Sooners Play Oral Roberts In All-College Tournament

Dec. 29, 2000

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Ranked 17th in both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today coaches polls, Oklahoma (9-1) faces Oral Roberts (3-7) in the first round of the 65th annual Touchstone Energy All-College Tournament Friday inside The Myriad in downtown Oklahoma City at approximately 8:15 p.m. The OU/ORU contest will follow the SMU/Texas-Pan American first-round tilt, which starts at 6 p.m. Saturday's consolation and championship affairs will be played at 6 and 8:15 p.m., respectively. Oklahoma's games 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. Saturday's championship contest will be televised by Cox Communications (cable channel 3 in OKC and cable channel 9 in Tulsa). Steve Marshall (play-by-play) and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst) will announce.

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners enter the All-College Tournament riding a four-game winning streak, with their most recent victory coming in overtime against Arkansas (ranked 25th at the time) last Saturday, 88-79. OU's lone loss this season was at Mississippi Dec. 2, 60-55. Ole Miss is 11-1 and ranked 24th in both major polls this week.

Aaron McGhee leads four Sooners who average double figures in scoring with his 17.0 points per game. The junior forward has posted totals of 26, 27, 28 and 32 so far this year. Sophomore point guard Hollis Price averages 13.5 points and team highs in assists (6.2 apg) and steals (2.5 spg). Price, who has led the team in assists in all 10 games, also boasts a solid 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Senior guard Kelley Newton has made two or more three-pointers in all but one game and averages 11.2 points per outing. He is 27-for-50 (.540) from beyond the arc on the year. Fellow senior guard Nolan Johnson also averages 11.2 points per outing and has scored in double digits in five of the last six games.

Oklahoma has outrebounded its opponents in eight of 10 games. During its four-game winning streak, the team owns a 44.5 to 31.8 average rebounding edge. On the offensive glass, OU has outboarded its last four foes by an average count of 18.5 to 10.3.

ABOUT ORAL ROBERTS
After opening the season with home victories over Nebraska (87-83), Southwest Baptist (83-72) and Southern Arkansas (84-58), Oral Roberts has lost seven in a row. The Golden Eagles last played Dec. 21 when they fell short at home against Texas Tech in overtime, 100-98. ORU also lost in overtime Dec. 10 at Tulsa, 89-81. The squad has shot the ball extremely well this season, as evidenced by its .491 field goal, .451 three-point and .726 free throw percentages.

Junior guard Markius Barnes, who did not play versus Texas Tech due to a back injury, averages a team-high 19.9 points per game, along with 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Sophomore guard Josh Atkinson averages 15.5 points per contest and has made a team-high 25 three-pointers on 52 attempts (.481). Luke Spencer-Gardner averages 8.0 points and a team-high 3.9 assists per game. He is also shooting .500 from three-point land (18-for-36). Senior forward Kyan Brown's 6.9 rebounds are a team high.

Head Coach Scott Sutton is in his second season at Oral Roberts and is 16-24 (.400) at the school after guiding the Golden Eagles to a 13-17 record last year.

SERIES WITH ORAL ROBERTS
Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Oral Roberts, 6-2. The Sooners won the last meeting between the teams in the 1998 All-College Tournament championship game, 85-69. OU used a .630 first-half shooting performance to stake a 51-25 halftime lead and cruised to the win. Eric Martin's 14 points led five Sooners in double figures. Chad Wilkerson scored 17 points to lead ORU.

OU also beat the Golden Eagles under Kelvin Sampson Dec. 21, 1995, in Tulsa (87-53) and Jan. 18, 1995, in Norman (also 87-53).

OU IN THE ALL-COLLEGE TOURNAMENT
OU has participated in 24 All-College Tournaments, including the last 17. The Sooners own a 43-11all-time record in the event and have claimed 16 championships. Oklahoma is 10-2 with four titles under Head Coach Kelvin Sampson. Last year the Sooners beat Mount St. Mary's (94-41) and Arkansas State (64-51) for the crown. Consult pages 71-72 of the OU media guide for more tourney history.

