Win and Stay: Sooners Take on Kentucky Monday

^24/23OKLAHOMA

^12/13KENTUCKY

MARCH 21| 5:30 P.m. CT | LEXINGTON, KY. | NCAA SECOND ROUND

CHAMPIONSHIP BASICS

Making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance and 17th straight under head coach Sherri Coale, No. 24/23 Oklahoma (22-10 overall, 11-7 Big 12) enters Monday's round-of-32 game against Kentucky (24-7 overall, 10-6 SEC) as the Lexington Region's No. 6 seed. The contest will be played at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky., and will start at 5:30 p.m. CT. Kentucky is the region's No. 3 seed. The Wildcats defeated No. 14 seed UNC Asheville, 85-31, on Saturday to advance.

ON THE AIR

Monday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Cara Capuano and Carol Ross announcing. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Brian Brinkley calling the action.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Oklahoma boasts a 32-18 (.640) NCAA Tournament record and is making its 19th all-time appearance in the Big Dance. The Sooners advanced to the second round for the 10th time in the last 11 years with a 61-45 victory over Purdue on Saturday. OU, who is seeded No. 6 in the Lexington Region, is 10-5 all-time in second-round games in the NCAA Tournament.

• The Sooners have made the 17 straight NCAA Tournament under head coach Sherri Coale, the fifth-best active streak in Division I. The run is tied for ninth (Old Dominion, 1992-08) for the most consecutive tournament appearances in NCAA history.

• OU finished with 13 blocks in Saturday's win over Purdue, which set a set a school record for the most blocks by the Sooners in a NCAA Tournament game. The 13 blocks also set a season high for the Sooners as Vionise Pierre-Louis finished with a career-high seven rejections. The sophomore's seven blocks were also the most by an OU player in a NCAA Tournament contest. The Sooner were just two blocks shy of tying its school record (15, vs. Texas, 2007).

blocks

OU's 13 blocks set a school record and tied for the fifth-most in a NCAA 1st/2nd round game since 1988.

• Oklahoma is 1-0 all-time against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament with its last victory coming in the 2010 Elite Eight in Kansas City, Mo.. The Sooners overcame an early first-half deficit to advance to their second straight Final Four. Nyeshia Stevenson poured in 31 points, while Amanda Thompson added in 17 to led the Sooners to am 88-68 victory over the Wildcats.

• After entering the postseason a year ago as the youngest team in the NCAA Tournament, Oklahoma brings a wealth of experience into its second-round matchup. Despite having only one senior on its roster, the Sooners' starting five has combined to make 302 career starts.

GAME 32 RECAP: PURDUE

• Peyton Little scored 20 points, Maddie Manning added 12 and No. 6 seed Oklahoma blocked 13 shots to shut down 11th-seeded Purdue 61-45 for a first-round NCAA Tournament victory on Saturday.

• The Sooners' double-digit block total set a school record for the NCAA Tournament and was their highest since rejecting 10 against Baylor on Feb. 21, 2009; they fell just two short of matching their 15 blocks against Texas on March 7, 2007. Vionise Pierre-Louis' career-high seven blocks led the way for Oklahoma, while Kaylon Williams (eight points) and Manning had three each. But shot-blocking was just one highlight of an Oklahoma defensive effort that also held Purdue to just 28 percent shooting.

• OU's 13 blocks are tied for the fifth-most in a first-round NCAA Tournament game since 1988.

• The Sooners were better from the field at 43 percent but improved to 4-0 all-time against the Boilermakers. Little set the offensive tone by making 7-of-12 from the field including four 3-pointers, while Manning made 5-of-11 with a trey.

• Purdue didn't get closer than 17 despite a 7-2 third-quarter run as Oklahoma remained strong on both ends of the floor. The Sooners ended up making nearly 38 percent from long range against a Purdue team that led the Big Ten Conference in 3-point defense at 28.5 percent.

IF OKLAHOMA WINS ...

• Oklahoma will advance to the Sweet 16 for the 11th time in school history and the 10th time under Sherri Coale. The Sooners last appeared in the Sweet 16 in 2013. It will improve OU's all-time mark against Kentucky to 2-1 all-time (2-0 in the NCAA Tournament).

• OU will play the winner of No. 2 seed Maryland and No. 7 Washington on Friday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

• The Sooners will have 23 victories their most since finishing the 2012-13 season with a 24-11 record.

OU-KENTUCKY HISTORY

• Oklahoma is 1-1 against Kentucky, winning its lone NCAA Tournament matchup, 88-68, in the 2010 Elite Eight in Kansas City. The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-4 lead early in the first half, but the Sooners withstood the early adversity to earn the win. Nyeshia Stevenson nearly set a career high with 31 points against Kentucky, while Amanda Thompson scored 17 as the Sooners clinched their second consecutive trip to the Final Four.

QUICK HITTERS

Peyton Little's 20 points set postseason career high for the redshirt junior.

• Oklahoma has won its 22 games by an average of 17.9 points (18 games by double digits). The Sooners are averaging a .447 field goal and a .352 3-point shooting percentage in its victories this season.

• Oklahoma is one of 24 institutions to have its men's and women's basketball programs make the NCAA Tournament. The Sooners are one of 10 to have both teams seeded six or higher.

• The Sooners are 30-16 (.652) at the NCAA Championships under Sherri Coale.

• OU is 3-0 all-time when playing in the state of Kentucky (1-0 in Lexington).

• OU's victory at Texas Tech on March 1 gave the Sooners their 20th victory of the season. The Sooners have 14 20-win seasons under Coale.

• Oklahoma is 14-2 this season when leading at halftime and 3-0 when tied at the break. The Sooners are 5-7 when trailing at the intermission this season. OU is 17-2 this season when outrebounding its opponent and is 21-2 when holding foes to under 70 points. The Sooners are 17-3 when scoring 70 or more points against a foe this year.

• OU has also held 24 of its 32 opponents to sub-45 percent field goal shooting (seven times in the last 11 games). Only three opponents (Baylor, Kansas State and Texas) have finished with a .500 or better shooting percentage against Oklahoma. The Sooners have also limited 19 of its 31 foes to sub 33-percent 3-point shooting.

• The Sooners are 2-6 this season against AP top-25 teams and 1-3 versus AP top-10 teams.

• OU is 6-3 in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed. The Sooners are 10-5 in the second round.

For more information on Oklahoma women's basketball, follow the Sooners on Twitter (@OU_WBBall) or like Oklahoma Sooners Women's Basketball on Facebook.