Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Auburn on February 24, 2026 , Win , 91, to, 79
Final
Men's Basketball
91
vs Auburn
79
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Coppin State Saturday
December 15, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2000
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 19th in the AP and 16th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls, Oklahoma (6-1) hosts Coppin State (4-3) Saturday at 7 p.m CST inside Lloyd Noble Center. The game will air live 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. The contest will also be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (KWTV Channel 9 in OKC and KWBT Channel 19 in Tulsa). Dean Blevins (play-by-play) and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst) will announce. The game will mark Kelvin Sampson's 200th as OU head coach.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners rebounded from their Dec. 2 five-point loss at Mississippi (now ranked 23rd in the AP poll) by beating North Texas in convincing fashion last Saturday, 100-72. Oklahoma shot .590 from the field in the first half and used a 21-0 run to take a 59-32 halftime lead. Junior forward Aaron McGhee amassed 28 points on 13-of-16 field goal shooting and collected a team-high eight rebounds in just 20 minutes of action to lead the OU assault.
McGhee's 28-point effort snapped a three-game slump in which he averaged 6.3 points. He leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and field goal percentage (.615), and ranks third in rebounding (5.0 rpg). The 250-pound McGhee has also made 5-of-7 (.714) three-point attempts on the year. Sophomore point guard Hollis Price averages team highs in assists (6.4 apg) and steals (2.7 spg). Price, who is shooting .537 from the field, also ranks second on the team in scoring (14.1 ppg). One of the more consistent contributors on the team, junior forward Daryan Selvy's 5.8 rebounds per outing are a team high. He is averaging 10.3 points and 6.7 boards over the last three contests.
OU entered the week ranked first in the Big 12 in turnover margin (+7.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.26), thanks largely to Price. The New Orleans, La., native sports a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio (45-to-15) to rank second in the league. The Sooners' 12.7 turnovers per game are also a league low.
ABOUT COPPIN STATE
Coppin State will be playing its first game since Dec. 6 when it hits the floor Saturday. The Eagles, 4-3, lost at Bethune-Cookman, 57-55, in that contest to snap their three-game winning streak. Coppin State's four wins have come against Morgan State (81-70), Texas Southern (61-53), Alabama State (63-62) and Florida A&M (75-73). Besides the Bethune-Cookman defeat, the Eagles have dropped games to Iona (78-61) and George Mason (75-54). The team's last three games have been decided by a combined five points.
Senior forward Joe Brown (18.6 ppg) is one of three Eagles who average double figures in points. Brown is followed by junior guard Rasheem Sims (15.7) and junior forward Larry Tucker (13.0). Tucker leads the squad with his 6.3 rebounds per outing while Sims' 3.9 assists per game are a team high.
A member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Coppin State is shooting .398 from the field, .344 from three-point land and a steady .720 from the free throw line.
Head Coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell is in his 15th year at the Baltimore, Md., school. He has compiled a 260-160 (.619) record as the Eagles' mentor and has directed his teams to three NCAA Tournaments. Mitchell also serves as Coppin State's athletic director.
SERIES WITH COPPIN STATE
Oklahoma sports a perfect 7-0 all-time record against Coppin State and is 4-0 against the Eagles under Kelvin Sampson. The Sooners were victors in 1990-91 (98-79), 1991-92 (97-70), 1993-94 (79-64), 1994-95 (85-74), 1996-97 (88-64), 1997-98 (83-72) and 1998-99 (68-42). Sampson is 5-0 versus Coppin State as his 1993-94 Washington State squad posted a first-round San Juan Shootout win against the Eagles.
RECAPPING THE NORTH TEXAS CONTEST
Strong defense and solid shooting helped key a 30-2 first-half run in OU's 100-72 triumph over North Texas last Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners, who scored on 13 straight possessions during the run, held the Mean Green without a field goal for nearly nine minutes. Aaron McGhee paced Oklahoma with 28 points and eight rebounds in only 20 minutes of play. The junior converted 13 of his 16 field goal attempts, including both of his three-point tries. Nolan Johnson, Kelley Newton and Daryan Selvy all scored 12 points, and junior forward Ronnie Griffin added 10 in his first OU start. Hollis Price's seven assists and four steals were game highs. Junior post Jozsef Szendrei made his OU debut and finished with six points and five boards in 12 minutes before fouling out. All three of his baskets came after he grabbed offensive rebounds. The Sooners, who committed 12 turnovers on the night, forced North Texas into 25 miscues. OU reached the 100-point mark when walk-on guard Richard Ainooson nailed a trey with nine seconds left. It was Ainooson's first appearance of the year.
