Norman, OK (My Sportsbook) - Two of the Big 12's best clash at the Lloyd Noble Center tonight, as the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns battle the sixth- ranked Oklahoma Sooners in a key league matchup.
The Longhorns opened Big 12 play in a positive way, as they downed Iowa State, 75-67, on Saturday. The win improved the team to 10-1 in Big 12 lidlifters during the Rick Barnes era, and was a nice rebound following a 67-61 upset at Arkansas a few nights earlier. Now at 12-3 overall, Texas will gun for its fourth win in the past five outings.
As for Oklahoma, it too kicked off its conference slate on a high note, scoring a 61-53 win at Kansas State on Saturday. It was the third consecutive victory by the Sooners, who are off to their best start in 23 years at 15-1. The team now returns back to the Lloyd Noble Center, where it has won 13 straight decisions, including all nine this season.
Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Texas, 45-27, but the Longhorns have owned the rivalry of late, winning each of the past six meetings.
The Longhorns held Iowa State to just a 38.8 percent shooting effort from the floor and that helped them to capture the victory on Saturday. Texas hit on 45.9 percent of its field goal attempts and did a great job protecting the ball, committing only five turnovers. Damion James led the charge with 19 points and six boards, while Gary Johnson added 17 points and nine rebounds. A.J. Abrams, though, had another off game, finishing with just eight points on 2-of-10 field goals. The team's leading scorer on the season, Abrams (17.5 ppg), has struggled of late and has been held under double-figure points in four of the last five games. James has been able to pick up some of the slack and he adds 14.9 ppg and a team-high 8.7 rpg to the mix. Johnson has given the team a boost off the bench, as he turns in 11.2 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Texas, as a team, is outscoring foes by 12.0 ppg and limiting them to only 38.7 percent shooting from the floor.
The Sooners did it with defense on Saturday, forcing 20 turnovers and allowing Kansas State to make only 32.7 percent of its field goals in a 61-53 victory. The tenacious defense was much needed, as Oklahoma went only 3-of-9 from long range and a dismal 10-of-21 at the foul line. Blake Griffin led the charge once again for Oklahoma by notching his national-best 13th double-double, with 29 points and 15 rebounds. It was a typical performance by Griffin, who leads the Sooners in scoring (22.5 ppg) and the nation in rebounding (14.1 rpg). Willie Warren had 10 points in Saturday's win and he ranks second on the club with 15.8 ppg on the season. Tony Crocker rounds out the team's double-figure scorers, with 10.4 ppg. Overall, the Sooners are averaging a healthy 80.4 ppg this season and they have also had success on defense, holding opponents to just 37.7 percent shooting from the field.
