Sooners Look For Fourth Straight Win vs. Kansas on Saturday

NORMAN – Oklahoma will look to win its fourth straight game in Big 12 play and improve to 7-1 in the league on Saturday when it hosts Kansas at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. The Sooners (12-6, 6-1 Big 12) are fresh off a road win over No. 10 Texas and Kansas (10-9, 3-5 Big 12) knocked off (RV) Iowa State on Wednesday.

The game will air on ESPN+ and tip at 6 p.m. CT. The game is Oklahoma's white out game and fans are encouraged to wear white Oklahoma gear. The famous Red Panda returns to Lloyd Noble Center for the halftime performance.

Doors to the arena open one hour before tip and the Lloyd Noble Center's clear-bag policy is in effect. Fans can purchase tickets for as little as $10 and those that have tickets to the men's basketball game can use that ticket to get into the OU women's game for just $5.

THE STARTING FIVE

The Sooners have been one of the nation's hottest teams since entering conference play, winning six of their first seven in the Big 12. One catalyst to the success has been winning the turnover battle. Oklahoma posts a league-low 13.0 turnovers/game in conference play, 7.2 TO/game fewer than it produced in the non-conference slate. In Big 12 play, Oklahoma ranks second in turnover margin (4.00) and leads the league with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.53.
Oklahoma's balanced attack routinely features 11 players, including three double-digit scorers and four others contributing at least 5.0 PPG. Skylar Vann, the Big 12's only two-time 6th Player of the Year, has been averaging 20.0 points on 56% shooting with 7.3 rebounds over her last three games. Payton Verhulst scores 11.6 points per game, while Sahara Williams, a true freshman, averages 10.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG. Aubrey Joens leads the bench unit with 9.3 points per game.
On Wednesday night, Nevaeh Tot made history in OU's victory over No. 10 Texas. She recorded 14 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers, a feat unmatched by any Big 12 player against a top-10 team in at least 25 years. Tot now joins teammate Beatrice Culliton (2023) and Dionnah Jackson (2003) as the third Sooner ever to achieve an unblemished 10-assist game. The performance marked the second-highest assist count of her career, just behind the 11 assists she notched against UAPB in 2020.
The Sooners checked in at No. 44 in the latest NET ranking and was listed in the "First Four Out" category of ESPN's latest Bracketology.
A win would push Oklahoma to 7-1 in conference play for the first time since 2014-15. OU started has started 6-2 through eight games in each of Baranczyk's first two seasons.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's contest marks the 80th all-time between Oklahoma and Kansas, and the last in Norman as Big 12 foes. The Sooners lead the series 46-33 and 21-13 in Norman.

OU's 46 wins vs. the Jayhawks are the program's second most vs. a single opponent, and OU has won five of the last six meetings. Oklahoma will close its regular season on March 4, 2024, at Kansas in the final regular season matchup between the two as Big 12 opponents.

LAST TIME OUT

Skylar Vann had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Payton Verhulst scored 18 points and Oklahoma beat No. 10 Texas 91-87 on Wednesday night. Texas (18-3, 5-3 Big 12), which trailed by as many as 13 in the third quarter, cut the deficit to one on a basket in the lane by Madison Booker with 59 seconds left. But Lexy Keys made a 3-pointer from the left corner 19 seconds later for Oklahoma, assisted by Nevaeh Tot. Booker then banked in a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left, but Tot's free throw put the game out of reach.

UP NEXT

OU remains in Norman for next week's midweek contest as No. 4 Kansas State comes to Norman for the final time as a conference foe. Tip is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center. K-State handed OU its lone loss in conference play, a 74-57 result in Manhattan on Jan. 10.