Oklahoma at No. 3 Kansas

•  WHEN/WHERE: 3 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence

•  TV/RADIO: ESPN; KCSP (610 AM)

•  ABOUT OKLAHOMA (13-4, 4-1 Big 12): If the Big 12 is soft at the bottom, it’s plenty strong in the middle. And much of that is because teams such as Oklahoma are playing better than expected. The Sooners’ only conference loss came at Kansas State, and their worst loss may have come against a surprisingly good Stephen F. Austin squad. … Senior forward Romero Osby is averaging 19.2 points — including 29 against Texas — in the Sooners’ last five games. But one of the main reasons for the Sooner resurgence is transfer Amath M’Baye, an athletic junior forward who began his career at Wyoming. M’Baye is averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. … Freshman guard Buddy Hield attended Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita and played AAU ball with KU’s Perry Ellis.

•  ABOUT KANSAS (17-1, 5-0 Big 12): Put all the concern about the offense aside: the Jayhawks are 17-1 or better for the fifth time in Bill Self’s 10 seasons at Kansas. The Jayhawks’ 16-game winning streak is currently the longest in the country. And even after scoring more than 70 points just one time in the last six games, KU is still averaging 75.1 points per game, third-best in the Big 12. … Freshman guard Ben McLemore is hitting 44.6 percent of his threes, tops in the conference, and senior Travis Releford leads the Big 12 in free-throw percentage. … After Tuesday’s victory against K-State, the Jayhawks gained sole possession of first place in the Big 12. And a victory against Oklahoma would provide even more separation — the Sooners, K-State and Baylor are the only one-loss teams remaining. … Kansas has won 11 straight against Oklahoma at Allen Fieldhouse since 1994.

•  BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma has the poise and talent to give KU another league test at Allen Fieldhouse, but the Jayhawks’ defense should push their home-court winning streak to 33 games.