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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Women's Hoops Readies for Big 12s
March 06, 2012 | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2012
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| Morgan Hook |
| Oklahoma (19-11, 11-7 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma State/Missouri | |
| Date & Tip Time | Thursday, March 8, at 5 p.m. CT |
| Location | Municipal Auditorium | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster.com |
| TV | Fox Sports Net COX 37, 722 HD in Oklahoma City; COX 27, 722 HD in Tulsa |
| Radio | Sooner Sports Network Oklahoma City: KOKC 1520 AM |
| Webcast | None |
| Live Stats | Big12Sports.com |
| Game Info | Game Notes (PDF) |
THE GAME PLAN
No. 2-seed Oklahoma will begin the Big 12 Championship with a quarterfinal matchup between the winner of the 7-seed Oklahoma State/10-seed Missouri first-round game. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net with Ron Thulin and Brenda VanLengen calling the action. The Sooner Sports Network radio broadcast with Brian Brinkley airs on KOKC 1520 AM and KREF 1400 AM in Oklahoma City and Norman.
NCAA First and Second Rounds in Norman
• Oklahoma hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship at the Lloyd Noble Center Sunday, March 18 (4 and 6:30 p.m.), and Tuesday, March 20 (8:30 p.m.).
• Tickets are $42 for adults and $27 for youths (18 and under) and are available from the OU Athletics Ticket Office online at SoonerSports.com or by calling 1-800-456-GoOU.
The Teams
• Oklahoma is 19-11 and tied for second in the Big 12 standings with an 11-7 record. The Sooners were awarded the No. 2 seed for the Big 12 tournament by the fifth tiebreaker with Texas A&M, a blind draw.
• A victory would give Oklahoma its seventh consecutive and 17th total 20-win season, the 11th in 16 season under Sherri Coale.
• Oklahoma is 54-36 all-time against Oklahoma State and split home wins with the Cowgirls this season. The Sooners are 2-1 all-time versus Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship.
• Oklahoma evened its all-time series with Missouri 29-29 by sweeping the Tigers this season. OU is 1-1 all-time versus Missouri in the Big 12 Championship.
The Coaches
• Sherri Coale is 355-166 (.681) in her 16th season at Oklahoma. She has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year four times.
• Jim Littell is 15-11 (.577) in his first year as Oklahoma State's head coach.
• Robin Pingeton is 25-34 (.424) in her second year as Missouri's head coach and 361-192 (.653) in her 17th year overall.
Next Game
• The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal will play a semifinal matchup Friday, March 9, at 5 p.m.
| Oklahoma Projected Starters | |||||
No. |
Name | Pos. |
Ht. |
Year |
2011-12 Statistics |
10 |
Morgan Hook | G |
5-10 |
So. |
11.1 ppg, 3.6 apg |
3 |
Aaryn Ellenberg | G |
5-7 |
So. |
15.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg |
25 |
Whitney Hand | G |
6-1 |
RS-Jr. |
13.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg |
42 |
Kaylon Williams | F |
6-3 |
Fr. |
4.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg |
4 |
Nicole Griffin | C |
6-6 |
So. |
5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg |
NCAA TOURNMENT RESUME
The Sooners will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament in Norman and have a resume that will invite some discussion among committee members as to where OU should be seeded.
• Oklahoma finished the 2011-12 regular season 19-11 overall and 11-7 in conference play to share second place in the Big 12, the nation's top conference by RPI.
• Oklahoma is 7-5 in its last 12 games, having alternated wins and losses in its last 10 games since collecting three consecutive victories against Missouri (Jan. 28), Kansas (Jan. 31) and Oklahoma State (Feb. 4).
• OU was No. 20 with the sixth highest strength of schedule in the most recent RPI update provided by Jeff Sagarin.
• Three of the OU's non-conference losses (Fresno State, Ohio State, Connecticut) were to opponents who finished second or higher in their respective conference standings. The fourth was at Vanderbilt, a team that only lost once at home this season, and that was in overtime.
• OU's two non-conference road game losses were to Fresno State and Vanderbilt, who went a combined 25-1 at home in non-conference play with the lone loss No. 2 Stanford at Fresno.
