OU Prepares for Creighton in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. – Playing its fifth straight game away from home, NR/RV Oklahoma (7-2, 0-0 Big 12) readies for another marquee non-conference road game when the Sooners face NR/RV Creighton (8-2, 0-0 American) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CT in Omaha, Neb.

The matchup between the Sooners and Bluejays is a part of the first installment of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle.

The Sooners are looking to bounce back after a road loss to Wichita State on Saturday while Creighton enters the contest on a four-game winning streak.

ON THE AIR

The non-conference matchup is slated for a 7:30 p.m. CT tip and will air on the Sooner Radio Network (107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing.

Kevin Kugler and Bill Raftery will call the action on FS1. Fans with proper cable verification can stream the game through the Fox Sports Go App.

THREE POINTERS

• Senior forward Kristian Doolittle is coming off consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career, and both performances came while on the road. After scoring a season-high 28 points against North Texas on Dec. 5, the team's lone senior produced 22 points at Wichita State on Saturday and sunk a career-high tying four 3-pointers against the Shockers. After going 0-of-4 from 3-point range across the entire 2018-19 season, Doolittle is expanding his range and shooting 10-of-15 (66.7%) from behind the arc in 2019-20.

• The Sooners feature a dynamic scoring duo of Doolittle (16.8 points per game) and leading scorer Austin Reaves (17.1 points). Oklahoma is one of only four major-conference teams with two players averaging over 16 points. Creighton also boasts a high-scoring pair in sophomore guard Marcus Zegarowski (19.4 points) and junior guard Ty-Shon Alexander (17.1). Both Bluejay guards are shooting above 40% from 3-point range this season and are coming off of back-to-back games of at least 20 points.

• Tuesday's matchup is a part of the inaugural BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle, a scheduling alliance creating marquee non-conference games in December for all 10 teams in each league. The BIG EAST is leading this year's battle 4-2.

OKLAHOMA VS. CREIGHTON: SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma owns a 4-2 lead over the Bluejays and has won four of the last five meetings. The Sooners are making their third trip to face Creighton in Omaha, most recently falling to the Bluejays by two in 2014.

• In addition to being a part of the Big 12/Big EAST Battle, OU's matchup with Creighton also serves as a return trip in a home-and-home series. The Sooners won in Norman, 83-70, last December.

• The Sooners are 5-2 against current BIG EAST opponents during the Lon Kruger era, and have won four of its last five games against the conference. Oklahoma is 15-15 all-time against current members of the BIG EAST.

QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma has won four of its last five road non-conference games.

• Oklahoma was the only Big 12 team to claim three wins over teams from a major conference in November.

• The Sooners' four wins away from home this season (three neutral-site, one true road) are the most in the Big 12.

• OU leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, making 76.7% of its shots from the foul stripe. The Sooners shot their free throws at a 69.7% rate in 2018-19.

• The Sooners are turning the ball over just 10.0 times per game, which ranks third in the nation and first in the Big 12.

• OU is committing only 13.6 personal fouls per game – the seventh-fewest in the country.

• Oklahoma is both the only Big 12 school with two players in the conference's top-five scorers and with three players ranked in the top 15 of the league's scoring leaders. Junior guard Austin Reaves is ranked third with 17.1 points per game while senior forward Kristian Doolittle is fifth with 16.8. Junior forward Brady Manek is in 12th averaging 14.0.

• Reaves, a transfer from Wichita State, leads all Big 12 newcomers in scoring with 17.1 points per game.

Kristian Doolittle

Kristian Doolittle has scored 50 total points over his last two games.

DOOLITTLE DOOING LOTS

• The only senior on the Sooner roster, forward Kristian Doolittle continues to show progress in his game throughout his career in Norman. Doolittle is the only Big 12 player averaging at least 15 points and eight rebounds with numbers of 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals.

• Dating back to last season, Doolittle is averaging 16.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his last 17 games. He has registered six double-doubles in that span, highlighted by 24 points and 11 rebounds against Kansas on March 5, 19 points with 15 boards versus Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament on March 22 and 19 points with 16 rebounds against Oregon State on Nov. 12.

• Doolittle went all of last season without a 3-pointer and only attempted four shots from behind the arc. He is 10-of-15 (.667) from deep this season.

• In the first true road game of the season, Doolittle played the role of senior leader to will the Sooners back from a double-digit second half deficit at North Texas on Dec. 5. Doolittle played all 20 minutes of the second half and shot 7-of-8 from the field (3-of-3 from 3-point range) to score 18 points after halftime. He scored 10 of OU's final 14 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds remaining. In total, he scored 28 points – one shy of his career high.

