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
Sooners Head To Baylor Looking For Fourth Straight Victory
January 30, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2001
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 24th in AP poll and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today coaches version, Oklahoma (15-4 overall, 4-3 Big 12) travels to Waco, Texas, Wednesday for a game against Baylor (13-4, 2-4) at 7 p.m. CST inside the Ferrell 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 (KSBI Channel 52 in OKC and KWBT Channel 19 in Tulsa). Dean Blevins (play-by-play), Charlie Spoonhour (analyst) and Renzi Stone (roving reporter) will announce.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
After beginning the Big 12 season with a 1-3 record, Oklahoma is riding a three-game winning streak after defeating Nebraska at home Saturday, 77-66. Reigning Big 12 Player of the Week J.R. Raymond led the Sooners in scoring for the third straight game with a 25-point effort. Twenty of his points came in the first half. It marked the third straight game that Raymond made at least five treys (he had six). Seventy-one of the point guard's 168 points this year (42 percent) and 16 of his 35 three-pointers (46 percent) have come in the last three games. He is now averaging 9.3 points per game on the season.
Aaron McGhee snapped a two-game streak in which he failed to score in double figures with his 20-point performance Saturday and leads the Sooners in scoring with his 14.5 points per game on the year. The junior forward, who has scored at least 20 points seven times this year, also ranks third on the team with his 4.7 rebounds per outing. McGhee was 7-for-15 from the floor against Nebraska, a welcome improvement over the .211 mark he sported over OU's previous four games.
Sophomore guard Hollis Price averages 13.5 points (a team-high 15.1 in Big 12 play) and team highs in assists (5.4 apg) and steals (2.1 spg). Price, who has led the team in assists in 17 of 19 games, ranks third in the Big 12 with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Senior guard Nolan Johnson averages 11.8 points per contest but is just 4-for-22 from the field over the past three games. Johnson has done a commendable job of rebounding and getting to the line in those same outings, though. He has grabbed 27 boards and gone 21-for-24 at the line during the stretch.
BAYLOR UPDATE
A Baylor team which is vastly improved over recent Bears squads enters Wednesday's contest 13-4 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12. BU began the season with 12 wins but has dropped four of its last five, including its last three. Baylor has been tough at home, winning 10 of its 11 contests. Oklahoma State's 76-65 victory Jan. 17 marks the lone setback for the Bears at the Ferrell Center.
Terry Black, a senior forward, leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg) and steals (2.3 spg), and ranks second in assists (3.2 apg). He led the Bears with 17 points, six assists and four steals in their most recent game, a 72-51 loss at Iowa State last Thursday. Senior point guard DeMarcus Minor averages 14.4 points and a team-high 4.2 assists per outing, and leads the Big 12 with a .919 free throw mark (91-for-99). Guards Wendell Greenleaf and Chad Elsey add 11.6 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.
In his second year as Baylor head coach is former Sooners mentor Dave Bliss. Bliss, who began his head coaching career at Oklahoma in 1975, racked up a 77-62 record in Norman and was named Big Eight Coach of the Year in two of his five seasons. He guided the Sooners to the 1979 NCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 1947. Bliss, who also posted a 142-101 mark in eight seasons at SMU and a 246-108 record in 11 years at New Mexico, is 492-290 (.626) in his career. He is 27-19 (.587) at Baylor.
SERIES WITH BAYLOR
Oklahoma owns a 17-5 series lead over Baylor and has won its last 12 games versus the Bears. The Sooners are 7-2 versus Baylor in Waco, 8-2 in Norman and 2-1 at neutral sites. OU has won the last seven games in Waco, four of them by three or fewer points. Two of the last three contests at the Ferrell Center have been decided by one point.
The Sooners won both meetings last year, 76-43 in Norman and 68-59 in Waco. In the first game, J.R. Raymond was 6-for-9 from three-point range and finished with a game-high 20 points, four assists and three steals for OU. Eduardo Najera added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Hollis Price contributed 15 points. Baylor, which shot .318 from the field and .133 (2-for-15) from three-point land, had the same number of turnovers (13) in the first half as points. The 33-point margin of victory was OU's largest in the series.
