Men's Hoops Faces Ole Miss Saturday

Dec. 1, 2000

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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 14th in the AP poll and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' version, Oklahoma (5-0) travels to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss (4-0) on Saturday at 8 p.m CST inside Tad Smith Coliseum. The game will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network's flagship station (KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) and will be replayed on other network stations later Saturday night. Mark Mathew (play-by-play) and former Sooner Renzi Stone (analyst) will call the action. The contest will be televised by FOX Sports Net Southwest in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Ron Thulin (play-by-play) and Barry Booker (analyst) will announce.

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners are coming off a 3-0 performance that landed them the Big Island Invitational title last weekend in Hilo, Hawaii. OU beat Montana State (84-76), Tulane (83-69) and Oregon State (78-60) to claim the tourney crown. It was Oklahoma's sixth straight regular season tournament championship. Sophomore point guard Hollis Price claimed tournament MVP hardware after averaging 21.0 points, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals. He shot a remarkable .719 from the field (23-for-32) and .615 from three-point range (8-for-13). Senior guard Nolan Johnson was also named to the all-tournament team after averaging 10.3 points and 2.7 assists per outing.

In the win over Montana State, Aaron McGhee and Price notched career highs with 32 and 23 points, respectively. McGhee, who scored 20 points in the first half, posted the highest output by a Sooner in three seasons (Corey Brewer scored 36 vs. Missouri in the 1997-98 season). The junior was 12-for-17 from the field, while Price was 9-for-12 with four assists and a steal. The Sooners shot .577 from the field, .467 from three-point range and .773 from the free throw line while moving to 3-0. John Lazosky's 23 points led Montana State.

Price's new career-high 30 points, six assists and four steals helped OU down previously unbeaten Tulane in semifinal action. He was 10-for-14 from the field and 7-for-9 from three-point land. Four Sooners made at least two three-pointers as the squad drained 10 buckets from beyond the arc. Price and senior Kelley Newton, who finished with 11 points, both were 3-for-5 from long range. OU forced 29 Tulane turnovers and committed just 13. Senior Jameel Heywood grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Sooners.

Junior guard J.R. Raymond led four Sooners in double figures with his game-high 21 points against an Oregon State team that was 4-0 entering the title game. He canned 5-of-8 three-point attempts and all four of his free throw tries. Johnson added 18 points and five assists while Price and Newton scored 10 points apiece. The Sooners posted one of their better shooting performances in recent memory, converting .585 of their field goal attempts and .571 of their three-point tries (12-for-21). OU led 40-25 at halftime and extended their lead to as many as 29 (69-40) after the break. The Beavers had held their opponents to an average of 40.3 points per contest entering the championship game. In their first three games of the season, no foe scored more than 37 points.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI
Ole Miss, which boasts a 38-game non-conference winning streak at Tad Smith Coliseum, has defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff (98-47), Sam Houston State (71-65), Virginia Commonwealth (88-84 in OT) and Louisiana-Monroe (76-62) this season. All but the VCU contest were played in Oxford.

Senior forward Rahim Lockhart leads the team in scoring and rebounding with impressive 17.8 and 9.5 averages. He is shooting .529 from the field and paces the Rebels in blocked shots (seven) and steals (nine). Freshman forward Justin Reed is averaging 13.0 points and 7.8 boards over four starts while guard Aaron Harper, another freshman, is averaging 9.8 points and 4.0 rebounds. Harper has converted a team-high seven three-pointers on 18 attempts (.389).

Head Coach Rod Barnes is in his third season at Ole Miss. He owns a 43-27 record (.614) and has taken his previous two teams to the postseason (NIT last year and NCAA Tournament in 1998-99). Barnes, who played at Ole Miss from 1984-88, ranks on the Rebels' all-time lists for assists (second), steals (sixth) and points (17th).

SERIES WITH MISSISSIPPI
Saturday's game will mark the third between the two schools with both owning one victory. Last year, Oklahoma recorded an 81-73 victory in Norman as Eduardo Najera paced four Sooners in double figures with 22 points. J.R. Raymond drained three treys and finished with 17 points while Hollis Price and Tim Heskett added 11 and 10, respectively. Price also produced a game-high eight assists as OU led by as many as 18 in the second half. Marcus Hicks scored 16 points to lead the Rebels and Jason Harrison added 15. Rahim Lockhart tallied 13 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Two seasons ago, Ole Miss shot .565 from the field and notched a 75-72 triumph in the second round of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic in San Juan, P.R. Keith Carter led the Rebels with 20 points while Michael Johnson equaled Carter's output.

OU VERSUS THE SEC
The Sooners have won four of their last five contests against Southeastern Conference foes. Last season OU beat Ole Miss (81-73) and Arkansas (66-52). In 1998-99, Oklahoma topped Arkansas (87-57) before falling to Ole Miss (75-72). The Sooners also handled Alabama (79-61) in the All-College Tournament championship game during the 1997-98 campaign.

START ME UP
For the fourth time in seven seasons under Head Coach Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma has started 5-0. The Sooners also won their first five games in 1994-95 (actually started 6-0), 1996-97 (started 7-0) and last year (started 9-0).

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Including their five wins this season, the Sooners have won 17 of their last 18 regular season non-conference games. Last year, Oklahoma posted a 12-1 regular season non-conference mark with its only loss coming at home to third-ranked Cincinnati.

