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
Oklahoma To Lock Horns With Texas Wednesday
January 23, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2001
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OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Following a pair of losses, the Sooners returned to their winning ways Saturday with a thrilling 64-63 overtime win at Kansas State. OU never led by more than a point and earned the victory on a steal and basket by Hollis Price with 10.5 seconds left in the extra session. J.R. Raymond replaced Price at point guard and scored a season-high 25 points with the help of five three-pointers. Raymond had totaled seven points over the team's previous five contests.
Despite recording just four points against Kansas State, Aaron McGhee leads the Sooners in scoring with his 14.7 points per game on the year. The forward is enjoying a solid shooting season, as evidenced by his .511 field goal, .583 three-point and .763 free throw marks. Over the last three games, though, McGhee is just 6-for-29 from the field (.207). The junior, who has scored at least 22 points six times this year, also ranks third on the team with his 4.8 rebounds per outing.
Sophomore point guard Hollis Price averages 13.6 points (16.2 in Big 12 play) and team highs in assists (5.5 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). Price, who has led the team in assists in 15 of 17 games, ranks second in the Big 12 with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. In conference play, that ratio stands at 1.9.
Senior guards Nolan Johnson and Kelley Newton average 12.0 and 10.5 points per game on the year, respectively. Johnson, who scored a game-high 19 points versus Texas Tech last Tuesday, has been a consistent scorer over the last month. Newton ranks fourth in the Big 12 in three-point percentage (.489) and three-pointers per contest (2.6).
The Sooners committed just seven turnovers against Kansas State Saturday, compared to the Wildcats' 19. OU, which is averaging a Big 12-low 12.8 miscues per game, has committed fewer turnovers than all but two of its opponents this year.
TEXAS UPDATE
The Longhorns enter Wednesday's contest as one of the hottest teams in the league. Texas has won three straight games and 10 of its last 11. Last week, the Horns swept Connecticut (60-56), Texas A&M (76-58) and Baylor (73-66 in overtime). The team's three losses this season have come versus Duke (95-69), at South Florida (87-69) and at Nebraska (80-67). Texas is 12-0 at home, 2-2 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site games.
Senior forward Darren Kelly leads the squad with an 18.6 scoring average and has reached double figures in nine of his 10 games. He has scored at least 30 points twice. Kelly also averages 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals per outing. Junior guard/forward Maurice Evans, a transfer from Wichita State, averages 16.3 points, 5.3 boards and 1.6 steals, as well as a team-high 2.3 treys per game. Junior forward Chris Owens adds 14.3 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per contest, and leads the team with 60 blocked shots. The Longhorns, which rank last in the Big 12 with their .411 field goal percentage, lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.268) and blocked shots (6.4 per game).
In his third year at Texas, Rick Barnes is 58-25 (.699) as the Longhorns' head coach. He coached the 1987-88 season at George Mason (20-10), the next six at Providence (108-76) and the following four at Clemson (74-48). Banres owns 260-159 (.621) career record.
SERIES WITH TEXAS
Oklahoma owns a commanding 36-16 series lead over Texas and has won 18 of the last 22 matchups. The Sooners are 17-5 versus the Longhorns in Norman, 13-9 in Austin and 6-2 at neutral sites. Under Kelvin Sampson, OU owns a 9-3 advantage and is 4-1 in Norman. Oklahoma has won eight of its last nine versus Texas at Lloyd Noble Center.
OU and Texas met three times last year with the Sooners winning twice. In the first meeting in Austin, Texas shot .571 from the field (.762 after halftime) and handed Oklahoma a 79-66 loss. Gabe Muoneke scored 30 points on 12-of-14 shooting for the Horns while Eduardo Najera scored a team-high 28 for OU. The Sooners avenged the defeat with an 83-59 triumph in Norman two weeks later. J.R. Raymond totaled 25 points, six assists and three steals in the win while Najera registered 18 points and a game-high 16 boards. Victor Avila played a stellar game off the bench, hitting 6-of-9 shots and finishing with 13 points. Chris Mihm recorded 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace Texas. The teams met again in Kansas City in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals in March as OU came away with an 81-65 victory thanks in large part to Najera's career-high 31 points. Raymond and Nolan Johnson added 16 points each for OU while Mihm scored 20 points and hauled in a game-high 10 boards.
