Nov. 18, 2005

NORMAN, Okla. - The Samford University basketball team will square off against its second top-10 ranked opponent in four days on Saturday as the Bulldogs challenge the sixth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners at 4 p.m., in Norman, Okla.

The non-conference game will be held at the Lloyd Noble Center (12,000) and will be the third all-time meeting between the teams.

The series is currently tied at one-game apiece, with Samford (1-1) winning the first contest, 74-72, in 1971. The next year, Oklahoma rallied for a 55-51 win on the road in Seibert Hall on Dec. 6, 1972. The Bulldogs enter the matchup looking to rebound from a 77-33 loss on the road against second-ranked Texas on Wednesday.

The meeting, which took place in the Austin regional final of the 2005 Guardians of the Game Classic, was Samford's first against a team ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. Sophomore Travis Peterson led the Bulldogs in scoring with 12 points and connected on 4-of-5 of his 3-point attempts.

Oklahoma (0-0) opens its 2005-06 season on Saturday.

Head coach Kelvin Sampson boasts four returning starters from last year's squad that compiled a 25-8 overall record and earned a share of the Big 12 title. The Sooners advanced to the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, but were defeated by Andrew Bogut and Utah, 67-58.

On Nov. 5, Oklahoma played its first of two exhibition games and used 26 points and 11 rebounds from Big 12 preseason player of the year, Taj Gray, to defeat Northeastern State, 70-35. The Sooners then hosted UNC Pembroke on Nov. 12 and cruised to a 118-62 victory.

Three of Samford's players hail from the state of Oklahoma.

Sophomore Joe Ross Merritt and older brother J. Robert Merritt attended Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City, while the Bulldogs' sophomore forward, Ryan Woolsey, grew up in Valliant, Okla.

The Samford University basketball team will conclude its arduous three-game road swing on Saturday as the Bulldogs face off against the sixth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners at 6 p.m., in Norman, Okla., at the Lloyd Noble Center (12,000).