GAME SPECIFICS
Teams:
Oklahoma (5-3) vs. Centenary (4-3)
Date:
Wednesday, Dec. 9
Tip: 7:07 p.m.
CST
Site: Norman,
Okla. (Lloyd Noble Center)
Radio: Sooner
Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM in OKC; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Sirius 153)
TV: Sooner
Sports Network (KAUT Ch. 43 in OKC; KQCW Ch. 19 in Tulsa; ESPN Full Court)
Webcast:
SoonerSports.com
Series: OU
leads 4-0
WEDNESDAY'S
GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (5-3)
wraps up a three-game homestand Wednesday when it hosts Centenary (4-3) at 7
p.m. CST. The Sooners have won three straight games while the Gents have won
four of their last six. Wednesday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio
Network with Bob Barry Sr. and Mike Houck announcing. It will be televised by
the Sooner Sports Network with Bob Carpenter and Charlie Spoonhour calling the
action.
TICKET
INFORMATION
Reserved seats
are available for $10, $20 and $30 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office and on
SoonerSports.com. Lloyd Noble Center’s north and east ticket windows will open
at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
PROMOTIONS
One lucky fan
at Wednesday's game will have the chance to win $1,200 in the "Holiday Cash
Grab."
CENTENARY'S
PROJECTED STARTERS
F 30 Jerrald Bonham (6-8, 210, Sr., 8.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
G 14 Roman Tubner (6-0, 190, Jr., 16.9 ppg, 4.1 apg)
G 20 David Perez (6-3, 195, So., 22.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
G 22 Daman Starring (6-4, 190, Fr., 9.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
G 44 Maxx Nakwaasah (6-3, 205, So., 9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
OKLAHOMA'S
PROJECTED STARTERS
F 24 Tiny Gallon (6-9, 290, Fr., 11.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg)
G 5 Tony Crocker (6-6, 209, Sr., 11.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
G 11 Tommy Mason-Griffin (5-11, 203, Fr., 9.5 ppg, 5.0 apg)
G 13 Willie Warren (6-4, 203, So., 20.0 ppg, 5.4 apg)
G 34 Cade Davis (6-5, 199, Jr., 7.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
NOTEWORTHY
• Oklahoma has
won 74 of its last 76 home non-conference games, including each of its last 16.
• OU is 4-0
all-time against Centenary (3-0 in Norman). The Sooners have won the four games
by an average of 34 points.
• The Sooners
rank first in the Big 12 Conference and fifth nationally with their .795 free
throw percentage. They have made more free throws (147) than their opponents
have attempted (128).
• Sophomore
guard Willie Warren is averaging team highs of 20.0 points (ranks third in Big
12) and 5.4 assists (ranks second). He leads the league with his 8.3 free throw
attempts (shooting .810 from the foul line).
• Over his
last three games (against Houston, Arkansas and Arizona), Warren is averaging
21.0 points and is shooting .759 (22-for-29) from the field and .667 (4-for-6)
from 3-point range.
• Senior guard
Tony Crocker is averaging 12.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the
past three games. He’s 7-of-15 (.467) from 3-point range during the stretch.
• Crocker has
1,098 career points to rank him 30th in school history. He needs just 10 points
to move up three spots and tie Kevin Bookout for 27th.
• Junior guard
Cade Davis has started the last four games and is averaging 12.0 points, 3.0
rebounds and 2.5 steals in those contests. He is 10-of-25 (.400) from 3-point
range and 12-of-12 from the free throw line during the stretch. Davis, who
averaged 3.8 points over the team’s first four games coming off the bench, has
made his last 16 free throw attempts and is 17-of-18 on the year (.944).
• Freshman
forward Tiny Gallon is nearly averaging a double-double (11.8 points and 9.5
rebounds). His 9.5 boards per outing rank fourth in the Big 12 and his 15
caroms in the season opener were the most in an OU freshman debut since Alvan
Adams grabbed 28 in 1972-73.
• Freshman
point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin is averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 assists over
the last four contests. He’s made at least two treys in each of those four
games (9-for-17 combined for a .529 mark).
• Freshman
guard Steven Pledger is averaging 11.3 points a game. He’s made a team-high 20
treys (shooting .408) and has hit at least four 3-balls in three different
outings.
• Guards have
accounted for 464 of Oklahoma’s 620 points (75 percent).
• The freshman
foursome of Gallon (94), Pledger (88), Tommy Mason-Griffin (76) and Andrew Fitzgerald (30) has scored 46 percent of OU’s points.
PREVIEWING
CENTENARY
Located in
Shreveport, La., and with an enrollment of 973, high-scoring Centenary enters
Wednesday’s game with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Summit League
play. The Gents, who are averaging 82.6 points per contest on the year, have
scored at least 80 points in each of their last five games and are averaging
89.0 during the stretch. They are shooting .431 from the field, .310 from
3-point range (7.0 makes per game) and .792 from the free throw line, while
opponents have combined to shoot .455 from the field and .257 from behind the
arc (3.9 makes per game). Centenary is getting outrebounded by 7.6 boards per
contest.