NORTH TEXAS LEFTOVERS
GILBERT ON THE MEND
Freshman Johnnie Gilbert underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee last Friday and is recovering nicely. The 6-7 forward, who sustained the injury in practice Dec. 6 and was expected to miss 10-21 days of action, is listed as possible for next week's games versus Southwest Texas and nationally ranked Arkansas. Gilbert had started OU's three games prior to his injury and sports season averages of 2.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing. The Minneapolis, Minn., native led Patrick Henry High School to a 29-1 record and No. 22 final national prep ranking last year.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Head Coach Kelvin Sampson, at times, has been less than pleased with his team's defense this season. Although the Sooners are surrendering a respectable 66.4 points per game, four of OU's last five opponents have shot better than .500 from the field. On the season, Oklahoma foes own a combined .502 field goal percentage. In Sampson's six previous years at OU, opponents never shot better than .444 (1995-96) for a season. The only time in Oklahoma history that opponents combined for a .500 field goal mark for an entire campaign was in 1980-81 (.501).
The Sooners rank last in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense. Texas A&M, whose opponents are shooting a combined .434, ranks 11th in the league in the category.
FOUL PLAY
The Sooners seem to have had a difficult time adjusting to the NCAA's point of emphasis this season - cleaning up "rough play." OU has been whistled for 160 fouls in its seven games, an average of 22.9 per contest. Opponents, meanwhile, have been called for 116 fouls (16.6 average). Sooner foes have attempted 185 free throws to OU's 116. That's an average of 10 more attempts per game. The most fouls Oklahoma has averaged in six previous seasons under Kelvin Sampson is 21.2 in 1996-97.
BALANCED ATTACK
Aaron McGhee leads four Sooners who average double digits in points per game. McGhee, who averages 17.3 per outing, is joined by Hollis Price (14.1), Nolan Johnson (10.7) and Kelley Newton (10.0). J.R. Raymond is not far behind with his 9.2 points per game. 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
Since shooting .295 from three-point land in its first two games of the season, Oklahoma has rebounded sharply in the department. In its last five games, OU has gone 41-for-92 from beyond the arc for a stellar .446 percentage.
The Sooners now own a .397 three-point mark for the season and boast five players (Aaron McGhee, Kelley Newton, Nolan Johnson, Hollis Price and J.R. Raymond) 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 .229 percentage (8-for-35) through seven games.
Last year, the Sooners ranked second in the Big 12 with a .383 season three-point mark and two years ago finished second with a .388 percentage. The OU single-season record of .414 was set in 1986-87.
GRIFFIN'S ROLE INCREASES
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, has played in each of the last four games and earned his first start last Saturday against North Texas. Griffin played a total of 20 minutes in his first three games, but saw 18 minutes of action versus the Mean Green. The Louisville, Ky., native responded by producing 10 points, seven rebounds (five offensive) and a pair of steals. His per-game points and rebounds averages stand at 5.3 and 2.3, respectively. He is also shooting .615 from the field (8-for-13).
Griffin averaged 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College last year and was a first-team All-Panhandle Conference selection. He shot .544 from the field and helped the Eagles to a 25-5 final record.
PRICE IS RIGHT
Hollis Price is off to a terrific start this season, as evidenced by his 14.1 points, 6.4 assists and 2.7 steals averages. The sophomore point guard is also shooting .537 from the field, .400 from three-point range and .850 from the charity stripe. Entering the week, Price ranked third in the Big 12 in assists, second in steals and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0).
Price, who scored 10 or more points in OU's first five games, has already earned MVP honors in two tournaments this year. He won the Sooner Invitational MVP trophy after averaging 11.0 points, 8.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and just 1.5 turnovers in wins over Alcorn State and La Salle. At the Big Island Invitational, Price took home another trophy after averaging 21.0 points, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting .719 (23-for-32) from the field and .615 (8-for-13) from three-point land in victories against Montana State, Tulane and Oregon State. Versus the Green Wave, Price was 10-for-14 from the floor, 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and 7-for-9 from the foul line for a career-high 30 points. He also contributed six assists and four steals in that contest.
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.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
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 136-63 (.683) record and a 78-15 (.839) 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.
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