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 Start Crunch Time in Lincoln
February 26, 2008 | Men's Basketball
| OU (18-9, 6-6) at Nebraska (16-9, 5-7) | |
| Date & Tip Time | Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7:05 p.m. CST |
| Location | Lincoln, Neb. | Bob Devaney Center |
| Tickets | OU Athletics Ticket Office |
| TV | None |
| Radio | Sooner Radio Network KRXO FM-107.7 in Oklahoma City KTBZ AM-1430 in Tulsa Sirius 143 |
| Webcast | None |
| Live Stats | www.Huskers.com |
| Game Info | Gameday Central | Game Notes (PDF) |
GAME PREVIEW
After a loss at first-place Texas on Saturday that snapped a three-game winning streak, Oklahoma (18-9 overall, 6-6 Big 12) will look to start a new skein on Wednesday when it plays at Nebraska (16-9, 5-7) at 7 p.m. CST. The Sooners, who hold a No. 27 CollegeRPI.com rating (the third best in the Big 12) through games of Monday and stand in a fourth-place tie in the league standings, are 4-5 in true road games on the year (2-4 in the Big 12). Two of those four wins came against ranked opponents at the time.
Nebraska, which stands in an eighth-place tie in the Big 12, is coming off back-to-back wins against ranked opponents. The Huskers are 14-3 at home this season (3-3 in the Big 12).
Wednesday's game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7-FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430-AM in Tulsa; Sirius 143) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. The game will not be televised.
"NOTE" WORTHY
• OU is 103-80 all-time against Nebraska and has won eight of the last 10 meetings.
• Through games of Monday, OU boasts the nation's No. 6 strength of schedule (according to CollegeRPI.com).
• Oklahoma has clinched its 27th consecutive winning season (longest streak in the Big 12).
• Blake Griffin is averaging 17.6 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in Big 12 play (not including the Jan. 14 Kansas game when he played only five minutes before leaving with a knee injury).
• Griffin ranks second in the Big 12 in free throw attempts per league game (8.7). Kansas State's Michael Beasley ranks first (9.1).
• The last OU player to average 9.4 rebounds (Griffin's current season average) for an entire campaign was Ernie Abercrombie in 1995-96.
• In their nine losses, the Sooners are shooting .272 from 3-point range. They are shooting .407 from long distance in their wins.
• Oklahoma's four remaining opponents have a combined Big 12 record of 21-27 (.438).
• Oklahoma's 12 Big 12 opponents have shot a remarkable .813 from the free throw line against the Sooners (183-for-225).
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GLANCING AHEAD TO THE WEEKEND
Oklahoma returns home on Saturday for a key matchup against Texas A&M at 1 p.m. The game will mark "Cheer Like a Champion Day," as each Lloyd Noble Center seat will be furnished with a white T-shirt. OU's 1988 team will be on hand Saturday for a 20-year reunion celebration. Coached by Billy Tubbs, the 1988 squad was one of two OU teams in history to reach the national title game. As of Tuesday, former players scheduled to join Tubbs and the rest of the coaching staff for a halftime tribute include Harvey Grant, Tyrone Jones, Stacey King, Tony Martin, Terrence Mullins, Art Pollard and Jason Skurcenski.
Reserved seat tickets for Saturday's game are sold out. However, $10 restricted admission tickets will be sold at Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Restricted admission ticket holders are allowed to sit in a vacant upper-level seat after tip-off. Fans may also check OU Ticket Marketplace on SoonerSports.com for available reserved seats that may become available leading up to Saturday's game.
SATURDAY'S TEXAS RECAP
• Oklahoma struggled through its worst shooting game of the season in a 62-45 loss at then-No. 7 Texas on Saturday. OU shot a season-low .264 from the field (it was 5-for-30 in the first half for a .167 mark).
• OU held Texas to .373 field goal and .105 (2-for-19) 3-point field goal marks. The Longhorns entered the game with a .460 season field goal mark and a Big 12-best .391 season 3-point field goal figure.
• Freshman forward Blake Griffin led the Sooners in points (16), rebounds (16) and assists (three) in 29 minutes of action.
