Sooners Tangle With OSU Wednesday

Feb. 13, 2001

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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 13th in the AP poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (19-4 overall, 8-3 Big 12) travels to face Oklahoma State (14-6, 5-4) Wednesday night at 8 CST inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mark Mathew (analyst) calling the action. The contest will also be televised regionally by ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34 in OKC and KJRH Channel 2 in Tulsa). Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Paul Splittorff (analyst) will announce.

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners enter the season's first Bedlam matchup riding a seven-game winning streak, the team's longest of the year, and tied for second place in the Big 12. The streak is the longest in conference action under seventh-year Head Coach Kelvin Sampson, while OU's four-game conference road skein ties for the longest under Sampson. Oklahoma is coming off probably its best outing of the year, a 75-54 victory at Texas on Saturday in which senior guard Nolan Johnson registered a career-high 23 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Sooners posted a commanding 48-29 advantage on the glass in the contest.

A main key to the team's recent success has been the play of junior J.R. Raymond. The point guard has led the Sooners in scoring in four of the last seven games and is averaging 20.1 points during the stretch. Of his 238 points this year, 141 (59 percent) have come in the last seven outings. Twenty-eight of his 47 three-pointers (60 percent) have also come during that span. He scored a game-high 19 points Saturday versus the Longhorns and is now averaging 10.8 points per game on the season.

Following a mild slump, Aaron McGhee has returned to form the past five games (15.2 ppg) and leads the Sooners in scoring with his 14.4 points per game on the season. The junior forward, who has scored at least 20 points eight times this year, also ranks second on the team with his 4.8 rebounds per contest. McGhee has battled foul trouble virtually all season and averages 23.3 minutes per game.

Reigning Big 12 Player of the Week Nolan Johnson averages 12.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. The senior guard leads the Big 12 with his .869 free throw percentage and has made 50-of-56 foul shots in the last eight games (.893). In the last seven games, he is averaging 7.1 rebounds per outing.

Despite averaging just 5.4 points over the last five outings, sophomore guard Hollis Price ranks third on the squad with his 12.0 scoring average. He also averages team highs in assists (4.9 apg) and steals (2.0 spg). He has led the team in assists in 19 of 23 games.

Senior reserve guard Kelley Newton is shooting .478 from long range to rank third in the Big 12 and also ranks sixth in the league with his 2.3 treys per contest. He is averaging 9.3 points per game.

OKLAHOMA STATE UPDATE
Following a five-game winning streak in mid-January, the Cowboys have lost three of their last four contests, including their last two. Oklahoma State is coming off a 77-61 loss at then-fifth-ranked Kansas Saturday in which it shot .375 from the field and .222 from three-point range. The Cowboys are 8-0 at home this year and own a 4-0 league mark at Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU has knocked off Iowa State (88-80 in OT), Texas Tech (65-46), Texas A&M (76-64) and Missouri (69-66) at home.

Junior guard Maurice Baker is one of the Big 12's top players, as evidenced by his 19.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. All are team highs except his rebounding figure (he ranks second). Baker also averages a team-high 36.8 minutes per contest and is shooting .395 from beyond the arc. Junior center Fredrik Jonzen averages 15.7 points and 6.5 boards per outing and is shooting a team-high .541 from the field. Sophomore guard Victor Williams owns an 11.4 scoring average as well as a 3.9 assist mark. Sophomore forward Andre Williams averages team highs in rebounds (7.9 rpg) and blocked shots (2.3 bpg).

Head Coach Eddie Sutton has compiled a 243-101 (.706) record in 10-plus years at Oklahoma State. In his 31st year as a head coach, he holds a 673-263 (.719) career record.

SERIES WITH OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma owns a 114-82 all-times series record with OSU, but trails in games played in Stillwater, 52-39. The Sooners have won the last two meetings at Gallagher-Iba Arena after losing the previous six contests there. Kelvin Sampson is 6-8 versus Oklahoma State as OU's head coach (2-4 in Stillwater).

OU and OSU split last year's outings with both teams winning by three on the road. In the first meeting Feb. 12 in Norman, the Cowboys jumped out to a 41-21 first-half lead and survived a second-half OU comeback that drew the Sooners to within one with seven seconds left. Oklahoma State made 10-of-22 three-pointers and was led in scoring by Joe Adkins. Adkins nailed four treys and finished with 21 points. Eduardo Najera was held scoreless for the first 14 minutes but still led OU with 21 points. Nolan Johnson added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners while OSU's Fredrik Jonzen registered 14 points and 13 boards.

In the rematch March 4 in Stillwater, the Sooners erased a 13-point second-half deficit as Johnson scored 15 of his then-career-high 21 points after intermission. Johnson, Hollis Price and Kelley Newton accounted for OU's final 26 points. Johnson, who was 9-for-13 from the field, guarded Big 12 Player-of-the-Year candidate Desmond Mason and limited the senior forward to six points and no field goals. Brian Montonati paced the Cowboys with 15 points.

RECAPPING THE TEXAS CONTEST
The Sooners turned in their most impressive outing of the season Saturday when they stopped Texas 25-game home winning streak with a resounding 75-54 victory. OU, which led by 13 at halftime and by as many as 29 after the break, dominated the contest in almost every phase. Oklahoma shot .471 from the field, .389 from three-point land and .800 from the foul line while Texas recorded .322, .240 and .500 respective figures. The Sooners also posted a 19-rebound advantage (48-29), their largest of the season. Nolan Johnson was 8-for-15 from the field and finished with a career-high 23 points and a game-high nine rebounds. J.R. Raymond made all five of his first-half three-point attempts and finished with 19 points while Aaron McGhee's 8-for-8 performance from the charity stripe helped him score 12. Seven Sooners grabbed at least four rebounds while just two Longhorns managed that many. The win was OU's 20th in the last 24 contests against Texas. The Sooners improved to 38-16 all-time versus the Longhorns (14-9 in Austin) and 11-3 under Kelvin Sampson (4-2 in Austin). Maurice Evans led Texas with 12 points while James Thomas five boards were a team high.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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