RECAPPING THE ARKANSAS CONTEST
In a game that will be remembered as one of the greatest comebacks in Oklahoma history, the Sooners rallied from nine points down with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to force overtime and eventually beat 25th-ranked Arkansas, 88-79, last Saturday in Norman. Kelley Newton, who missed his first four three-point attempts of the night, buried two treys at the 1:08 and 34-second marks of regulation to cut the margin to two at 72-70. T.J. Cleveland put Arkansas up by three with a free throw with 30 seconds left before OU's Hollis Price nailed two from the line to cut the Razorbacks' lead to one with 24 seconds remaining. Arkansas' Carl Baker made the first of two foul shots with 23 seconds left to make the score 74-72 and then OU's Daryan Selvy rebounded an Aaron McGhee miss and made a six-foot putback with 10 seconds to go to force overtime. Price paced the Sooners with nine points in the extra frame and OU held the Razorbacks without a field goal as all five of their overtime points came at the foul line. Price scored all 21 of his points after halftime with the help of a 13-for-15 free throw effort. Nolan Johnson scored 18 points and Aaron McGhee added 15 for OU, while Daryan Selvy recorded his first-career double-double with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Arkansas was led by Jannero Pargo's 14 points.

ARKANSAS LEFTOVERS

The Sooners' .227 (5-for-22) three-point performance marked their worst of the season.
OU trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half. It was the team's largest deficit of the season (previous high was five versus Mississippi).
Arkansas' 35-33 halftime advantage marked the first time OU trailed at the break this year.

SERIES VERSUS SMU AND TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN
The Sooners own a 31-14 series advantage over SMU. The teams most recently met Jan. 3, 1996, when OU came away with an 84-74 win in Norman in Kelvin Sampson's second season. Oklahoma also won an 87-60 decision under Sampson the previous year in Dallas.

OU won the only game it has ever played against Texas-Pan American, an 86-80 decision on Dec. 28, 1981, in the second round of the All-College Tournament.

OU GOING FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT TOURNEY CROWN
Oklahoma's tournament titles in the Sooner Invitational and the Big Island Invitational this year were its fifth and sixth in a row 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 regular-season tournament winning streak stands at 14 games.

GETTING TO THE LINE
The Sooners have outshot their opponents from the free throw line by a 110-47 margin over the last three games. That's an average of 36.7 attempts to 15.6 per game. Against Arkansas last Saturday, OU made a season-high 35 free throws on a season-high 50 attempts. The 50 attempts were the most since Feb. 18, 1995, when the Sooners shot 53 free throws versus Missouri in Kelvin Sampson's first year at Oklahoma.

BIG 12 SEASON APPROACHING
Oklahoma's two games at the All-College Tournament will mark its last before the start of the Big 12 Conference season. The Sooners begin league play Jan. 6 with a 12:45 p.m. CST road game against Iowa State. OU will then host Texas A&M Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. and Kansas Jan. 13 at noon.

WHO WILL IT BE?
Five different Sooners have led the team in scoring in OU's 10 games this season. Aaron McGhee has done it four times while Hollis Price and J.R. Raymond have done it twice each. Nolan Johnson and Kelley Newton have led the team once each.

Five different Sooners have also paced the team in rebounding this year. McGhee and Daryan Selvy have led the squad three times apiece. Johnnie Gilbert has done it twice while Ronnie Griffin and Jameel Heywood have done it once each.

McGHEE MAKING MOST OF MINUTES
Despite playing an average of 22.5 minutes over the last four games, forward Aaron McGhee has amassed 77 points (19.3 average) in wins over North Texas, Coppin State, Southwest Texas and Arkansas. The 77 points in 90 minutes equates to 34.2 points per 40 minutes. The southpaw averages 23.5 minutes per outing on the year. His 33 minutes in the overtime game versus Arkansas were his most of the year.

