University of Oklahoma Athletics
Saturday, February 29
Morgantown, W. Va.
3:00 PM
University of Oklahoma
at
West Virginia
Photo by: Ty Russell
OU Heads to Morgantown Saturday
February 28, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Oklahoma
20 West Virginia
Saturday, Feb. 29 / 3 p.m. CT / Morgantown, W. Va.
The Sooners and Mountaineers are tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings and Saturday's showdown could go a long way in postseason seeding.
The Mountaineers have defended home court all season, boasting a 13-1 record inside WVU Coliseum (their only loss is to No. 1 Kansas). Oklahoma will need another aggressive performance on the glass to pull off the road upset.
ON THE AIR
The Saturday afternoon matchup will tip at 3 CT and air on the Sooner Radio Network (107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App) with Chad McKee and Kevin Henry announcing.ESPN2 will carry the television broadcast with Mark Neely and Bryndon Manzer on the call. Fans with proper cable verification can stream the game using the Watch ESPN app.
THREE POINTERS
• Oklahoma boasts the top scoring trio in the Big 12 and one of the best in the country in senior forward Kristian Doolittle (15.5 points per game), junior forward Brady Manek (14.9) and junior guard Austin Reaves (13.9). All three Sooners rank in the top 11 of the Big 12's scoring race. The Sooners are 9-2 in games that all three players reach double-digit scoring.• Senior forward Kristian Doolittle enters Saturday's matchup boasting three double-doubles over his last six games. During that six-game stretch, Doolittle is averaging 20.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. Doolittle began the six-game surge with a 27-point, 12-rebound performance in OU's first matchup with West Virginia. His outing made him the first Sooner to total 27 points and 12 boards in a conference game since Blake Griffin. Doolittle is expected to start for the Sooners on Saturday despite breaking his nose last week at Oklahoma State and undergoing surgery Thursday.
• Saturday's game is the final matchup in the toughest five-game stretch of OU's schedule. The Sooners are facing four AP Top-25 teams in a five-game stretch, with their one unranked matchup being a road rivalry game at Oklahoma State. In this stretch, the Sooners played at then-No. 3 Kansas, hosted then-No. 1 Baylor, traveled to Stillwater for Bedlam, played No. 22 Texas Tech in Oklahoma City and now take on No. 20 West Virginia at WVU Coliseum. This is the first time the Sooners are facing four AP Top-25 teams in a five-game stretch since OU's first five conference games of the 2017-18 season.
OKLAHOMA VS. WEST VIRGINIA: SERIES HISTORY
• Oklahoma holds a narrow 11-9 lead in the all-time series with West Virginia. The Mountaineers have had recent momentum in the series, winning five of the last seven matchups.• The Sooners won the first meeting of the season, 69-59, on Feb. 8 in Norman.
• Oklahoma last won in Morgantown when Jordan Woodard led the unranked Sooners to an overtime victory over then-No. 7 West Virginia in 2017. The Mountaineers have won the last two meetings at WVU Coliseum since then.
• OU is 3-4 all-time in Morgantown. A win would give the Sooners their first regular-season sweep of WVU since 2016.
LOOKING BACK AT TUESDAY'S WIN
• Oklahoma snapped a three-game losing streak with a dominant win over No. 22 Texas Tech. The game was played at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City and was the first regular-season Big 12 game to be played in an NBA arena.• With the win, Oklahoma improved to 12-2 at home this season. Its only two losses have come to the current No. 1 and 2 teams in the AP Top 25 (Kansas and Baylor).
• Oklahoma outrebounded Texas Tech 43-29 and scored 36 points in the paint.
• The Sooners held the Red Raiders to a season-low 51 points. Tech's scoring output is also the lowest by a ranked OU opponent since the Sooners held West Virginia to 52 in 2015.
• Freshman guard Jahmi'us Ramsey - Texas Tech's leading scorer on the season - was held scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting.
• Senior forward Kristian Doolittle led the Sooners with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Fellow forward Brady Manek tacked on 15 points and seven boards.
• Guards Jamal Bieniemy and Austin Reaves combined for 22 points and 15 rebounds. Bieniemy recorded 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals while Reaves produced 11 points, eight boards and five dimes.
• Junior forward Kur Kuath rejected a career-high five shots as Oklahoma totaled a season-best 10 blocks.
