OU Closes Pre-Conference Slate Wednesday

George Mason (5-6)

18/21 Oklahoma (8-3)

December 31 | 4 p.m. CT | Lloyd Noble Center | Norman

QUICK PREVIEW
No. 18/21 Oklahoma (8-3) concludes its pre-conference schedule when it hosts George Mason (5-6) on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners, who are 5-0 at home with an average scoring margin of +26.4, are coming off an 85-51 win over Weber State on Dec. 22 in which they set an NCAA record (against a Division I opponent) with a 39-0 scoring run. George Mason has won three straight games, the most recent a 68-60 road triumph at Wright State on Dec. 23.

ON THE AIR
Wednesday's contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM "The Franchise" in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 93; XM 193) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck calling the action. The game will be televised by Sooner Sports TV (FS Southwest) with Bob Carpenter, Renzi Stone and Jessica Coody announcing.

TICKETS
• Tickets for Wednesday's game are available for $10, $20 and $30 online at SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

• OU student tickets cost $10.

FIVE TOP STORYLINES
• Oklahoma won its lone meeting against George Mason, an 81-66 decision last year (Dec. 12) in Washington, D.C. (box score on page 22 of these notes). OU shot .483 from the field while holding the Patriots to a .302 mark, the second lowest figure surrendered by the Sooners all season. For the first time in 16 years, three Sooners registered double-doubles in a game. Cameron Clark scored a game-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds, Ryan Spangler finished with 13 points and a game-high 13 boards, and Buddy Hield contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Woodard added 15 points. OU posted a 51-29 advantage on the glass but committed 19 turnovers, its second most of the season.

• Oklahoma has won 107 of its last 111 home games against non-conference opponents, and 49 of its last 51. The only non-conference opponents to beat OU at Lloyd Noble Center in the last 15 years were Villanova (2006-07), Stephen F. Austin (2007-08 and 2012-13) and Louisiana Tech (2013-14).

OU has dominated its five home games, winning by an average of 26.4 points and outshooting its opponents .509 to .343 from the field and .423 to .298 from 3-point range.

• OU has dominated its five home games, winning by an average of 26.4 points and outshooting its opponents .509 to .343 from the field and .423 to .298 from 3-point range. The Sooners' starting five is shooting .567 (127 for 224) from the field. The junior trio of Hield (16 for 28; .571), Isaiah Cousins (11 for 18; .611) and Spangler (4 for 7; .571) is shooting a combined .585 (31 for 53) from behind the arc at Lloyd Noble Center. Spangler is shooting .750 from the field at home (30 for 40).

• The Sooners have outscored their opponents by 7.3 points per game off turnovers on the year (17.2-9.9). At Lloyd Noble Center, that average figure jumps to 13.8 points per game (23.6-9.8). The last two home games, OU has outscored Oral Roberts (30-3) and Weber State (35-7) by a 65-10 count off turnovers.

• OU has displayed a balanced scoring attack this season with four starters averaging between 10.5 and 15.5 points per game, and another averaging 8.5. Six different players (Cousins, Hield, Spangler, TaShawn Thomas, Dinjiyl Walker and Woodard) have led or co-led the team in scoring in the last six outings. Each of OU's five starters has scored at least 20 points three or more times in their careers.

PREVIEWING GEORGE MASON
• Second-year Atlantic 10 member George Mason enters Wednesday's game with a 5-6 record. The Patriots have won three straight contests, including a road game against Wright State in their most recent outing (68-60 on Dec. 23). Their only other road game was a 71-65 overtime loss on Dec. 6 to a Northern Iowa team that enters the week with an 11-1 record. GMU averages 68.8 points per contest on .434 field goal, .311 3-point and .663 free throw shooting. Opponents are averaging 69.8 points on .420 field goal and .323 3-point shooting.

• Junior guard Patrick Holloway leads three Patriots who average double figures in scoring. The 6-1, 167-pounder started the first seven games of the year but has come off the bench each of the last four. Holloway is averaging 12.8 points and has made a team-high 20 3-pointers (shooting .308 from long distance). Junior center Shevon Thompson is averaging 12.7 points and a team-high 11.3 rebounds a game (ranks sixth nationally) while shooting .544 from the field. He is coming off a 24-point, 14-rebound performance in the win at Wright State. Sophomore guard Marquise Moore averages 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.8 assists per outing. He leads the team with his 64 free throw attempts (.781).

• George Mason head coach Paul Hewitt is in his fourth year at the school and owns a 62-51 (.549) record. A 1985 graduate of St. John Fisher College who was born in Jamaica, Hewitt also spent three years as head coach at Siena and 11 years at Georgia Tech. He guided the Yellow Jackets to the 2004 national title game and owns a 318-240 (.570) career record.

Dinjiyl Walker

SOONER TIP-INS
• Oklahoma has held 10 of its 11 opponents to sub-44-percent field goal shooting. Eight opponents have shot 40 percent or less.

• OU is holding opponents to 60.9 points a game and limiting them to .365 field goal and .298 3-point shooting. Through 11 games last year, opponents averaged 77.9 points on .427 field goal and .333 3-point shooting.

• The Sooners averaged 15.1 turnovers per game through the season's first eight contests. But in the last three games against Oral Roberts, Washington and Weber State, they are averaging just 7.7 turnovers (season-low six vs. ORU, eight against the Huskies and nine vs. Weber State).

• OU returned 68 percent of its scoring, 70 percent of its rebounding and 73 percent of its assists from last season's 23-10 squad that finished in sole possession of second place in the Big 12 (12-6). The Sooners welcomed back four starters (each started all 33 games) in juniors Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousins and Ryan Spangler, and sophomore Jordan Woodard. Senior TaShawn Thomas started all 33 games last year at the University of Houston. Those five players have started every game this season.

• Spangler (.618) and Thomas (.583) rank first and second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage, while Cousins ranks ninth (.491).

• Cousins has shot at least 50 percent from 3-point range in six of 11 games this year, including in five of the last seven contests. He ranks fourth in the Big 12 with his .444 season 3-point mark. Cousins shot .250 from 3-point range as a freshman and .404 last year.

• Spangler is 7 for 15 from 3-point range this season after going 3 for 11 all of last year. He has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 35 of his 44 games at OU.

• Cousins (6.2) and Hield (5.1), who both stand 6-foot-4, rank second and third among Big 12 guards in rebounds per game. Iowa State guard Bryce DeJean-Jones (6-foot-6), averages 6.6 boards per contest.

UP NEXT
OU begins Big 12 play on Saturday when it hosts Baylor at 3 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center. The game will be televised by ESPNU. The Sooners hold a 41-11 series advantage and are 20-4 against the Bears in Norman.