OU Locks Horns with Texas in Austin on Saturday


	Carl Blair is averaging 7.0 assists per Big 12 game to lead the league.

Oklahoma (8-8, 0-2) at No. 12/14 Texas (13-3, 1-0)
Date & Tip Time	Saturday, Jan. 15 at 3:01 p.m. CT
Location	Austin, Texas \| Frank Erwin Center
Tickets	OU Athletics Ticket Office
TV	Big 12 Network KOCB Ch. 34 in Oklahoma City KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa ESPN Full Court
Radio	Sooner Radio Network KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa
Webcast	ESPN3.com
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com GameTracker
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF)

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (8-8, 0-2) plays its second straight road game when it takes on Texas (13-3, 1-0) on Saturday in Austin at 3 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC 1520 AM in Oklahoma City; KMOD 97.5 FM in Tulsa) with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by the Big 12 Network (KOCB Ch. 34 in Oklahoma City; KJRH Ch. 2 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court) with Dave Armstrong and Reid Gettys calling the action.

NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma holds a 47-29 series lead against Texas and is 16-16 in Austin. The teams split last year's two contests, with OU winning 80-71 in Norman and UT winning 87-76 in Austin.
• The Sooners are 8-1 at home this year and 0-7 away from Norman. Their last road win came Dec. 12, 2010, at Utah (78-73 in overtime).
• After averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in OU's first eight games (he shot .450 from the field), freshman Cameron Clark is averaging 13.1 points and 5.1 boards over the last eight outings (shooting .506 from the field). Clark is averaging 36.9 minutes per game during the span and played all 40 minutes against Oral Roberts, Cincinnati and Baylor.
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger is shooting .647 from 3-point range over the last four games (11-for-17) after shooting .324 over OU's first 12 contests. He's coming off a 17-point effort at Baylor in which he went 5-for-10 from behind the arc.
• In OU's eight wins, point guard Carl Blair has totaled 35 assists and 10 turnovers. In the team's eight losses, Blair has 28 assists and 29 turnovers.
• Oklahoma is shooting .500 from the field and .406 from 3-point range over the last four games. Four of OU's top six scorers during the stretch are shooting at least .500 from the field. Against Central Arkansas on Dec. 30, the Sooners shot a Jeff Capel-era-best .612 from the floor.
• In their eight wins, the Sooners are shooting .500 from the field and .439 from 3-point range (8.5 makes). In their eight losses, they're shooting .434 from the field and .304 from behind the arc (5.6 makes).
• The Sooners rank third in the Big 12 with their 7.1 3-pointers per game. In the team's eight wins, OU is averaging 8.5 treys.
• Oklahoma has outscored opponents 139-124 in points off turnovers in its eight wins, but has been outscored 149-99 in the category in its eight defeats.
• Seven different Sooners have led the team in scoring this year.
• Eight of OU's top nine scorers are in their first or second year of Division I basketball. Five of the nine are in their first year.

Sooner to Watch
	Cade Davis\| Sr. \| Guard • Ranks second on team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg) • Averaged 21.0 points in two games vs. Texas last year (10-for-21 from 3-point range) • Ranks sixth in the Big 12 Conference with his 2.4 treys per game • Shooting a career-high .396 from behind the 3-point line

SOONER UPDATE
• Sophomore forward Andrew Fitzgerald has shot .500 or better from the field in 11 of 16 games and owns a .525 season percentage to rank fifth in the Big 12. He leads the team with his 13.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. His free throw percentage (.738) is up significantly from last year (.638) and he is shooting .780 (32-for-41) from the foul line over the last 10 games.
• A career .332 3-point shooter entering the year, senior guard Cade Davis is shooting .396 from behind the arc this season (ranks 10th in the Big 12) and is averaging 2.4 treys per game (ranks fifth). Going back to last year, he has made 67 3-pointers over his last 27 games. Davis ranks eighth on OU's career 3-point field goals list with 153 and needs 14 to tie Brent Price for seventh place.
• Davis has been effective on the boards his last three games, averaging 7.7 rebounds during the stretch. Included was a career-high total of 12 against Maryland Eastern Shore on Jan. 3 (also scored 11 points for his first double-double of the year). Davis did not play Tuesday against Baylor due to the death of his grandmother.
• In OU's eight wins (all at home), sophomore guard Steven Pledger has scored at least 13 points six times and is shooting .440 from 3-point range (22-for-50) and .852 from the free throw line (23-for-27). In the Sooners' eight losses, Pledger has been held to single digits five times and is shooting .316 from deep (12-for-38).
• Freshman Cameron Clark's top five scoring games have come over the last eight outings. Clark, who finished with 16 points Tuesday at Baylor, also netted a career-high 26 points against Central Arkansas, 17 against Oral Roberts, 14 against Maryland Eastern Shore and 13 versus Gardner-Webb. He is averaging 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds over the last eight outings and is shooting .552 from the field and .458 from 3-point range in OU's eight wins.
• Sophomore point guard Carl Blair has rebounded nicely from a slow start to the year by averaging 7.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists over the last eight games. Blair ranks fifth in the Big 12 with his 4.5 assists per outing and leads the league in conference play with 7.0 per game. He has led OU in the category in seven of the last eight games.
• Junior forward Nick Thompson came off the bench Tuesday at Baylor to register seven points and a team-high six rebounds in 31 minutes (his most action since the second game of the season). Thompson, who's 9-for-20 from 3-point range on the year (.450), had totaled 49 minutes over his previous six games. He's averaging 5.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 19.1 minutes per outing.

