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View Full Version : OU vs. Texas Notes, Part II



Jay C. Upchurch
3/4/2006, 02:46 PM
Oklahoma vs. Texas in Austin
GAME INFORMATION
Ranked No. 19 in this week's AP poll and No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Today
version, Oklahoma (20-6, 11-4) closes out the regular season at No. 6/7
Texas (24-5, 12-3) on Sunday at 3 p.m. CST inside the Frank Erwin
Center. The game will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KOKC
1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike
Houck (analyst) calling the action, and also on CBS/Westwood One with
Mark Vandermeer (play-by-play) and Bill Freider (analyst) announcing.
The contest will be televised nationally by CBS with Verne Lundquist
(play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) on the microphones.

NOTEWORTHY
OU has won three straight against Texas and 27 of the last 36 meetings
... Michael Neal has made 30 3-pointers over the last six games (5.0
average) ... Terrell Everett ranks third in the nation in assists (6.8
per game) and is averaging 9.5 over the last six games ... Kelvin
Sampson is 6-4 at Texas as OU's head coach ... The Sooners are 8-0 this
year against teams from Texas.


OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS

F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 238, Sr., 14.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg)

F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 270, Sr., 11.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.7 spg)

G 2 Michael Neal (6-3, 191, Jr., 13.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg)

G 3 Terrell Everett (6-4, 188, Sr., 12.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.8 apg)

G 15 David Godbold (6-5, 217, Jr., 5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg)

TEXAS PROJECTED STARTERS

F 2 P.J. Tucker (6-5, 225, Jr., 16.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.7 apg)

F 22 Brad Buckman (6-8, 235, Sr., 10.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.8 bpg)

C 23 LaMarcus Aldridge (6-10, 237, So., 15.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg)

G 1 Daniel Gibson (6-2, 190, So., 13.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.0 apg)

G 12 Kenton Paulino (6-1, 185, Sr., 9.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.2 apg)

OU UPDATE
The Sooners, who have won an amazing four consecutive games by a total
of four points, enter weekend play with hopes of claiming a second
straight Big 12 regular season title. With a victory at Texas on Sunday
and a Kansas loss at Kansas State on Saturday, Oklahoma would finish in
a three-way tie for first with Kansas and Texas. If OU wins Sunday it
will claim a No. 2 seed in next week's Big 12 Championship and play its
quarterfinal game Friday at 6 p.m. CST. If it loses it will be the No.
3 seed and play Friday at 8:20 p.m.

OU's 67-66 win over Oklahoma State on Monday was its seventh one-point
decision this year, all in conference play (they have won five). The
Sooners' three seniors, playing in their final career home game,
combined for 46 of the team's 67 points, including its final 13 of the
contest. Taj Gray recorded team highs of 19 points and seven rebounds,
Kevin Bookout had 14 points and five boards and Terrell Everett
contributed 13 points, five assists and three steals. Everett's free
throws with 0.6 seconds showing on the clock were the game's final
points. Nate Carter scored 12 points off the bench and Michael Neal
added nine points, five rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

Neal is averaging 16.5 points over the last 12 games on 51-for-100
(.510) 3-point shooting. He has made at least four treys in eight of
those 12 outings and has netted 30 triples over the past six games.
Usually OU's sixth man, Neal has started the last five games in place of
Austin Johnson (injured right ankle) and is averaging 19.4 points and
4.8 treys over those five outings. Included in those five games were a
26-point performance at Colorado (seven treys) and a career-high
29-point effort against Iowa State (eight treys). Neal, who missed OU's
first two league games with a strained groin (the Sooners lost both by a
combined three points), leads the Big 12 in conference play with his
.500 3-point percentage and 4.0 treys per game.

Everett, who ranks third in the nation with his 6.8 assists average, has
scored in double figures in 14 of OU's 15 conference games. In league
play, the senior guard is averaging 14.3 points, 4.0 boards, a Big
12-best 7.1 assists and 2.0 steals. He has led OU in assists in 22 of
26 games this season.

Gray, a senior forward, leads Oklahoma in both scoring and rebounding
this year with his 14.6 and 7.8 averages. He is shooting .573 from the
field to rank third in the Big 12 and has shot .500 or better from the
field in 21 of the team's 26 games this year. Bookout, another senior
forward, has played the last 11 games with a fractured navicular bone in
his left wrist (he sustained the injury Jan. 21 in OU's first game
against Texas Tech) and has averaged 10.0 points and 5.9 boards during
the stretch. Bookout ranks fourth on the squad in scoring and second in
rebounding with his 11.2 and 7.0 season averages. Owner of OU's
second-best career field goal percentage (.574), he is shooting .563
this year. Bookout was also named an ESPN The Magazine Third-Team
Academic All-American on Wednesday. He became the fourth men's
basketball Academic All-American in OU history.

MONDAY'S LEFTOVERS
* The Sooners trailed by nine with seven minutes left but outscored OSU
19-9 the rest of the way.

* The lead changed hands three times in the contest's final nine
seconds.

* Michael Neal (nine points) failed to score in double figures for the
first time in 12 games. His seven assists, though, set a career high
and his five rebounds matched a career best.

* Oklahoma outrebounded its 22nd opponent in 26 games this season.

* The win gave OU its first regular season sweep of Oklahoma State since
1999.

ABOUT TEXAS
After a stretch of 14 wins in 15 games, Texas has lost two of its last
four and is coming off a 46-43 last-second loss at Texas A&M on
Wednesday in which the Longhorns shot .342 from the field and were held
to 15 second-half points. On the season, the Horns are shooting .471
from the field, .384 from 3-point range and .719 from the foul line.
Opponents are shooting just .375 from the field and .312 from the
charity stripe. One of the nation's better rebounding squads, Texas is
outboarding its foes by 10.4 a game.

OU SID