NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Semifinals and Final

March 19 and 21, 1999

St. Louis, Mo. -

Oklahoma Tentative Starters		PPG	RPG	APG
F	21 Eduardo Najera (6-8, 235, Jr.)	15.7	8.4	2.2
F	24 Ryan Humphrey (6-8, 225, So.)	11.1	7.4	0.6
G/F	30 Eric Martin (6-5, 210, Sr.)	12.4	4.7	1.8
G	10 Michael Johnson (6-0, 170, Sr.)	11.6	3.6	4.0
G	44 Alex Spaulding (6-3, 190, So.)	3.9	2.4	2.1

Off The Bench		PPG	RPG	APG
G	14 Tim Heskett (6-1, 185, So.)	9.7	1.8	2.1
C	32 Victor Avila (6-10, 255, Jr.)	3.3	3.0	0.2
F/C	33 Renzi Stone (6-10, 255, Jr.)	3.7	3.8	1.1

NO. 13 SEED OKLAHOMA FACES TOP-SEEDED MICHIGAN STATE FRIDAY
Making its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1989, Oklahoma, the Midwest Region's No. 13 seed, will take on top-seeded and second-ranked (both polls) Michigan State Friday at 6:55 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo., in the Trans World Dome. The Sooners (22-10 overall) are the Big 12 Conference's lone representative in the Sweet 16 and are the lowest-seeded team remaining in the tournament. The Spartans enter the Midwest Regional with a 31-4 record and are riding a 20-game winning streak. Their last loss came on Jan. 6 at Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener, 66-51.

Should it beat Michigan State, Oklahoma will compete in the regional final against the winner of Friday's Kentucky versus Miami (Ohio) contest Sunday at 4 p.m. Third-seeded Kentucky enters the regional with a 27-8 mark while the 10th-seeded RedHawks are 24-7.

All of OU's NCAA Tournament games will air on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mark Mathew (analyst) calling the action. Friday's and Sunday's games will be televised by CBS (KWTV Channel 9 in OKC) with Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Billy Packer (analyst) and Bonnie Bernstein (courtside reporter) announcing.

SOONER UPDATE
Oklahoma reached the Sweet 16 by defeating No. 4 seed Arizona, 61-60, and No. 5 seed UNC Charlotte, 85-72, in Milwaukee, Wis., last Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Sooners, making their fifth Sweet 16 appearance since 1985, are 6-1 versus ranked teams this season and have won 11 of 17 games away from home.

Second-team All-Big 12 selection Eduardo Najera is coming off a magnificent two-game performance last weekend in which he averaged 18.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots. He also canned 7-of-15 three-pointers. For the season, Najera leads the Sooners in both scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg) and ranks second in assists (2.2 apg) and steals (1.9 spg). He leads the team with 11 double-doubles this season and on Sunday became the 31st player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career.

Eric Martin, who ranks second on the squad in scoring with a 12.4 points-per-game average, made 10-of-17 three-pointers versus Arizona and UNC Charlotte to average 16.0 points over the first two rounds. Since he was promoted to the starting lineup Jan. 30 at Texas Tech, Martin has scored in double figures in 10 of 12 games and is averaging 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds. The honorable mention all-league selection also ranks third in the Big 12 with a .443 season three-point percentage. He has converted at least three three-pointers in 13 games this year, including 10 of the last 15 contests.

Point guard Michael Johnson, also an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, has scored in double digits in eight of OU's last 10 games and is responsible for running the team's offense. For the season, the co-captain averages team highs in assists (4.0 apg), steals (2.0 spg) and minutes (35.5 mpg). Johnson, who registered 13 assists in OU's two games last weekend, shot .839 from the free throw line in Big 12 games to rank second in the league and owns a .808 season mark. He has also started in 55 consecutive games.

Sophomore Ryan Humphrey, who was credited with the game-winning tip-in with 21 seconds remaining against Arizona, scored 15 points in OU's first-round win against the Wildcats. He is averaging 11.1 points, 7.4 boards and a team-high 2.0 blocks per game. A third-team All-Big 12 pick by league coaches, Humphrey ranked fourth with 8.4 rebounds per Big 12 contest and already has 118 career blocks to rank third on Oklahoma's career list behind Stacey King (228) and Wayman Tisdale (209). Both Humphrey and Tisdale (a three-time consensus All-American) attended Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School.

