Sooners Host Red Raiders on Saturday Night

Texas Tech

Oklahoma

January 14 | 7:30 p.m. CT | Lloyd Noble Center

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS

Oklahoma (6-9, 0-4 Big 12) plays its second game at Lloyd Noble Center in five days when it hosts Texas Tech (13-3, 2-2 Big 12) for a Saturday night conference showdown. The Sooners will look for continued production out freshman Kameron McGusty, who is leading the team in scoring during Big 12 play with 13.3 points per game. Senior Jordan Woodard returned to action against Kansas on Jan. 10 and is expected to see an increase of minutes against the Red Raiders.

ON THE AIR

Saturday's contest tips off at 7:30 p.m. CT and air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM “The Franchise” in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Jason Benetti and Reid Gettys calling the action.

TICKETS

Tickets to Saturday's game are still available on SoonerSports.com.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• OU continues to show its depth in conference play, most recently outscoring No. 2/2 Kansas in bench points, 29-5. Through four Big 12 games, Oklahoma boasts a conference-best 29.3 bench points per game in league competition. The Sooners are one of only four Big 12 squads to average over 20 bench points in league games as the conference averages 17.2 per contest. The Sooners boast a Big 12-leading eight players averaging five or more points in conference play.

• One of the youngest teams in both the Big 12 and the nation, Oklahoma has seen its freshmen and sophomores play a large role for the Sooners this season. The Sooner roster boasts 11 underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) – the most of any OU team in the Lon Kruger era and the most of any Big 12 roster this season. The young Sooners have received ample experience through their first four Big 12 contests. OU freshmen have played a total of 327 minutes (second most in Big 12), averaging a combined 25.0 points per game, contributing 41.7 percent of OU's scoring in Big 12 play - the highest percentage in the conference. Sooner underclassmen rank second in the Big 12 in total minutes played in conference competition (605) and have scored 75.8 percent of Oklahoma's points the past four games (second in Big 12).

• Jordan Woodard returned to action on Tuesday, posting seven points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. His performance brought his career scoring total to 1,331 and pushed him into the top 20 of OU's all-time scoring list. Woodard also ranks seventh in the Sooner record book in assists (451), eighth in free throws (412) and ninth in steals (171).

• In six previous games against Texas Tech, Woodard has posted averages of 12.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals. In his most recent game against the Red Raiders, Woodard scored 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

• Khadeem Lattin blocked five shots again Kansas earlier this week, bringing his career block total to 140 (fourth most in school history). The last time the Sooners hosted Tech, Lattin swatted a career-high eight shots.

LOOKING BACK AT KANSAS

• Oklahoma came up short to No. 2/2 Kansas, 81-70, on Tuesday at Lloyd Noble Center. The Jayhawks improved to 145-66 in the all-time series against the Sooners and are the only Big 12 team to own a winning record over Oklahoma.

• For the third-straight game, freshman guard Kameron McGusty led the Sooners in scoring by notching double-figure scoring. McGusty, making his first collegiate start, totaled 13 points in a career-high-tying 30 minutes.

• Sophomore guard Rashard Odomes also tallied 13 points – good for his ninth game in double figures this season. Odomes shot 6-of-10 from the field and added three rebounds and a pair of steals.

• The Sooners faced a 21-12 deficit midway through the first half before closing the first half on a 22-6 run in the final 9:05. Oklahoma led Kansas, 36-27, at the break - the Jayhawks' largest halftime deficit of the season. OU has led at halftime in 11 of its 15 games this season.

• Sophomore guard Christian James led the bench with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting to go with five boards.

• Oklahoma pulled down 15 offensive boards, including 11 in the first half – the most of any half this season. Junior forward Khadeem Lattin led OU's rebounding efforts with 11 boards to go with eight points and a season-high-tying five blocks. The outing was Lattin's second game of double-digit rebounding this season.

Woodard

With seven points against Kansas, Jordan Woodard moved into the top 20 of OU's career scoring list.

NEW ROLES AND NEW FACES

• After losing the senior trio of Isaiah Cousins, Buddy Hield and Ryan Spangler, the Sooners are looking to a roster that features 11 underclassmen (most of the Kruger era) to continue its development and growth as the season progresses.

• OU has benefited from a dramatic increase in scoring from guards Christian James and Rashard Odomes. After averaging 2.9 points per game in 2015-16, James is the second leading scorer for the Sooners through 15 games, scoring 10.8 points per game on .429 shooting from the field and .473 from 3-point range (third in Big 12). Tallying just 35 total points in 2015-16 (1.9 per game), Odomes has already quadrupled his total points output with 144 on the season (averaging 9.6 per game).

• Oklahoma has seen potential from all four of its scholarship freshmen as the youngest Sooners have combined to produce 11 games of double-digit scoring - most recently a 13-point showing from Kameron McGusty against Kansas (Jan. 10).

SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 37-22, and is 22-7 against the Red Raiders in Norman. The Sooners have won the past two games at LNC by a combined 69 points (91-67 in 2016, 81-36 in 2015).

• OU and Tech split the 2015-16 series with the home team winning each contest.

UP NEXT

• The Sooners are back on the road Wednesday against No. 10/9 West Virginia at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The matchup with the 14-2 Mountaineers will be Oklahoma's third game against a current top-10 team in a six-game stretch.

• Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 8-4, and is 2-2 against WVU in Morgantown.

• The Sooners swept the regular season series against WVU last year, winning 70-68 in Norman and 76-62 in Morgantown. The Mountaineers ended OU's Big 12 Championship run by winning 69-67 in the semifinals in Kansas City.