OU Opens Big 12 Home Slate Tonight vs. Iowa State

^11/9 Iowa State

^3/2 Oklahoma

Jan. 2 | 6 p.m. CT | Norman, Okla.

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SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 3 Oklahoma faces No. 11 Iowa State in both schools' Big 12 Conference opener this Saturday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. OU, which is 11-0 and coming off a championship at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Cyclones are 11-1 this season and are under the direction of first year head coach Steve Prohm.

ON THE AIR

Saturday's contest 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 Scott Thompson announcing. The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.

TICKETS

Reserved seat tickets are sold out. Fans may purchase any returned seats at 11 a.m. on Saturday, exclusively at SoonerSports.com. Fans may also purchase seats from other fans on Stubhub. OU student tickets will also be available for $5 at the door on Saturday, while supplies last (doors open to public at 4:30 p.m.).

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• SCENE SETTER: No. 3 Oklahoma faces No. 11 Iowa State in both schools' Big 12 season opener this Saturday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. OU, which is 11-0 and coming off a championship at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Cyclones are 11-1 this season and are under the direction of first year head coach Steve Prohm. The Sooners are unbeaten headed in to conference play for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

• SERVING TREYS: OU, one of just three remaining undefeated D-I teams, currently ranks first in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.462) by hitting 110-238 of its shots from downtown this season. Oklahoma's all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a season is .414 (1986-87). Five Sooners are averaging at least .425 from beyond the arc, led by Buddy Hield, who is shooting .529 (37-70, avg. 3.4 3FGM). OU's average of 10.0 3-point makes per game ranks first in the Big 12 and 19th nationally.

• ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Sooners enter Saturday's game ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense with 87.0 points per game (ninth) and scoring margin (+20.9, eighth) by holding opponents to just 66.1 points per contest. OU is led in scoring by 2015 Big 12 Player of the Year Buddy Hield, who is averaging 24.9 points (fourth nationally, first among players from Power 5 conferences).

• THE BUCK(ETS) STOP HERE: OU is once again proving it is an elite team on defense, as 2015-16 opponents have struggled to score on the Sooners. OU ranks No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.356), including 14th nationally in 3-point field goal defense (.281). On the season, OU foes are just 77-274 from downtown (compared to Oklahoma's 110-238, .462 3FG% effort).

• STEADFAST SOONERS: Oklahoma isn't short on experience or leadership this season. The quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard have each started every game (79 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 316 combined starts. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (11 starts), Oklahoma boasts a starting five with 327 combined career starts.

SCOUTING THE CYCLONES

• ISU has won 19 games against ranked opponents in the last three seasons, the most in the nation. Iowa State has 18 total losses in that span. ISU has defeated four ranked opponents in a row, dating back to last season.

• The Cyclones are ranked No. 11 in this week's Associated Press poll. The Cyclones have been ranked in a school-record 44 consecutive polls. ISU is No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

• The Cyclones are 17-74 all-time against top-5 teams. ISU's last win against a top-5 team was Jan. 28, 2012 (Kansas, 72-64). The last win against a top-5 on the road was March 6, 2010 (Kansas State, 85-85 (ot)).

• Iowa State has had five different players score 20 or more points in a game this season. A sixth, Matt Thomas, scored 19 points against Iowa. Hallice Cooke has been in double figures three times this season and b twice in three games. In the last three games, ISU has six players averaging 9.3 points or better.

• Georges Niang is leading the Cyclones in scoring with 18.8 points per game. Niang is the leading active scorer in the Big 12 (1,736). He is second in the Big 12 in scoring average after tallying 30-point games twice this season. He's averaging 23.0 points the last three games and shooting 57.8 percent from the field. Niang has scored in double figures in 21 consecutive games. He has two double-doubles this season after having just two in his first three seasons at ISU.

• Monté Morris is averaging career highs in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. In the last six games, Morris is averaging 9.0 assists. He leads the Big 12 in assists (7.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (5.9) and is third and second nationally. He's averaging just one turnover every 26.4 minutes this season and one every 31.6 minutes in his career.

• Jameel McKay has been a force inside for the Cyclones. McKay is averaging just under a double-double with 14.4 points and 9.5 rebounds.

