OU in Kansas for Big Monday Matchup

11/14 Kansas (14-3)

19/20 Oklahoma (12-5)

January 19 | 8 p.m. CT | Allen Fieldhouse | Lawrence, Kan.

QUICK PREVIEW
No. 19/20 Oklahoma (12-5, 3-2) goes for its first win at No. 11/14 Kansas (14-3, 3-1) since 1993 when it plays inside Allen Fieldhouse on Monday at 8 p.m. CT. The Sooners, who are 4-4 away from home this season, are coming off a dominating 82-65 home win over No. 24/24 Oklahoma State on Saturday (led 41-20 at halftime). The Jayhawks, winners of all nine of their home games, lost an 86-81 decision at No. 11/13 Iowa State on Saturday.

ON THE AIR
Monday's game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM "The Franchise" in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck calling the action. Brent Musburger, Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe will announce the ESPN Big Monday telecast.

FIVE TOP STORYLINES
• Kansas is the only Big 12 program with a winning record against Oklahoma. The Jayhawks own a 141-65 series lead and have won 12 of the last 13 meetings after OU had won four of six. KU holds a 72-16 series record in Lawrence and has won the last 13 matchups there. OU's last win inside Allen Fieldhouse came in 1993 (80-77) when Billy Tubbs was head coach. Senior point guard Terry Evans went 6-for-10 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 26 points. OU never trailed in the second half against the sixth-ranked Jayhawks. KU had won 20 straight Big Eight games prior to the defeat.

• Oklahoma has played seven AP Top-25 opponents this year, most among Big 12 schools. Kansas will mark OU's eighth AP Top-25 foe this season (fifth in six Big 12 games). OU is 4-3 against ranked opponents with wins vs. UCLA in the Bahamas, vs. Baylor, at Texas and vs. Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks will mark the Sooners' 10th opponent that has been ranked for at least one week this year. OU's next opponent, Baylor, is also ranked (No. 21 in the Jan. 19 AP poll).

In conference play, Buddy Hield is averaging league highs of 22.4 points a game (next highest average is 18.0) and 3.4 3-pointers a contest (next highest average is 2.3).

• OU junior guard Buddy Hield has been on tear, scoring at least 20 points in four of the team's five Big 12 games and pacing the squad with 13 in the other contest. In conference play, Hield is averaging league highs of 22.4 points a game (next highest average is 18.0) and 3.4 3-pointers a contest (next highest average is 2.3). He also ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (.486), third in field goal percentage (.552), sixth in free throw percentage (.840) and seventh in rebounding (7.0 rpg; tops among league guards). The Freeport, Bahamas, native has led OU in scoring in four straight games and in five of the last six. He is averaging 26.3 points the last three games.

• OU has held 15 of 17 opponents below their season average in points (only Tulsa and West Virginia surpassed their average). On the year, the Sooners are holding foes to 61.3 points a game and limiting them to .369 field goal shooting (ranks 11th nationally out of 351 teams) and .284 3-point shooting (17th). Last season, opponents averaged 76.0 points on .437 field goal and .342 3-point shooting.

• Oklahoma is the only Big 12 team that has started the same five players in every game this season. In fact, OU was one of just seven teams nationally last year that used the same starting lineup in every game. Hield, Isaiah Cousins, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard have all started the last 50 games while TaShawn Thomas has started all 113 of his career contests (96 at Houston).

PREVIEWING KANSAS
• Winner or co-winner of the Big 12 regular season title for each of the last 10 years, No. 11/14 Kansas is off to a 14-3 overall start and is 3-1 in Big 12 play (tied for second place). The Jayhawks' three losses this year have come vs. Kentucky (72-40 Nov. 18 in Chicago), at Temple (77-52 Dec. 22) and at Iowa State (86-81 Saturday). KU is averaging 71.5 points per game (ranks fifth in Big 12) on .432 field goal shooting (seventh), .389 3-point shooting (first) and .714 free throw shooting (third). It is holding opponents to 64.1 points per game (ranks ninth) on .409 field goal shooting (eighth) and .337 3-point shooting (eighth). The Jayhawks rank third in the Big 12 with their +7.4 average rebounding margin.

• Sophomore guard Frank Mason and junior forward Perry Ellis both score in double figures on the year. Mason is averaging a team-high 12.9 points a game on .490 field goal and .471 3-point (24 for 51) shooting. He also averages a team-high 4.2 assists per game and leads the squad with his 24 steals. Mason is coming off a 21-point performance at Iowa State. Ellis averages 12.6 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds a contest. He is shooting .424 from the field and paces the team with his 84 free throw attempts (shooting .714). Sophomore guard Wayne Selden contributes 9.2 points a game while freshmen Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre average 8.1 and 8.0 points, respectively.

