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February 22, 2013 | Record: 17-8 (8-5 Big 12) | Gameday Central | Stats

Saturday Stripeout

All fans in attendance at Saturday's 4 p.m. game against Baylor will receive a free crimson or white t-shirt in alternating sections to create a striped effect. Much like the "Cheer Like a Champion" t-shirts fans received during the ESPN Big Monday win over Texas last month, the goal will be to add that same excitement to another pivotal Big 12 contest.

"It's fun, especially when it's full like that," junior forward Amath M'Baye said . "It's always good to see students and a big crowd. The fact that they were all wearing white shirts, it looks really cool, so I'm looking forward to (the stripeout)."

The players say they're focused and keyed in on what's taking place on the court. They say they try to avoid distractions during the game. But when the Lloyd Noble Center is rocking, there's no way not to notice the impact of the fans.

"It's huge," Sam Grooms said. "If you look at our games here at home, we've had a live crowd and they've been into the game and we've won. We want everybody to come out and support us and give us that push. That's an extra player on our team right there if the crowd's in it. We play off that, we feed off of it."

The Sooners are 9-2 at home, with wins over Kansas and Oklahoma State, both in this week's AP top 15. Given OU's success in Norman - its two losses have come by a combined three points - it's clear the home court advantage certainly helps.

The Art of Basketball

For senior Andrew Fitzgerald, basketball is art. He loves to play basketball, and he loves to draw. To him, the differences in style among basketball players and different types of art makes the two subjects similar.

Fitzgerald's game has its own style, just as his art is unique to himself. He draws for fun, as a hobby. His specialty is things in nature, like mountains or birds. The art is in the details.

As the Baltimore, Md., native tells Sooner Sports TV, drawing helps clear his mind and focus on what needs to get done.

Grooms Coming Alive

Senior point guard Sam Grooms is coming off what is likely the best two-game stretch of his career. Entering last Saturday's Bedlam contest at Oklahoma State, Grooms was averaging 2.5 points a contest and had totaled 30 points in OU's most recent 11 outings. Against the Cowboys, however, he scored a career-high 18 points on 9-for-11 shooting and added four assists. He followed with 12 points, five assists and no turnovers in the win at Texas Tech. For the week, he averaged 15 points and 4.5 assists and shot .684 from the floor.

"Sam's last two ball games have been terrific," head coach Lon Kruger said. "He's been very aggressive offensively, keeping pressure on the defense all the time. Not only penetrating and kicking, but also scoring. That's something we need out of Sam and we'd like to see that continue."

After starting all 31 games last season, Grooms has come off the bench in 23 of his 24 outings this year. Despite playing in a reserve role, he still has a team-high 62 assists (2.6 per game) against just 23 turnovers for a 2.7 ratio. Last season, he led the Big 12 with a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.

"Hard work pays off, that's it." Grooms said about what has changed lately. "I've been in (the practice gym) trying to get my mind right for the games, understanding that it's not going to happen if I don't come in here and do what I'm supposed to do. I've just been working hard. It's showing the benefits of it."

Grooms' hard work has certainly paid off lately. With five regular season games remaining, his goal is to continue his hot streak right into the postseason.

UP NEXT
Oklahoma hosts Baylor on Saturday at the LNC before next week's matchup at Texas:

Date	Opponent	Time
2/23	Baylor	4 p.m.
2/27	at Texas	8 p.m.

Tickets | Full Schedule
MOST RECENTLY
The Sooners dropped a tough overtime battle at No. 17 OSU, but rebounded with a 15-point win on the road in Lubbock:

Opponent	W/L	Score
Texas Tech	W	86-71
OSU (OT)	L	84-79

QUOTABLE
Freshman G Je'lon Hornbeak
"We love (the big home crowds). Any time we hit a big shot it just multiplies every time we have a big crowd and that fuels us to keep going harder."

Junior F Amath M'Baye
"(Sam's) a lot more confident. He's been playing great. I think he puts a lot of time in the gym, especially lately, and it's just work paying off. You're always happy when you see someone who's been struggling a little bit just stay the course, keep working and being able to perform like that."
TEAM NOTES

Stacey King, OU's No. 5 all-time scorer, will be in attendance at Saturday's game vs. Baylor and will be recognized in the first half. King's Sooners played in the national championship game 25 years ago.

The Sooners own a .436 season field goal percentage but are shooting .503 over the last three games. They've held opponents to a .387 mark during the stretch.

The seven teams who have beaten OU this year have combined for an average overall record of 21-5 on the season and four are ranked in the top 15 of this week's AP poll. The Sooners have lost by one, two and three points, and once in overtime.

2012-13 Game Notes

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Senior F Romero Osby
Osby has led (or tied for the lead) the team in scoring in nine of its 13 Big 12 games and has scored in double figures in all but one. He is averaging 15.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in conference play to rank sixth and fourth in the league, respectively.

Senior G Steven Pledger
After averaging 6.5 points on 2-for-17 3-point shooting over a four-game span to start February, Pledger is averaging 20.0 points on 9-for-19 3-point shooting over the last two outings. He netted 18 points at Oklahoma State last Saturday and followed with a season-high 22 points (six treys) at Texas Tech. He ranks fifth in the Big 12 with his 2.0 treys per contest.

Junior F Amath M'Baye
M'Baye registered perhaps his best game as a Sooner Wednesday at Texas Tech, finishing with 15 points and career highs of 13 rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes. It marked the first double-double at OU for the Wyoming transfer. M'Baye had averaged 8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists the previous five games.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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Twitter: @SoonerHoops
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