Averaging just 3.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game entering the NCAA Tournament, guard Alex Spaulding averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 boards and 5.5 assists over the first two rounds. Against UNC Charlotte on Sunday, the sophomore contributed 12 points, six rebounds and a career-high eight assists.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans, ranked second in both national polls, won the Big Ten regular season title with a 15-1 record and also claimed the conference tournament crown. Michigan State won its opening-round NCAA Tournament game against 16th-seeded Mount St. Mary's, 76-53, Friday in Milwaukee and followed that performance with a 74-66 win over No. 9 seed Ole Miss on Sunday.

Junior point guard Mateen Cleaves, named Big Ten Player of the Year the past two seasons by conference coaches, earned league tournament MVP honors two weeks ago. Cleaves leads the squad in assists (7.2 apg) and steals (1.9 spg) and ranks second in scoring (11.8 ppg). He is the only Spartan to average more than 30 minutes per game (30.9). Despite starting in just four games, junior forward Morris Peterson leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and owns stellar shooting marks (.570 field goal, .407 three-point and .815 free throw percentages). Senior forward Antonio Smith paces MSU with his 8.4 rebounds per outing. The Spartans outboard their foes by nearly 10 caroms per game.

Head coach Tom Izzo, a 1977 Northern Michigan graduate, has guided Michigan State to an 86-40 (.683) record in four years as the Spartans' mentor. He has directed MSU to back-to-back Big Ten titles (co-championship last year) and was named national coach of the year last season by the Associated Press after directing his team to a 22-8 mark.

SERIES WITH MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State holds a 2-1 series advantage against Oklahoma. The Spartans won the teams' first meeting in December 1956, 76-74 in overtime, in the Big Seven Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. (MSU was invited to complete the eight-team holiday tournament field). Michigan State also won, 118-100, during the 1963-64 season in the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Oklahoma's lone victory came in the most recent meeting, an 88-86 first-round postseason NIT decision in 1993 in Norman.

Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson, who served as a graduate assistant coach at Michigan State under former head coach Jud Heathcote during the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons, is 1-1 against the Spartans. Sampson's Washington State squad lost in East Lansing in 1992-93, 77-61, but rebounded for a 76-71 victory the following season in the second round of the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.

BEYOND THE SPARTANS
If Oklahoma defeats Michigan State on Friday, it will play the winner of the Kentucky/Miami (Ohio) contest Sunday at 4 p.m. CST. The Sooners are 0-2 all-time against Kentucky and are 2-0 against Miami.

Kentucky beat OU, 43-33, in the 1945-46 campaign and squeezed by the Sooners, 75-74, in 1986-87. Both games were played in Lexington. Oklahoma handled Miami, 71-57, in the 1969-70 season in Norman and won in Oxford the next year, 66-56.

SOONERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Oklahoma, which now owns a 23-17 NCAA Tournament record, is in the midst of its 18th tourney appearance. The Sooners had lost five straight first-round games prior to this year and are making their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1989 when they were a No. 1 seed in the Southeast Regional. Oklahoma has not advanced to the Elite Eight since 1988 when it lost to Kansas, 83-79, in the national championship game. The 1947 OU team also lost in the national title game (58-47 to Holy Cross in New York City) while the 1939 Sooner squad was the first to compete in the national semifinal (now the Final Four). Below is a year-by-year look at OU's NCAA Tournament appearances, seeds and records.

Year	Seed	Record	Final Opponent
1939	--	1-1	Oregon
1943	--	1-1	Wyoming
1947	--	3-1	Holy Cross
1979	No. 5	1-1	Indiana State
1983	No. 7	1-1	Indiana
1984	No. 2	0-1	Dayton
1985	No. 1	3-1	Memphis State
1986	No.4	1-1	DePaul
1987	No. 6	2-1	Iowa
1988	No. 1	5-1	Kansas
1989	No. 1	2-1	Virginia
1990	No. 1	1-1	North Carolina
1992	No. 4	0-1	Southwestern La.
1995	No. 4	0-1	Manhattan
1996	No. 10	0-1	Temple
1997	No. 11	0-1	Stanford
1998	No. 10	0-1	Indiana
1999	No. 13	2-0

LUCKY NUMBER 13
By beating UNC Charlotte on Sunday, Oklahoma became just the third No. 13 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Only Richmond (East Region) in 1988 and Valparaiso (Midwest Region) last year have also accomplished the feat. Ironically, Valparaiso won its two NCAA Tournament games in downtown Oklahoma City -- a mere 20-minute drive from the OU campus -- and played its regional semifinal game in St. Louis.

No 13th-seeded team has ever advanced to the Elite Eight. Richmond lost to top-seeded Temple, 69-47, while Valparaiso fell to eighth-seeded Rhode Island, 74-68.