ANOTHER TOURNAMENT TROPHY
Oklahoma's tournament titles in the Sooner Invitational and the Big Island Invitational this season give the Sooners six straight in the regular season. Last year the Sooners won the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, the Sooner Invitational in Norman and the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City. OU also captured the All-College Tournament championship in the 1998-99 season. The Sooners' last loss in regular season tourney competition came to North Carolina State (62-58) in the final round of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic in December 1998. Their winning streak stands at 14 games.

BALANCED ATTACK
Hollis Price leads five Sooners who average double digits in points per game. Price, who averages 17.0 per outing, is joined by Aaron McGhee (16.6), J.R. Raymond (12.3), Nolan Johnson (10.2) and Kelley Newton (10.2). No Kelvin Sampson-coached Oklahoma team has ever finished a season with five players averaging double figures in scoring. Four players averaged at least 10.0 points per game in both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, however.

BACK ON TRACK
After shooting .295 from three-point land in its first two games, Oklahoma rebounded sharply in the department in Hawaii. In three Big Island Invitational victories, OU was 29-for-62 from beyond the arc for a stellar .468 percentage.

The Sooners now own a .396 three-point mark for the season and boast five players with a .400 or better figure. Interestingly, the school's career leader in three-point percentage entering the year (.420), senior guard Tim Heskett sports just a .231 mark (6-for-26).

Last year, the Sooners ranked second in the Big 12 with a .383 season three-point percentage and two years ago finished second with a .388 mark.

NOW PLAYING: RONNIE GRIFFIN
Junior forward Ronnie Griffin, who did not participate in Oklahoma's first three games due to eligibility issues that occurred prior to his recruitment by or attendance at OU, made his debut against Tulane in the Big Island Invitational semifinals last Saturday. Griffin played seven minutes versus the Green Wave and recorded three points and an assist. Against Oregon State, he followed with four points in four minutes of action. Griffin has made all three of his field goal attempts thus far.

The 6-9 Louisville, Ky., native averaged 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College last year and was a first-team All-Panhandle Conference selection. Griffin shot .544 from the field and helped the Eagles to a 25-5 final record.

FOULS LIMIT McGHEE'S PRODUCTION
Junior forward Aaron McGhee averaged 24.7 points and 6.7 rebounds over OU's first three games. Included in the brief stretch was a 32-point performance versus Montana State in the opening round of the Big Island Invitational. But foul problems limited the playing time of the former first-team junior college All-American in the Sooners' last two games. McGhee scored six and three points versus Tulane and Oregon State, respectively, when he averaged only 21.0 minutes. He was also held to a combined six boards in those two contests.

From Aurora, Ill., McGhee ranks second on the team in scoring (16.6 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.2 rpg). He is shooting .545 from the field, .600 from three-point range and .800 from the free throw line.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
In the annual preseason Big 12 media poll released Nov. 2, Oklahoma was picked to finish second in the league behind Kansas. Among the teams the Sooners were predicted to finish ahead of were Missouri (third), Texas (fourth), Iowa State (fifth) and Oklahoma State (sixth). OU was also picked second in the league race by conference coaches.

SAMPSON SIGNS PAIR OF RECRUITS
Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced Nov. 7 that center Jabahri Brown and wing Matt Gipson have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at OU next season.

"Jabahri and Matt are two young men who give us a great follow-up to last year's outstanding recruiting class," said Sampson. "We really wanted to get better inside and be more athletic. We accomplished both goals by signing these two talented players."

A native of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, the 6-11 Brown transferred to Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., following his freshman year at Florida International University last season. Brown will transfer to OU at the end of the current semester and will be eligible to play for the Sooners following the conclusion of the fall 2001 semester when he will have sophomore status. He averaged 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.6 steals in 24.3 minutes per game last season as a true freshman at Florida International.

Gipson is a 6-9 wing player from Burkburnett High School in Burkburnett, Texas, who averaged 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as a junior last year. Compared in style by some to former Utah standout Keith Van Horn, Gipson helped his squad to a 24-11 record while earning unanimous all-district and all-region honors. Fastbreak Recruiting rates him as the fifth-best senior in the Midwest.

OU BOASTS NATION'S FOURTH-LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 19 consecutive postseason appearances (15 NCAA and four NIT), the fourth-longest streak among Division I programs. Only North Carolina (34 years), Georgetown (26) and Indiana (23) own longer postseason streaks. The last time Oklahoma did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81. The four longest current postseason streaks are as follows:

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Oklahoma has registered a winning record in 23 of its last 24 seasons. No other Big 12 team can boast as many winning campaigns since the 1975-76 season as the Sooners. OU has posted a 531-239 (.690) record over the past 24 years.

HEAD COACH KELVIN SAMPSON
Now in his 18th year as a collegiate head coach, Kelvin Sampson is in his seventh year at the Oklahoma helm. He has averaged 21.7 wins per season at OU and is one of two Big 12 coaches -- Kansas' Roy Williams is the other -- to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament each of the last six seasons.

Sampson began his head coaching career in 1980 at Montana Tech when he was hired as the program's interim head coach. He recorded a 73-45 mark in four seasons and was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame three years ago.

In 1988, Sampson was named head coach at Washington State and compiled an even 103-103 record over seven years, including two 20-win campaigns.

Hired by Oklahoma on April 25, 1994, he has guided the Sooners to a 135-62 (.685) record and a 77-15 (.837) home mark. Two of his OU squads (1997-98 and 1999-00) have played in the Big 12 Tournament championship game. In 1998-99, he directed OU to an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance.

Sampson was named the 1995 national coach of the year by the Associated Press, the USBWA and Basketball Times.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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