Texas Tech-Oklahoma Preview

Already one of the nation's most prolific shooting teams, Oklahoma remains atop the AP Poll following arguably its best performance yet.

Buddy Hield and Jordan Woodard are two of the country's best 3-point shooters, but they certainly haven't looked like it against Texas Tech.

They'll attempt to change that as the high-scoring Sooners look to keep their place among the Big 12 leaders with their 17th consecutive win at the Noble Center on Tuesday night against the struggling Red Raiders.

It appeared that Oklahoma's rise to the top spot of the poll for the first time since 1990 might not last long Saturday when Hield sat on the bench with two early fouls five days after an 82-77 loss at then-No. 19 Iowa State.

Hield, though, overcame his slow start to finish with 19 points and four 3-pointers in an 82-72 win at then-No. 13 Baylor. Woodard led the way with 20 points, making five 3s while also handing out seven assists.

The Sooners, who were in a four-way tie atop the Big 12 entering the week, lead the nation with a 46.4 3-point percentage and rank in the top 10 with 85.5 points per game. They retained the AP's top spot after shooting a season-high 62 percent and sinking 16 of 28 from 3 against the Bears.

Oklahoma (16-2, 5-2), winners in 16 straight home games by an average of 17.4 points, remains on pace to set a school record by finishing with the nation's best 3-point percentage since Green Bay's 46.7 in 1991-92.

"They really shoot it well," coach Lon Kruger said after his squad had a season-high 29 assists. "The guys like to shoot – they spend a lot of time shooting – and they like passing to each other. That's a good combination."

Woodard (54.1) and Hield (51.7) rank among the national leaders from 3. Hield also sits in the top five with a Big 12-best 25.7 points per game, while Woodard is in the league's top 10 at 14.9.

However, both have had a difficult time against Texas Tech. Hield has averaged 8.7 points while missing 18 of 22 from 3-point range and Woodard has scored 6.3 and made just 2 of 8 from 3 in the past three meetings.

The Red Raiders have allowed 48.1 percent shooting - including a 43.3 mark from 3-point range - in their last four games. They let then-No. 6 West Virginia shoot 51 percent in Saturday's 80-76 home defeat.

Zach Smith had a career-high 18 points but the Red Raiders (12-6, 2-5) lost for the fifth time in six games following an 11-1 start.

"I know (Smith) will be the first one to say he'd rather have the win over what was probably his best game he's had," coach Tubby Smith said. "He logged a lot of minutes (36), but he's a guy that does so many things for us."

The Red Raiders have dropped five of the past six meetings with the Sooners. They've also lost 11 consecutive games versus ranked opponents, though the last eight have been by 10 points or fewer.

Ryan Spangler led Oklahoma with 20 points in an 81-39 win Jan. 28, 2015, in the most recent matchup in Norman. Isaiah Cousins stepped up with 22 on Feb. 21 when the Sooners pulled out a 79-75 overtime road win.