Sooners On The Road in the Little Apple

Oklahoma

Kansas State

Wednesday, Jan. 29 / 7 p.m. CT / Manhattan, Kan.

Tickets / Big 12 Now on ESPN+ / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

NORMAN - Coming off a grind-it-out win in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Oklahoma (13-6, 3-3 Big 12) returns to conference play Wednesday when it travels to the Little Apple to face Kansas State (8-11, 1-5 Big 12).

The Sooners are looking for their first win inside Bramlage Coliseum since 2012. Oklahoma won the first meeting of the season on a 12-0 game-closing run in Norman.

Xavier Sneed (14.7 points) and Cartier Diarra (13.2 points, 5.1 assists) are leading the Wildcats and combined for 32 points in this season's first meeting with the Sooners. Oklahoma will look for Brady Manek (15.7 points, 6.5 rebounds) to continue his hot streak as the Sooners fight for an always-valuable road win in the Big 12.

ON THE AIR

The 7 p.m. 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.

Mark Neely and Lance Blanks will call the action on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. More information on the streaming platform can be found here.

THREE POINTERS

• After being limited to 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting against No. 6 Kansas on Jan. 14, junior forward Brady Manek has strung together three of the best games of his career. Over his last three games, Manek is averaging 23.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.3 3-pointers and shooting 59% from the field. Manek is leading the Sooners in scoring this season with 15.7 points per game – ranking fourth in the Big 12. Standing at 6-9 with a solid 3-point shot (43%), Manek is a dangerous mismatch for OU opponents. He is the only player in Division I men's basketball averaging at least 2.5 made 3-pointers and 1.2 blocks.

• Senior forward Kristian Doolittle enters Saturday's game with 992 career points - eight shy of the 1,000-point milestone. Doolittle is aiming to become the 47th Sooner to score 1,000 points in a career at Oklahoma. His teammate, Brady Manek, reached the 1,000-point milestone earlier this month against TCU.

• OU head coach Lon Kruger played for Kansas State from 1970-74 and was named the Big Eight Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974. He also starred on the baseball diamond for Kansas State and was selected in both the NBA and MLB Drafts in 1974. He later coached the Wildcats from 1986-90, racking up an 81-46 (.638) record. Each of his K-State squads qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and the 1988 team was one of the best in the school's history with 24 wins and a trip to the Elite Eight. Kruger's No. 12 hangs in the rafters of Bramlage Coliseum.

OKLAHOMA VS. KANSAS STATE: SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 109-101, but is 36-62 against the Wildcats in Manhattan. Kansas State has won seven straight meetings inside Bramlage Coliseum with the last OU win in Manhattan coming on Jan. 28, 2012.

• A win would give the OU its first season sweep of Kansas State since 2012.

• The Wildcats are the first team the Sooners will face for a second time in the round-robin Big 12 schedule. The two teams opened Big 12 play against each other on Jan. 4 in Norman with Oklahoma securing the 66-61 victory.

• Kruger isn't the only member of the OU coaching staff with a K-State connection. Assistant Jim Molinari played his first two seasons at Kansas State (including one with Kruger) before transfering to Illinois Wesleyan.

• Junior forward Kur Kuath will be facing his cousin, K-State forward Makol Mawien. Both Kuath and Mawien were born to South Sudan families who fled their home country at a young age due to civil war. The families fled to Egypt, where Mawien was born, when Kuath was a toddler. They then moved to Utah at a young age as refugees.

LOOKING BACK AT SATURDAY'S WIN

• Oklahoma picked up its final non-conference win of the regular season by defeating Mississippi State, 63-62, Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

• The Sooners were led by another big performance from junior forward Brady Manek with 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

• Junior guard Alondes Williams came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points, sinking three 3-pointers on four attempts.

• Oklahoma improved to 5-2 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Sooners' five wins in the event are tied for the second most among Big 12 teams. OU has won five straight games over teams from the SEC.