RECAPPING OU'S FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS
Oklahoma faced a 22-6 Arizona team ranked 12th in the nation by the Associated Press, held it to .333 shooting, stayed within reach and won on a Ryan Humphrey tip-in with 21 seconds left in the contest. The Sooners, who made 10-of-25 three-pointers, trailed by as many as nine in the first half and didn't take their first lead until eight minutes remained in the second stanza. OU trailed 60-56 and fouled A.J. Bramlett with approximately a minute left, but the center missed both free throws before Eduardo Najera hit a three-pointer to trim the Wildcat lead to one. After a timeout, Arizona freshman Michael Wright stepped across the baseline before inbounding the ball and gave Humphrey the chance to win the game. Najera finished with game highs in points (17) and rebounds (13) and added a pair of blocks and three steals while Humphrey's final basket resulted in his 15th point. Pac-10 Player of the Year and first-team All-American Jason Terry, who had one point at halftime, was 4-for-17 from the field and finished with 15 points.

The Sooners coupled a brilliant offensive showing with a stifling defensive performance to open their game against 24th-ranked UNC Charlotte on Sunday. OU bolted to a 21-5 lead thanks to four Eric Martin three-pointers and led by as many as 20 (37-17) before settling for a 37-22 halftime lead. The 49ers suffered through a 12-minute span in which they failed to make a field goal. UNCC closed to within seven points with four minutes left in the game, but Oklahoma's free throw shooting proved too much as the Sooners notched the 85-72 victory. Najera paced OU with 20 points and 15 rebounds and nailed 4-of-9 three-point tries. Martin canned 6-of-9 trey attempts and finished with 18 points. Alex Spaulding produced 12 points, six boards and a career-high eight assists in 33 minutes of action. Oklahoma's 13 three-pointers and 28 three-point attempts were both school postseason records. UNCC shot just .172 in the first half and .324 for the game.

OKLAHOMA VERSUS NO. 1 SEEDS
Since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the Sooners are 1-0 against No. 1 seeds. In 1988, Oklahoma, a No. 1 seed itself in the Southeast Region, defeated Arizona, the West Region's top seed, 86-78 in the Final Four. In the 1979 tournament's 48-team format, the fifth-seeded Sooners lost to Indiana State, the Midwest's No. 1 seed, 93-72. Larry Bird scored 29 points that game for the Sycamores and led his team to the national title game where it lost to Michigan State, 75-64.

OU BOASTS NATION'S FOURTH-LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has now made 18 consecutive postseason appearances (14 NCAA and four NIT), fourth most among Division I programs. Only North Carolina, Georgetown and Indiana own longer postseason streaks (North Carolina and Indiana made this year's NCAA field while Georgetown competed in the NIT). The last time Oklahoma did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81. The four longest current postseason streaks are as follows:

Team	Streak	NCAA	NIT	Started
North Carolina	33	29	4	1966-67
Georgetown	25	20	5	1974-75
Indiana	22	20	2	1977-78
Oklahoma	18	14	4	1981-82

OU POSTSEASON RECORDS
For complete Oklahoma postseason record information, consult pages 132-137 in the 1998-99 OU basketball media guide.

1998-99 HIGHLIGHTS
Following are just a handful of memorable moments from OU's 1998-99 season:

Tim Heskett scored a career-high 23 points thanks to 7-of-9 three-point shooting and Eduardo Najera also scored a then-career-high 23 points as OU throttled Western Carolina, 102-51, Nov. 27.
Eric Martin nailed 5-of-6 three-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead Oklahoma to a 30-point win over 19th-ranked Arkansas on Dec. 5 in Norman. Martin was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the performance.
The Sooners won by forfeit over American-Puerto Rico in the first round of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic as Heskett was punched in the jaw by Pirate guard Ramon Gomez with 5:02 remaining in the first half and OU leading 39-10.
Ryan Humphrey scored 20 points and rejected a career-high eight shots against Western Kentucky as Oklahoma pulled out a 72-62 overtime victory in the All-College Tournament first round in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma used a 20-2 second-half run to overcome its .176 first-half shooting performance and a 24-15 halftime deficit to win at Iowa State in the league opener, 56-52.
The Sooners held 22nd-ranked Oklahoma State to .276 field goal shooting and won in Stillwater for the first time since 1992. OSU's 43 points were its fewest at home since 1969.
OU earned a sweep of Oklahoma State by winning 72-65 in Norman on Feb. 6. For the second straight game against the Cowboys, Oklahoma never trailed. Najera scored 19 points and pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds.
Michael Johnson's 12-foot runner with 5.6 seconds left gave the Sooners a 64-63 win at first-place Texas on Feb. 10. Najera made a career-high five of OU's 13 treys and scored a game-high 23 points. OU limited Kris Clack and Chris Mihm to a combined 11 points.
On Feb. 15, Najera led OU to a 69-57 win at 22nd-ranked Missouri by registering game highs in points (20) and rebounds (15). The Sooners scored 22 of the game's last 25 points as Kelvin Sampson recorded his 100th win at OU.
Najera posted game highs in points (17) and rebounds (13) to lead the 13th-seeded Sooners past fourth-seeded Arizona in first-round Midwest Region play. Humphrey's tip-in with 21 seconds remaining lifted OU to the 61-60 victory.
OU made a postseason record 13 three-pointers and jumped to a 20-point first half lead before settling for an 85-72 victory over UNC Charlotte to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1989. Najera scored 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds while Martin canned 6-of-9 three-pointers.