• Griffin's 16 boards gave him 48 over his last three games (16.0 average). His 10 free throw attempts marked the third straight game he got to the line for at least 10 tries.
• Oklahoma finished with 15 offensive rebounds on the day but converted them into only eight second-chance points.
• Texas committed just seven turnovers while OU committed 13.
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TEAM UPDATE
• Despite losing at Texas on Saturday, Oklahoma remained in a fourth-place tie in the Big 12 standings. Joining OU in fourth place with 6-6 records are Baylor, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. The four teams trail Kansas State (8-5) by one-and-a-half games and lead Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma State (all 5-7) by one.
• As of Monday, CollegeRPI.com projects OU as a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament while ESPN.com has it as a No. 8 seed.
• OU's last two wins came in the waning seconds. At Texas Tech on Feb. 16, David Godbold hit a 28-footer with 1.4 seconds left to give the Sooners a 66-64 win. Last Tuesday against Baylor, Tony Crocker converted a 4-point play with 7.3 seconds left in overtime to put OU ahead by one. The Sooners then endured two free throw misses with 1.0 second left to post a 92-91 victory.
• Oklahoma has won four true road games this year (two versus ranked opponents) after winning just one road contest last year. Prior to this season, the last time OU won a true road game over a ranked foe was during the 2000-01 campaign.
• After shooting .500 or better from the field in nine of its first 16 games, OU has done it once in the last 11 outings.
• OU is shooting .486 from the field and .407 from 3-point range in its wins but just .376 and .272, respectively, in its losses.
• Oklahoma has scored more than 70 points 14 times this season after doing it eight times all of last year. It has already won two more games this season than it did all of last year when it finished 16-15.
• Either Blake Griffin (10 times) or Taylor Griffin (six times) has led OU in rebounding in 16 of the last 17 contests.
FRONTCOURT UPDATE
• In his 10 full Big 12 games, freshman Blake Griffin is averaging 17.6 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. OU's leading scorer (15.2) and rebounder (9.4) on the year, he has scored in double figures in 16 of his last 18 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 11 of his last 14 outings.
• Six of Griffin's nine double-doubles have come against teams who have been ranked at some point this season. He had 15 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Gonzaga, 18 points and 16 boards in a win at West Virginia, 27 points and 14 rebounds in a two-point loss to Kansas State, 17 points and 15 rebounds in a victory at Baylor, 29 points and 15 boards in a home win over Baylor and 16 points and 16 rebounds Saturday at No. 7 Texas.
• Despite not scoring and grabbing just one rebound in his five minutes against Kansas, Griffin ranks ninth in the Big 12 in scoring (15.2 ppg), fourth in rebounding (9.4 rpg), fourth in double-doubles (nine) and second in field goal percentage (.562).
• The last OU true freshman to average as many points and rebounds as Griffin for an entire season was Wayman Tisdale (24.5 and 10.3) in 1982-83. Tisdale earned first-team All-America honors as a freshman.
• 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 league Rookie of the Week.
• Senior center Longar Longar missed two games due to a broken bone in his lower right leg but has returned to average 25.7 minutes over his four games since. The team's second-leading scorer and rebounder on the year with his 12.3 and 5.6 respective averages, he is averaging 7.8 points and 4.3 boards over the last four games. Longar is shooting .506 from the field on the season and has scored at least nine points in 13 of his last 17 outings. Longar also leads the squad with his 27 blocks.
• Seeing a major increase in minutes the last few weeks, junior forward Taylor Griffin is averaging 8.6 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting .775 (31-for-40) from the free throw line over the last 11 games. Prior to those 11 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. On Feb. 6 against Texas, he netted 12 points and grabbed a career-high 15 boards as he started in place of an injured Longar.
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BACKCOURT UPDATE
• After enduring a three-game stretch in which he shot .176 from the floor and averaged just 3.3 points, junior Austin Johnson is averaging 14.0 points over the last four contests while shooting .414 (12-for-29) from 3-point range. Johnson scored 13 points Feb. 13 against Iowa State, a career-high 20 at Texas Tech Feb. 16 and 19 against Baylor last Tuesday. He is now averaging 8.8 points per game on the year and ranks second on the team with his 41 treys.
