Sooners Aim to Extend Bedlam Streak Tonight

Oklahoma State

^3/4 Oklahoma

Feb. 24 | 8 p.m. CT | Norman, Okla.

ESPN U

WEDNESDAY'S GAME BASICS

No. 3/4 Oklahoma returns home after two consecutive conference road games to host in-state foe Oklahoma State in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma Bedlam Series on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center. OU, which is 21-5 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Cowboys are 12-15 this season (3-11 Big 12) and are under the direction of Travis Ford, who is in his eighth campaign in Stillwater.

It will mark the second meeting between the two schools this season. OU downed the Cowboys in Stillwater on Jan. 13, 74-72. Oklahoma owns a 135-95 advantage in the all-time series, including an 83-26 mark in Norman. OU has won six consecutive games against OSU. Oklahoma State hasn't won in Norman since Feb. 16, 2004 (11 straight Sooner wins inside the LNC).

ON THE AIR

Wednesday'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 Bedlam matchup will be televised by ESPNU with Clay Matvick and Tim Welsh calling the action.

TICKETS

The game is sold out. Restricted admission tickets will be sold exclusively at SoonerSports.com on Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. OU students with season tickets may simply swipe their Sooner One Cards at the door to enter. If supplies last, $5 OU student tickets will be available at the door beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT.

PROMOTIONS

The first 800 OU students and first 1,000 general admission fans will receive special OU/Bedlam t-shirts at the east doors.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• SCENE SETTER: No. 3/4 Oklahoma returns home after two consecutive conference road games to host in-state foe Oklahoma State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT inside Lloyd Noble Center. OU, which is 21-5 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12, is in its fifth season under head coach Lon Kruger. The Cowboys are 12-15 this season (3-11 Big 12) and are under the direction of Travis Ford, who is in his eighth campaign in Stillwater. OU, which posted a 74-72 win in Stillwater earlier this season on Jan. 13, has won six consecutive games against OSU. Oklahoma State hasn't won in Norman since Feb. 16, 2004 (11 straight Sooner wins inside LNC).

• Rivalry Week: Oklahoma hosts in-state rival Oklahoma State in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma Bedlam Series on Wednesday then will travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns this Saturday. The Sooners have won six consecutive matchups against the Cowboys and have topped their Red River rival five straight times entering the weekend.

• SERVING TREYS: OU currently ranks first nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.431) by hitting 276-641 of its shots from downtown. 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 16 games this year (a school record) and it's 10.6 3-point makes per game ranks fourth nationally (first in Big 12). OU's starting five is averaging 44.8 percent from 3-point range (236 for 527, Hield has 109 of those makes).

• BUDDY BUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 25.4 points per game, which ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally (first among Power 5 conferences). The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year has scored at least 20 points in 19 games this season and his 48.7 percent (109-224) shooting from downtown ranks second in the country. His 4.19 3FGM per game is tops in the nation. The Bahamas native has eight games of at least 30 points this season (same total as rest of Big 12 combined).

• STEADFAST SOONERS: Oklahoma isn't short on experience or leadership this season. OU's quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard have each started every game (94 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 376 combined starts during that span. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (26 starts), OU boasts a starting five with 429 combined career starts.

FIVE FAST FACTS ON OSU

• The Cowboys enter Wednesday's game with a 12-15 overall record, including a 3-11 mark in conference play. OSU is 8-6 at home, 1-7 in away games and 3-2 at neutral sites on the year.

• Senior guard Jeff Newberry has totaled 45 points in his last three outings and has notched 27 double-figure scoring outputs in his career. He has missed just two free throws in the past four games (14-of-16) and is shooting 82.4 percent on the season.

• Oklahoma State shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from 3-point last game versus Texas Tech, its second-best mark this season. The Cowboys have converted double-digit 3-pointers twice in the past three outings.

• Sophomore guard Tyree Griffin has dished out 20 assists with only three turnovers in his last two contests. He has 32 assists since entering the starting lineup (five games) and has played 32 minutes or more in each of the five outings. Jawun Evans, who scored 42 on the Sooners in the first meeting this season, has been ruled out for the season due to a shoulder injury.

• In his eighth season as head coach, Travis Ford has guided the Cowboys to the NCAA Tournament five times, including each of the last three, and has logged five 20-win seasons. Under Ford, OSU has beaten 21 ranked opponents, with 11 of those wins coming over teams ranked in the top 10 and five of those wins coming over teams ranked in the top five.

OU QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma owns a 6-3 record this season against teams ranked in the AP's top 25. Oklahoma has two wins vs. top-10 opponents (then-No. 9 Villanova on Dec. 7 and then-No. 10 West Virginia on Feb. 20).