QUICK HITS
• Oklahoma is 4-4 in the month of February, yet seven of the eight games have been decided by double figures. Only four of OU's Big 12 games this season have been determined by less than 10 points, with the closest being a four-point loss at No. 1 Baylor on Jan. 20.• Oklahoma ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring during league games, averaging 67.2 points. Only Kansas (70.9) and Texas Tech (70.3) are scoring more in conference play.
• The Sooners have a trio of players who could go off on any night. Kristian Doolittle (seven), Austin Reaves (six) and Brady Manek (four) all boast at least four games of scoring over 20 points.
• OU boasts a pair of players from Oklahoma who have etched their names into OU's 1,000-point club. Senior forward Kristian Doolittle is the 47th Sooner to score 1,000 points in an OU uniform, eclipsing the milestone in a win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 1. He joins teammate Brady Manek in the premier circle of Sooner scorers with Manek reaching his 1,000 points on Jan. 18 against TCU. Both rank in the top 35 among OU's top career scorers. Both players are quickly approaching the top 30 of OU's all-time scoring list.
• Brady Manek is one of the league's top 3-point shooter during Big 12 play, making 36 treys (2.6 per game) during conference play - good for third in the Big 12. Manek is fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage, making his long shots at 38.7% clip during league play.
• Kristian Doolittle has recorded 27 points and 12 rebounds in two of his last six games. No other Big 12 player has reached those numbers in a game this season while Doolittle has accomplished it twice in a three-game stretch. Blake Griffin is the only other Sooner to ever produce 27 points and 12 rebounds in a Big 12 game.
• Doolittle has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in six of his last 10 games.
• Junior guard Austin Reaves is third in scoring among Big 12 newcomers with 13.9 points per game.
• Sometimes the key to victory is as simple as making shots. The Sooners are 15-1 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 then-No. 1 Baylor.
• The Sooners have shown discipline in keeping their opponents off the charity stripe. Oklahoma commits only 13.2 personal fouls per game – the second fewest in the country. OU opponents are shooting an average of 12.4 foul shots per game, compared to OU's 17.7 free throw attempts.
• OU leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, making 76.6% of its shots from the foul stripe. The Sooners, who shot free throws at a 69.7% rate in 2018-19, rank 24th in the country in 2019-20 (seventh among major-conference teams).
• The Sooners discipline is on display on the offensive end as well. Oklahoma is turning the ball over just 11.1 times per game, which ranks sixth in the nation among major-conference teams.
• OU is 16-6 when holding its opponents to under 80 points.
• The Sooners are 3-0 in games decided by two or fewer points.
• Oklahoma is 11-1 when it outrebounds its opponent.
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 fifth-leading scorer in the Big 12, averaging 15.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals.• Doolittle became the 47th Sooner to score 1,000 career points in an OU uniform, reaching the milestone on Feb. 1 against Oklahoma State. With 1,134 career points, Doolittle ranks 35th in program history.
• Boasting 762 career rebounds, Doolittle is just the 15th player in OU history to total at least 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in a career with the Sooners.
• The senior went all of last season without a 3-pointer and only attempted four shots from behind the arc. He has made 27 from deep this season.
• Doolittle has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors three times season – tied with Devon Dotson of Kansas for the most in the league. The senior most recently earned the honor on Feb. 17 after totaling 47 points and 19 rebounds over two games, including a 21-point, 12-rebound performance at Kansas. He was also recognized on Dec. 23 (averaged 16.5 points and 11.5 rebounds) and on Nov. 18 (after totaling 19 points, 16 rebounds and four assists against Oregon State).
UP NEXT: TEXAS
• Oklahoma closes out its home slate for the season when they host rival Texas on Senior Night at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners and Longhorns clash Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.• OU leads the all-time series, 56-40, including a 29-12 advantage in Norman.
• The Sooners are 9-8 against Texas under Lon Kruger.
• Oklahoma has won two straight against the Longhorns, including a 72-62 victory earlier this season in Austin. A win would give OU its first sweep of the 'Horns since 2015.
• Oklahoma will honor its lone senior in forward Kristian Doolittle. The Edmond, Okla., product played a big part in OU's win over Texas in January, scoring 22 points to go with eight boards.
Players Mentioned
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