Kansas @ Oklahoma preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2019 ) Oklahoma 63, Kansas 70

Oklahoma will play in front of its home crowd in Norman for the final time this season when it hosts 14th-ranked Kansas on Tuesday. The Sooners have strengthened their case for an NCAA Tournament bid by winning three of their last four games, including a 92-80 victory over West Virginia on Saturday.

“We’ve got two games left, so it’s not like you have to prepare for two months,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger told reporters as his team gets ready to face the Jayhawks before playing its regular-season finale against No. 17 Kansas State on Saturday. “They practiced really well all year long. Even during the stretch where we weren’t winning games, they still practiced very well and worked hard. It won’t be hard at all with this group.” The Sooners committed 16 turnovers against the Mountaineers - their highest total since they had 17 in a 70-63 loss to Kansas in the conference opener on Jan. 2 - but still managed to register a season high in points behind 22 each from guards Aaron Calixte and Jamal Bieniemy. Kansas trailed by five points at halftime against last-place Oklahoma State on Saturday but clamped up defensively in the second half en route to a 72-67 road victory and remained within one game of the top spot in the Big 12 standings. “We hung in there, we grinded,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self told reporters after his team held the Cowboys scoreless for final 4:02 in Saturday’s victory. “(We've got) a bunch of young kids out there competing and they did a great job down the stretch, when it counted the most."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT KANSAS (22-7, 11-5 Big 12): Dedric Lawson scored 20 points and grabbed a season high-tying 15 rebounds Saturday to record his Big 12-leading 18th double double, which is tied for eighth-most in the nation. Freshman Quentin Grimes averages eight points per game but hit seven 3-pointers and totaled 31 points in victories over Kansas State and Oklahoma State last week. Sophomore Marcus Garrett – the team leader in steals (1.7) – missed five games last month but has shot 61.5 percent (8-for-13) in three contests since returning from a sprained ankle.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (18-11, 6-10): Calixte and Bieniemy were extremely efficient against West Virginia as the pair combined to go 13-for-17 overall and 8-for-10 from 3-point range while dishing out eight of the team’s 16 assists and committing just four of its 16 turnovers. Kristian Doolittle – the team’s leading scorer during conference play (13.3 points) - registered 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds on Saturday and is the only player in the league to average at least 12 points, seven boards and two assists in Big 12 action. Christian James scored 17.9 points per game heading into January but has seen his average dip to 13 since and recorded only seven on a season-low four field-goal attempts against West Virginia.

TIP-INS

1. Lawson has gone 26-for-27 from the free-throw line over his last four games.

2. The Sooners lead the Big 12 and are 17th in the nation with an average of 28.6 defensive rebounds.

3. Kansas is 19-3 against Oklahoma since 2006.

PREDICTION: Kansas 78, Oklahoma 75