• The Sooners controlled the opening half, leading by as many as 15 before Mississippi State closed the gap to eight heading into halftime. The Bulldogs took their only lead of the night with 4:15 to play but OU hung on to the win despite shooting 31.3% in the second half. Austin Reaves

QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma is 2-4 in true road games this season and 5-5 in road + neutral games.

• Oklahoma boasts the top scoring trio in the Big 12 and one of the best in the country in junior forward Brady Manek (15.7 points per game), senior forward Kristian Doolittle (15.4) and junior guard Austin Reaves (14.4). All three Sooners rank in the top 10 of the Big 12's scoring race - led by Manek with the fourth-highest scoring average in the league. Oklahoma is the one of only three major-conference schools (Arkansas, Miami) with three players averaging over 14 points.

• OU leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, making 76.1% of its shots from the foul stripe. The Sooners, who shot free throws at a 69.7% rate in 2018-19, rank 29th in the country in 2019-20. OU boasts the sixth 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 second fewest in the country. OU opponents are shooting an average of 13.1 foul shots per game, compared to OU's 18.5 free throw attempts.

• The Sooners discipline is on display on the offesnive end as well. Oklahoma is turning the ball over just 10.2 times per game, which ranks fourth 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 12-1 this season when they have a better field goal percentage than their opponents. Their only loss when owning a better field goal percentage was on the road at No. 1 Baylor.

• OU is 12-3 when holding its opponents to under 80 points.

• The Sooners are 3-0 in games decided by two or fewer points.

• After reaching 1,000 career points last week, junior forward Brady Manek approaches another milestone. With 165 career 3-pointers, Manek is five shy of cracking OU's top-10 list for careers 3-point field goals. Ryan Minor currently sits in 10th with 170 made treys. Buddy Hield holds the Sooner record with 349.

• Manek is the only player in Division I men's basketball averaging at least 2.5 made 3-pointers and 1.2 blocks.

• Manek ranks second in the Big 12 in 3-pointers per game during conferene play with 3.17. The forward is sinking his treys at a 51.4% clip during Big 12 play, which leads the conference.

• Senior forward Kristian Doolittle is the only Big 12 player averaging at least 15 points and eight rebounds. He is one of only four major-conference players averaging at least 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

• Junior guard Austin Reaves is third in scoring among Big 12 newcomers with 14.4 points per game.

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 38-16 when Manek scores in double figures, 24-7 when he scores at least 15 points and 11-4 when he hit four or more 3-pointers.

• Dating back to last season, Manek has scored in double figures in 30 of his last 35 games – including 17 of 19 games this season.

• Manek is the newest member of Oklahoma's 1,000-point club, joining the prestigous group with a career-high 31 points against TCU on Jan. 18. His performance was highlight by shooting 7-of-9 from 3-point range. His 31 points are tied for the most by a Big 12 player this season and are the most by a Sooner since Trae Young.

• Manek enters Wednesday's game with 1,040 career points – the 41st most in program history. He has started in 53 straight games for the Sooners.

NEXT UP: OKLAHOMA STATE

• The Sooners are back at Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday for a rivalry game against Oklahoma State. The first Bedlam matchup of the year will air on ABC at 2 p.m. CT.

• Oklahoma owns a 139-99 all-time advantage in the series and has won 21 of the last 32 meetings. The Sooners are 12-6 in Bedlam games under Lon Kruger.

• OU is 86-27 when Bedlam is in Norman and has won 17 of its last 19 games against the Cowboys inside Lloyd Noble Center (losses came in 2004 and 2017). The Sooners are 7-1 in home Bedlam games under Kruger.

• The Sooners swept the Cowboys in 2018-19, giving Oklahoma its seventh Bedlam sweeps since 2006 (Oklahoma State has swept just once in that span).

• OU used a historic comeback to win the most recent meeting with the Cowboys. Oklahoma overcame a 19-point deficit (trailed 28-9 at 11:15 in the first half) and fought back to win, 70-61, in Stillwater. The Sooners were led by guard Jamal Bieniemy - scoring 17 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting (3-of-3 from deep).