OU vs. Baylor Breakdown

[Jay C. Upchurch]

OU SPORTS INFO GAME INFORMATION

Ranked No. 24 in this week's AP poll and No. 22 in the ESPN/USA Today
version, Oklahoma (11-4, 2-2) plays at Baylor (0-4, 0-4) on Wednesday at
7 p.m. CST inside the Ferrell Center. The game will air on the Sooner
Radio Network (flagship KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry
Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. The
contest will be televised in Oklahoma by the Sooner Sports Network (KWTV
9/Cox 10 in OKC and Cox 78 in Tulsa) with Bob Carpenter (play-by-play)
and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst) announcing.

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 21 Taj Gray (6-9, 238, Sr., 14.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.2 bpg)

F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 270, Sr., 12.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 0.1 apg)

G 3 Terrell Everett (6-4, 188, Sr., 10.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 6.3 apg)

G 15 David Godbold (6-5, 217, Jr., 4.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg)

G 20 Austin Johnson (6-3, 168, Fr., 4.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.6 apg)

BAYLOR PROJECTED STARTERS
F 20 Tim Bush (6-6, 235, Jr., 4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.5 apg)

F 32 Tommy Swanson (6-10, 225, Sr., 1.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)

C 15 Mamadou Diene (7-0, 240, Fr., 5.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.8 apg)

G 0 Curtis Jerrells (6-1, 200, Fr., 7.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.5 apg)

G 14 Aaron Bruce (6-3, 195, So., 10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)

ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY HEADS TO NORMAN
Although it is no stranger to Norman, ESPN College GameDay will make its
first ever visit to Lloyd Noble Center this weekend in advance of OU's
Saturday (8 p.m. CST) men's basketball game against Texas. On hand for
Saturday's 10-11 a.m. CST show will be Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger
Phelps and Andy Katz. Dick Vitale will join the crew for the 7-8 p.m.
show. Lloyd Noble Center's west doors will open Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
(admission is free) and fans will be allowed onto the court, serving as
the background for the College GameDay set. A Lloyd Noble Center
segment will begin the 9 a.m. SportsCenter.

In conjunction with College GameDay's visit, a Dick Vitale sound-alike
contest will be held Friday from noon to 1 at the Oklahoma Memorial
Union food court. Students may call 405-325-7811 for more information.
Also, OU athletics officials are planning a "WhiteOUt the Lloyd Noble
Center" promotion whereby each reserved seat ticketholder will be given
a "Cheer Like a Champion" T-shirt at Saturday's game. The T-shirts will
be provided by Carl's Jr., Hudiburg Auto Group and USA Screen Printing.

College GameDay has visited Norman and the OU campus four previous
times, all for football events.

OU UPDATE
After playing four straight games that were decided by three points or
fewer (Oklahoma went 2-2), the Sooners posted a 12-point win against
Texas Tech on Saturday in Norman, 60-48. OU got out of the gate quickly
and took a 16-2 lead at the 13:30 mark. The Sooners defense was stellar
in the opening 20 minutes, limiting the Red Raiders to just five points
in the first 14 minutes and only 12 for the half. It was the fewest
points scored in a half by an OU conference opponent under 12th-year
head coach Kelvin Sampson. Junior guard Michael Neal scored a team-high
15 points, 12 of them on four 3-pointers in the game's final four
minutes after Texas Tech had cut a 22-point OU lead to two points.

Taj Gray, who was held to seven points against Tech but pulled down a
game-high 11 rebounds, leads Oklahoma in both categories for the season.
The senior forward is averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 boards per outing.
He is shooting .587 from the field and owns a .760 season free throw
percentage (ranks seventh in the Big 12). Fellow senior forward Kevin
Bookout (nine points and 10 boards versus Texas Tech) ranks second on
the squad in scoring and rebounding with his 12.1 and 7.7 averages.
Bookout, OU's career leader in field goal percentage (.582), is shooting
.598 from the field this year. He has grabbed at least seven boards in
each of the last seven games and is averaging 8.9 during the stretch.

Senior guard Terrell Everett ranks third on the team in scoring with his
10.8 points per game and also averages 3.9 rebounds and a team-high 6.3
assists. In four league games, Everett is averaging a team-high 12.0
points, 4.5 boards, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals. He has led OU in
assists in 13 of 15 contests this season.

Neal, who was named Big 12 Co-Rookie of the Week on Monday, also
averages double figures in points with 10.5 per contest. He missed OU's
first two league games with a strained groin but is averaging 9.0 points
and is 5-for-11 from 3-point range in two outings since. Neal leads the
Sooners with his 35 3-pointers (2.7 per game) and .361 mark from beyond
the arc.

SATURDAY'S LEFTOVERS

* Oklahoma outrebounded its 13th opponent of the year in 15 games
(38-23). The Sooners ruled the offensive glass, 18-6. It was the 15th
time in 15 outings that OU grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds.

* Michael Neal made four 3-point attempts on five OU possesions during a
span of 2:47 with under four minutes remaining in the game.

* Oklahoma led by 22 points (34-12) early in the second half before
Texas Tech trimmed the margin to two (40-38). OU responded with an 11-2
run to go up 51-40.

* OU's 14 steals were its second most of the season (15 on Nov. 30 at
Tulsa).

* The Sooners held their second straight opponent to a point total in
the 40s (Texas A&M scored 44 on Jan. 14).

* Taj Gray (11) and Kevin Bookout (10) both had double-digit rebounds
for the first time of the season.

* OU's 21 turnovers were a season high and Texas Tech's 21 were an
opponent season high.

ABOUT BAYLOR
Wednesday's game will mark just the fifth of the season for Baylor,
which did not play any non-conference contests due to NCAA sanctions.
The Bears are 0-2 at home and 0-2 on the road with losses at Texas Tech
(79-61), versus Oklahoma State (66-48), at Colorado (81-48) and versus
Texas (66-47). BU is shooting .327 from the field, .294 from 3-point
range and .538 from the foul line while opponents are shooting .479
overall and .408 from long range.

Sophomore guard Aaron Bruce is the only Bear who averages double figures in points (10.5). Bruce has made nine 3-pointers on 28 attempts (.321) and also averages 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a team-high 31.8
minutes a game. Freshman guards Henry Dugat (has not started) and
Curtis Jerrells (has started all four games) are scoring 8.8 and 7.3
points a game, respectively. Jerrells also averages 4.3 rebounds and a
team-high 3.5 assists. A third freshman, forward Kevin Rogers, averages
6.8 points and 4.8 boards. Junior guard/forward Patrick Fields tallied
20 points Saturday versus Texas after scoring a total of five in
Baylor's first three games. Fields is now averaging 6.3 points a
contest. He is 5-for-10 from 3-point territory (he was 5-for-6 against
Texas).

OU SID

[ouflak]

I didn't know they did ESPN Gamedays for basketball! When did that start? Good idea actually.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

It started last year when ESPN pimped aggot all weekend, climaxing in aggot's choke job against texass (whom OU had just punked in asstin), which allowed OU to win the Big 12 championship. Good times, man. Good times.