Sophomore
guard David Perez is one of our Gents averaging at least 9.7 points per
contest. The 6-3, 195-pounder is averaging 22.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6
assists, and has made a team-high 17 3-pointers (shooting .327). A .935 free
throw shooter, Perez has scored at least 15 points in all seven games and has
tallied at least 20 points five times. Junior Roman Tubner averages 16.9
points, 3.4 rebounds and a team-high 4.1 assists per outing. The point guard
leads the squad with 60 free throw attempts (shooting .800) and two games ago
scored a career-high 30 points against Southern Utah. Two more guards, freshman
Daman Starring and sophomore Maxx Nakwaasah, contribute 9.7 points per contest
apiece. Starring also averages 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while
Nakwaasah adds a team-high 5.7 rebounds a contest. All four players shoot
better than .800 from the free throw line.
Greg Gary is
in his second season as Centenary’s head coach and owns a 12-26 (.316) record.
A 1992 Tulane graduate, Gary directed the Gents to an 8-23 record last year.
OU-CENTENARY
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday’s
game will mark the fifth between Oklahoma and Centenary, with all four previous
meetings won by the Sooners. OU posted victories in 1967-68 (91-73 in Norman),
1968-69 (45-38 in Shreveport), 1987-88 (152-84 in Norman) and 1996-97 (89-45 in
Norman).
SUNDAY’S
ARIZONA RECAP
Oklahoma
scored the game’s first six points and never trailed in a 79-62 home win over
Arizona on Sunday. The Sooners committed just one turnover in a first half that
saw the Wildcats commit nine and shoot just .333 from the field as OU built a
44-26 lead by intermission. A 15-7 run to start the second half pushed the
Sooners’ lead to 26 points and they led by at least 15 points the entire second
half. For the game, Oklahoma shot .481 from the field, .364 (8-for-22) from
behind the arc and .826 (19-for-23) from the free throw line. It committed just
seven turnovers and outscored Arizona 21-10 in points off turnovers. Willie
Warren was 10-for-14 from the field and hit three of his four 3-point attempts
en route to a game-high 25 points. Tiny Gallon (14), Tony Crocker (13) and
Tommy Mason-Griffin (10) also scored in double figures for OU. Mason-Griffin
added six assists without a turnover. The Wildcats shot .529 (9-for-17) from
3-point range and outboarded the Sooners 32-28.
MORE FROM
SUNDAY’S WIN
• The game was
part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. OU’s win gave the Big 12 an 8-2
advantage so far this year.
• Cade Davis
(three steals) registered his third straight game with at least three thefts.
He has 10 over those three outings.
• Tony
Crocker’s second-half 3-pointer tied him with Mookie Blaylock for fifth place on
OU’s career list (169).
• Arizona’s
17-point defeat was its worst regular season non-conference loss since the
2006-07 season.
• Oklahoma
improved to 5-1 all-time against Arizona. The 17-point margin was the largest
in the history of the series.
HOME
NON-CONFERENCE DOMINATION
The Sooners
have dominated home non-conference games over the last decade, winning 74 of
their last 76 non-league contests inside Lloyd Noble Center going back to Jan.
3, 2000 (good for a .974 winning percentage). Included was a streak of 49
non-conference home victories that was snapped by Villanova on Dec. 6, 2006.
The current string stands at 16 games.
FEARSOME
FRESHMAN FOURSOME
The freshman
foursome of Tiny Gallon (11.8 ppg), Steven Pledger (11.3), Tommy Mason-Griffin
(9.5) and Andrew Fitzgerald (4.3) has combined to score 288 of the team’s 620
points this year, or 46 percent. Gallon, who is shooting .600 from the field,
ranks third in the Big 12 in rebounds per game and ranks second with his three
double-doubles (he missed out on another by one rebound). Among the Big 12’s
leaders in 3-point makes, Pledger has knocked down 20 treys on 49 attempts
(.407) and has two games of more than 20 points. Mason-Griffin ranks fifth in
the league with his 5.0 assists per game and leads the team with his .429
3-point shooting percentage. Fitzgerald is shooting .500 from the field and is
10-for-13 from the free throw line (.769).
HEATING UP
FROM OUTSIDE
After shooting
.286 from 3-point range and averaging 6.0 treys through its first four games, OU
is shooting .446 and averaging 10.3 makes from behind the arc over the last four
outings. Freshman Steven Pledger has been the main gun, going 11-for-28 (.393)
over the last four contests. Fellow freshman Tommy Mason-Griffin is 9-for-17
(.529), senior Tony Crocker is 7-for-15 (.467) and junior Cade Davis is
10-for-25 (.400) over the same four games.
UP NEXT
OU plays at
Utah on Saturday at 3 p.m. CST (televised by Versus). The Sooners lead the
series 2-1 and won last year in Norman (70-52).