• Johnson made a career-high six 3-pointers at Texas Tech three games ago and four more in two games since.
• Sophomore Tony Crocker, OU's best 3-point shooter at .451 (51-for-113), has made at least three treys in a game 10 times and is 37-for-60 (.617) in those contests. He has already made 16 more 3-pointers this year than he did all of last season (35) when he shot a team-high .357 from behind the arc. He has already scored 39 more points this year than he did as a freshman.
• Since averaging 7.3 points during OU's three-game losing streak earlier this month, Crocker is averaging 14.5 over the last four contests. Included was a 22-point effort against Iowa State and a 20-point game against Baylor. Against the Bears, Crocker scored the game's final seven points in the last 21 seconds of overtime. His four-point play with 7.3 seconds left was the game-winner.
• Senior guard David Godbold has come off the bench each of the last four games after starting the previous 14 contests. At Texas Tech on Feb. 16, he hit a game-winning 28-footer with 1.4 seconds left. Despite not starting in any of OU's last four games, Godbold is averaging 29.3 minutes during the stretch.
• Godbold shot .233 from 3-point range in OU's first 14 games (10-for-43) but is shooting .371 over the last 13 (23-for-62).
• Freshman Tony Neysmith earned his first four career starts over the last two weeks and totaled six points in 25 minutes. Neysmith had played just one minute in Big 12 games entering the Feb. 13 Iowa State game and had scored four points all year.
• Junior Omar Leary is averaging 4.4 points in 17.1 minutes per game. He started eight of the team's first 10 contests but has come off the bench in each of the last 17. He has 10 points over the last eight games.
• Freshman Cade Davis, who scored a career-high 11 points against Iowa State on Feb. 13 when he was 3-for-3 from 3-point distance, is averaging 3.4 points in 11.6 minutes per contest. He finished with five points Saturday at Texas.
PREVIEWING NEBRASKA
• Nebraska enters Wednesday's game with a 16-9 overall record and a 5-7 Big 12 mark (tied for eighth place with Missouri and Oklahoma State). After a 0-4 league start, the Huskers have gone 5-3 (one of those three losses came in overtime at Missouri). They are 14-3 at home this year with their only defeats coming Kansas, Baylor and Mizzou.
• The Huskers are coming off a pair of wins over ranked opponents. They beat then-No. 24 Kansas State last Wednesday by a 71-64 score in Lincoln before downing then-No. 22 Texas A&M by a 65-59 count in College Station.
• One of the Big 12's stingiest defensive teams, Nebraska leads the league in scoring defense (60.3 ppg) while ranking third in steals (8.6 spg) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.398). On the offensive end, it ranks 10th in scoring (67.9 ppg), sixth in field goal percentage (.457) and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.344).
• Senior center Aleks Maric leads Nebraska in scoring (15.9 ppg), rebounding (9.8 rpg) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg). He ranks seventh in the Big 12 in scoring, third in rebounding and second in blocks. Maric also leads the league in field goal percentage (.560) and is tied for fourth (with Blake Griffin) with his nine double-doubles on the year. He has scored in double figures in eight straight games and in 20 of the last 21 outings.
• Sophomore guard Ryan Anderson is averaging 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest while shooting .389 from 3-point range. Anderson's 42 3-pointers are twice as many as the next closest Husker (Jay-R Strowbridge has made 21).
• Junior guard Steve Harley is averaging 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per outing. Against Kansas State last week, Harley was 9-for-12 from the field and finished with a team-high 20 points. He scored a team-high-tying 11 points Saturday at Texas A&M.
• Junior guard Ade Dagunduro averages 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He is shooting .476 from the field.
SERIES WITH THE HUSKERS
• Oklahoma owns a 103-80 all-time record against Nebraska, but the Huskers hold a 45-37 advantage in Lincoln.
• OU has won eight of the last 10 overall meetings and 11 of the last 15. It has won three of the last four in Lincoln.
• The last time OU played in Lincoln (Jan. 7, 2006), the Sooners squandered a five-point lead with 30 seconds left and lost 59-58.
• OU is 9-4 against Nebraska since the inception of the Big 12 Conference (that includes a 1-1 record in the league tournament).