ROAD RULE
Oklahoma, which beat Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas and Missouri away from home this season, finished with a 6-2 Big 12 road mark. Its only road losses were to Kansas State and Texas A&M. Since league play began during the 1996-97 season, only Kansas owns a better Big 12 road record than the Sooners. The Jayhawks are 19-5 during the span while OU is 14-10. No other Big 12 team owns a three-year cumulative winning road record.

The Sooners, who have won 13 of their last 18 conference away games, recorded more victories on the road in league play than at home (five). The last time Oklahoma posted a better road mark than home record inside conference play was in 1977-78. That year the Sooners were 4-3 on the road and 3-4 at home under head coach Dave Bliss.

BOMBS AWAY
This year's OU team became the first with four players to attempt more than 100 three-pointers each. Eric Martin has 167 attempts, Tim Heskett has 166, Michael Johnson has 150 and Eduardo Najera has 145. The same four Sooners have all made at least 50 treys this year. Oklahoma State is the only other Big 12 team with three players who have made at least 50 three-pointers each.

Oklahoma, on the verge of setting school season records for three-pointers and three-point attempts per game, ranks first in the Big 12 and in the top 10 nationally with its 8.7 treys per game and also leads the conference with its 22.3 attempts per contest. In league games, the Sooners averaged 9.3 treys and 23.8 attempts per game. The OU single-season records for three-pointers and three-point attempts per game were set during the 1987-88 campaign when the Sooners advanced to the national title game. That team averaged 7.7 treys and 20.3 attempts per contest.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Four Sooners average double figures in scoring while a fifth averages 9.7 points per game. Eduardo Najera (15.7 ppg) leads the team and is followed by Eric Martin (12.4), Michael Johnson (11.6), Ryan Humphrey (11.1) and Tim Heskett (9.7). That's a change from the past two seasons. Last year, three Sooners (Corey Brewer, Evan Wiley and Najera) averaged double digits in points while in 1996-97 just two OU players (Nate Erdmann and Brewer) averaged double figures.

NAJERA BLOSSOMING IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Unquestionably one of the top players in the Big 12, junior Eduardo Najera has begun to make a name for himself on the national level. The forward is averaging team highs in points (15.7) and rebounds (8.4) this season, and has averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 boards over the last 10 games. In last weekend's NCAA first and second rounds, Najera averaged 18.5 points and 14.0 rebounds while shooting .467 (7-for-15) from three-point land. Najera ranks fourth in the league in offensive rebounding (3.3 per game), sixth in scoring (15.7 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and ninth in steals (1.9 spg).

The Chihuahua, Mexico, native has made 50 three-pointers this year, or 34 more than in his freshman and sophomore seasons combined. With his 20-point effort versus UNC Charlotte on Sunday, he became the 31st player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career and just the 11th Sooner to accomplish the feat by the end of his junior year. Najera stands a reasonable chance of becoming one of OU's top-10 all-time scorers by the end of his senior campaign.

ESPN.com noted this Monday that if not for Wally Szczerbiak of Miami (Ohio), it would vote for Najera as the Midwest Region's best player.

JOHNSON POINTS OU TO VICTORIES
Senior point guard Michael Johnson has increased his productivity lately. In the last 10 games, the Las Vegas native has scored in double figures eight times and is averaging 13.0 points. He is averaging 5.6 assists over the last five outings and boasts a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio during the brief stretch. On the defensive end, he helped limit the production of first-team All-American Jason Terry as OU beat Arizona last Friday. Terry scored one first-half point and finished the game 4-for-17 from the field.

Johnson, who averages a team-high 35.5 minutes per game, ranks third in the conference (all games) in free throw percentage (.808) and finished second in league games (.839). He and Eduardo Najera are the only two Sooners to start every game this season. Dating back to last season, Johnson has started in 55 consecutive games.