Najera's 20-point, 16-rebound performance paced the Sooners in the rematch. Raymond scored 15 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting and OU outshot the Bears, .535 to .367. Both Najera and Raymond played the entire game. DeMarcus Minor scored 17 points to lead Baylor.
RECAPPING THE NEBRASKA CONTEST
After opening a 22-point first-half lead, Oklahoma fended off a late Nebraska rally and beat the Huskers 77-66 Saturday in Norman. J.R. Raymond made six first-half three-pointers and his 20 points in the opening stanza helped give the Sooners a 45-29 halftime lead. OU still led by 18 with just more than 11 minutes left in the game when Nebraska used a 17-4 run to trim its deficit to five points with four minutes to go. The Sooners nailed 9-of-10 free throw attempts down the stretch, however, to help seal the victory. Raymond finished with a game-high 25 points and a game-high-tying seven rebounds as OU won its third straight contest. His six three-pointers also tied a career high. Forward Aaron McGhee battled his way to 20 points, his highest output since Jan. 9 against Texas A&M, and Nolan Johnson added 11 for the Sooners. Hollis Price's seven assists were a game high. Cookie Belcher led Nebraska with 21 points while Steffon Bradford added 15. The Huskers made just 12-of-27 (.444) free throw tries on the day and just 6-of-18 (.333) in the second half.
NEBRASKA LEFTOVERS
PATCH WILL HONOR VICTIMS IN OSU PLANE CRASH
Starting with Wednesday's game at Baylor, the Sooners will don a black circular patch with an orange "O" inside it on the left strap of their jerseys. The patch will be worn for the rest of the season to honor the 10 victims of Saturday night's Oklahoma State charter plane crash.
GRIFFIN NO LONGER WITH TEAM
Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced Monday that he and junior Ronnie Griffin have mutually agreed that Griffin will no longer continue as a member of the OU team. Griffin, who had missed the Sooners' last three games for violating team rules, averaged 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per contest this year. The Louisville, Ky., native played in 13 games (started in eight) and posted a .575 field goal percentage. Griffin played last year at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College.
OKLAHOMA'S BIG 12 HISTORY
The Sooners boast a 47-24 (.662) Big 12 regular season record in the league's four-plus years, second only to Kansas' 58-12 (.828) 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 27-9 league record at home and a 20-15 mark on the road.
ROAD WARRIORS
Oklahoma's 20-15 conference road record since Big 12 play began is the league's second best behind Kansas' 26-9 record. Since the Big 12's inception prior to the 1996-97 season, no other conference team has an aggregate winning road record. Texas ranks third with a 17-18 mark and is followed by Oklahoma State (16-19).
BREAKING 80
In six-plus years under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners sport an 83-10 (.892) mark when scoring at least 80 points. OU is 8-1 (.889) this year under the circumstance and 22-2 (.917) over the last two seasons.
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
A third-team All-Big 12 pick last year and the current Big 12 Player of the Week, junior guard J.R. Raymond has returned to form over the past three games after enduring a lengthy slump. Raymond entered OU's game against Kansas State Jan. 20 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 and scored a season-high 25 points against the Wildcats. In last Wednesday's win over Texas, Raymond canned five treys again and finished with a game-high 21 points. And in OU's triumph over Nebraska Saturday, he made six three-pointers (all in the first half) and scored a game-high 25 points.
A member of last year's Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, Raymond made 95 three-pointers - the second most in OU single-season history - but had only 19 three-point makes this year prior to OU's last three games. He has scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games for the first time in his career and is now averaging 9.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.9 treys per game.
GUARDS SHOULDERING THE LOAD
In OU's seven Big 12 games, the team's guards have accounted for 64 percent of its points (316 of 494). That figure is even larger over the Sooners' last five games as the backcourt has scored 69 percent of OU's points (231 of 336).
