Sooners Host No. 6 Kansas on Tuesday

Oklahoma

⁶ Kansas

Tuesday, Jan. 14 / 8 p.m. CT / Lloyd Noble Center

Tickets / ESPN / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

NORMAN – Looking to bounce back from its first Big 12 loss of the season, Oklahoma (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) is back at home on Tuesday to host No. 6/7 Kansas (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) at 8 p.m. CT.

The Sooners are facing a ranked opponent for the first time this season, and are looking for another big home performance on the national stage. Oklahoma has won six of its last nine home games against a top-10 team.

The Jayhawks are coming off a loss as well, falling to Baylor in a top-five matchup at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas hasn't won in Lloyd Noble Center since 2017 – its longest current draught of any venue in the Big 12.

KU has been led by the Big 12's leading scorer Devon Dotson (18.0 points per game) while the Sooners boast three players in the league's top-10 scoring list.

ON THE AIR

• The Tuesday night matchup 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.

• Jon Sciambi and Jay Bilas will call the action on ESPN.

TICKETS

• Limited tickets start at $30 can purchased at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and SoonerSports.com/Tickets. Lloyd Noble Center's north and east ticket windows will open at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

• Fans interested in saving on big games should consider a new three game mini plan, offering fans tickets to home games against Kansas (Jan. 14) and Oklahoma State (Feb. 1) along with a Saturday game of your choice. Packages start at just $70 can be purchased here.

BE THE DIFFERENCE

• The Sooners need the BoomSquad student section to bring the boom on Tuesday as the first game of the spring semester. All students who purchased football season tickets have free access to men's basketball games by scanning their OU student ID. Single-game student tickets are also available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the student entrance for $5.

• The first 500 students will receive a free OU BoomSquad hat from Top of the World.

TOP DAUG RETURNS

• Every good dog finds its way home. After 12 years since its last appearance in Lloyd Noble Center, beloved Oklahoma basketball mascot Top Daug will make its return on Tuesday.

• Fans are encouraged to be in their seats 15 minutes before both games for a special pregame introduction.

THREE POINTERS

• Junior forward Brady Manek has assembled two of his most memorable games when playing the Jayhawks at home. In his freshman season, he recorded 14 points and sunk 4-of-6 3-pointers, including a dagger to put the Sooners up five with 25 seconds to play. Last year, Manek scored a 21 points as the Sooners stormed past the Jayhawks by 13. In his two home games against Kansas, Manek is averaging 17.5 points, 3.5 3-pointers (on 53.8% shooting) and 6.0 rebounds. Manek is coming off a hot shooting night on Saturday at Iowa State where he went 5-of-6 from 3-point range to total 17 points.

• Oklahoma boasts three of the top 10 scorers in the Big 12. Kristian Doolittle (17.1 points per game) is third in the league behind only Devon Dotson of Kansas (18.0) and Desmond Bane of TCU (17.1). Junior guard Austin Reaves (15.9) is sixth in the league and Brady Manek (14.6) ranks ninth. Oklahoma is the only major-conference teams with three players averaging at least 14.5 points.

• The marquee home game will also serve as the return for beloved Oklahoma basketball mascot Top Daug. Introduced as the mascot for Oklahoma basketball in the mid-1980s, Top Daug was a symbol of OU's rise to the top of the Big 8 under legendary head coach Billy Tubbs. Known for leading raucous crowds and performing zany antics, Top Daug experienced two runs to the Final Four (1988 and 2002), four regular season conference titles and six conference tournament crowns. Top Daug retired from the LNC baseline in 2004, but returned for a men's game in 2008 as part of the 20 year 1988 Final Four reunion.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KANSAS

• Kansas is the only Big 12 team with a winning all-time record against the Sooners, leading the series 148-68.

• OU has won four of its last seven home games against Kansas - including each of the last two seasons.

• Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Kansas has won at least one game in every Big 12 venue except for Lloyd Noble Center.

• KU is 50-44 when facing Oklahoma in Norman. The series is tied 19-19 for games played at Lloyd Noble Center.