• The Sooners, winners of 19 of their last 20 home games inside the LNC, rank third in the Big 12 and 17th nationally by averaging 82.5 points per game.

• OU enters Wednesday's contest having scored at least 80 points in 15 of 26 total outings this season (averaging 82.5 points per game, which is ranked 17th nationally). OU is 14-1 this season when scoring 80-plus points.

• On the defensive end, OU ranks first in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (.400), blocked shots (5.5) and defensive rebounds (29.2).

• OU ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounds per game (40.3). It ranks 14th nationally in defensive rebounds per contest (29.2). The Sooners are led on the boards by Ryan Spangler (9.5) and Khadeem Lattin (6.0). Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponent in 16 of 26 games this season (15-1 in such games).

• In the last 10 games, Isaiah Cousins is playing the best ball of his career. In that span, the senior is averaging 16.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.0 steal in 35.8 minutes. He's shooting .517 (62-120) from the field and .511 (23-45) from the 3-point line.

• Through 26 games this season, Jordan Woodard is averaging 13.5 points per contest, shooting .420 (110-262) from the floor and .452 (56-124) from 3-point range. Comparatively, last season Woodard averaged 9.3 points, while shooting .361 (90-249) from the field and .254 (17-67) from long distance.

• Ryan Spangler's 9.5 rebounds per game ranks second in the Big 12 (34th nationally). The senior has 10 double-doubles on the season. Spangler currently ranks third the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.545). The Oklahoma native has led OU in rebounding in 19 of 26 games this season.

SHOOTING LIGHTS OUT FROM DOWNTOWN

• Oklahoma currently ranks first in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.431). OU's all-time record for 3-point field goal percentage in a season is .414 (1986-87). The Big 12's record is .426 by Oklahoma State (2004-05).

• OU's average of 10.6 3-point makes per game ranks fourth nationally. The Big 12 record for 3-point makes per game currently stands at 9.9 by Iowa State in 2012-13.

• OU has made at least 10 treys in 16 games this season (which marks a school record). In 35 contests last year, the Sooners registered just seven games of double-digit 3-point makes.

• Buddy Hield (.487), Jordan Woodard (.452) and Isaiah Cousins (.441) currently rank as the first-, second- and third-best 3-point shooters in the Big 12.

• Collectively, Oklahoma's starting five is averaging 44.8 percent from 3-point range (236 for 527). OU's starting guards of Cousins, Hield and Woodard are shooting a collective 46.6 percent (214 for 459) from downtown.

#BUDDYBUCKETS

• On the season, Buddy Hield is averaging 25.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.7 minutes per game. He's shooting .501 (212-423) from the field, .487 (109-224) from 3-point range (which ranks No. 2 in the nation) and .888 (127-143) from the charity stripe. His 5.5 rebounds per game is best among Big 12 guards.

• Hield's 64 3-pointers in conference play is tied with Keiton Page (OSU, 2011-12) for the most in a single-season in Big 12 history.

• His 4.19 3FGM per game ranks first in nation. He has made at least five 3-pointers in a game 11 times this year. His 109 3-pointers made this season are the most in college basketball.

• He currently ranks fifth in Big 12 history in 3FGM in a career (311) and sixth all-time in points scored (2,026). Hield needs just 72 more points to move into fifth place on the Big 12's all-time scoring list (Nick Collison of KU currently stands fifth with 2,097 career points).

• Hield has scored at least 20 points in 19 of 26 games this season after doing it 13 times in 35 games last season. He has 14 games this year of at least 25 points. In his first three seasons, he combined for six games of at least 25 points.

• Hield has eight games this season scoring at least 30 points (same number as the rest of the players in the Big 12 combined). It's the most 30-point games by a Sooner in a season since Jeff Webster in the 1993-94 season (10). The eight-game total is the third most in Big 12 history (Michael Beasley-13, 2007-08, Kevin Durant-11, 2006-07).

• Hield is averaging a Big 12-best 25.4 points per game, more than five points greater than second-place Georges Niang of Iowa State (19.7).

• If the season ended today, Hield would be one of only three players in Big 12 history to average at least 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds (Michael Beasley, 07-08, and Kevin Durant, 06-07).

UP NEXT

• Saturday will mark the second meeting between OU and Texas this season. The Sooners topped the Longhorns, 63-60, in Norman on Feb. 8 (last-second Buddy Hield 3-pointer sealed the win).

• Oklahoma currently leads the all-time series, 53-35. Texas holds a narrow 20-17 advantage in games played in Austin.

Sooners Aim to Extend Bedlam Streak Tonight