Sooners Host No. 9 West Virginia Saturday

Oklahoma

^9/8West Virginia

Saturday, Jan. 2 / 3 p.m. CT / Lloyd Noble Center / Norman

Tickets / ESPN2 / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

NORMAN – After an extended holiday break, Oklahoma (5-2, 1-1 Big 12) is back in action on Saturday when it hosts No. 9/8 West Virginia (8-2, 1-1 Big 12) at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners open 2021 with a stretch of three games against top-10 opponents in an eight-day stretch.

First up is a Mountaineer team which returns four starters from last season, including big men Derek Culver (14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds) and Oscar Tshiebwe (8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds). West Virginia, whose only two losses have come to No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 3 Kansas, is the Big 12's top rebounding team and ranks sixth nationally (second among major-conference teams) in offensive rebounds per game (15.6).

The Sooners have won two straight against WVU and will need a strong effort from their own bigs to pull off the upset.

ON THE AIR

• Saturday's game will tip at 3 p.m. CT and air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App) with Chad McKee and Kevin Henry announcing.

• Ted Emrich and Bryndon Manzer have the call on ESPN2 and the Watch ESPN App.

TICKETS

• Tickets start at $20 can purchased at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and SoonerSports.com/Tickets. Lloyd Noble Center's east ticket windows will open at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

• Digital ticketing will be implemented for 2020-21 to allow fans to seamlessly access or transfer tickets to others via the SoonerSports2Go app. Step-by-step instructions and additional information on how to access and transfer tickets is available at SoonerSports.com/digitaltickets.

GAME DAY POLICIES

• Appropriate cloth or surgical-style masks that cover the nose and mouth completely will be required at all times while on campus and inside Lloyd Noble Center. Other face coverings including clear face shields, gaiters/buffs, bandanas or masks with valves are not permitted.

• OU will continue its clear-bag policy this season. The approved clear plastic tote size is a maximum of 12 inches x 6 inches x 12 inches or a one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag. Even those bags are subject to search.

• Arena doors will open to the public one (1) hour prior to tip off. The general public can utilize the north and east entrances.

• Full details on OU's game day policies at Lloyd Noble Center can be found here.

THREE POINTERS

• Senior forward Brady Manek is coming off a two-point performance against No. 15 Texas Tech - one of the lowest-scoring games of his career. The Sooners hope for a big bounce-back game from Manek, who entered the Tech matchup as OU's leading scorer. On the last four occasions that Manek has been held to five or fewer points, he's averaging 21.3 points in his next game, scoring at least 15 points in all four of his recent "bounce-back games". Manek is expected to make his 99th career start for Oklahoma on Saturday.

• Oklahoma has seen encouraging improvement in sophomore forwards Jalen Hill and Victor Iwuakor, especially in recent games. After missing two weeks of practice in early December, Iwuakor has totaled 20 points and 13 rebounds over his last two games. The athletic forward pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds against Texas Tech in his most recent outing. While Hill's numbers don't pop off the stat sheet, the Las Vegas native continues to do the little things that impact the game. Hill played 18 minutes in the second half during OU's down-to-the-wire game with Texas Tech and led the Sooners with a plus-minus of plus-seven, despite only scoring five points.

• Another sophomore coming off a strong performance is guard De'Vion Harmon. Playing a career-high 38 minutes, Harmon led the Sooners with 17 points against Texas Tech. The guard has reached double figures in five of OU's seven games this season.

SERIES HISTORY: WEST VIRGINIA

• Oklahoma holds a narrow 12-9 lead in the all-time series with West Virginia. The Sooners swept the Mountaineers last season and have won three of the last four matchups. OU's only loss in that stretch was by one point at the Big 12 Championship.

• The Sooners and Mountaineers were scheduled to face each other in the postseason this past March at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City. The game was canceled the morning of the matchup due to growing concerns of the COVID-19 virus.

• OU won both meetings with West Virginia by double digits last season, topping WVU 69-59 in Norman and 73-62 in Morgantown.

