Men's Hoops at No. 11/11 K-State on Wednesday

NORMAN – Oklahoma men's basketball concludes its two-game road swing at No. 11/11 Kansas State on Wednesday. Tip is at 7 p.m. inside Bramlage Coliseum.

Wednesday's game against the Wildcats will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Pete Sousa and Bryndon Manzer on the call. Fans may also listen on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing.

Oklahoma earned its second AP top-25 victory in its last four games on Saturday, Feb. 25 and beat then-No. 23/21 Iowa State 61-50 at Hilton Coliseum.

Jacob Groves paced the Sooners with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The Spokane, Wash., product finished 4 of 5 from deep and added five rebounds. Tanner Groves wrangled a team-high 13 boards and three blocks. T. Groves added nine points on 4-of-8 shooting. Grant Sherfield finished with 10 points and Milos Uzan dished out a team-high seven assists.

Down 28-23 at the break, the Sooners scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half. OU put together a 17-2 run over the first six minutes and held a 42-32 advantage with 13:38 left. ISU rattled in a 3-pointer to bring the lead to seven and end the scoring spurt, but it was the closest the Cylcones were able to get after the Sooners scoring spurt.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Jerome Tang is in his first season as Kansas State head men's basketball coach and has guided the Wildcats to a 22-7 overall record and 10-6 Big 12 mark. KSU is 15-1 at home this season. The Wildcats have won three consecutive games and suffered their last loss against the Sooners on Feb. 14.

Keyonte Johnson averages team highs in points (17.6) and rebounds (7.1) per contest. Johnson is shooting 52.0% (186-358) from the field and 41.9% (36-86) from deep. Markquis Nowell adds 17.0 points and a team-best 7.6 assists per outing. Nowell is shooting a team-best 89.1% (156-175) from the line. NaeQwan Tomlin records 10.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Johnson, Nowell, Tomlin and Cam Carter have started all 29 games this season.

Kansas State is ranked in the top 100 in 10 NCAA DI categories. KSU is 10th in 3-point percentage defense (29.1%), 13th in assists per game (16.7), 19th in free throws made per game (16.5), 28th in free throw attempts per game (22.0), 40th in turnovers forced per game (15.0), 43rd in free throw percentage (75.2%), 63rd in steals per game (7.7), 64th in field goal percentage defense (41.6%), 74th in scoring margin (7.3) and 82nd in assist to turnover ratio (1.19).

KANSAS STATE CONNECTIONS

Porter Moser led the Loyola Ramblers to the 2018 Final Four and beat Kansas State 78-62 in the Elite Eight. Clayton Custer, Oklahoma's director of video operations and player development, tallied seven points and five assists in 36 minutes against the Wildcats.

Oklahoma sophomore guard C.J. Noland's father, Belvis Noland, played two seasons at Kansas State. The elder Noland scored 344 points in 27 games during the 1994-95 season and led the Wildcats with 61 made 3-pointers that season. He also ranks third in KSU program history for steals per game (1.80).

The Sooners beat KSU 117-76 on Jan. 18, 1992, and it marked the second-largest road victory margin in program history. Four Sooners finished with 20-plus points. Brent Price tallied a team-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Jeff Webster finished with a double-double (27 points and 11 rebounds).

Former Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Lon Kruger played baseball and basketball at Kansas State. He guided the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Eight Conference titles in 1972 and 1973 and was named Big Eight Player of the Year in 1973 and 1974.

LAST MEETING: KANSAS STATE

A dominant second half propelled the Sooners to a 79-65 victory over then-No. 12/14 Kansas State on Tuesday, Feb. 14. The OU victory snapped a seven-game conference losing streak.

Grant Sherfield led the Sooners in points (22), rebounds (8) and assists (6). Tanner Groves added 16 points, six rebounds and two steals. Jalen Hill tallied 12 points and seven rebounds and fellow starter Milos Uzan added 13 points and two assists. Sherfield, Groves, Hill and Uzan combined for 10 of OU's 11 3-pointers.

OU entered the break even with the visiting Wildcats after Sherfield buried a triple with under 10 seconds left in the half. The Sooners put together a 12-0 run early in the second frame and maintained its advantage for the remainder of the contest.

RANKING SUMMARY

Oklahoma is ranked in the top 100 in three NCAA Division I categories. OU is 30th in 3-point percentage defense (30.6), 72nd in field goal percentage (46.5%) and 76th in effective field goal percentage (53.1%). The Sooners are second in the conference in 3-point percentage defense and defensive rebounds per game (25.4). OU is third in fouls per game (16.3), scoring defense (67.6) and effective field goal percentage.

Grant Sherfield is 34th nationally in 3-point percentage (40.6%), 51st in free throw percentage (86.2%), 67th in 3-pointers made (76) and 71st in 3-pointers per game (2.62). Sherfield is first in the league in 3-pointers made and 3-pointers per game. He is second in 3-point percentage and third in free throw percentage. Tanner Groves is 69th in the nation and second in the league in defensive rebounds per game (5.9).

Sherfield is 27th among active NCAA Division I career leaders in 27th in assists (520), 32nd in scoring average (15.3), 34th in assist average (4.6) and 39th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82). Sherfield is one of 15 active DI players with 1,700-plus points and 500-plus assists. Groves is 79th in career rebounds (744).

UP NEXT

The Sooners host No. 22/22 TCU on Saturday, March 4. Tip is at 2 p.m. inside Lloyd Noble Center.

Men's Hoops at No. 11/11 K-State on Wednesday

Players Mentioned

Jacob Groves

Tanner Groves

Jalen Hill

C.J. Noland

Grant Sherfield

Milos Uzan

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Men's Hoops at No. 11/11 K-State on Wednesday

Players Mentioned

Jacob Groves

Tanner Groves

Jalen Hill

C.J. Noland

Grant Sherfield

Milos Uzan

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