HESKETT REGAINS FORM
Tim Heskett, who scored in double figures in OU's first seven games of the year and then failed to reach double digits in 14 of the next 15 contests, has scored 10 or more points in five of the last nine games off the bench. The sophomore's 17 points against Texas A&M Feb. 13 were his most since scoring 18 in a 30-point win over Arkansas on Dec. 5. In his last 11 games, Heskett is shooting .509 from three-point land (29-for-57). He ranks second in the Big 12 with a .470 season three-point percentage and with 2.5 treys per game. The OU single-season three-point percentage record (.469) was set by Terrence Mullins in 1989-90.

MARTIN COOLS DOWN, HEATS UP AGAIN FROM LONG RANGE
Senior Eric Martin, who entered the Missouri game Feb. 15 shooting .496 from three-point land (.539 in Big 12 games), went 0-for-6 against the Tigers and 0-for-8 the next game versus Kansas. Prior to last weekend's NCAA Tournament first and second rounds, he had converted just 6-of-33 three-point attempts over a five-game span. Martin found his stroke in Milwaukee, however, as he converted 10-of-17 trey attempts over two games, including a 6-for-9 performance against UNC Charlotte in the second round.

Martin, averaging 12.4 points per game this year, now ranks fourth in the league with a .443 three-point mark and sixth with 2.4 three-pointers per game. He has made at least three three-pointers in a game 13 times this season.

HUMPHREY MOVING UP BLOCKED SHOTS LIST
Sophomore Ryan Humphrey, who ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 2.0 blocked shots per game, moved into third place on the OU career blocks list Feb. 20 with his five rejections against Kansas. Humphrey, who now has 118 career blocks, swatted a career-high eight shots (most by a Big 12 player this year) against Western Kentucky on Dec. 29, one shy of the school record set by Jackie Jones against Texas in 1990. Ahead of Humphrey on the career chart are Stacey King (228) and Wayman Tisdale (209).

SPAULDING SHINES IN MILWAUKEE
Despite averaging 3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, guard Alex Spaulding has started 21 of the last 22 games. He also sports sub-par .301 field goal, .290 three-point and .512 free throw marks, but against Arizona and UNC Charlotte last weekend, the sophomore averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting .462 from the field and .500 from beyond the arc.

Spaulding, who is steady with the ball (he ranks second on the team with a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio), withdrew from school for personal reasons in early October and returned a few weeks later. He submitted one of his best-ever performances Feb. 13 against Texas A&M by setting career highs in points (14), field goals (five) and minutes (31). He also tied career highs with five rebounds and five assists.

AVILA PRODUCTIVE WHEN HE PLAYS
Victor Avila, OU's reserve center who was tabbed Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year by league coaches and media, is averaging 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Those are not great numbers, but when considering he also averages just 8.9 minutes per outing, they're not bad. From Culiacan, Mexico, Avila's scoring and rebounding averages increase to 11.2 ppg and 10.2 rpg when his playing time is projected to 30 minutes per contest. Avila played a career-high 27 minutes in the regular season finale against Baylor and pulled down a career-best 12 boards.

OU 6-1 VERSUS RANKED TEAMS
Oklahoma owns a 6-1 record against ranked teams this year. The average score in those games has been 69.6 to 60.9. Here is a recap:

Date	Opponent (AP/ESPN)	Result	Score
Dec. 5	Arkansas (19/17)	Won	87-57
Jan. 12	at Oklahoma State (22/21)	Won	54-43
Jan. 16	at Cincinnati (3/3)	Lost	72-59
Feb. 6	Oklahoma State (NR/21)	Won	72-65
Feb. 15	at Missouri (22/NR)	Won	69-57
March 12	vs. Arizona (12/10)	Won	61-60
March 14	vs. UNC Charlotte (24/NR)	Won	85-72

QUICKLY...

Oklahoma is 11-0 this year when holding foes to less than 60 points.
Co-captains Michael Johnson and Eduardo Najera are the only two Sooners to start every game this season. Johnson has started 55 straight contests.
Tim Heskett is on track to set the OU single-season three-point shooting mark (he is shooting .470). The current .469 standard was set by Terrence Mullins in 1989-90.
Najera (11), Humphrey (six) and Eric Martin (one) have combined for 18 double-doubles this year. OU players combined for 11 double-doubles last year.
OU has held eight of its last 12 opponents to sub-.400 field goal shooting. Sooner opponents are shooting .389 during the 12-game span.
Najera averages team highs in points (15.7) and rebounds (8.4). The last OU player to lead the team in both categories was Ryan Minor in 1994-95 (23.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg).
Oklahoma leads the Big 12 with 8.7 three-pointers per game (Oklahoma State ranks second with 6.8 per contest).

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