OU Returns to Sold-Out Crowd vs. Kansas State

Kansas State

^2/1 Oklahoma

Jan. 9 | 3:30 p.m. CT | Norman, Okla.

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 2/1 Oklahoma returns home to host its second Big 12 game of the season Saturday, Jan. 9, versus Kansas State at 3:30 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. OU, which is 12-1 overall and 1-1 in conference, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Wildcats are 10-4 this season (0-2 Big 12) and are under the direction of Bruce Weber, now in his fourth season with the Wildcats.

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 Big 12 matchup will be televised by ESPNEWS with Mark Neely and Jerod Ward calling the action.

TICKETS

Reserved-seat tickets against Kansas State are sold out. Fans may purchase any returned seats at 10 a.m. on Saturday, exclusively at SoonerSports.com. Fans may also purchase seats from other fans on Stubhub. OU student tickets (for non-student season ticket holders) will also be available for $5 at the door on Saturday, while supplies last (doors open to public at 2 p.m.). OU students with season tickets may simply swipe their Sooner One Cards at the door to enter.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• SCENE SETTER: No. 2/1 Oklahoma returns home to host its second Big 12 game of the season Saturday, Jan. 9, versus Kansas State at 3:30 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. OU, which is 12-1 overall and 1-1 in conference, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Wildcats are 10-4 this season (0-2 Big 12) and are under the direction of Bruce Weber, now in his fourth season with the Wildcats. OU is currently ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time since March 6, 1990.

• WILDCAT CONNECTIONS: OU head coach Lon Kruger was the 1973 and '74 Big Eight Player of the Year as a Kansas State Wildcat and coached at the school for four years, compiling an 81-46 record from 1986-87 through 1989-90. Sooners assistant coach Steve Henson played for Kruger at K-State each of those four seasons and still holds school career records for assists (582), assists per game (4.58), free throw percentage (.900), minutes per game (35.2), starts (118), consecutive games played (127) and consecutive starts (118). Both are members of K-State's Athletics Hall of Fame.

• SERVING TREYS: Oklahoma currently ranks third in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.457) by hitting 137-300 of its shots from downtown this season. Oklahoma's all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a campaign is .414 (1986-87). OU has connected on at least 10 treys in eight games this year. Four Sooners are averaging at least .430 from beyond the arc, led by Jordan Woodard, who is shooting .552 (32-58, avg. 2.5 3FGM). OU's average of 10.5 3-point makes per game ranks first in the Big 12 and ninth nationally.

• ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Sooners enter Saturday's game ranked in the top 15 in both scoring offense with 88.5 points per game (fourth) and scoring margin (+17.8, 12th) by holding opponents to just 70.7 points per contest. Oklahoma has scored at least 80 points in seven straight games and in 11 of 13 contests this season.

• BUDDY BUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 26.3 points per game, which ranks second in the nation and first in the Big 12. He has scored at least 20 points in seven straight games and ranks sixth in the nation by shooting 50.0 percent (47-94) from 3-point range. The Bahamas native, who had a career-high 46 points last game versus Kansas, has five games of at least 30 points this season, including four times in the past seven contests.

• STEADFAST SOONERS: Oklahoma isn't short on experience or leadership this season. The quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard have each started every game (81 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 324 combined starts. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (13 starts), Oklahoma boasts a starting five with 337 combined career starts.

SCOUTING KANSAS STATE

• Kansas State travels to Norman with a 10-4 overall record, including an 0-2 start in Big 12 play. Last game, the Wildcats were defeated by the Texas Longhorns in Austin by a 60-57 final.

• Three of Kansas State's four losses this season have come against ranked teams (No. 9/8 North Carolina, No. 25 Texas A&M, No. 19/17 West Virginia).

• K-State is coached by Bruce Weber, now in his fourth season in Manhattan. Weber is 72-42 with the Wildcats.

• The Wildcats, who have deployed the same starting five in all 14 games this season, have three players averaging double-figure scoring, led by Wesley Iwundu with 13.1 point per contest, followed by Justin Edwards (12.6) and Dean Wade (10.8). Wade also leads the team in rebounding with 6.1 boards per game.

• Prior to the loss at Texas, Iwundu had eight straight games scoring in double figures. Edwards has scored in double figures in 11 of 14 games this season.

