After a stretch of three of four games on the road, Oklahoma returns home on Saturday to host Iowa State on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The Sooners will be looking to forget a blowout loss to Kansas on Feb. 1. against a Cyclone squad that has won four of five games including back-to-back wins over Kansas and Kansas State.
Key to OU win: Not allowing Royce White to beat them. The Cyclones forward is one of the most complete players in the league, averaging 14 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
Key to ISU win: The Cyclones must keep OU’s scoring trio (Steven Pledger, Romero Osby, Andrew Fitzgerald) from dominating the game. Those three Sooners have accounted for 68 percent of OU’s points in Big 12 play.
Stat line that will tell the tale: ISU turnovers. The Cyclones average 12.8 turnovers per game and the Sooners play their best when they force opponents to turn the ball over allowing them to get into transition.
Sooners X factor: C.J. Washington. The Sooners will need someone to provide toughness and rebounding while dealing with White. Washington has been a key contributor off the bench and will be counted on against ISU.
Cyclones X factor: Tyrus McGee. The Stringtown, Okla. native is one of the Big 12’s top sixth men. He brings shooting and active defense off the bench while shooting 44.9 percent from the three-point line.
