Sooners Looking To Snap Losing Streak At Allen Field House

It's been almost 20 years since OU defeated Kansas in Allen Field House, a streak OU hopes to break on Saturday.

Friday, January 25th 2013, 5:00 pm

By: News 9


It's been quite some time since the Oklahoma Sooners won a game in Allen Field House—almost 20 years in fact.

Feb. 16, 1993 was the last time the Sooners left Lawrence, Kan. with a win over the Kansas Jayhawks, a streak the Sooners will be looking to snap when the two teams face off Saturday afternoon.

Oklahoma is coming off an important—albeit ugly—win over Texas Monday night, while Kansas defeated Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. Tuesday night. The Sooners lost to the Wildcats last Saturday.

Not only have the Sooners lost 11 straight on the road to Kansas, they've lost those games by an average of 11 points in each game, with four of the past five being decided by 13 (2010), 21 (2004), 22 (2012) and 30 (2008) points.

However, it's not just the Sooners who have had problems in Lawrence over the years. Very few teams have been able to walk out of Allen Field House with a win—just one in the past 102 games: Texas in 2011.

Oklahoma has had some success against the Jayhawks since 1993 outside of Lawrence, winning six games in Norman and in Big 12 tournaments. While that number may seem small, from 1995 until last season, the Sooners and Jayhawks only met once a year under the Big 12 basketball scheduling structure.

Surprisingly, the Jayhawks are the only Big 12 team to hold a winning record against the Sooners. Overall, Kansas holds a 138-64 edge in the all-time series.

Here are some of the many things that have happened since OU last won a game in Lawrence:

-The Oklahoma City bombing

-OU football suffered through and came out of the 1990's in style, winning the 2000 national championship

-OU basketball made the Final Four in 2002, along with Kansas

-Kansas lost the 2003 national championship game, and then lost head coach Roy Williams to North Carolina

-Kansas football (!) went 12-1 and won the 2007 Orange Bowl

-The Seattle Supersonics went to the NBA Finals in 1996, collapsed as a franchise, and then moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder (the last thing anyone suspected in the mid-1990's)

-Kansas won the 2008 national championship

-OU superstar Blake Griffin played a total of five minutes in the two games against Kansas he participated in. Griffin injured his knee early in the 2008 game, and sat out the 2009 game thanks to a concussion suffered against Texas.

Saturday, the Sooners have to contend with a talented Kansas team, led by senior Jeff Withey, one of the premier shot blockers in the game, and freshman Ben McLemore, who leads the Jayhawks in scoring at 16.1 points per game.

Kansas may be the more talented team, but they aren't as deep as the Sooners are, which bodes well for Oklahoma. Only eight Kansas players are averaging more than 10 minutes per game, while 9 OU players are playing at least 15 minutes per game.

The Sooners are facing a tough test, but it's certainly not an impossible task. While the Sooners' advantage in depth alone may not be enough to give OU its first win in Lawrence since 1993, it could go a long way toward helping OU get a very big monkey off its back.

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