• Kansas State is tough defensively, ranking 23rd in the country in scoring defense (63.2). The Wildcats rank first in the nation in 3-Point FG defense by holding opponents to .246 shooting from deep.

• Barry Brown has scored in double figures in five games and has led the team in scoring on three occasions.

• Oklahoma leads Kansas State in the all-time series by a 105-96 margin, including a 60-27 mark in Norman. Last season, the Wildcats topped the Sooners in both outings (66-63 in Norman and 59-56 in Manhattan).

QUICK SHOTS

• Oklahoma has made at least 10 treys in eight games this season. In 35 contests last year, the Sooners registered just seven games of double-digit 3-point makes.

• OU enters Saturday's contest having scored at least 80 points in seven straight games and in 11 of 13 total contests this season (averaging 88.5 ppg).

• Four of Oklahoma's five starters are averaging better than 43 percent from 3-point range. Collectively, the group is averaging .492 (118-240) from deep (Khadeem Lattin hasn't attempted a 3).

• Buddy Hield has scored 20 or more points in seven straight games, the first Sooner to accomplish that feat since Corey Brewer (1997-98, seven straight). The last Sooner to record eight or more of such games was Nate Erdmann (1996-97 season). In the last five games, Hield is averaging 30.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 39.2 minutes.

• Hield has five games this season scoring at least 30 points, including four times in the past seven outings. The rest of the Big 12 has combined for six 30-point individual outings on the year.

• Hield is currently the only player in the country to have played in at least five games and average more than 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest.

• Hield's 46 points vs. KU tied as the most by a Division I player this year. His performance marked just the 19th time in the last 20 years a player finished with at least 45 points and at least 5 assists.

• Hield has tallied a Big 12-best 342 points (seventh-most in the country) this season (26.3 ppg), which is 73 points higher than second place Georges Niang of Iowa State (269).

• Hield is averaging a Big 12-best 26.3 ppg, more than seven ppg greater than second-place Niang (19.2).

• Through 13 games this season, Jordan Woodard is averaging 14.9 points and 4.0 rebounds. He's shooting .477 (62-130) from the floor, .552 (32-58) from 3-point range and .884 (38-43) 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's 10.8 rebounds per game ranks 12th in the nation (second in the Big 12). The senior is one of 21 players in the nation averaging at least 10 points and 10 rebounds.

• The Sooners currently have the second- (Lattin, 1.9) and fourth-best (Manyang, 1.7) shot blockers in the Big 12.

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 139 points and Spangler 198 to be added to the current 42-member list at OU.

• In OU's game vs. Harvard on Dec. 25, senior Isaiah Cousins surpassed the 1k scoring mark in his career (now has 1,020 points at OU).

• With Buddy Hield's 342 combined points this season, the senior has become the school's eighth all-time leading scorer with 1,708 career points. He has passed Alvan Adams (1,707), Eduardo Najera (1,646), 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 249 3-point FG makes ranks tied-second all-time at OU (needs just 11 more treys to pass Terry Evans into first all-time at OU).

#BUDDYBUCKETS

• On the season, Buddy Hield is averaging 26.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.5 minutes per game. He's shooting .502 (108-215) from the field, .500 (47-94) from 3-point range and .898 (79-88) from the charity stripe.

• His 26.3 points per game average ranks first among Big 12 players this season and second nationally (first among Power 5 conference players). His 50.0 3FG% ranks sixth in the country. His 3.62 3FGM per game ranks sixth in nation.

• Hield has scored at least 20 points in 11 of 13 games (including seven straight) this season after doing it 13 times in 35 games last season.

CALLING ON ALL RESERVES

• The Sooners are getting more production from their bench than a season ago. Through 13 games in 2015-16, OU's reserves (excluding walk-ons) are averaging 63.2 minutes played (out of possible 200), 16.4 points, 19.9 rebounds and 2.6 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

• BEDLAM: The Sooners travel to Stillwater, Okla., next Wednesday, Jan. 13, for a tussle with Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. CT inside Gallagher-Iba Arena (ESPNU). Oklahoma has won five straight in the series, including a perfect 3-0 mark last season.

• Last season's results vs. OSU: Jan. 17 Norman (82-65), Jan. 31 In Stillwater (64-56), March 12 in Kansas City at the Big 12 Tournament (64-49, quarterfinals).