OU and West Virginia Tonight in Big 12 Semis

^9/8 West Virginia

^6/6 Oklahoma

March 11 | 8 p.m. CT | Kansas City, Mo.

FRIDAY'S SEMIFINAL BASICS

No. 6/6 Oklahoma (25-6 overall, 12-6 Big 12) continues its quest for a fourth Big 12 tournament title in a Friday semifinals matchup versus No. 9/8 West Virginia (25-7, 13-5) at the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT inside Kansas City's Sprint Center. The winner will advance to Saturday's title game, which is slated for a 5 p.m. CT start. OU earned the right to play Friday night with a 79-76 victory over sixth-seeded Iowa State Thursday night.

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 Scott Thompson announcing. The Sooners vs. Mountaineers matchup will be televised by ESPN2 with Brent Musburger, Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe calling the action.

SOONER STORYLINES

• MARCH MADNESS: No. 6/6 Oklahoma (25-6 overall, 12-6 Big 12) continues its quest for a fourth Big 12 tournament title in a Friday semifinals matchup versus No. 9/8 West Virginia (25-7, 13-5) at the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT inside Kansas City's Sprint Center. The winner will advance to Saturday's title game, which is slated for a 5 p.m. CT start. OU earned the right to play Friday night with a 79-76 victory over sixth-seeded Iowa State Thursday night.

OU won both meetings against West Virginia this season; at home on Jan. 16 (70-68, Khadeem Lattin tip-in won the game) and Feb. 20 in Morgantown (76-62). OU leads the all-time series, 8-3. At neutral sites, each team has won one contest.

• BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS: Oklahoma sports a 22-16 (.579) Big 12 Championship record, good for the third-best winning percentage among current league members. It has won at least one tournament game in 13 of the event's 20 years. OU's three tournament titles (2001, 2002 and 2003) are tied for the second-most (with Iowa State), behind Kansas' nine. The Sooners have played in five of the 19 Big 12 title games.

• KEEPING IT 100: 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 (99 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 396 combined starts during that span. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (31 starts), OU boasts a starting five with 454 combined career starts.

• SERVING TREYS: OU currently ranks in the top five nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.423) by hitting 323-763 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 20 games this year (a school record) and it's 10.4 3-point makes per game ranks fourth nationally (first in Big 12).

• BUDDY BUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 25.6 points per game, which ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally (first among Power 5 conferences). The two-time Big 12 Player of the Year has scored at least 20 points in 23 games this season and his 47.0 percent (126-268) shooting from downtown ranks fourth in the country. His 4.06 3FGM per game is tops in the nation. The Bahamas native has 10 games of at least 30 points this season (same total as the rest of Big 12 combined) and 12 total such games in his career at Oklahoma (second-most in Big 12 history).

NOTES ON QUARTERFINAL WIN OVER ISU

• No. 6 Oklahoma improved to 25-6 on the season with a 79-76 quarterfinals win over No. 21 Iowa State in the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Thursday night inside the Sprint Center. OU improved to 22-16 (.579) all-time at the Big 12 Championship. Third-seeded OU advances to play second-seeded West Virginia in a Friday-evening semifinal at 8 p.m. CT.

• OU improved to 8-4 on the season against teams ranked in the AP's top 25 (second-most in the conference behind Kansas). Thursday gave Oklahoma its 25th win of the season. The Sooners have topped their previous year's win total each of the last six seasons (had 24 total victories a year ago).

• Senior guard Buddy Hield's 39 points in the contest marked his 10th game this season of 30-plus, which is equal to the rest of the players in the Big 12 combined. His 10 games of 30-plus this year is tied with Jack Gibbs (Davidson) for most in the country. It also marked his 23rd game this season of at least 20 points and 16th outing of at least 25. The contest marked Hield's highest career point total in a regulation game (had 46 in a 3OT game at Kansas on Jan. 4).

• Hield's 39 points marked the second-most points ever in a Big 12 tournament game (record is 43 by Mike Singletary, Texas Tech, in 2009). Hield's 39 points marked the most by any Sooner in the Big 12 tourney. OU's previous record of 33 was registered Corey Brewer, March 8, 1997.