PREVIEWING TEXAS
• Ranked 12th in the AP poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today poll, Texas owns a 13-3 overall record and a 1-0 Big 12 mark following its 83-52 win at Texas Tech on Tuesday. Among the Longhorns' wins were victories over Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan State and Arkansas. Their only three losses came to Pittsburgh (68-66 in New York City), USC (73-56 on the road) and Connecticut (82-81 in overtime at home).
• Texas is shooting .455 from the field (ranks eighth in the Big 12), .364 from 3-point range (ranks seventh) and .647 from the free throw line (ranks 11th). Its +7.6 rebounding margin ranks fifth in the league.
• Sophomore guard/forward Jordan Hamilton leads four Longhorns who average double figures in scoring. Hamilton ranks third in the Big 12 with his 19.4 points per game and also averages 7.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He's made 42 treys in his 16 games and is shooting .408 from the behind the arc. He's scored at least 20 points eight times on the year, including four times in the past six outings.
• Freshman forward Tristan Thompson (20 points against Texas Tech last game) averages 12.7 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds on the year. Thompson, from Canada, is shooting .529 from the field and leads UT with 117 free throw attempts (shooting .487 from the line). He has more offensive rebounds (65) than defensive (59). Thompson had 17 points and 15 boards in a win at Michigan State.
• Senior forward Gary Johnson contributes 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest while shooting .472 from the field.
• Rick Barnes is in his 13th year as Texas' head coach and owns an 307-118 record there.

OU-TEXAS SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 47-29 series advantage against Texas despite losing eight of the last 10 meetings. OU is 16-16 against the Longhorns in Austin but has lost its last five there. Since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97, OU is 18-16 against Texas (5-9 in Austin). Jeff Capel is 2-7 against the Longhorns as OU's head coach.

LAST YEAR AGAINST THE LONGHORNS
• Oklahoma and Texas split their two meetings last year, with OU winning 80-71 in Norman and Texas winning 87-76 in Austin. Cade Davis averaged 21.0 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Sooners while going 10-for-21 from 3-point range (.476).
• In the first meeting, Tommy Mason-Griffin scored 24 points while Davis (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Ryan Wright (11 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double-doubles in the Sooners' win over the No. 9 Longhorns. OU was 20-for-28 from the free throw line (.714) while UT was just 10-for-27 (.370) on a night OU celebrated the life and career of the late Wayman Tisdale.
• In the rematch in Austin, the Sooners led 51-40 with 15:30 left in the second half and didn't trail until the 9:08 mark. The Longhorns' 38-21 rebounding advantage and 38-22 margin in paint points proved too much to overcome. Tony Crocker led OU with 24 points while Davis went 6-for-10 from 3-point range en route to a 22-point night. Jordan Hamilton recorded a double-double for Texas with 12 points and 11 boards.

TUESDAY'S BAYLOR RECAP
• Baylor shot an Oklahoma-opponent-season-high .622 from the field and posted a 44-24 advantage in paint points en route to a 74-61 win in Waco on Tuesday. OU shot .418 from the field for its fourth worst mark of the season.
• The Sooners trailed 36-23 before scoring the final nine points of the first half (they hit 3-pointers on the last three possessions) and the first two of the second half to draw within 36-34. OU trailed by just three (49-46) with 11:30 remaining and by five (62-57) with 5:30 left before Baylor ended the game on a 12-4 run.
• Oklahoma committed 13 turnovers to Baylor's 17 and outscored the Bears 27-11 off turnovers.
• The Sooners played without senior guard Cade Davis, their second leading scorer (13.1) and rebounder (5.0) on the year. Davis' grandmother passed away earlier in the day.
• Sophomore guard Steven Pledger scored a team-high 17 points with the help of a season-high five 3-pointers on 10 attempts. He added two rebounds, two assists and a season-high-tying three steals while playing a career-high 40 minutes.
• Freshman guard/forward Cameron Clark, who also played the entire game (third time this season), contributed 16 points, four boards, a career-high three assists and two steals.
• Sophomore point guard Carl Blair finished with 10 points (his third most of the year) and a game-high six assists in 38 minutes. His three steals were his most in an OU uniform.

UP NEXT
OU returns home to host Texas Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by the Big 12 Network.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Locks Horns with Texas in Austin on Saturday

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