• A win would give the Sooners their first pair of consecutive wins against Kansas since 2002-2003 when Oklahoma defeated the Jayhawks in the 2002 Big 12 Championship Game and won the next meeting in Norman in 2003.

• OU freshman guard De'Vion Harmon was high school teammates with KU freshman forward Jalen Wilson at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. Wilson has sat out the last 13 games due to a foot injury.

Brady Manek

The Sooners have won six of their last nine home games against top-10 teams. Three of those wins have been against Kansas.

QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma is 13-22 when facing top-10 teams during the Lon Kruger era, but is 6-5 when playing at Lloyd Noble Center. Oklahoma has won six of its last nine home games against top-10 teams.

• A win would give Oklahoma its fourth 3-1 start in Big 12 play during the Kruger era and its first since 2017-18.

• The Sooners are 6-0 at home this season and are one of only three Big 12 schools without a home loss this season. Dating back to last year, Oklahoma has won nine straight home games, including four consecutive home Big 12 matchups.

• OU leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, making 76.9% of its shots from the foul stripe. The Sooners, who shot free throws at a 69.7% rate in 2018-19, rank 21st in the country in 2019-20. OU boasts the third best free throw percentage among schools from major conferences.

• In addition to their success at shooting at the foul line, the Sooners have also shown discipline in keeping their opponents off the charity stripe. Oklahoma commits only 13.1 personal fouls per game – the fourth fewest in the country. OU opponents are shooting an average of 12.9 foul shots per game, comapred to OU's 20.2 free throw attempts.

• The Sooners are turning the ball over just 10.8 times per game, which ranks eighth in the nation. Virginia Tech (9.7) and Notre Dame (9.9) are the only major-conference teams turning the ball over less.

• Sometimes the key to victory is as simple as making shots. The Sooners are 10-0 this season when they have a better field goal percentage than their opponents.

• OU is 10-1 when holding its opponents to under 80 points.

• Oklahoma boasts an 11-4 record despite a tendency to get off to slow starts. Oklahoma has led at the half in only five games this season and are 6-3 when trailing at the midway point. The Sooners lead the country in both wins in which they trailed by double figures (four) and wins when they trailed at the half (six).

• Kristian Doolittle continues to evolve his range an confidence behind the 3-point line. After going 0-of-4 from 3-point range all of 2018-19, Doolittle is shooting 15-of-30 (50%) from deep this season.

• Junior guard Austin Reaves leads Big 12 newcomers in scoring with 15.9 points per game.

• Two OU teammates are just a few games away from reaching 1,000 career points. Brady Manek owns 960 career points while Doolittle sits at 952.

• Sophomore guard Jamal Bieniemy had a strong week to shake off a month of poor shooting. After averaging 2.9 points on 17.3% shooting in his previous nine games, Bieniemy scored 11 points at Texas and 10 at Iowa State on a combined 8-of-14 shooting.

• Despite being 6-0 at home this season, Oklahoma has led only once at halftime inside Lloyd Noble Center.

• The Sooners' five wins away from home this season (three neutral-site, two true road) are tied for the third most in the Big 12.

NEXT UP: TCU

• Oklahoma remains at home when it hosts TCU on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The first-place Horned Frogs are off to a 3-0 start in Big 12 play.

• OU owns a 23-4 all-time record against the Horned Frogs and has won 15 of the last 18 meetings. OU leads the series 12-3 since the Frogs joined the Big 12 in 2012.

• TCU will enter Lloyd Noble Center looking for its first-ever win in Norman. The Sooners are 12-0 all-time when hosting the Frogs.

• The Sooners and Horned Frogs faced off in some tight contests over the past few seasons. Two of the last four meetings have been determined by just two points, including a 76-74 Sooner victory in Norman last season off a game-winning jumper from Kristian Doolittle.

ON THE AIR

TICKETS

BE THE DIFFERENCE

TOP DAUG RETURNS

THREE POINTERS

SERIES HISTORY VS. KANSAS

QUICK HITS

NEXT UP: TCU

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Players Mentioned

Jamal Bieniemy

Kristian Doolittle

De'Vion Harmon

Brady Manek

Austin Reaves

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