Sooners Open Big 12 Play Friday vs. Baylor

4/4 BAYLOR

Oklahoma

December 30 | 6 p.m. CT | Lloyd Noble Center

FRIDAY'S GAME BASICS

For the first time in Big 12 Conference history, Oklahoma (6-5) begins conference play in December when it hosts No. 4/4 Baylor (12-0) at Lloyd Noble Center on Friday, Dec. 30. OU is 4-1 in Big 12 openers under head coach Lon Kruger and has opened conference play with a win in the past four seasons. The Friday night matchup is just the start for the Sooners and their 2016-17 Big 12 campaign. Oklahoma will face each Big 12 team twice in a league that has sent seven of its 10 members to the NCAA Tournament in the past three-straight seasons. The Sooners' first five Big 12 games are all against teams with one or fewer losses. Those five teams (Baylor, TCU, Kansas State, Kansas, Texas Tech) combine for a record of 56-4.

ON THE AIR

The Big 12 opener tips off at 6 p.m. CT 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 nationally on ESPN2 with Doug Sherman and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.

TICKETS

Tickets for the Big 12 opener start at just $15 and are available here.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Head coach Lon Kruger has used five different starting lineups throughout the first 11 games of the 2016-17 season. In Oklahoma's past two games, Kruger has started freshman Jordan Shepherd at point guard. Shepherd entered his first start (Dec. 17 vs. Memphis) averaging just 2.7 points and 8.8 minutes in his first nine games and had seen just one minute of action in the previous contest, but responded to the shake-up by scoring a career-high 18 points in his first career start. The freshman followed up his debut with a team-high 13 points against Auburn on Dec. 21.

•Sophomore guard Rashard Odomes has scored in double figures seven times this season and ranks third on the team with 10.1 points per game. Odomes has seen one of the largest role increases for Oklahoma this season. After averaging 1.9 points (35 total points) in just 6.1 minutes per game in 2015-16, he has already tripled his total points output with 111 on the season in 24.2 minutes per contest.

• Ranked No. 4 in both the AP and Coaches polls, Baylor is OU's highest-rated opponent to date this season and the second team to face the Sooners while ranked in the AP Top 25. Oklahoma is 14-5 at home against AP Top 25 teams in the Kruger era, including 4-4 against top 10 teams and 1-2 versus teams in the top five. OU has won 12 of its last 14 home games against AP Top 25 opponents.

• Oklahoma boasts a 35-10 (.778) home record during Big 12 play in the Lon Kruger era and has won 19 of its past 21 home conference games.

• The Sooners have used five different lineups this season - the second-most starting lineup combinations during his six seasons at Oklahoma. Kruger sent out six different lineups during the 2012-13 campaign.

LOOKING BACK AT AUBURN

• Oklahoma (6-5) fell to Auburn (9-2), 74-70, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., as part of the Birthday of Basketball. The Sooners fell victim to a 17-point deficit (45-28) with 16:41 left in the contest, but rallied to end the game within four. OU outscored the Tigers 48-38 in the second half.

• For the first time in four seasons, the Oklahoma lineup was without senior guard Jordan Woodard, who sat out due to a high leg injury. Woodard had started in 115 consecutive games for the Sooners – the second-longest starting streak among active NCAA Division I players (Valparaiso's Alec Peters leads the country with 116).

• Oklahoma forced 23 Auburn turnovers - the most committed by the Tigers this season and the most by an OU opponent this year. The 23 miscues were the most by a Sooner opponent since Weber State committed 23 on Dec. 22, 2014.

• OU's 17 offensive boards marked a season high for the squad. The previous best of 16 came against Oral Roberts on
Dec. 7.

Shepherd

Jordan Shepherd is averaging 15.5 points since making his first career start on Dec. 17.

NEW ROLES AND NEW FACES

• After losing the senior trio of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield and Ryan Spangler, the Sooners are looking to a roster that features 11 underclassmen (most of the Kruger era) to continue its development and growth as the season progresses. OU has benefited from a dramatic increase in scoring from guards Christian James and Rashard Odomes. After averaging 2.9 points per game in 2015-16, James is the second leading scorer for the Sooners through nine games, scoring 12.4 points per game on .440 shooting from the field and .512 from 3-point range (second in Big 12). James is the only returning Big 12 player to average less than 3.0 points in 2015-16 and over 12.0 points in 2016-17. Tallying just 35 total points in 2015-16 (1.9 per game), Odomes has already tripled his total points output with 111 on the season (averaging 10.1 per game).

• Oklahoma has seen potential from all four of its scholarship freshmen as the youngest Sooners have combined to produce seven games of double-digit scoring - most recently a 13-point showing from Jordan Shepherd in his second collegiate start (Dec. 21 vs. Auburn).

SERIES HISTORY

• The Sooners and Bears will square off for the 57th time. Oklahoma is 44-12 all-time against the Bears and have won 39 of the last 46 meetings. The Sooners are 22-4 when facing Baylor in Norman and have not lost to the Bears at LNC since Jan. 24, 2012.

• OU won both contests against Baylor last season and have been victorious in four straight home games against the Bears. Oklahoma boasts a 8-4 advantage over Baylor during the Kruger era and are 4-1 at home.

UP NEXT

• Oklahoma opens 2017 with its first Big 12 road contest of the season. The Sooners head to Fort Worth to face 11-1 TCU on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

• The Sooners own an 18-2 record over the Horned Frogs and have won six consecutive games over TCU. OU is 8-1 all-time against TCU in Fort Worth, with the only loss coming in 2013.

• Since TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012, the Sooners have gone 7-1 against the Frogs.