OU Faces Abilene Christian in Friday Matinee

ABILENE CHRISTIAN

Oklahoma

November 25 | 2 p.m. CT | Lloyd Noble Center

FRIDAY'S GAME BASICS

Oklahoma (3-1) returns to the Lloyd Noble Center for a holiday weekend matinee against Abilene Christian (2-1) on Friday, Nov. 25. The Sooners face the Wildcats for the first time since 1982, hosting ACU on the day after Thanksgiving at 2 p.m. Oklahoma aims to start the season 4-1 for the sixth consecutive season under Lon Kruger. OU has began the year by winning four of its first five games in each season under Kruger, including a 5-0 start in 2015-16. Kruger is the only coach in OU history to lead the Sooners to a 4-1 or better start in all of his first five seasons as head coach.

ON THE AIR

Friday'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 Kevin Henry announcing. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Oklahoma with Chad McKee and Bryndon Manzer calling the action.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• After taking third place in the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, Fla., the Sooners are back at home for the second time this season. Oklahoma has won 123 of its last 128 non-conference games at Lloyd Noble Center, including 57 of its last 59. The Sooners are 31-2 at home and 60-15 overall against non-conference opponents under Kruger. OU is 20-1 at the LNC in out-of-conference play since 2013.

• After a prolific season of 3-point shooting in 2015-16 that included hitting a program-record 382-of-906 (.422) shots from behind the arc, the Sooners are off to another hot start from deep. Oklahoma ranks 10th nationally and third in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (.459), sinking an average of 8.5 treys per game. OU has been paced by Christian James and Jordan Woodard with 10 3-pointers each through four games. In his most recent game (Nov. 20 vs. Clemson), James went 5-of-5 from 3-point range and was the first Sooner to shoot 100 percent from 3-point range on at least five attempts since Buddy Hield went 7-for-7 against Southeastern Louisiana in 2014. James is shooting 10-for-14 (.714) from behind the arc this season and is eight 3-point field goals away from surpassing his 2015-16 season total (17-of-34 in 35 games).

• Through four games, the Sooners have seen numerous newcomers contribute to their 3-1 start. An OU freshman has scored in double figures in three of the Sooners' four games. Matt Freeman opened the season with 15 points against Northwestern State (Nov. 13), Kristian Doolittle tallied 13 points against Northern Iowa (Nov. 18) and Kameron McGusty scored 14 versus Clemson (Nov. 20). All five of OU's scholarship newcomers (Doolitte, Freeman, McGusty, Jordan Shepherd and Darrion Strong-Moore) are averaging at least 10 minutes per game and collectively average 26.3 points per contest.

• Tallying eight blocked shots in the first four games of the season, junior forward Khadeem Lattin has moved into the top five career shotblockers in program history with 116 in just 75 career games for the Sooners. Owning a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Lattin averaged a Big 12-best 2.1 blocks per game in 2015-16, including 2.7 rejections in conference play.

• The last time the Sooners and Wildcats met (Dec. 6, 1982), Wayman Tisdale led Oklahoma to a 110-61 rout. Tisdale scored 51 points on 22-of-27 shooting while adding 17 rebounds. Tisdale's scoring performance was the third highest of his career and fourth most in OU history.

LOOKING BACK AT THE TIRE PROS INVITATIONAL

• Oklahoma (3-1) claimed third place in the Tire Pros Invitational by defeating Clemson (2-2), 70-64, on Sunday at HP Field House in Orlando, Fla. The Sooners have finished in third place or better in all six in-season tournaments under Lon Kruger. OU is 14-5 when playing in-season tournaments games in the Kruger era.

• The Sooners bounced back after an overtime loss to Northern Iowa in the semifinals on Friday. Since 2013, Oklahoma is 23-5 in games after a loss.

• Freshman forward Kristian Doolittle tied the game at 59 on a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation. The bucket forced overtime after the Sooners trailed by five with 19 seconds to play. Doolittle finished the night with a career-high 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

• Senior guard Jordan Woodard totaled 21 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals. It is the second time this season that Woodard has produced at least 20 points, five assists and five rebounds and the first game in Woodard's career that he dished out nine assists while scoring at least 20 points.

• Sophomore guard Christian James scored 14 second-half points on 5-of-7 shooting, knocking down all four of his 3-point attempts. All of James's second-half 3-pointers came when Clemson was within 8 or less points of the Sooners and the guard scored 14 of Oklahoma's final 19 points.

Kristian Doolittle leads the Sooners with 6.8 rebounds per game.

BULLDOGS BACK TOGETHER

• Oklahoma's starting lineup in the first four games included freshman forward Kristian Doolittle, the first freshman to start for the Sooners since Jordan Woodard in the 2013-14 season. Doolittle finished his debut with five points and three rebounds in 19 minutes. Doolittle and Woodard played together for one season at Edmond Memorial High School (Edmond, Okla.), winning the Oklahoma 6A title with the Bulldogs. The duo is the first pair of former high school teammates to start in a game for the Sooners since Blake and Taylor Griffin (Oklahoma Christian School in Edmond, Okla.) in 2008-09.

•Woodard enters Friday's game with 109 consecutive collegiate starts, tied for the most among current NCAA Division I players. Woodard is one of just four players in NCAA Division I to hold a current starting streak of at least 105 games. A 2015-16 All-Big 12 honorable mention selection, Woodard was the team's second-leading scorer last season with averages of 13.0 points (10th in Big 12), 3.4 assists (ninth), 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals (fifth) in 29.8 minutes. The Big 12 coaches voted Woodard a preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection ahead of the 2016-17 season. Through four games, the guard is averaging 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.5 steals.

• Doolittle has already produced one game of double-digit scoring and an outing of double-digit rebounding. He is averaging 7.0 points (fourth on team) while leading the Sooners with 6.8 boards per contest. He is the first freshman to start for OU since Woodard was a freshman in 2013-14.

SERIES HISTORY

• OU is 2-0 all time against ACU, with both games being played in Norman. Friday's meeting will be the first game between the Sooners and Wildcats since 1982.

• The Sooners won their two previous matchups with ACU by an average of 36.5 points.

UP NEXT

• Oklahoma hosts Northern Colorado on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The Sooners own a 2-0 all-time record against the Bears. The contest will tip at 7 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

• Tuesday's game will be the first meeting between Oklahoma and Northern Colorado since 2009 when UNC fell to the Sooners by just one point (80-79).

• The Sooners play five of their next six games in Oklahoma with LNC matchups starting with Friday's contest against Abilene Christian (Nov. 25). OU then hosts Northern Colorado (Nov. 29), Oral Roberts (Dec. 7) and Memphis (Dec. 17). The Sooners face Wichita State at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena on Dec. 10 in the All-College Classic. Oklahoma's lone road game in the month of December is at Wisconsin on Dec. 3. The Sooners also face Auburn in a neutral-site game in Uncasville, Conn., on Dec. 21.