OU's Chase for a Championship Continues Saturday

^6/6 Villanova

^7/7 Oklahoma

April 2 | 5:09 p.m. CT | Houston, Texas | NRG Stadium

SETTING THE SCENE

Making its fifth-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four, No. 2 seed Oklahoma out of the West Region (29-7 overall, 12-6 Big 12) will take on No. 2 seed Villanova out of the South Region (31-6 overall, 16-2 Big East) in Saturday's national semifinal in Houston. The contest, to be played at the 72,220-seat NRG Stadium, will tip at 5:09 p.m. CT.

Should it advance to finals, Oklahoma will face the winner of Saturday's North Carolina (No. 1 seed, East) versus Syracuse (No. 10 seed, Midwest) matchup Monday night Houston.

ON THE AIR

All of OU's NCAA Tournament games will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland (play by play) and Scott Thompson (analyst) calling the action. Saturday's game will be televised nationally by TBS with Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson announcing. It will also air on the Westwood One Network (Sirius 84, XM 84) with Kevin Kugler, John Thompson, Clark Kellogg and Jim Gray on the call.

SOONER STORYLINES

• BACK 2 THE FINAL 4: Making its fifth-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four (first since 2002), No. 2 seed Oklahoma out of the West Region (29-7 overall, 12-6 Big 12) will take on No. 2 seed Villanova out of the South Region (31-6 overall, 16-2 Big East) in Saturday's national semifinal in Houston. The contest, to be played at the 72,220-seat NRG Stadium, will tip at 5:09 p.m. CT. This will mark the fifth all-time meeting between OU and Nova (series tied 2-2), including the second this season. The Sooners downed the Wildcats, 78-55, in Hawaii on Dec. 7 (Pearl Harbor Game). OU head coach Lon Kruger is making his second appearance in the Final Four, 22 years after leading Florida to college basketball's biggest stage (1994).

• SOONERS HEADED HOME: OU players Christian James and Khadeem Lattin are both headed home for the Final Four. Both Sooners hail from Houston. In total, OU has six players from the Lone Star State.

• KEEPING IT (OVER) 100: The Sooners aren't short on experience or leadership this season. OU's quartet of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard has started every game (104 consecutive) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 416 combined starts during that span. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (36 starts), OU boasts a starting five with 479 combined career starts. Each member of the 'core four' has at least 1,000 points in his respective career at Oklahoma.

• GETTING OFFENSIVE: OU currently ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.428) by hitting 376-879 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 24 games this year (a school record) and it's 10.4 3-point makes per game ranks sixth nationally (first in Big 12). OU's 376 total 3-point field goals made this season ranks third in the country (first in the Big 12).

• BUDDYBUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 25.4 points per game, which leads 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 26 games this season and his 46.5 percent (146-314) shooting from downtown ranks fourth in the country. His 4.1 3FGM per game is tops in the nation. The Bahamas native has 12 games of at least 30 points this season (same total as the rest of the Big 12 combined, most in the nation) and 14 total such games in his career at OU (most in Big 12 history).

FAST FACTS ON THE WILDCATS

• Villanova is making its second Final Four appearance (first since 2009) under head coach Jay Wright. The Wildcats advanced to the national semifinals by topping No. 1 seed Kansas, 64-59, last Saturday. Villanova's 33 victories are tied for the most in school history. In the last 10 games, the Wildcats have earned nine wins, with their loss coming to Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament championship game on March 18.

• Wright, the Co-Big East Coach of the Year, is 352-157 at Villanova and has led the Wildcats to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. He was recently named a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award.

• The Wildcats have made 37 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and are making their fifth trip to the Final Four. Villanova is 2-2 all-time in national semifinal games. The Wildcats claimed their lone national championship in 1985.

• Villanova won its third straight Big East regular season championship, the first team to accomplish the feat since Connecticut won the league title for three consecutive years (1994-96). Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Wildcats are 95-13 (.880).

• Junior guard Josh Hart leads Villanova with a team-high 15.3 points per game on a .506 shooting percentage. Junior forward Kris Jenkins averages 13.5 points a contest and has knocked down a team-best 94 3-pointers this year. Senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono is third on the club with 12.3 points per game and averages a team-high 4.3 assists per game.

• Senior forward Daniel Ochefu chips in 10.1 points a game and is the team's leader averaging 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest.

KRUGER IN THE BIG DANCE

• Three years ago, Lon Kruger became the first head coach in history to take five Division I programs to the NCAA Tournament (Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and Oklahoma). To this day, he is the only person to coach five different programs to at least one NCAA Tournament victory each. He has won at least two NCAA Tourney games at all five schools. Last Thursday, Kruger became one of just six coaches to take three different schools to the Elite Eight.

• This marks Kruger's 17th NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach and eighth in the last 10 seasons. He owns a 20-16 (.556) overall record and is 10-7 in opening-round games. In his last coaching stop at UNLV, Kruger took the Runnin' Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in four of his final five seasons.

• This is Kruger's second trip as a head coach to the Final Four (Florida, 1994). The 22-year span between Final Fours is the second longest in NCAA Tournament history (Ray Meyer of DePaul; 1943 and 1979).