• Bill Self is in his 12th year as Kansas' head coach and owns a 339-72 record there. He is in his 22nd year overall (546-177).

SATURDAY'S OKLAHOMA STATE RECAP
• No. 18 Oklahoma shot 55.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent (8 for 18) from 3-point range to post an 82-65 home win over No. 24 Oklahoma State on Saturday. It was OU's 11th consecutive (and 14th in the last 15) home win in the series.

• Oklahoma State's only lead of the game was 2-0. The Sooners scored the next 11 points and led 41-20 at halftime on 60.9 percent shooting. OU led by as many as 23 points in each half and OSU never got closer than 14 after intermission.

• OU's .558 field goal mark was its third best of the season. The Sooners held OSU to a .373 mark from the field and a .269 figure from 3-point range (7 for 26). The Cowboys didn't hit their first 3-pointer until 11:11 remained in the game (started 0 for 15).

• Junior guard Buddy Hield made all 10 of his shots from the field (tied a Big 12 record for conference play) and finished with a game-high 27 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Hield entered the game shooting .519 from 3-point range at home this year and went 4 for 4 on the night to up his percentage at Lloyd Noble Center to .552 (32 for 58). He had as many points (18) as OSU with less than a minute left in the first half.

• Oklahoma products Jordan Woodard and Ryan Spangler each scored in double figures. Woodard tallied 13 points (second highest total of the season) on 5-for-7 shooting and added five boards and four assists. Spangler notched his fifth double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and added three assists.

• The Oklahoma State duo of Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte entered the game as the Big 12's leading scorers (17.9 and 17.8 points per game, respectively). OU held Nash to 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting and Forte to 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting. Forte's 11 points were his second fewest of the season. He failed to make a 3-pointer for the first time this season (was 0 for 5). He had made a trey in 21 straight outings dating back to last year.

TaShawn Thomas

SOONER TIP-INS
• Oklahoma set an NCAA record (against a Division I opponent) Dec. 22 when it went on a 39-0 run against Weber State in an 85-51 home win. The former NCAA record of a 37-0 run was set by Utah State against Idaho on Feb. 15, 2006.

• OU has won its 12 games by an average of 20.0 points (all by double digits). Three of its five losses have been by three points or less.

• In Big 12 play, Oklahoma ranks second in the league in both 3-point field goal percentage (.384) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.306). The Sooners also rank second in average scoring margin (+4.8), behind only Kansas (+9.5).

• Oklahoma has outscored its opponents off turnovers in nine of the last 10 games and in 14 of 17 contests on the year. In their nine home games, the Sooners have posted a 173-82 advantage in points off turnovers.

• The Sooners have held 12 of their 17 opponents to 40-percent-or-lower field goal shooting. They have held four foes (three of the last seven) to 30-percent-or-lower field goal marks. No opponent has shot 50 percent or better this year.

• 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.

• Each of OU's five starters has scored at least 20 points three or more times in their careers.

• OU led the Big 12 in free throw shooting each of the last two years (.749 last season and .756 in 2012-13) and is shooting .721 this year to rank second in the league. Woodard ranks fifth in the Big 12 (.824) while Hield ranks sixth (.818).

• Cousins has shot at least 50 percent from 3-point range in nine of 17 games this year, including in eight of the last 13 contests. He ranks third in the Big 12 with his .444 season 3-point mark and fifth with his 1.9 treys per game. Cousins shot .250 from 3-point range as a freshman and .404 last year.

• Woodard posted a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio in OU's first seven games (29 assists and 23 turnovers), but over the last 10 outings owns a 2.9 ratio (47 assists and 16 turnovers).

• Cousins (5.7) and Hield (5.6), who both stand 6-foot-4, rank second and third among Big 12 guards in rebounds per game. Woodard ranks second among Big 12 point guards with his 3.9 boards an outing.

• OU returned 71 percent of its 3-point production from last season's team that averaged a school-record 8.6 treys per game. This year's Sooners rank third in the Big 12 by averaging 6.8 3-pointers a contest.

• Each of head coach Lon Kruger's first three Oklahoma teams finished higher than where they were picked in the Big 12 preseason poll. Last year the Sooners were picked tied for fifth and finished second. In 2012-13 OU was slotted seventh and finished tied for fourth. In 2011-12 OU was picked ninth and wound up eighth. Kruger's squad was picked third in this year's poll.

UP NEXT
OU completes its only back-to-back Big 12 road stretch when it plays at No. 22/23 Baylor on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT (televised by ESPN2).