Oklahoma @ Kansas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 14, 2020 ) Kansas 66, Oklahoma 52

Kansas boasts the Big 12's preseason conference player of the year in Udoka Azubuike and the favorite for the regular-season award in Devon Dotson, but there doesn't seem to be much doubt in coach Bill Self's mind that Marcus Garrett is every bit as important to the Jayhawks' success. The junior guard stepped up in a big way down the stretch in Kansas' last victory and will attempt to do the same again Saturday when the third-ranked Jayhawks host Oklahoma.

The Jayhawks trailed by as many as nine points Wednesday at No. 14 West Virginia before they ramped up their defensive effort and limited the Mountaineers to one field goal over the final nine-plus minutes in part by forcing nine turnovers over that span, including all five of Garrett's steals en route to a 58-49 win. "He just took guys with the game on the line and had three steals in a row on three consecutive possessions. He's unbelievable defensively. I thought he controlled the game on that end," Self told reporters afterward. Kansas held the Sooners to a season-low point total in the first meeting between the programs on Jan. 14, but Oklahoma enters this contest with a bit of momentum after picking up a pair of victories at home against West Virginia and Iowa State over the last week. The Sooners fell one point shy of matching their best offensive output of the season in Wednesday's 90-61 rout of the Cyclones.

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (16-8, 6-5 Big 12): Kristian Doolittle (15.0 points, team-high 9.0 rebounds) appears to be back on track after a five-game scoring slump - during which he scored a total of 36 points - with 47 points over his last two outings, including 20 points against Iowa State. Fellow 1,000-point scorer Brady Manek (team-high 15.9 points), who trails only Dotson in terms of scoring during league play at 16.3 points per game, is tied for first in the Big 12 in 3-pointers per game (2.7) and paces the conference in long-range accuracy (43 percent). The biggest change in the Oklahoma offense since the first meeting may be the increased contributions of Alondes Williams (6.7 points), who has reached double figures in four of his past six games after doing so just twice all season previously.

ABOUT KANSAS (21-3, 10-1): While West Virginia managed to keep Azubuike (12.7 points, 9.6 rebounds) below his season averages, the Mountaineers allowed Isaiah Moss (8.3 points) to bury three of the Jayhawks' four 3-pointers and score seven points during a 70-second stretch to put Kansas in front for good. "We won the game, but I don't know if we would have won unless Isaiah was in the game. He really helped us," Self said regarding the Iowa graduate transfer. Dotson (league-best 17.9 points) finished 4-for-13 from the field and settled for 15 points, but he managed to record three of his team's 13 steals - the most by the Jayhawks in Big 12 action this season - giving him exactly three steals in three of his last four outings.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kansas is the only Big 12 team with a winning all-time record against Oklahoma and holds a 77-16 advantage in Lawrence.

2. The Sooners committed only six turnovers Wednesday and average a league-low 10.8 for the season. Their only conference game with fewer turnovers this season was against Kansas (five).

3. The Jayhawks have held each of their last two opponents to fewer than 50 points. The last time they achieved that feat during conference play was in January of 2013.

PREDICTION: Kansas 72, Oklahoma 58