RECAPPING THE KANSAS STATE CONTEST
Trailing virtually the entire game, Oklahoma snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with its 64-63 overtime win at Kansas State Saturday night. Hollis Price's steal and three-foot jumper in the lane with 10.5 seconds left in overtime gave the Sooners the unlikely triumph as OU never led by more than one point. Oklahoma, which trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, was down nine at halftime (32-23) and also at the 8:36 mark of the second half (47-38) before chipping away at the Wildcats' lead. The Sooners tied the game at 51 with 3:45 to go, but watched Kansas State go back up by four. Two free throws by Nolan Johnson drew OU to within two before Johnnie Gilbert was given the opportunity to tie the game from the free throw line with 5.9 seconds left in regulation. Gilbert missed his first free throw and was forced to miss his second. OU won the scramble for the rebound and Johnson tied the game with a three-foot bucket with 2.0 seconds left to force overtime. The Sooners were down most of the extra session and the outcome appeared bleak when Aaron McGhee was whistled for an intentional foul with 13.4 seconds left and OU down by one. KSU's Matt Siebrandt missed both free throws, however, and Price stole the ensuing inbounds pass before driving to the hoop for the winning shot. J.R. Raymond canned five three-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points to pace Oklahoma as the Sooners stopped a brief two-game losing streak. Price tallied six of his 13 points in overtime and Johnson and Gilbert led OU with eight rebounds. Kansas State's Travis Reynolds and Larry Reid scored 16 points each and Reynolds grabbed a game-high nine boards.
KANSAS STATE LEFTOVERS
OKLAHOMA'S BIG 12 HISTORY
The Sooners boast a 45-24 (.652) Big 12 regular season record in the league's four-plus years, second only to Kansas' 56-12 (.824) mark. OU finished 9-7 (fifth place) in 1997, 11-5 (tied for second) in both 1998 and 1999, and 12-4 (tied for third) last year. Kelvin Sampson's Big 12 squads have posted a 25-9 league record at home and a 20-15 mark on the road.
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
J.R. Raymond's teammates were ecstatic for the junior guard following his 25-point performance in the win at Kansas State Saturday. A third-team All-Big 12 pick last year, Raymond entered the game averaging just 6.5 points and had totaled just seven points over the Sooners' previous five contests. A switch back to point guard the position he played the majority of last season when he averaged 13.4 points per game seemed to jump start the Gastonia, N.C., native, however, as he made five three-pointers en route to his third-highest career scoring total.
A member of last year's Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, Raymond canned 95 three-pointers the second most in OU single-season history but had only 19 three-point makes this year prior to Saturday. He is now averaging 7.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.5 treys per game.
SHOOTING WOES
Oklahoma's 2-3 conference start can be partially attributed to poor shooting. In five league games, OU is shooting just .388 from the field (.333 in its last three outings). Prior to Big 12 action, the Sooners sported a .491 field goal mark and cracked the .500 mark six times. They have shot .500 just once in league play (.526 in opener at Iowa State).
HANDLING WITH CARE
The Sooners, who committed a season-low seven turnovers at Kansas State, lead the Big 12 in turnovers per game (12.8) and turnover margin (+7.3). Foes have committed more turnovers than OU in 15 of 17 games this season. Oklahoma led the league with 12.8 turnovers per game last year, too.
GILBERT PROVIDING A SPARK
Freshman Johnnie Gilbert has performed admirably in OU's last three games, the most recent as a starter. The forward grabbed a team-high eight rebounds Saturday at Kansas State in a career-high 31 minutes of action. In 28 minutes at Texas Tech last Tuesday, Gilbert hauled in a game-high nine boards. And against Kansas Jan. 13, the Minneapolis, Minn., product blocked a career-high five shots, all in the first half, and grabbed five boards in just 14 minutes.
Gilbert missed two games in December after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair torn cartilage. He is averaging 2.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks on the year. His 6.0 rebounds per game in Big 12 play are a team high.