LAST YEAR AGAINST NEBRASKA
• Oklahoma entered last year's home contest against Nebraska as a loser of three of its previous four games, but the Sooners held the Huskers to .348 field goal shooting while posting a 37-21 rebounding advantage in a 70-53 win on Jan. 17.
• OU managed the 16-rebound advantage despite its tallest player (Taylor Griffin) standing only 6-7. Six-foot-11 center Longar Longar was serving the second of a two-game Big 12 suspension.
• The Sooners held Nebraska to only 15 total field goals (11 of the 15 were 3-pointers).
• Nebraska center Aleks Maric entered the game averaging 18.2 points and 7.9 rebounds, but was held to eight points and four boards. He made three field goals on only five attempts in 28 minutes of play.
• Michael Neal led OU with a career-high 20 points (he was 6-for-10 from 3-point range) and added five rebounds.
• Nate Carter finished with 19 points and added seven rebounds.
• All of Taylor Griffin's nine points, six rebounds and four assists came after halftime.
LAST TIME IN LINCOLN
• A five-point lead with 30 seconds left wasn't enough to preserve a seven-game winning streak against the Huskers as the Sooners dropped a 59-58 decision in the Big 12 opener two seasons ago in Lincoln.
• Nebraska hit two 3-pointers in the game's final 23 seconds, the second by Joe McCray with 5.6 seconds remaining.
• Terrell Everett's five-footer at the buzzer after driving the length of the court was off the mark for OU.
• Oklahoma lost despite outshooting the Huskers from the field (.453 to .385) and outrebounding them by 10 (38-28).
• Kevin Bookout led OU with 14 points and was followed by David Godbold (13 points) and Everett (11 points and nine assists).
• Jason Dourisseau scored a game-high 17 points for Nebraska.
• OU led 33-25 at halftime.
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 12 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 12 games, however, Griffin has attempted 126 free throws (10.5 per contest). Included were games of 18 attempts against Mount St. Mary's, 17 versus Baylor, 15 against Oklahoma State and 13 versus Kansas 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 (9.4) was then-senior Ernie Abercrombie in 1995-96 (10.1 rpg).
• Griffin holds OU's top four scoring performances this season. He netted 29 versus Baylor on Tuesday, 27 against Kansas State (Jan. 12), 26 versus Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 7) and 25 at Colorado (Feb. 9). He also holds nine of OU's top 10 rebounding marks.
• Griffin has already scored 36 more points than OU's leading scorer last season (Nate Carter finished with a team high of 360 points last year). Carter played in 31 games as a senior last year while Griffin has played in just 26 this season.
• A testament to his overall ability, Griffin has 23 assists over the past nine games (tied with Austin Johnson as OU's most during the period).
ROAD SCHOLAR
Junior Austin Johnson performed considerably better in home games than road contests during his first two years as a Sooner. That trend has reversed itself this season. In OU's eight road games this year, Johnson is averaging 9.9 points and 3.1 assists while shooting .468 from 3-point range (22-for-47). In 15 home games, the combo guard is averaging 8.2 points and 2.5 assists while shooting .246 from long range (15-for-61). Johnson has made more than one trey at home just four times this season, but has made at least two in six of the team's nine road contests (he canned a career-high six at Texas Tech Feb. 16 when he scored a career-high 20 points).
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNING AND LOSING
The following notes compare Oklahoma's stats in its 18 wins and nine losses...
• In its 18 wins, OU is outrebounding its opponents by 6.6 a game. In its nine losses, it is getting outboarded by 2.7.
• OU is shooting .486 from the field and .407 from 3-point range in its wins. In losses, it is shooting .376 and .272, respectively.
• OU's assist-to-turnover ratio in its victories is +1.1 (266 assists and 236 turnovers). The ratio in losses is 0.8 (90 and 116).
• Tony Crocker is averaging 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting .531 in the Sooners' wins. In losses, those numbers fall to 7.2 points, 3.2 boards, 1.3 assists and .293 (22-for-75), respectively. Crocker is also shooting .539 from 3-point range in OU's victories (41-for-76), but just .270 in defeats (10-for-37).
"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.
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