Second-Half Charge Begins Saturday vs. Minnesota

¹Oklahoma

⁴Minnesota

Feb. 26 | 5 p.m. CT | Norman, Okla.

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MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
	OKLAHOMA	MINNESOTA
2016 Record	8-0	10-3
2016 Preseason Ranking	No. 1	No. 8
2015 Scoring Average	446.900	432.550
2015 Team High	448.350	438.500

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR WEEK SEVEN

THE MATCHUP

The No. 1 Oklahoma men's gymnastics team welcomes No. 4 Minnesota to McCasland Field House on Saturday, Feb. 27 for a 5 p.m. CT meet. The Golden Gophers started the season ranked eighth in the Collegiate Gymnastics Association (CGA) Coaches Poll and have climbed four spots to number four with a team scoring average of 432.550. There will be little margin for error for both teams as for the first time this season the meet will be in five-up-five-count format. Five student-athletes will compete on each event with each score counting toward the team's total. Previously six routines were performed with only the highest five counting. The meet will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Oklahoma and Fox College Sports Pacific with Chad McKee and Jake Dalton on the call.

LAST TIME VS. MINNESOTA

The Sooners last saw the Golden Gophers in 2014 when they traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., as the top-ranked team in the nation and grabbed a tough 431.900-427.650 win. Oklahoma posted the meet's highest scores on floor (74.500), pommel horse (71.100) and high bar (71.400) ,while Minnesota scored best on rings (73.450), vault (72.650) and parallel bars (72.050). Danny Berardini took the all-around title with a mark of 83.900, Alec Robin won floor (15.200) and William Clement grabbed the high bar title with a 14.600.

HALFWAY HOME

Oklahoma has started the 2016 season in dominant fashion. The Sooners boast an 8-0 record after winning the Rocky Mountain Open, taking down then-No. 10 Michigan on the road, besting then-No. 6 Iowa and No. 8 Cal in their home opener and recording a big win over then-No. 6 Nebraska at home. OU currently sits atop the team standings and coaches poll, and ranks first in scoring average on every apparatus with marks of 76.450 on floor, 72.550 on pommel horse, 74.850 on rings, 74.838 on vault, 74.938 on parallel bars and 73.275 on high bar. Oklahoma has swept the event titles in each of its first four meets.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES

McCasland Field House has been more than kind to the Sooners over the years. OU's win over then-No. 6 Nebraska on Feb. 6 was its 33rd straight at McCasland. Oklahoma has not lost in its home arena since March 3, 2007 (vs. Ohio State). During that span Oklahoma has racked up 33 home-meet wins, including a pair of MPSF Conference titles, and has won a pair of national championships (2008, 2015).

STANDOUT FRESHMAN

Arvada, Colo., native Yul Moldauer has made quite an impression early in his collegiate career. At the Rocky Mountain Open in week one, Moldauer took the all-around title with a tournament-record of 90.150. The freshman also won the event title on parallel bars. After his impressive debut, Moldauer was named NCAA Gymnast of the Week. In the Sooners' second meet, Moldauer continued his winning ways as he grabbed the all-around title at No. 10 Michigan with a mark of 88.550 and also won the parallel bars (a 2016 team-high 16.000) and high bar (14.950). Against Iowa and Cal in OU's home opener, Moldauer won the event titles on parallel bars (15.300) and high bar (15.150). A week later against Nebraska, the freshman took the event title on parallel bars with a 15.900. At the 2016 Winter Cup, Moldauer placed fifth in the all-around with a two-day total of 174.350. His score was third best among NCAA competitors and earned him a place on the U.S. Senior Men's National Team.

ROAD TESTED

Oklahoma picked up a top-10 road win Jan. 23 as it traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich., to beat the 10th-ranked Wolverines, 444.400-427.850. The Sooners swept the individual titles with Colin Van Wicklen winning floor (15.400), rings (14.850) and vault (15.500), Allan Bower taking the pommel horse (15.000) and Yul Moldauer claiming parallel bars (16.000), high bar (14.950) and the all-around (88.550).

NATIONAL TEAM PRESENCE

The Sooners had a successful weekend at the 2016 Winter Cup. Freshman Yul Moldauer earned a place on the U.S. Senior National Team with a fourth-place finish in the all-around and four Sooner alums, including assistant coach Steven Legendre and broadcaster Jake Dalton, were also named to the senior squad. Junior Allan Bower placed eighth in the all-around with a two-day mark of 172.800 while senior Kanji Oyama came in 11th with a score of 170.400. Freshman Levi Anderson was also in contention and turned in a solid 166.800 to place 16th. Junior Colin Van Wicklen and sophomore Hunter Justus also competed at the Winter Cup, but did not take part in the all-around. Van Wicklen posted his best marks on vault with a 14.950 and 15.350, while Justus performed best on floor with a first-day mark of 14.600.

TOUGH ROW TO HOE

The Sooners' quest to repeat as national champions will not be an easy one. Oklahoma is navigating a demanding schedule that features eight of the other nine teams currently in the top 10 of national scoring average. The Sooners have home wins over Cal, Iowa and Nebraska and still face home meets against No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 Minnesota. OU bested No. 7 Air Force at the Rocky Mountain Open, No. 10 Michigan on the road and still has road trips on the schedule with No. 5 Illinois and No. 3 Ohio State.

DEFEND FOR 10

Oklahoma claimed its ninth NCAA championship in 2015 and will look to secure its 10th in 2016. The 2015 OU squad was one of the best in program history. The team went 26-0 on the year en route to its 22nd conference title and the NCAA crown. The Sooners turned in dominant performances all season, including setting the NCAA single-meet scoring record in back-to-back meets during the regular season. In total, 11 different Sooners took home 14 All-America honors and Michael Squires (rings) and Michael Reid (pommel horse) both claimed NCAA event titles.

VETERAN PRESENCE

Williams' squad returns six All-Americans from a year ago. Bower (PH, AA), Hunter Justus (SR), Kanji Oyama (FX, VT), Sergey Resnick (PB), Van Wicklen (FX, VT) and Josh Yee (SR) will provide championship experience for a team that is replacing seven seniors. Oyama and Bower tied for the vault title at the MPSF Championships in 2015.

FRESH FACES

OU welcomes six talented freshmen (Levi Anderson, Peter Daggett, Eric Holley, William Kell, Yul Moldauer and Genki Suzuki) for the 2016 season. Moldauer should be a major contributor right away for Oklahoma and will compete in the all-around. Moldauer was all-around champion at the 2015 Junior Olympic National Championships. He also took home event title on floor, rings, vault and parallel bars.

UP NEXT

In what could be the nation's best meet of the year, No. 2 Stanford comes to Norman to take on the Sooners on Saturday, March 5 at 5 p.m. CT inside the McCasland Field House. The meet marks the second time in as many years OU has hosted the No. 2-ranked team while sitting at No. 1. Last season the Sooners bested the second-ranked Illini of Illinois by posting an NCAA-record 457.300 team total.

Quick Hits

• OU is ranked No. 1 in the CGA Coaches Poll for the seventh consecutive week. The Sooners received 14 of the 15 possible first-place votes in week seven and own the nation's top scoring average (446.900).

• Freshman Yul Moldauer earned a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team with a fourth-place finish in the all-around at the 2016 Winter Cup. In addition to Moldauer, four Sooner alums earned spots on the team.

• Moldauer (2nd - 88.200), junior Allan Bower (5th - 86.500) and senior Kanji Oyama (6th - 86.438) all rank in the top-10 nationally in average all-around scoring.

Second-Half Charge Begins Saturday vs. Minnesota