Sooners Host Bedlam Showdown on Monday

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma

January 30 | 8 p.m. CT | Lloyd Noble Center

MONDAY'S GAME BASICS

For the 232nd time, Oklahoma (8-12, 2-6 Big 12) and Oklahoma State (13-8, 2-6 Big 12) will meet on the hardwood for Bedlam basketball. The Sooners look to continue protecting home court in the Bedlam series and earn their 13th straight win over OSU in Norman.

OU is 9-2 against the Cowboys during the Lon Kruger era. Monday's meeting with OSU will be the first matchup since Brad Underwood took over as head coach. Both Kruger and Underwood played collegiately at Kansas State.

ON THE AIR

Monday's contest tips off at 8 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 ESPN with Bob Wischusen and Fran Fraschilla calling the action. This is the second week in a row OU has been featured on ESPN Big Monday and its third-striaght game televised on ESPN.

TICKETS

Tickets for Monday's game are still available on SoonerSports.com.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Freshman guard Kameron McGusty has scored at least nine points in every Big 12 game and has registerd double figures in the past eight outings. His eight games of double digits is the longest such streak of any Sooner this season. His January resume includes 20 points against Kansas State (Jan. 7), 19 points versus Iowa State (Jan. 21), a 17-point performance at West Virginia (Jan. 18) and a career-best 21 at Texas (Jan. 23). McGusty is averaging 15.0 points per game during league play - the second highest scoring average among Big 12 freshman.

• Both McGusty and fellow freshman Kristian Doolittle have seen a rise in their scoring as the season progresses. After combining for 15.0 points in November, the duo has averaged 27.0 per game in January.

• ESPN's College Basketball Power Index (BPI) ranks the Sooners' strength of schedule as the second toughest in the nation, behind only Wake Forest. Four of Oklahoma's last nine games have been against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll at the time of competition. (No. 2 Kansas, No. 2 Baylor, No. 7 West Virginia, No. 25 Florida).

• This is the eighth Bedlam battle for senior guard Jordan Woodard, who is averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals in his career against OSU.

• Doolittle's older brother, Kameron, played wide receiver at Oklahoma State in 2014 and 2015.

LOOKING BACK AT FLORIDA

• Oklahoma (8-12, 2-6 Big 12) fell to No. 25/25 Florida (16-5, 6-2 SEC), 84-52, on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center. With the loss, the Sooners are now 3-1 when playing in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

• Sophomore guard Rashard Odomes led Oklahoma in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds. Odomes has scored in double figures in five of his last seven games.

• Freshman guard Kameron McGusty tallied double-digit scoring for the eighth-straight game with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 29 minutes. His eight consecutive double-digit outings is the longest such streak by any Sooner this season. Isaiah Cousins and Buddy Hield were the only members of last season's team with a double-figure scoring streak of at least eight games. McGusty is leading OU's scoring efforts during the month of January with an average of 15.1 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting.

• Freshman forward Kristian Doolittle produced eight points and nine rebounds. Coming off of a pair of double-double performances – including a 29-point game at Texas on Monday – Doolittle is averaging 17.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in his past three games. Doolittle has pulled down at least five rebounds in every game in January.

• The Sooners are now 0-2 all-time against Florida. In the only previous meeting with the Gators (1995), Florida defeated the Sooners in the All-College Classic under head coach Lon Kruger. Kruger coached the Gators from 1990 to 1996, racking up a record of 104-80 with a trip to the 1994 Final Four.

lnc

The Sooners have won 12 consecutive Bedlam games inside Lloyd Noble Center.

YOUTH GROUP

• 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 eight Big 12 contests.

• OU freshmen have played a total of 584 minutes (second most in Big 12), averaging a combined 25.9 points per game and contributing 39.9 percent of OU's scoring in Big 12 play - the second-highest percentage in the conference. Sooner underclassmen rank second in the Big 12 in total minutes played in conference competition (1,216) and have scored 70.5 percent of Oklahoma's points the past eight games (second in Big 12).

SERIES HISTORY

• The Sooners have won 17 of the last 24 Bedlam meetings, including the past seven contests. OU owns a 136-95 all-time advantage in the series and boasts an 84-26 lead when played in Norman.

• Oklahoma has won 15 of the last 16 Bedlam battles in Norman, including the last 12 meetings. The Sooners have not lost a Bedlam game at home since 2004.

UP NEXT

• The Sooners head to West Texas for a Saturday night showdown with Texas Tech on Feb. 4. The Sooners and Red Raiders will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

• Oklahoma owns a 38-22 lead in the all-time series. The Sooners have won seven of the last nine meetings, including an 84-75 victory earlier this month in Norman.

• Tech holds a 14-13 advantage when playing in Lubbock. Should the Sooners win, Lubbock would be the fourth Big 12 city that the Sooners hold a .500 record or better in, joining Fort Worth, Morgantown and Waco.

• The Sooners are 8-3 against Tech in the Kruger era and hold a 3-2 record in Lubbock under Kruger.