Sooners To Host Baylor In Top-25 Showdown in Norman

NORMAN – Ranked basketball returns to Lloyd Noble Center for the first time this season when No. 17 Oklahoma plays host to No. 23 Baylor on Tuesday night. The game will air on ESPN+ with Chad McKee and Dan Hughes on the call. On the Sooner Radio Network, Brian Brinkley will call the action.

Oklahoma has won eight straight games, the second-longest winning streak of the Baranczyk era, and a win over the Lady Bears Tuesday would tie last year's nine-game winning streak. The Sooners were perfect (5-0) in December for the first time since 2009, and across the team's eight-game winning streak, they're outscoring opponents by 19.9 points.

Tickets for the game are available for $5 through the Oklahoma Ticket Office.

THE STARTING FIVE

When the teams tip off on Tuesday night, it'll mark the first time that No. 17 Oklahoma has been ranked higher than No. 23 Baylor when matched up against each other since the 2010 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship quarterfinal, and OU is 13-1 vs. the Bears when slotted higher in the AP Poll.
For the second consecutive year under Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma is off to an 11-1 after last year's team started 12-1. Baranczyk notched four top-25 wins last season, the most for a first-year head coach in program history. Two of those four victories came vs. the Lady Bears in the regular season as OU swept BU for the first time since 2009.
Taylor Robertson has made 31 career 3-pointers vs. the Bears, more than any other player in the country, while Robertson has four other Big 12 teams she has sunk more treys against. In addition, Robertson has sunk six 3-pointers in back-to-back games, a feat accomplished now eight times in program history, seven of which done so by Robertson. She became the first player in OU history to go 5-of-5 from deep last year vs. Baylor on Jan. 12, 2022.
Oklahoma leads the nation with 21.0 assists per game this season. Leading the assist train is starting point guard Nevaeh Tot, whose 4.2 dimes per game are fifth most in the Big 12. But, as with points, the Sooners' balance lands them with the nation's best in terms of assists. Five Sooners currently average 2.0 assists per game, making OU one of eight schools nationally to have five players averaging 2.0 APG.
A focal point of the offseason, the Sooners have been one of basketball's best rebounding teams this season and post 46.75 boards per game (7th NCAA). Oklahoma forces opponents into lots of missed shots and scoops the rebound. The Sooners' 32.9 defensive rebounds per game rank fifth nationally and most in the Big 12.

SERIES HISTORY

Tuesday night's ranked showdown marks the 63rd game between Big 12 powerhouses, Oklahoma and Baylor. The Bears own a 34-28 series advantage, but the Sooners won two of the three matchups last season. Baylor had won 13 straight in the series before the Sooners won the first game between the two foes last season in Norman. Then Oklahoma made it two in a row by knocking off Baylor 78-77 to complete the first regular season sweep over BU since 2009. The Bears got the last laugh however, defeating Oklahoma in the Big 12 semifinal.

LAST TIME OUT

A 3-point barrage and overwhelming second-half performance pushed No. 20 Oklahoma past West Virginia, 98-77, in Morgantown in the team's Big 12 Conference opener Saturday afternoon. Ana Llanusa, playing her first conference game in over 1,000 days, scored a season-high 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting. The Sooners (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) buried 14 3-pointers to score 98 points vs. a Mountaineer defense that entered the day with the nation's fourth-best scoring defense. The Sooners have now won eight straight games this season, and Saturday's win marked the team's sixth straight victory in Morgantown.

UP NEXT

The Sooners welcome No. 11 Iowa State to Lloyd Noble Center in a nationally-televised matchup Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. The top-20 matchup will be broadcast on ESPN 2.