• The Sooners own a 6-2 lead in the all-time series for games played in Norman. Victor Iwuakor, Umoja Gibson

QUICK HITS

• Oklahoma has won three of its last six games against ranked teams.

• OU is 21-15 at home against Top 25 teams during the Lon Kruger era.

• With 184 victories at Oklahoma, head coach Lon Kruger is closing in on surpassing Hugh McDermott (185 wins from 1922-38) on the Sooners' all-time wins list. Only three OU head coaches compiled more than 185 victories: Billy Tubbs (333), Kelvin Sampson (279) and Hall-of-Famer Bruce Drake (200).

• Year after year the Big 12 proves itself to be one of the toughest and deepest conferences in college basketball. The Sooners currently in a stretch that proves how daunting of a league the Big 12 can be, facing four straight teams ranked in the top 15 of the latest AP Top 25 poll. Following Dec. 22's matchup with then-No. 15 Texas Tech, Oklahoma now faces No. 9 West Virginia at home before playing road games at No. 3 Kansas and No. 2 Baylor. Should all four teams remain ranked, it will be just the third time in program history that Oklahoma has played four straight regular-season games against ranked opponents (most recently in 2015). The Sooners have never faced four straight top-15 foes.

• Oklahoma's 82.7 points per game rank second in the Big 12. The Sooners are joined by Baylor (95.0) as the only Big 12 teams averaging over 80 points.

• The Sooners rank in the top four of the Big 12 in all three shooting categories: field goal shooting (47.0%, fourth), 3-point shooting (36.5%, third) and free throw percentage (78.5%, first).

• Sometimes the key to victory is as simple as making shots. Over the last two seasons, the Sooners are 21-1 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 then-No. 1 Baylor last season.

• The Sooners also lead the league in fewest fouls committed per game, fouling an average of 13.0 times - the third-fewest in the country. This continues a trend that Oklahoma showed a lot of discipline in last season, committing only 13.4 personal fouls per game in 2019-20 – also the third fewest in the country. This year, OU opponents are shooting an average of 11.9 foul shots per game, compared to OU's 20.6 free throw attempts.

• Sophomore guard De'Vion Harmon leads the Big 12 in free throw shooting, sinking his foul shots at a 90.5% clip. Austin Reaves ranks fifth in the league with an 86.5% rate.

• Oklahoma is committing only 11.3 turnovers per game - the second lowest in the Big 12 and 33rd fewest nationally.

• Senior forward Brady Manek is third in the Big 12 in both 3-pointers per game (2.6) and 3-point field goal percentage (43.9%).

• Austin Reaves' 32 points against TCU (Dec. 6) are the most by a Big 12 player this season. Brady Manek's 29 points against UTSA (Dec. 3) are the third-most by a league player.

• Lon Kruger returns a veteran-heavy team which returns over 70% of its scoring from last season's squad that claimed the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship.

• Kruger utilized a starting lineup with four seniors on opening night in Austin Reaves, Alondes Williams, Brady Manek and Kur Kuath. It was the first time since the 1992-93 season that Oklahoma started at least four seniors in the first game of the season.

UP NEXT: BAYLOR

• Oklahoma continues its stretch of four straight games against top-15 opponents when it heads to Waco to face No. 3 Baylor on Wednesday. The matchup will air on ESPN2 or ESPNU and tip at 8 p.m. CT.

• OU owns a 45-19 record over the Bears, but Baylor has won six straight against the Sooners. Oklahoma last defeated the Bears on Jan. 30, 2018 in Norman.

• Following OU's matchup against No. 3 Baylor, the Sooners then head to Lawrence to face No. 2 Kansas. If the rankings remain the same, it will be the fifth time in program history that OU has faced top-three opponents in consecutive games. OU also played top-three Baylor and Kansas in back-to-back games last season. Of the five times that OU has faced top-three teams in consecutive games, this would be the first time both matchups were on the road.