McGHEE EXPERIENCING ROLLERCOASTER SEASON
OU's leading scorer and third-leading rebounder, Aaron McGhee has experienced a solid season, for sure. However, the junior forward has had a several dips this year, as well, including Saturday's Kansas State game in which he tallied four points and four rebounds. McGhee has posted totals of 22, 24, 26, 27, 28 and 32 points so far this year, but has also logged games of zero, three, four, five, six, eight and nine points. On the year, McGhee is shooting .511 from the field, .583 from the free throw line and .763 from the foul line. Since the Big 12 opener at Iowa State when he was 7-for-8 from the field, he is shooting just .267 (12-for-45).
McGhee, who leads the Big 12 (conference games) with his .600 three-point percentage, was a first-team junior college All-American last year at Vincennes (Ind.) University. He was named the MVP of the national junior college tournament when he averaged 34.5 points.
JOHNSON CONTINUES TO PLAY WELL
Senior Nolan Johnson has been OU's most consistent player over the last 13 games, scoring in double figures in 10 of those outings. Not including a zero-point performance against Texas A&M Jan. 9 when he did not attempt a field goal and played just 10 minutes due to a sprained right knee, Johnson is averaging 15.7 points in the team's last eight games.
The former Brooklyn (N.Y.) Player of the Year as a high school senior, Johnson is shooting .471 from the field and .873 (49-57) from the free throw line on the season. He is now averaging 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game on the year. His eight boards Saturday at Kansas State marked a season high.
NEWTON IS OU'S MAD BOMBER
Senior guard Kelley Newton is enjoying a stellar season from beyond the three-point arc. Newton who ranks fourth in the Big 12 in both three-point percentage (.489) and three-pointers per game (2.6), has made at least one three-pointer in 15 of 17 games and at least two treys in 14 contests. He has raised his career three-point percentage to .437 (93-for-213). 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 tries versus Coppin State Dec. 16 en route to a career-high 26 points. He was also 6-for-9 from downtown while scoring 20 points Dec. 30 versus SMU in the All-College Tournament final.
Newton, who has started 10 games but has come off the bench the last four, has reached double digits in points 10 times this year. He ranks fourth on the squad with his 10.5 points per game.
PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore point guard Hollis Price has recorded 25-, 17- and 18-point performances against Iowa State, Texas A&M and Kansas, respectively, and is averaging a team-high 16.2 points in Big 12 play. In all games, Price ranks second on the squad in scoring with his 13.6 points per game. Price leads the team in assists (5.4 apg) and steals (2.2 spg) and also boasts a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio to rank second in the Big 12. Additionally, he has been OU's leading assist man in 15 of 17 games.
A member of last year's Big 12 All-Freshman Team, Price 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.
HESKETT RETURNING TO FORM
Tim Heskett, a fifth-year senior who was OU's career leader in three-point percentage entering the year with his .420 mark, has seen his season percentage rise recently after a dismal start to the year. The Lexington, S.C., product made just 12 of his first 49 three-point tries this year for a .245 mark. Over the last seven games, however, Heskett has gone 9-for-20 from long range. He is now shooting .304 from beyond the arc on the season. Heskett ranks second in OU history in both three-point makes (204) and three-point attempts (505).
WHO WILL IT BE?
Six different Sooners have led the team in scoring this season. Aaron McGhee has done it five times while Hollis Price and Nolan Johnson have done it four times apiece. J.R. Raymond has done it three times while Kelley Newton and Daryan Selvy have paced the team once each. Seven different Sooners have also led the team in rebounding this year.
BALANCED ATTACK
Aaron McGhee leads four Sooners who average double digits in points per game. McGhee, who averages 14.7 per outing, is followed by Hollis Price (13.6), Nolan Johnson (12.0) and Kelley Newton (10.5). Daryan Selvy and J.R. Raymond have flirted with the double-digit mark and own 7.9 and 7.6 respective averages. 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.
SEVEN STRAIGHT TOURNAMENT CROWNS
Oklahoma's tournament titles in the Sooner Invitational, the Big Island Invitational and the All-College Tournament this year marked its fifth, sixth and seventh 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 16 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 143-66 (.684) record and an 82-16 (.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.
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