• Hield's 14 made field goals against the Cyclones marked a career high. That total also ties for the most ever in a Big 12 Championship game (Mike Singletary, 2009). There has been only one better OU scoring performance (in regulation game) in last 22 years than Hield's 39 tonight (Blake Griffin 40 vs. Texas Tech in 2009).

• Hield passed Kansas State's Jacob Pullen into fourth place on the Big 12's all-time scoring list. He now has 2,159 points over his four years at Oklahoma.

• Senior forward Ryan Spangler earned his 13th double-double of the season and the 30th of his career with 10 points and 12 rebounds in the contest.

• Senior guard Isaiah Cousins registered 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals on the evening. It marked his 24th double-figure scoring output of the season.

OU QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma owns a 8-4 record this season against teams ranked in the AP's top 25 (at the time of competition). That eight-win total is the most in school history and is the second-most among Big 12 schools this season. OU has two wins this season against top-10 opponents (then-No. 9 Villanova on Dec. 7 and then-No. 10 West Virginia on Feb. 20).

• OU owns a 22-16 (.579) all-time record at the Big 12 Championship (third-most among active members).

• OU enters Friday's contest having scored at least 80 points in 15 of 31 total outings this season (averaging 80.8 points per game, which is ranked 21st nationally). OU is 14-1 this season when scoring 80-plus points.

• On the defensive end, OU ranks second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (.405) and first in both blocked shots (5.2) and defensive rebounds (28.3) per contest.

• OU ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounds per game (39.1). The Sooners are led on the boards by Ryan Spangler, who ranks first in the Big 12 with 9.6 rpg. Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponent in 18 of 31 games this season (17-1 in such games).

• Through 31 games this season, Jordan Woodard is averaging 12.6 points per contest, shooting .403 (123-305) from the floor and .432 (64-148) 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 9.6 rebounds per game ranks first in the Big 12 (36th nationally). The senior has 13 double-doubles on the season (second-most in conference). Spangler currently ranks third the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.547). The Oklahoma native has led OU in rebounding in 22 of 31 games this season.

• The Sooners currently have the first- (Khadeem Lattin, 2.2) and fifth-best (Akolda Manyang, 1.3) shot blockers in the Big 12. Lattin swatted away an average of 2.7 shots per Big 12 contest (led conference).

STILL A NATIONAL LEADER IN TREYS

• Oklahoma currently ranks second in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.423). 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 10.4 3-point makes per game ranks fourth nationally (first in the Big 12). 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 20 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. The Sooners' 319 total 3-point makes this season ranks seventh in the country.

• Buddy Hield (.470), Jordan Woodard (.432) and Isaiah Cousins (.419) currently rank as the first-, second- and fifth-best 3-point shooters in the Big 12.

#BUDDYBUCKETS FOR POY

• On the season, Buddy Hield is averaging 25.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 35.0 minutes per game. He's shooting .502 (258-514) from the field, .470 (126-268) from 3-point range (which ranks No. 4 in the nation) and .899 (151-168) from the charity stripe. His 5.6 rebounds per game total is best among Big 12 guards.

• His 4.06 3FGM per game ranks first in nation. He has made at least five 3-pointers in a game 12 times this year. His 126 3-pointers made this season are the most in college basketball.

• He currently ranks fifth in Big 12 history in 3FGM in a career (328) and fourth all-time in points scored (2,159).

• Hield has scored at least 20 points in 23 of 30 games this season after doing it 13 times in 35 games last season.He has 16 games this year of at least 25 points (most in nation). In his first three seasons, he combined for six games of at least 25 points.

• Hield has 10 games this season scoring at least 30 points (same total as the rest of the players in the Big 12 combined, tied for the most in the nation). It's the most 30-point games by a Sooner in a season since Jeff Webster in the 1993-94 season (10). In his career, he has 12 30-point games, which is second-most in Big 12 history.

• 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).

• Hield's 25.6 points per game would be the third-highest season average in Big 12 history. Kansas State's Michael Beasley owns record with 26.2 ppg and Texas' Kevin Durant is second with 25.8.

UP NEXT

• If OU defeats West Virginia in the semifinals, it will play in the Big 12 Championship finals game against No. 1 Kansas or No. 5 Baylor on Saturday at approximately 5 p.m. CT (televised by ESPN).