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OUT OF ITS LEAGUE
Oklahoma finished tied for second in the Big 12 standings. The Sooners were ranked fourth in the Preseason Big 12 Coaches' Poll.
OU has finished at or above its Big 12 preseason rank in each of the past seven seasons and 12 of 16 total. (There was no preseason poll in the league's first year, 1996-97).
THREE SOONERS EARN BIG 12 HONORS
Sophomore Aaryn Ellenberg and redshirt-junior Whitney Hand were named to the All-Big 12 First Team and freshman Sharane Campbell was recognized with the Big 12's Sixth Man Award as well as on the All-Freshman Team.
CRASHING THE BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore Nicole Griffin is among OU's top 10 in both single-season and career blocks. The 6-6 center has 52 blocks this year (after just 26 her freshman season), which is the eighth best single season behind LaNae Jones' 53 in 1994. Jones (5-8) and Courtney Paris (1-4) own OU's top seven single seasons.
Griffin's 78 career blocks also ranks ninth in OU's annals, currently trailing No. 8 Ashley Paris by four. Griffin's nine blocks versus Texas (Jan. 21) were the most by a Sooner since Courtney Paris had 10 against Texas Tech on March 1, 2006.
OKLAHOMA'S BIG 12 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Oklahoma has won the Big 12 Championship tournament a league-high four times with its last championship game victory coming in 2007 (2002, 2004, 2006 were the others).
The Sooners also have the most championship game appearances, six (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010), and the highest overall win percentage in the tournament, .636. OU's 21 tournament wins are the second most behind Iowa State's 22.
The Sooners have been knocked out in three straight seasons by Texas A&M.
2011 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Second Round: (3) Oklahoma 71, (6) Texas Tech 69
Semifinals: (2) Texas A&M 81, (3) Oklahoma 68
2010 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Second Round: (3) Oklahoma 59, (6) Baylor 54
Semifinals: (3) Oklahoma 74, (7) Oklahoma State 69
Championship: (4) Texas A&M 74, (3) Oklahoma 67
2009 - COX Convention Center, Oklahoma City
Second Round: (1) Oklahoma 76, (8) Kansas 59
Semifinals: (4) Texas A&M 74, (1) Oklahoma 62
2008 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
First Round: (12) Missouri 70, (5) Oklahoma 64 (OT)
2007 - COX Convention Center, Oklahoma City
Second Round: (2) Oklahoma 67, (7) Texas 58
Semifinals: (2) Oklahoma 78, (3) Baylor 64
Championship: (2) Oklahoma 67, (5) Iowa State 60
2006 - Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
Second Round: (1) Oklahoma 78, (9) Iowa State 74
Semifinals: (1) Oklahoma 75, (4) Missouri 54
Championship: (1) Oklahoma 72, (2) Baylor 61
2005 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
First Round: (7) Oklahoma 86, (10) Texas A&M 65
Second Round: (2) Texas 65, (7) Oklahoma 59
2004 - Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
First Round: (6) Oklahoma 60, (11) Texas A&M 47
Second Round: (6) Oklahoma 63, (3) Colorado 56
Semifinals: (6) Oklahoma 78, (2) Kansas State 66
Championship: (6) Oklahoma 66, (1) Texas 47
2003 - Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
First Round: (5) Oklahoma 71, (12) Nebraska 51
Second Round: (4) Colorado 73, (5) Oklahoma 68
2002 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Second Round: (1) Oklahoma 87, (8) Oklahoma State 56
Semifinals: (1) Oklahoma 69, (4) Kansas State 49
Championship: (1) Oklahoma 84, (2) Baylor 69
2001 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Second Round: (1) Oklahoma 80, (9) Kansas 61
Semifinals: (1) Oklahoma 102, (4) Colorado 93
Championship: (3) Iowa State 68, (1) Oklahoma 65
2000 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Second Round: (6) Texas 71, (3) Oklahoma 68
1999 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
First Round: (11) Oklahoma State 70, (6) Oklahoma 56
1998 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
First Round: (8) Colorado 71, (9) Oklahoma 66
1997 - Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
First Round: (5) Kansas State 81, (12) Oklahoma 56
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