Sooners Host K-State Saturday

Kansas State

Oklahoma

February 23 | 5 p.m. | Lloyd Noble Center

SATURDAY'S GAME BASICS

Oklahoma (16-11, 6-9 Big 12) is back at home Saturday when it hosts Kansas State (20-8, 9-6 Big 12) in yet another crucial conference clash. The Sooners are 11-2 at home this season, averaging 93.2 points per game inside of Lloyd Noble Center. Oklahoma will look for another big performance on its home floor to help the Sooners get back on track with three games remaining in the regular season.

ON THE AIR

Saturday's matchup 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 Kevin Henry announcing. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN with Rich Hollenberg and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.

TICKETS

Reserved-seat tickets are sold out. General admission upper-level tickets are available for $15 on SoonerSports.com/tickets.

OU student tickets (for non-student season ticket holders) will also be available for $5 at the door, while supplies last (doors open to public 90 minutes before tipoff). OU students with season tickets will need to claim their tickets in advance (by 5 p.m. Friday), similar to home football games.

IN THE BONUS

The Sooner Jr. Kids Zone on the south side of the concourse will feature a poster making station, face painter, balloon artist and free school folders.

#ARRIVESOONER

Fans are encouraged to #ArriveSooner to avoid delays into the gates with new enhanced screenings. Lloyd Noble Center is opening additional screening points in the lower east and west entrances to help expedite the screening process. The north lobby of the east entry and east lobby of the north entry will be open for ticket will call. Fans are encouraged to not bring bags to help expedite screening.

For more gameday tips at Lloyd Noble Center, visit the LNC's information page.

THREE POINTERS

• While leading the nation in scoring, freshman guard Trae Young is also approaching major milestones as a distributor. With 249 assists on the season, Young is 14 dimes shy of tying the Big 12 freshman assists record (273), set by T.J. Ford of Texas in 2001-02. Duke's Bobby Hurley owns the Division I freshman record when he passed out 288 assists in 1989-90. No player in recorded NCAA history has finished a season leading the country in both scoring and assists (assists became an official stat in 1983).

• Head coach Lon Kruger debuted a new starting lineup in Monday's game at Kansas. The change yielded career-high performances from guard Kameron McGusty (22 points on 9-of-15 shooting) and center Jamuni McNeace (18 points on 8-of-11 shooting).

• Senior forward Khadeem Lattin is one block shy of tying Al Beal for the most blocked shots in a career at Oklahoma. Through 125 career games, Lattin has swatted 229 shots - the second most in program history and eighth most in Big 12 history. His 2.0 blocks per game this season rank fourth in the Big 12.

Postgame

Freshman guard Trae Young is 14 assists shy of tying the Big 12's freshman record.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KANSAS STATE

• The Sooners lead the all-time series, 107-99, and hold a 62-27 lead over the Wildcats in Norman. The Sooners have won three of their last four contests with K-State in Norman.

• Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger is 5-8 against his alma mater while coaching the Sooners.

• Kansas State won the first meeting of the season, 87-69, in Manhattan. The last time the two teams met in Norman, OU won by 30 (81-51) in Kruger's 600th career victory.

PLAY FAST, SCORE BUCKETS

• Oklahoma boasts a 16-11 record behind the third-highest-scoring offense in the nation. The Sooners average 87.0 points per game and have scored at least 90 points in 12 of their 27 games - including six games in triple digits. Oklahoma, who ranked 331 (of 351 teams) in assists per game last season (10.6), is 62nd in the country (third in the Big 12) with 15.6 assists per contest this year. The Sooners also rank 33rd in made 3-point field goals per game with 9.7 treys.

• The Sooners aren't just scoring in bunches - they're playing fast. Oklahoma is third in the nation and first among major conferences in KenPom.com's adjusted tempo rankings (possesions per 40 minutes adjusted to the opponenet) with 75.7. Oklahoma's average possession is 14.0 seconds long, the fastest among major conferences and second-fastest overall.

• Oklahoma is 8-1 when shooting above 50 percent and 7-0 when it hands out at least 20 assists.

• Oklahoma has scored 45 or more points in 21 of its 54 halves this season and has scored at least 40 points before halftime in all but eight contests.

• The Sooners have scored at least 100 points in six games – their most in a season since the 1992-93 season, when Oklahoma reached the century mark in nine games. Oklahoma's six triple-digit games are the second-most in a season by an Big 12 team since the conference was formed in 1996. The 2001-02 Kansas squad (12 games) is the only team with more.

OH, TO BE YOUNG...

• Oklahoma's offensive efforts have been led by the scoring and passing of freshman guard Trae Young. In 27 games, the Norman native has put together 12 double-doubles, 22 20-plus-point games, nine 30-plus-point games and four 40-plus-point games. Young is averaging 28.3 points, 9.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting .427 from the field and .366 from 3-point range. He leads the nation in scoring and averages over 10 points more than any other Big 12 player (Texas Tech's Keenan Evans is second with 17.6). Young's 9.4 assists also lead the country. No player in recorded NCAA history has finished a season leading the country in both scoring and assists.

• Just 27 games into his collegiate career, Young already owns the program record for total assists (249), 3-pointers (101) and made foul shots (212) in a freshman season. Among all-time freshman leaders at OU, Young also ranks second in points (765), third in made shots (226) and fourth in steals (46).

• Young's collegiate career only consists of 27 games, but he has reached 40 points on four occasions, most recently scoring 44 against Baylor on Jan. 30. Young produced a career-high 48 points against Oklahoma State on Jan. 20. Young's 48 points are tied for the most ever by a Big 12 player (Iowa State's Melvin Ejim also scored 48 in 2014) and is the second-highest-scoring game by a Division-I player this season. His 48 points are the fifth-most in Oklahoma program history and the second-most by an OU freshman. Young also scored 43 points on Nov. 26 against Oregon and again on Jan. 13 versus TCU. He is the 15th Sooner to score 40 points in a game, but just the second to do so as a freshman. Wayman Tisdale is the only Sooner freshman to score more in a game (51) in the 1982-83 season. Young is also the fourth player in program history to score 40 points in a game multiple times, joining Tisdale (five), Stacey King (two), and Jeff Webster (two).

UP NEXT: BAYLOR

• Next up, Oklahoma heads onto the road for the final time in the regular season, facing Baylor on Tuesday in Waco. The game will tip at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

• Oklahoma owns a 45-14 record over the Bears, including a 19-7 advantage when playing in Waco. OU has won 42 of its last 52 games against the Bears.

• OU defeated Baylor, 98-96, in the first meeting of the season and will be going for its 17th sweep of the Bears since joining the Big 12.