• Last year, Kruger became the first coach since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 to take four programs to the Sweet 16 or beyond (Kansas State to the Elite Eight in 1988, Florida to the Final Four in 1994, UNLV to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and Oklahoma to the Sweet 16 in 2015 and to the Final Four in 2016).

• Kruger participated in the 1972 and '73 NCAA Tournaments as a player at Kansas State and helped the Wildcats to regional final (Elite Eight) appearances both seasons. K-State went 1-1 in 1972 when Kruger was the Big Eight sophomore of the year (beat Texas 66-55 before losing 72-65 to Louisville). The Wildcats again went 1-1 in 1973 when Kruger was the Big Eight player of the year (beat Louisiana-Lafayette 66-63 before falling 92-72 to Memphis).

NCAA TOURNEY QUICK HITTERS

• Following last Saturday's Elite Eight victory, Oklahoma owns a 41-29 overall record in the NCAA Tournament (in 30 total trips to the Big Dance). This year's NCAA Tournament appearance marks OU's 31st postseason showing in the last 35 years and its 26th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 34 seasons (tied with Michigan State for ninth-most nationally and second-most among Big 12 programs).

• This is OU's fifth-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four and the first since the 2002 season.

• This marks Lon Kruger's second trip to the Final Four as a head coach (also with Florida in 1994).

• This is the ninth time OU has been a top-two seed in the NCAA Tournament (five times as a No. 1 seed, now four times as a No. 2).

• The last time Oklahoma was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tourney, Blake Griffin and company advanced to the Elite Eight in 2009.

• OU's No. 2 seed marks the highest by a Lon Kruger-coached team. Florida was a No. 3 seed in 1994 (advanced to Final Four). OU was also a No. 3 seed last postseason.

• This marks the 10th time OU has been assigned to the West Region. The Sooners have come out of the West in four of their five Final Four appearances (1939, 1947, 2002, 2016).

• Entering the tourney, Oklahoma played 17 of its 32 games this season against a total of nine teams who are in the 2016 NCAA Tournament field, and is 11-6 in those contests. OU has beaten eight of those nine squads (did not defeat Kansas).

SOONER SEASON NUGGETS

• Through 36 games this season, Jordan Woodard is averaging 13.0 points per contest, shooting .419 (148-353) from the floor and .459 (78-170) from 3-point range (2nd in the Big 12). 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 9.2 rebounds per game (career high) ranks second in the Big 12 (47th nationally). The senior has 13 double-doubles on the season (second-most in conference). Spangler currently ranks third in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.548). The Oklahoma native has led OU in rebounding in 24 of 36 games this season.

• The Sooners currently have the first- (Khadeem Lattin, 2.1) and fifth-best (Akolda Manyang, 1.4) shot blockers in the Big 12. Lattin swatted away an average of 2.7 shots per Big 12 contest (which led conference).

• Isaiah Cousins, who moved to the point guard position for OU this season, is averaging a career high in assists (4.6 apg). The senior has 90 more helpers this year through 36 games (167) than he did in 35 games combined last year (77).

SOONERS LIGHTING UP DOWNTOWN

• Oklahoma currently ranks second in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.428, 376-879).

• 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 sixth 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 24 games this season (which marks a school record). That total shatters the school's previous record of 13. In 35 contests last year, the Sooners registered just seven games of double-digit 3-point makes. The Sooners' 376 total 3-point makes this season ranks third in the country (first in the Big 12).

• Buddy Hield (.465), Jordan Woodard (.459) and Isaiah Cousins (.420) currently rank as the first-, second- and fifth-best 3-point shooters in the Big 12.

WE CALL HIM #BUDDYBUCKETS

• On the season, Buddy Hield is averaging 25.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 35.4 minutes per game. He's shooting .504 (297-589) from the field, .465 (146-314) from 3-point range (which ranks No. 4 in the nation) and .880 (176-200) from the charity stripe. His 5.7 rebounds per game total is best among Big 12 guards

• Hield's 916 points in 2015-16 are the most in Big 12 single-season history (Kevin Durant held previous record of 903 during the 2006-07 season.

• His 4.1 3FGM per game ranks first in nation. He has made at least five 3-pointers in a game 14 times this year. His 146 3-pointers made this season are the most in college basketball.

• 30-POINT GAMES: Hield has 12 games this season scoring at least 30 points (same total as the rest of the players in the Big 12 combined, most in the nation). It's the most 30-point games by a Sooner in a season since Wayman Tisdale in the 1983-84 season (15). In his career, Hield has 14 30-point games, which the most in Big 12 history.

• 25-POINT GAMES: Hield has 19 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.

• 20-POINT GAMES: Hield has at least 20 points in 26 of 36 games this season after doing it 13 times in 35 games last season. He has 10 20-point halves this season (had 29 in 2nd half of NCAA 2nd Round win over VCU).

• 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

• Should it advance to finals, Oklahoma will face the winner of Saturday's North Carolina (No. 1 seed, East) versus Syracuse (No. 10 seed, Midwest) matchup Monday night Houston.