OU Back Home For Matchup With Iowa State

<p>Fresh off an upset win over No. 7/8 West Virginia, Oklahoma (8-9, 2-4 Big 12) plays three of its next four games inside Lloyd Noble Center.&nbsp;</p>

Friday, January 20th 2017, 8:59 pm

By: News On 6


Fresh off an upset win over No. 7/8 West Virginia, Oklahoma (8-9, 2-4 Big 12) plays three of its next four games inside Lloyd Noble Center. OU begins the stretch against conference foe Iowa State (11-6, 3-3 Big 12). The Sooners and Cyclones are no strangers to exciting games. The past four games between the schools have been decided by five or fewer points. Oklahoma has won four straight against ISU in Norman and looks to continue the trend against a Cyclone team averaging over 80 points a game.

ON THE AIR

Saturday’s contest tips off at 1 p.m. CT and air on the Sooner Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM “The Franchise” in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with Bob Wischusen and Fran Fraschilla calling the action.

TICKETS

Tickets are available at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center's ticket windows will open at 11:30 a.m. CT on Saturday.

Doors for the BoomSquad student section will open at 11:30 a.m. OU students who were unable to purchase student season tickets may purchase a single-game ticket for $5 at the door with a valid student ID. The first 250 students will receive a free OU beanie. Upon entering the student section entrance, students will be able to sign up for an opportunity to make a half-court shot for a $5,000 prize.

Sooner fans will also be treated to a halftime show by the Red Panda Acrobat.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• Since returning to the starting lineup on Jan. 14, senior guard Jordan Woodard has helped lead the Sooners to back-to-back victories over Texas Tech and No. 7 West Virginia. In the two wins, Woodard scored 18 points after halftime in each contest, including the game-winning bucket against the Moutaineers with 2.2 seconds remaining in overtime. Woodard has scored over 20 points in each of his last four starts and the Sooners boast an 8-4 record this season with the senior guard in the starting five. He is third in the Big 12 in scoring with 17.7 points per game.

• OU continues to show its depth in conference play, most recently scoring 28 points off the bench against No. 7 West Virginia. Through six Big 12 games, Oklahoma boasts 26.3 bench points per game in league competition - the second most in the conference. The Sooners are one of only three Big 12 squads to average over 20 bench points in league games as the conference averages 17.5 per contest.

• Freshman guard Kameron McGusty continues to impress through the start of Big 12 play. McGusty has scored at least nine points in every Big 12 game, including double figures in the past five outings. His January resume includes a career-high 20 points against Kansas State (Jan. 7) and a 17-point performance at West Virginia (Jan. 18). McGusty is averaging 13.3 points per game during league play - the third highest scoring average among Big 12 freshman.

•Sophomore guard Rashard Odomes has been one of the largest contributors to the Sooners' scoring efforts in conference play, averaging 11.7 points against Big 12 foes. Odomes has scored in double figures in four-straight games, including a career-high 24 points on Jan. 14 against Texas Tech. On the season, Odomes is scoring 10.6 points per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field.

• ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) ranks the Sooners’ strength of schedule as the toughest of any team in the nation. Three of Oklahoma’s last six games have been against teams ranked in the top seven of the latest AP Top 25 Poll (No. 2 Kansas, No. 6 Baylor, No. 7 West Virginia).

LOOKING BACK AT WEDNESDAY'S WIN

• Oklahoma (7-9, 1-4 Big 12) picked up an 84-75 win over Texas Tech (13-4, 2-3 Big 12) on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners improved to 38-22 all-time against the Red Raiders, including 23-7 in Norman. Oklahoma is 5-1 at LNC against Tech in the Lon Kruger era and has won the past three contests by a combined 78 points.

• The Sooners were boosted by a pair of 20-point performances from senior guard Jordan Woodard (27 points) and sophomore guard Rashard Odomes (24 points). Oklahoma last had two 20-point scorers in the same game on Feb. 13, 2016 (Isaiah Cousins and Buddy Hield vs. Kansas).

• Odomes shot 9-of-14 from the field en route to his career-high 24 points. The sophomore notched 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the opening half – the most by a Sooner in any first half this season. Odomes rounded out his evening with eight rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes.

• Texas Tech entered the under-12 media timeout on a 7-1 run, narrowing OU’s lead to 57-51 with 11:52 remaining. Coming out of the timeout, Woodard re-entered the game and proceeded to score 18 points the rest of the way on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and making all eight of his foul shots to seal the Sooner win. Woodard’s 27 points marked his fifth 20-point game of the season and fell point one shy of tying a career high.

• Woodard shot a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe – the most fouls shots he’s made without a miss in his career. With 426 made free throws in his career, Woodard moved into fifth in the OU record books for career foul shots. Wayman Tisdale holds the school record with 507.

• Freshman guard Kameron McGusty scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game, scoring 10 points in his second career start. McGusty is averaging 12.6 points per game during Big 12 play. Junior forward Khadeem Lattin also tallied 10 points to go with six boards, two steals and a block.

Jordan Woodard scored 18 points after halftime against West Virginia, including the game-winner with 2.2 seconds remaining.

WATCHING WOODARD

• A 2015-16 All-Big 12 honorable mention selection, Jordan Woodard was the team’s second-leading scorer last season with averages of 13.0 points (10th in Big 12), 3.4 assists (9th), 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals (5th) in 29.8 minutes. The Big 12 coaches voted Woodard a preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection ahead of the 2016-17 season and he has continued to improve his numbers as Oklahoma’s leading scorer. At 17.7 points per game, Woodard is third in scoring among all Big 12 players.

• With three-plus seasons of experience in the Sooner starting lineup under his belt, Woodard makes a dent in the OU record book with each additional game he plays. With 20 points against West Virginia, Woodard passed Terry Evans (1,361) on Wednesday to sit in 16th all-time with 1,378 points. He is currently 269 points shy of finishing his career as top-10 scorer in program history. He already ranks in the top 10 of four statistical categories in the OU record book (free throws, free throw percentage, assists, steals).

• With 429 made foul shots and a career free throw percentage of .809, Woodard is just the seventh Sooner to ever sink 400 career free throws. No Sooner has ever finished his collegiate career with over 400 made free throws at a rate of over .800.

SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma owns a 115-85 all-time record against the Cyclones, including a 64-22 series lead when played in Norman. OU is 5-8 against Iowa State during the Kruger era, but has won two of the previous three meetings.

• OU has won four-straight home games against the Cyclones and is 4-1 against ISU at Lloyd Noble Center under Kruger.

• The two schools split the 2015-16 regular season series with the home team winning each meeting. They met again in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City with Oklahoma pulling off the 79-76 win.

UP NEXT

• The Sooners own an all-time record of 53-36 against the Longhorns while Texas holds a 21-17 advantage in games in Austin. Oklahoma is 6-4 against Texas under Lon Kruger and has won six of the last eight meetings. OU is 2-3 in Austin during the Kruger era.

• OU’s most recent win over the Horns came on Feb. 8, 2016 when Buddy Hield it a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to give the Sooners a 63-60 victory.

• Texas snapped a five-game losing streak to the Sooners with a 76-63 win in Austin in the series’ most recent meeting on Feb. 27, 2016.

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