OU Opens Big 12 Championship With Iowa State

^21/19 Iowa State

^6/6 Oklahoma

March 10 | 8 p.m. CT | Kansas City, Mo.

THURSDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP BASICS

No. 6/6 Oklahoma (24-6 overall, 12-6 Big 12) is the No. 3 seed in this year's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, to be played Wednesday through Saturday inside Kansas City's Sprint Center. OU will begin its quest for a fourth Big 12 tournament title Thursday at 8 p.m. CT against sixth-seeded (No. 21/19) Iowa State (21-10, 10-8). If the Sooners win Thursday, they will play a semifinals contest Friday at 8 p.m. CT (ESPN2). Saturday's title game is slated for a 5 p.m. CT start.

ON THE AIR

Thursday'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. Cyclones matchup will be televised by ESPNU with Jon Sciambi, Miles Simon and Holly Rowe calling the action.

SOONER STORYLINES

• MARCH MADNESS: No. 6/6 Oklahoma (24-6 overall, 12-6 Big 12) is the No. 3 seed in this year's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, to be played Wednesday through Saturday inside Kansas City's Sprint Center. OU will begin its quest for a fourth Big 12 tournament title Thursday at 8 p.m. CT against sixth-seeded (No. 21/19) Iowa State (21-10, 10-8). If the Sooners win Thursday, they will play a semifinals contest Friday at 8 p.m. CT (ESPN2). Saturday's title game is slated for a 5 p.m. CT start.

• BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS: Oklahoma sports a 21-16 (.568) Big 12 Championship record, good for the third-best winning percentage among current league members. It has won at least one tournament game in 12 of the event's 19 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.

• SERVING TREYS: OU currently ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.430) by hitting 319-742 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 10.6 3-point makes per game ranks fourth nationally (first in Big 12). OU's starting five is averaging 44.3 percent from 3-point range (271 for 612, Hield has 124 of those makes).

• BUDDY BUCKETS: Senior Buddy Hield is currently averaging 25.1 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 22 games this season and his 47.3 percent (124-262) shooting from downtown ranks fourth in the country. His 4.13 3FGM per game is tops in the nation. The Bahamas native has nine games of at least 30 points this season (same total as the rest of Big 12 combined) and 11 total such games in his career at Oklahoma (tied with Kevin Durant for second-most in Big 12 history).

• 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 (98 total) for OU the past three seasons, tallying 392 combined starts during that span. With the addition of Khadeem Lattin (30 starts), OU boasts a starting five with 449 combined career starts.

FAST FACTS ON THE CYCLONES

• Iowa State heads to KC with hopes of winning a third-straight Big 12 Championship title. Kansas (twice) and Oklahoma are the only schools to win three titles in a row.

• ISU has won its last six games at the Big 12 Championship. A win would tie the Cyclones for the fourth-longest win streak at the tournament (KU - 10, 1997-00; OU - 10, 2001-04; KU - 9, 2006-08; OSU - 7, 2004-06; KU - 7, 2010-12). During the six-game win streak, Iowa State has beaten three teams that were ranked in the top 15 at the time.

• The Cyclones are ranked No. 21 in this week's Associated Press poll. The Cyclones have been ranked in a school-record 55 consecutive polls, the third-longest streak in the nation (Kansas, Arizona).

• ISU's top six rotation players all earned awards from the Big 12: Georges Niang (1st Team), Monté Morris (2nd), Jameel McKay (HM), Abdel Nader (HM) and Matt Thomas (HM) earned All-Big 12 honors. Deonte Burton was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and a member of the all-newcomer team.

• Iowa State has reached 20 wins for a school record five consecutive seasons and also has double-digit Big 12 victories for the fifth straight year, also a school record. ISU has won 22 games against nationally-ranked opponents the last three seasons.

• ISU has had seven different players score 20 or more points in a game in 2015-16 and is the only top 25 team with six active players averaging double figures. The Cyclones are leading the Big 12 in scoring for the fourth straight season (82.0).

• Senior forward Georges Niang is the ninth Division I player since 1995 to record 2,000 points, 600 rebounds and 400 assists in a career. He finished with 1,151 points in conference games - second on the Big 12 all-time scoring list.

• ISU's Monté Morris is leading the Big 12 in assists (7.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4.1). Morris already owns two of the top-three assist-to-turnover ratios in NCAA history and is third nationally this season.

OU QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma owns a 7-4 record this season against teams ranked in the AP's top 25 (at the time of competition). That seven-win total ties for the most in school single-season history (2014-15) 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 21-16 (.568) all-time record at the Big 12 Championship (third-most among active members).

• The Sooners rank third in the Big 12 and 21st nationally in scoring offense (80.9 points per contest).

• OU enters Thursday's contest having scored at least 80 points in 15 of 30 total outings this season (averaging 80.9 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 (.403) and first in both blocked shots (5.2) and defensive rebounds (28.4) per contest.

• OU ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounds per game (39.2). The Sooners are led on the boards by Ryan Spangler, who ranks first in the Big 12 with 9.5 rpg. Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponent in 18 of 30 games this season (17-1 in such games).

• Through 30 games this season, Jordan Woodard is averaging 12.9 points per contest, shooting .411 (122-297) from the floor and .441 (63-143) 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 first in the Big 12 (36th nationally). The senior has 12 double-doubles on the season (second-most in conference). Spangler currently ranks third the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.553). The Oklahoma native has led OU in rebounding in 21 of 30 games this season.

STILL A NATIONAL LEADER IN TREYS

• Oklahoma currently ranks second in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (.430). 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 (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 (.473), Jordan Woodard (.441) and Isaiah Cousins (.429) currently rank as the first-, second- and fifth-best 3-point shooters in the Big 12.

• Collectively, Oklahoma's starting five is averaging 44.3 percent from 3-point range (271 for 612). OU's starting guards of Cousins, Hield and Woodard are shooting a collective 45.4 percent (241 for 531) from downtown this season.

WE CALL HIM #BUDDYBUCKETS

• On the season, Buddy Hield is averaging 25.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.9 minutes per game. He's shooting .495 (244-493) from the field, .473 (124-262) from 3-point range (which ranks No. 4 in the nation) and .893 (142-159) from the charity stripe. His 5.5 rebounds per game total is best among Big 12 guards.

• Hield's 79 3-pointers made in Big 12 games this year marked the most in a conference season in Big 12 history.

• Hield's 448 total points in Big 12 games this season were the third-most in a conference campaign in Big 12 history (second to only Kevin Durant-462 and Michael Beasley- 455).

• His 4.13 3FGM per game ranks first in nation. He has made at least five 3-pointers in a game 12 times this year. His 124 3-pointers made this season are the most in college basketball.

• Hield has scored at least 20 points in 22 of 30 games this season after doing it 13 times in 35 games last season. He has 15 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.

• He currently ranks fifth in Big 12 history in 3FGM in a career (326) and fifth all-time in points scored (2,120). Hield needs 13 more points to move into fourth place on the Big 12's all-time scoring list (Jacob Pullen of Kansas State currently stands fourth with 2,132 career points).

• Hield has nine games this season scoring at least 30 points (same total 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). In his career, he has 11 30-point games, which ties Kevin Durant for the 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).

UP NEXT

• If OU defeats Iowa State, it will play a Big 12 Championship semifinals game against No. 2 seed West Virginia, No. 7 seed Texas Tech or No. 10 seed TCU on Friday at approximately 8 p.m. CT (televised by ESPN2).