JUCO TRANSFERS CONTRIBUTING
OU signed four junior college recruits last year, and three of them have made significant contributions so far this season (the fourth, center Jozsef Szendrei, has played in just two games after recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, as well as a bruised pharynx). The trio, which is shooting a combined .595 from the field (116-for-195), has accounted for 35 percent of the team's points and 39 percent of its rebounds through 10 games. Aaron McGhee leads the team with his 17.0 points per game and also averages 5.3 rebounds. Daryan Selvy is averaging 9.4 points and a team-high 6.3 boards per game. And in his seven games, Ronnie Griffin is averaging 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds.

NEWTON LIGHTING IT UP
Senior guard Kelley Newton ranks among the Big 12 leaders in three-pointers per game (2.7) and in three-point percentage (.540). The Kansas City, Kan., native drained eight treys tying Texas A&M's Bernard King for the most by a Big 12 player this year on 11 attempts versus Coppin State Dec. 16 en route to a career-high 26 points. Newton has made at least two three-pointers in all but one game this year and has raised his career three-point percentage to .439 (76-for-173).

PRICE IS RIGHT
Hollis Price is off to a terrific start this season, as evidenced by his 13.5 points, 6.2 assists and 2.5 steals averages. The sophomore point guard is also shooting .494 from the field, .333 from three-point range and .857 from the charity stripe. He ranks near the top of the Big 12 in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7). He has led the team in assists in all 10 games this year.

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.

GRIFFIN RESPONDS TO STARTING ROLE
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 started each of the last four games and has produced solid numbers. In 18 minutes versus North Texas, the Louisville, Ky., native recorded 10 points, seven rebounds (five offensive) and a pair of steals. Versus Coppin State, Griffin totaled 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals in just 16 minutes of play. He registered four points, four rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes against Southwest Texas. Griffin's per-game points and rebounds averages stand at 6.3 and 3.3, respectively. He is also shooting .615 from the field (16-for-26) and .706 from the foul line (12-for-17).

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.

BALANCED ATTACK
Aaron McGhee leads four Sooners who average double digits in points per game. McGhee, who averages 17.0 per outing, is joined by Hollis Price (13.5), Kelley Newton (11.2) and Nolan Johnson (11.2). Daryan Selvy and J.R. Raymond are not far behind with their respective 9.4 and 9.0 points-per-game marks. 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 eight games, OU has gone 66-for-163 from beyond the arc for a strong .405 percentage.

The Sooners now own a .382 three-point mark for the season. Interestingly, the school's career leader in three-point percentage entering the year (.420), senior guard Tim Heskett sports just a .245 percentage (12-for-49) through 10 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.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Hollis Price has led the team in assists in all 10 games.
Aaron McGhee averages a team-high 17.0 points despite playing just 23.5 minutes per game. His 40-minute point projection equals 28.9.
In four games versus Alcorn State, Montana State, North Texas and Southwest Texas, McGhee averaged 28.3 points. In OU's other six games this year, he is averaging 9.5 points.
Nine Sooners average at least 15.0 minutes per game.
The Sooners are averaging 14.8 more field goal attempts per game than their opponents.
Nolan Johnson sports a .906 free throw percentage (29-for-32).
Over the last five contests, Daryan Selvy is averaging 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds.
Oklahoma has shot .500 or better from the field in five of its last nine games and owns a .490 season mark.
OU opponents are averaging 8.6 more turnovers per game than the Sooners. Foes have committed more turnovers in all but one game (Oregon State had nine to OU's 10).
Five different Sooners have led the team in scoring this year, as well as in rebounding.
Entering this contest, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson has utilized five different starting lineups. He has employed the same starting lineup in each of the last four games.

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 139-63 (.688) record and an 81-15 (.844) 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

Sooners Play Oral Roberts In All-College Tournament

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