• The Sooners hold a 113-84 edge over the Cyclones in the all-time series. OU went 1-2 vs. ISU last season. Oklahoma came out on top in the first meeting in 2014-15 at home by a 94-83 margin on Feb. 9. Iowa State downed the Sooners in Ames 77-70 on March 2. In the Big 12 Tournament, the Cyclones outlasted the Sooners 67-65 on March 13 in the semifinals.

QUICK SHOTS

• Oklahoma's 11 wins to start the season marks the second best start in the last 26 years (began 12-0 in 2008-09). The school's all-time record for starting a season unblemished is 18-0 (1927-28).

• The Sooners (11-0) finished the non-conference undefeated for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

• OU is 3-1 in Big 12 season openers under head coach Lon Kruger.

• The Sooners are 1-0 this season against top 25 opponents. Oklahoma downed No. 9 Villanova in the Pearl Harbor Classic in Hawaii on Dec. 7 by a 78-55 final.

• Four of Oklahoma's five starters are averaging better than 45 percent from 3-point range. Collectively, the group is averaging .503 (93-185) from deep (Khadeem Lattin hasn't attempted a 3).

• Buddy Hield has scored 25 or more points in five straight games, the first Sooner to accomplish the feat since Ryan Minor (1994-95). Wayman Tisdale holds the longest streak of such games with six (did it twice).

• Hield has tallied a Big 12-best 274 points this season (24.9 ppg), which is 48 points higher than second place Georges Niang of Iowa State (226).

• Hield is averaging a Big 12-best 24.9 ppg, more than six ppg more than second-place Niang (18.8).

• Hield is one of only three players in Big 12 history to average at least 24.0 points and 5.0 rebounds (Michael Beasley, 07-08, and Kevin Durant, 06-07).

• Hield is the only player in the country to average greater than 50% FG, 50% 3FG, 90% FT and average greater than 20.0 points per game.

• Through 11 games this season, Jordan Woodard is averaging 13.9 points and 4.2 rebounds. He's shooting .475 (48-101) from the floor, .522 (24-46) from 3-point range and .892 (33-37) from the charity stripe. Comparatively, last season Woodard averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting .361 (90-249) from the field and .254 (17-67) from long distance.

• Ryan Spangler is one of 26 players in college basketball averaging at least 10 points and 10 boards.

CHASE FOR 1K, HIELD MOVING ON UP

• Junior Jordan Woodard and senior Ryan Spangler are on the cusp of scoring 1,000 points in their respective OU careers. Woodard needs 180 points and Spangler 232 and to be added to the current 42-member list at OU.

• Last game vs. Harvard, senior Isaiah Cousins surpassed the 1k scoring mark in his career (now has 1,001 points at OU).

• With Buddy Hield's 274 combined points this season, the senior has become the school's 10th all-time leading scorer with 1,640 career points (he needs just 7 points to pass Eduardo Najera into 9th). He has passed Don Sidle (1,548), John McCullough (1,507 career points), Chucky Barnett (1,462), Harvey Grant (1,391) and Steven Pledger (1,392) all this season. Additionally, Hield's 239 3-point FG makes ranks fourth all-time at OU.

HIELD'S HOT START

• OU guard Buddy Hield is off to a hot start to begin his senior season. The Bahamas native is averaging 24.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.0 minutes. He is shooting 51.5 percent (87-169) from the field, 52.9 percent (37-70) from long distance and 90.0 percent (63-70) from the charity stripe.

• His 24.9 points per game average ranks first among Big 12 players this season and fourth nationally (first among Power 5 conference players). His 52.9 3FG% ranks fourth in the country.

CALLING ON ALL RESERVES

• The Sooners are getting significantly more production from their bench than a season ago. Through 11 games in 2015-16, OU's reserves (excluding walk-ons) are averaging 64.4 minutes played (out of possible 200), 18.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Last season, Oklahoma's reserves (excluding walk-ons) averaged 42.5 minutes played (out of possible 200), 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest (35 total games).

UP NEXT

• Oklahoma gears up for its first Big 12 road test of the season at Kansas on Monday, Jan. 4. The 'Big Monday' matchup against the Jayhawks will tip at 8 p.m. CT and be televised nationally by ESPN. KU holds a 142-66 advantage over OU in the all-time series. The two teams split last season's matchups, 1-1. The last time Oklahoma was victorious in Lawrence inside Allen Fieldhouse was Feb. 17. 1993 (won 80-77).