SHOOTING WOES
The Sooners are shooting just .396 from the field in conference play and a mere .363 in their last five outings. Prior to Big 12 action, Oklahoma sported a .491 field goal mark and cracked the .500 mark six times in 12 outings. The team has shot .500 just once in seven league games, however (.526 in opener at Iowa State).
HANDLING WITH CARE
The Sooners lead the Big 12 in turnovers per game (12.9) and turnover margin (+6.7). OU, which has committed more turnovers than its opponents in just two of 18 games this season, led the league with 12.8 turnovers per game last year. This year, opponents have committed 127 more miscues.
GILBERT PROVIDING A SPARK
Freshman Johnnie Gilbert has performed admirably of late, and his play has earned him a starting spot (he has started the last three games). The forward scored a career-high-tying six points last Wednesday versus Texas and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds Jan. 20 at Kansas State in a career-high 31 minutes of action. In 28 minutes at Texas Tech Jan. 16, 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 2.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks on the year. His 5.2 rebounds per game in Big 12 play are the second most on the team.
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. McGhee has recorded totals of 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28 and 32 points so far this year, but has also logged games of zero, three, four, five, six (twice), eight and nine points. On the year, McGhee is shooting .495 from the field, .483 from the three-point line and .759 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 .304 (21-for-69).
McGhee 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 SCORING FROM THE LINE, NOT THE FIELD
Senior Nolan Johnson, who ranks third on the team with his 11.8 scoring average, has been one of OU's most consistent players this season. Johnson hit his stride in late December and continued to score in bunches in early January, but has struggled from the field the last three games (all wins). In those three contests, the guard has gone 1-for-7 against Kansas State, 1-for-7 versus Texas and 2-for-8 against Nebraska for a combined .182 percentage (4-for-22). During the same stretch, however, Johnson is 21-for-24 from the free throw line (.875) and is averaging 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
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 14.6 points in the team's last 10 games.
The former Brooklyn (N.Y.) Player of the Year as a high school senior, Johnson is shooting .456 from the field and .887 (63-71) from the free throw line on the season. He is now averaging 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game on the year. His 12 boards Wednesday versus Texas were a career high and he is averaging 10.0 rebounds over the past two games.
NEWTON RETURNS TO EARTH, STILL SHOOTING .484 FROM DOWNTOWN
Although he has gone just 2-for-10 from long range over the past four games, senior guard Kelley Newton is enjoying a stellar season from beyond the three-point arc. Newton, who ranks third in the Big 12 in three-point percentage (.484) and fifth in three-pointers per game (2.3), has made at least one three-pointer in 15 of 19 games and at least two treys in 14 contests. He has raised his career three-point percentage to .435 (93-for-214). 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 six, has reached double digits in points 10 times this year. He ranks fourth on the squad with his 9.9 points per game.
PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore point guard Hollis Price is averaging a team-high 15.1 points in Big 12 play. In all games, Price ranks second on the squad in scoring with his 13.5 points per game. Price leads the team in assists (5.4 apg) and steals (2.1 spg) and also boasts a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio to rank third in the Big 12. Additionally, he has been OU's leading assist man in 17 of 19 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.
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 nine games, however, Heskett has gone 9-for-20 from long range (he has not attempted a trey in OU's last two games). 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).
OU RANKS SECOND IN LEAGUE IN FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
It should come as no surprise that Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in free throw percentage with its .735 season mark. Under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners have finished first or second in the conference in free throw shooting every season except 1998-99.
WHO WILL IT BE?
Six different Sooners have led the team in scoring this season. Aaron McGhee and J.R. Raymond have done it five times while Hollis Price and Nolan Johnson have done it four times apiece. Kelley Newton and Daryan Selvy have paced the team once each. Seven different Sooners have also led the team in rebounding this year.
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 145-66 (.687) record and an 84-16 (.840) 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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