OU-Arkansas Preview

Dec. 22, 2000

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma plays host to Arkansas on Saturday in a matchup of teams that have ridden their up-tempo offenses and pressure defenses into the Top 25.

Both schools are coming off Wednesday night routs, as No. 18 Oklahoma beat Southwest Texas 96-48 and 25th-ranked Arkansas hammered Northwestern State 115-47.

Long layoffs due to final exams apparently had only positive effects on both teams.

"They (Northwestern State) aren't that bad and we made them look bad," Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson said. "We shot over 60 percent, we shot our free throws, we covered people, we made them turn it over 31 times and we rebounded. They didn't get good looks. A lot of the time they were just trying to get the ball to somebody for a shot."

Oklahoma (8-1) also forced its opponent, Southwest Texas, into 31 turnovers. The Sooners had 18 steals and held the Bobcats to 40 percent shooting.

"I think that our defense is getting a lot better, especially seeing our development from November to now," coach Kelvin Sampson said.

Oklahoma's strong defense has been bolstered by junior forward Aaron McGhee, an offensive standout who has improved his play on the other end.

"It doesn't say anywhere on the stat sheet or anything in his bio about how good he was defensively," Sampson said of McGhee. "He wasn't. But he is learning to compete at this level."

McGhee, who averages a team-high 17.2 points per game, had 26 points against Southwest Texas.

Both teams rely on their aggressive defenses to makes things happen. Arkansas is forcing 23.3 turnovers and collecting 13.2 steals per game, while Oklahoma averages 22.0 turnovers and 11.1 steals.

"They are an up-tempo team and we're an up-tempo team," Richardson said. "They are at home, they are ranked and they are the team that is supposed to win. Ninety percent of the time, we're the team that's supposed to win, so we can accomplish something."

The Razorbacks (7-2) are led offensively by sophomore swingman Joe Johnson, who averages 15.1 points per game. He got help against Northwestern State, as teammates Jannero Pargo and Brandon Dean each scored 20 points, a season high for both players. Johnson finished with 16 points.

Arkansas leads the all-time series with Oklahoma 12-7. The Razorbacks won last season's meeting 66-52 in Fayetteville.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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