Sooners Face No. 15 Illini in Norman

No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 15 Illinois \| Friday, Feb. 28 \| 6:45 p.m.
Be There	Lloyd Noble Center (Norman, Okla.) OU Athletics Ticket Office \| 1-800-456-4668
Watch Live	Sooner Sports TV (FSSW+, FCS Central, FS Oklahoma) Channel Listings Chad McKee and Kelly Garrison-Funderburk
Follow Live	Live Stats
Pre-Meet Info	Game Notes (PDF)

IN THE GYM: NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR WEEK EIGHT

1. HOME STRETCH
The No. 2 Oklahoma women's gymnastics team returns to Norman this weekend, opening a two-week home stretch of competition through early March. After one true home contest in five weeks of action, the Sooners will compete at home in back-to-back weekends for the first time since January. The span will provide a valuable opportunity for recovery time as well as a chance to build up momentum heading into postseason competition in March. OU is set to face Illinois this Friday night before challenging Arizona State on Senior Night next Friday, March 7.

2. DECODING THE RQS
The national rankings system moved to regional qualifying score (RQS) this week, shifting the Sooners to No. 2 in the country overall. RQS is used to determine seeding for regional assignments at six campus sites around the country in April. It is based on a team's six best regular season scores, three of which must be away. The overall high score is eliminated, and the five remaining scores are averaged.
Oklahoma RQS: [198.175 (A) + 197.700 (H) + 197.575 (A) + 197.325 (H) + 197.225 (A) + 197.200 (A) ] / 5 = 197.405

3. ROAD RESILIENCE
At least three of a team's top six scores must be away meets when calculating RQS--in the Sooners' case, four of their top six are away meets. Two of Oklahoma's top three scores this season have come on the road, including its nation-best 198.175 at the Metroplex Challenge on Feb. 15. Three of the team's top scores on individual apparatuses have been in away meets (bars, beam, floor) as well.

4. THREE ON FOUR
Oklahoma continues to display tremendous balance across the board on all four events this season: with RQS standings out for the first time this year, the Sooners are the nation's only team ranked in the top three nationally on every event. OU is ranked No. 2 nationally on beam and is third overall on vault, bars and floor. Only LSU and Utah are close to the Sooners' achievement, holding top three rankings on three of four events each. Oklahoma's consistency has been key: the squad has posted a nation-best 49.300 or higher in 75 percent of its event performances this year. Only one other team in the country has broken the 49.300 barrier at least 70 percent of the time (Florida, 71%).

5. YOUNG IMPACT, CLUTCH EXPERIENCE
Oklahoma's efforts in 2014 have been bolstered by big scores from underclassmen: all of the Sooners' top scores this season on each event have been from a freshman or sophomore. Sophomore Haley Scaman owns OU's top marks on vault (9.95) and floor (10.0), while freshman McKenzie Wofford boasts a team-high 9.975 on bars. Freshman Chayse Capps' 9.975 on beam is the high for OU, and she also owns a 9.95 on vault. Oklahoma's upperclassmen have used their experience and consistency to aid the squad in equally crucial ways, delivering clutch performances when the Sooners have needed it most. Oklahoma boasts a perfect 100 percent hit percentage in routines following a fall, with five of those seven performances coming from juniors or seniors.

NUMBER TO WATCH
27-0-1...Twenty-seven wins, zero losses: the Sooners are undefeated against the Big Ten conference under head coach K.J. Kindler, racking up 27 victories with no losses since 2007. OU's lone tie with a Big Ten team came in 2008, when the Sooners and Michigan posted identical marks of 196.075 at the NCAA Championships. Oklahoma is 10-0 all-time against Illinois and 1-0 this year against Big Ten teams following a win over Michigan last weekend.