• Doolittle's shot was flawless in an OU win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 21. Doolittle scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Doolittle's performance is just the third time during the Big 12 era that a Sooner shot 100% from the field on at least seven attempts, joining Buddy Hield (10-for-10 against Oklahoma State in 2015) and Longar Longar (7-for-7 against Coppin State in 2006). Of that trio, Doolittle was the only one to shoot 100% from the foul line in the same game.

• Doolittle was honored with the Big 12 Player of the Week award on Nov. 18 for the first time in his career. He earned the recognition after totaling 19 points, 16 rebounds and four assists against Oregon State on Nov. 12.

• Winner of the Big 12's inaugural Most Improved Player award last season, Doolittle led the Sooners throughout conference play in 2018-19 with team-high Big 12 averages of 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds to go with 2.1 assists. He was the only Big 12 player to average at least 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in league competition. His numbers in conference play came after averaging only 2.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 2017-18 and 7.2 points and 5.8 boards the non-conference stretch of 2018-19.

• An All-Big 12 Third Team selection in 2018-19, Doolittle finished the season with averages of 11.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 29.1 minutes. He led the team in rebounds and ranked third in points and second in field goal percentage (.502).

• Opposing conference coaches expect Doolittle to continue improving, naming him an honorable mention selection on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

REAVES IS ROLLING

• Junior guard Austin Reaves has led the Sooners' scoring efforts during his first eight games in the Crimson and Cream. A transfer from Wichita State, Reaves sat out the 2018-19 season but has quickly made up for lost time.

• Through nine games he is averaging a team-high 17.1 points along with 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. His 17.1 points per game rank third in the Big 12 and leads the conference's newcomers.

• Reaves has scored in double figures in all nine games, including a career-high-tying 23 points agaisnt UTSA on Nov. 5 and 22 points at North Texas on Dec. 5.

• The guard has found success scoring despite only shooting 30.8% from 3-point range. A proven shooter, Reaves led the American Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage during conference play in 2017-18 by shooting at a .451 clip (37-for-82).

BRADY SCORES IN BUNCHES

• The Sooners almost always have team success on nights that junior forward Brady Manek is rolling. During his career, OU is 34-14 when Manek scores in double figures, 21-4 when he scores at least 15 points and 9-3 when he hit four or more 3-pointers.

• Dating back to last season, Manek has scored in double figures in 22 of his last 25 games – including all nine games this season.

• Manek entered his junior year as the Sooners' leading returning scorer. With 741 career points coming into the season, he is just the 10th player in OU history to reach 700 career points by the end of a sophomore season. In the last 27 years, only four Sooners have scored more total points as underclassmen (freshman + sophomore seasons) than Manek: Blake Griffin (1,278), Trae Young (876), Willie Warren (868) and Buddy Hield (756).

• Manek enters Saturday's game with 867 career points. He has started in 43 straight games for the Sooners.

• Manek is one of 20 players the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame named to its watch list for the 2020 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. Named after two-time NBA MVP Karl Malone, the annual honor recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men's college basketball. Manek is one of only two Big 12 players (Baylor's Tristan Clark) named to the watch list.

• Manek was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection during his sophomore campaign (2018-19). He averaged 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting .469 from the field and .358 from behind the arc.

UP NEXT: UCF

• After a full month between home games, the Sooners are finally back at Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday when they host UCF in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The matchup is slated for a 1 p.m. CT tip on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

• After playing three straight true road games, OU begins a stretch of three straight home games. The matchup with UCF is Oklahoma's first home game since Nov. 21 and concludes a 45-day stretch (Nov. 6 through Dec. 20) in which the Sooners played at home only twice. OU is one of only three major-conference teams to play seven of its first 10 games away from home, joined by Seton Hall and Wake Forest.

• Both the Sooners and Knights are coming off of NCAA Tournament appearances. UCF and OU both fell in the second round of March Madness in Columbia, S.C.

• OU is 5-3 against current members of the American Athletic Conference under Lon Kruger. The Sooners fell to Wichita State, 80-75, earlier this season. Oklahoma is 46-31 all-time against current members of the American.

ON THE AIR

THREE POINTERS

OKLAHOMA VS. CREIGHTON: SERIES HISTORY

QUICK HITS

DOOLITTLE DOOING LOTS

REAVES IS ROLLING

BRADY SCORES IN BUNCHES

UP NEXT: UCF

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Players Mentioned

Kristian Doolittle

Brady Manek

Austin Reaves

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics