big 12 opponents have shot an incredible .836 from the free throw line against the Sooners (133-for-159).
• Either Blake Griffin (seven times) or Taylor Griffin (six times) has led OU in rebounding in each of the last 13 contests.

FRONTCOURT UPDATE
• Senior center Longar Longar has missed the last two games due to a broken bone in his right leg and is out indefinitely. Longar is the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder on the year with his 13.2 and 5.9 respective averages. A .530 shooter from the field on the season, he has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 13 games (he scored nine points in each of two of the other three outings). Longar also leads the squad with his 25 blocked shots.
• In his six full Big 12 games, freshman Blake Griffin is averaging 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting .606 from the field. OU's leading scorer (15.0) and rebounder (8.5) on the year, he has scored in double figures in 13 of his last 14 games (not including the Jan. 14 Kansas contest when he left five minutes into the game with a sprained MCL in his left knee) and has netted at least 15 points in nine of his last 10 games.
• Despite not scoring and grabbing just one rebound in his five minutes against Kansas, Griffin ranks ninth in the Big 12 in scoring (15.0 ppg), fourth in rebounding (8.5 rpg) and third in double-doubles (seven). He also leads the league in field goal percentage (.589) and paces OU with his 25 steals.
• Griffin has twice been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week (Dec. 31 and Jan. 28) and was also named the Jan. 14 Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
• Seeing a major increase in minutes the last few weeks, junior forward Taylor Griffin is averaging 10.4 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting .793 (23-for-29) from the free throw line over the last seven games. Prior to those seven outings, he was averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 boards while shooting .667 (20-for-30) from the foul line on the year.
• Starting in place of his injured younger brother on Jan. 19 against Texas Tech, Taylor Griffin tied a then-career high with 16 points and grabbed a then-season-high 12 rebounds. On Jan. 28 against Oklahoma State, he was 7-for-8 from the field and scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down a game-high six boards. Last Wednesday against Texas, he netted 12 points and grabbed a career-high 15 boards as he started in place of an injured Longar.

OU Fast Fact

Blake Griffin is averaging 15.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. The last OU freshman to average as many points for an entire season was Jeff Webster (18.3) in 1990-91 and the last OU frosh to average as many rebounds was Wayman Tisdale (10.3) in 1982-83.

BACKCOURT UPDATE
• Senior guard David Godbold has scored in double figures in four of the last six games. On Feb. 2, he turned in a career-high 22-point outing at Texas A&M in which he was 6-for-10 from 3-point range.
• After averaging 4.5 points in OU's first six games, Godbold is averaging 9.3 over the last 17. In eight Big 12 games, Godbold is averaging 11.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He ranks third in the Big 12 (conference games only) with his .354 3-point percentage and his 2.1 treys per contest.
• Godbold has played at least 38 minutes in each of the last four outings. He is OU's leader among current players in games played (111) and started (63).
• Sophomore guard Tony Crocker, OU's best 3-point shooter at .447 (42-for-90), has made at least three treys in a game nine times and is 32-for-53 (.604) in those contests. He has already made seven more 3-pointers this year than he did all of last season (35) when he shot a team-high .357 from behind the arc.
• Crocker is averaging 7.3 points over the last four games on 9-for-30 field goal shooting after scoring in double figures in the team's previous five contests. He is averaging 3.3 turnovers over the last six outings.
• Junior guard Austin Johnson averaged 12.1 points over an eight-game stretch from late November to early January, but is averaging 5.6 points over the last nine contests.
• Johnson has struggled from the field over the past three games. While averaging 3.3 points in those outings, he is 3-for-17 (.176) from the floor and 3-for-14 (.214) from behind the arc.
• Junior guard Omar Leary is averaging 4.8 points in 18.2 minutes per game. He started eight of the team's first 10 contests but has come off the bench in each of the last 13. Leary has made 22 treys and is a .393 shooter from behind the arc (he has missed his last six attempts).
• Freshman Cade Davis played 10 minutes last Wednesday against Texas and 17 on Saturday at Colorado after not playing in OU's three previous games. Davis has played in half of the team's league games and is averaging 3.3 points in 16 games on the year.

PREVIEWING IOWA STATE
• Iowa State enters Wednesday's game with a 13-11 overall record and a 3-6 Big 12 mark (tied for ninth place). The Cyclones are 1-6 in road games this season (0-4 in league play). Their only road win was a 71-64 overtime triumph at Oregon State on Nov. 30.
• ISU has lost three straight games and is coming off a 71-65 home overtime loss to No. 12 Texas on Saturday. The Cyclones failed to hold onto a 13-point second-half lead despite holding the Longhorns to .357 field goal shooting on the day. They were outscored 9-3 in the overtime period as they went 1-for-9 from the field (1-for-7 on 3-pointers).
• Iowa State ranks second in Big 12 play in field goal percentage defense (.422) but ranks last in both field goal percentage (.387) and 3-point field goal percentage (.290).
• Sophomore guard/forward Wesley Johnson leads the team with his 13.7 points per game and is also averaging 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists. Johnson has made a team-high 34 3-pointers and is shooting .340 from behind the arc. His season high of 24 points came in a Jan. 19 home win over Oklahoma State.
• Senior center Jiri Hubalek is averaging 12.7 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per contest. He scored a team-high 24 points against Texas and has led the team in scoring in each of the last four games. He is averaging 20.0 points over the last three. Hubalek has attempted a team-high 106 free throws (shooting .736). No other Cyclone has attempted more than 73.
• Freshman forward Craig Brackins contributes 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 blocked shots. Brackins, who set Iowa State freshman records for points (33) and 3-pointers (eight on 10 attempts) against Baylor on Jan. 12, was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week after averaging 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in wins over Missouri and Oklahoma State.
• Senior forward Rahshon Clark is shooting .509 from the floor while averaging 9.3 points, 5.8 boards and 1.2 rejections. He had nine points and 14 rebounds on Saturday versus Texas.
• Greg McDermott is in his second season as Iowa State's head coach and owns a 28-27 (.509) record there. He is in his 14th season overall and sports a 249-154 (.618) career mark.

SERIES WITH THE CYCLONES
• Oklahoma owns a 106-77 all-time record against Iowa State and is 58-21 versus the Cyclones in games played in Norman.
• The Sooners have won eight of the last 12 overall meetings, including each of the last five at Lloyd Noble Center.
• Two of the last five games in Norman resulted in one-point OU victories (1998 and 2006) while the 2000 contest at Lloyd Noble went to double-overtime before the Sooners won 80-75.
• OU is 8-5 against Iowa State since the inception of the Big 12 (that includes a 1-1 record in the league tournament).
• In the last meeting in Norman two seasons ago, Oklahoma rallied from a seven-point deficit with a minute remaining to steal an 83-82 win. It was the first of four straight one-point victories for the Sooners. Michael Neal finished with a career-high 29 points and scored all of his 17 second-half points in the game's final 7:02. His three free throws with 8.4 seconds left were the game's final points.

LAST YEAR AGAINST IOWA STATE
Oklahoma entered its lone regular season contest against Iowa State last year riding a four-game winning streak, but a poor first half in Ames ended up costing the Sooners a fifth straight win. OU shot .300 from the field and committed 12 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes as it trailed 32-17 at intermission. Iowa State pushed its lead to 18 points (39-21) before OU rallied to get within four (53-49 with 54 seconds left). The Sooners missed their next five shots, however, and ISU prevailed 58-51. Jiri Hubalek scored a career-high 26 points for the Cyclones on 11-for-16 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Longar Longar led OU with 20 points (all in the second half) and 12 rebounds. He was 8-for-12 from the field.

The Sooners avenged the loss three weeks later in the first round of the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City, 68-63. Nate Carter, who was held to two points and four rebounds in Ames, responded with 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the OU charge. Carter was 12-for-13 from the free throw line. Freshman guard Tony Crocker started in place of Michael Neal (stomach virus) and contributed 15 points with the help of 3-for-4 3-point shooting. David Godbold and Taylor Griffin each added 11 points for OU. The Sooners won despite making a then-season-low 18 field goals. They lived at the free throw line, though, going 27-for-34 on the day. Iowa State, whose only lead of the game (56-55) lasted for 29 seconds, was led by Mike Taylor's 18 points and Wesley Johnson's 11. Hubalek finished with eight (18 less than in the first meeting). The loss ended Iowa State's season.

GRIFFIN GETTING TO THE LINE
Freshman forward Blake Griffin has seemed to develop quite a knack for getting to the foul line over his last eight outings. Through OU's first 13 games, Griffin attempted 50 free throws (3.8 per contest) with a single-game high of six. Over the last eight games, however, Griffin has attempted 81 free throws (10.1 per contest). Included were games of 18 attempts against Mount St. Mary's, 13 versus Kansas State and 15 against Oklahoma State.

MORE ON OU'S FRESHMAN PHENOM
• The last Sooner, regardless of class, to average as many rebounds as Blake Griffin is averaging this year (8.5) was then-senior and now-Denver Nugget Eduardo Najera in 1999-2000 (9.2 rpg).
• Griffin holds OU's top three scoring performances this season. He netted 27 against Kansas State (Jan. 12), 26 versus Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 7) and 25 at Colorado (Saturday). He also holds six of OU's top seven rebounding marks this year.
• Griffin is just 31 points shy of matching Nate Carter's team high of 360 points last season. Carter played in 31 games as a senior last year while Griffin has played in just 22 this season.
• A testament to his overall ability, Griffin has 17 assists over the past five games for a 3.4 average. No other Sooner has more than 12 assists over the same period. Griffin has nine handouts over the last two games.

"SOONER HOOPS WITH JEFF CAPEL" NOW AIRING
Hosted by Bob Carpenter, the 2007-08 version of the "Sooner Hoops with Jeff Capel" television show is airing across the state and on regional and national stations this year. In Oklahoma City, the show airs 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 is being 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" is also airing 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 is being carried regionally by FSN Southwest and nationally by CSTV and Fox College Sports. Check local listings for air dates and stations. "Sooner Hoops with Jeff Capel" is archived in All-Access, the premium site on SoonerSports.com.

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