University of Oklahoma Athletics
Postgame Notes
December 21, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2011
• Oklahoma improved to 9-1 on the season and to 6-0 at home with an 83-48 win over South Carolina State. OU has won 33 consecutive non-conference home games and 91 of its last 93.
• OU suffered its second worst shooting performance of the season (.395) but managed to outrebound the Bulldogs, 63-36. The 63 boards stand as the program's most since the Big 12 was formed (1996-97 was first season). The team's previous high in the Big 12 era was 61 this year against Coppin State.
• The Sooners pulled down 26 offensive rebounds (to South Carolina State's 28 defensive boards) and posted a 22-10 advantage in second-chance points.
• Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponent nine times in 10 games and now boasts a Big 12-best +10.8 margin on the year. The Sooners entered the week ranked No. 13 nationally with their +9.0 margin.
• Junior guard Steven Pledger was 6-for-15 from the field (just his second sub-.500 performance of the season), but still finished with a game-high 22 points. He made four 3-pointers on 10 attempts and was 6-for-6 at the free throw line (13-for-13 over the last two outings). Pledger is now averaging a Big 12-best 19.8 points per game on the season and has made at least three treys seven times in his nine games.
• Pledger has scored at least 20 points five times in his nine games this season, including in each of the last three outings. Last year, he reached the 20-point plateau three times in 32 outings. His 61 field goals this year already represent 54 percent of last season's total (112).
• Junior forward Romero Osby recorded his third double-double of the year (first since the second game) with 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. His previous career high was 10 boards (four times this season). He is now averaging 8.8 rebounds per game and a league-high 3.6 offensive boards per contest.
• With 17 points, junior forward Andrew Fitzgerald has scored at least 13 points in each of OU's last four home games. He is averaging 15.8 points and shooting .617 from the field in those contests. He was 8-for-11 tonight in just 22 minutes.
• Senior forward C.J. Washington came off the bench to supply five points and a career-high 12 rebounds (seven offensive) in only 13 minutes of action. His previous career high was eight boards against Coppin State in the second game of the season.
• Junior guard Sam Grooms finished with seven points and six assists while committing just one turnover. Grooms has 14 assists and just one turnover over the last two games. He is averaging 5.2 assists per game on the year and boasts a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• The trio of Osby (18), Washington (12) and Casey Arent (career-high-tying nine) outrebounded the entire SCSU squad (39-36).
• OU's 9-1 start is its second best in the last eight seasons (started 12-0 in 2008-09).
• South Carolina State head coach Tim Carter earned his master's degree from Oklahoma in 1984. He was a graduate assistant on Billy Tubbs' 1982-83 OU team (Wayman Tisdale's freshman year).
• The Sooners are off until Dec. 29 when they play at Cincinnati at 8 p.m. CT (televised by ESPNU). The game will be played off campus at U.S. Bank Arena.
