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
OU Heads East For Non-Conference Game Against Maryland
February 23, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2001
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 16th in the AP poll and 15th in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (21-5 overall, 10-4 Big 12) travels to face Maryland (17-9 overall, 8-6 ACC) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST inside Cole Field House in College Park. The Terrapins are ranked 20th in both polls. 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 regionally by ABC. Brent Musburger (play-by-play) and Dick Vitale (analyst) will announce.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Coming off a thrilling last-second 63-61 win at Missouri on Monday, Oklahoma is one of the country's hottest teams, having won nine of its last 10 games (and five of its last six road outings) following a 1-3 league start. With their 10-4 conference mark, the Sooners stand alone in second place in the Big 12, 1.5 games behind Iowa State and a half game in front of Kansas and Texas. With wins in their final two league contests (home games next Wednesday versus Colorado and March 3 against Oklahoma State), OU would equal its best ever Big 12 mark (it also finished 12-4 last year).
A main key to the team's success over the last 10 games has been the play of junior J.R. Raymond. The point guard has led the Sooners in scoring in six of the last 10 games and is averaging 18.5 points and 3.9 treys during the stretch. Of his 282 points this year, 185 (66 percent) have come in the last 10 outings. Thirty-nine of his 58 three-pointers (67 percent) have also come during that span. Raymond scored a team-high 13 points Monday and is now averaging 11.3 points per game on the season.
Junior forward Aaron McGhee has been a welcome addition to the team's frontcourt this year and averages a team-high 13.8 points per game. McGhee, who has scored at least 20 points eight times this season, also ranks third on the team with his 4.6 rebounds per contest. McGhee has battled foul trouble virtually all year and averages 23.7 minutes per game. Projected to 40 minutes per outing, his scoring average equals 23.3 points. McGhee has also made 18-of-40 three-point attempts (.450).
Last week's Big 12 Player of the Week, Nolan Johnson averages 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. The senior guard, who ranks third in the Big 12 with his .847 free throw percentage, has averaged 6.4 rebounds over the last 10 outings.
Following a six-game stretch in which he scored in single digits five times, sophomore guard Hollis Price has averaged 11.0 points over the last two games and ranks third on the team with his 11.7 season average. He also averages team highs in assists (4.7 apg) and steals (1.8 spg). Price, who has played the last 10 games at the off-guard spot, has led the team in assists in 20 of 26 games.
Senior reserve guard Kelley Newton is shooting .460 from long range and averages 2.2 three-pointers per game to rank among the Big 12's leaders. He has made at least one trey in 22 of 26 games.
MARYLAND UPDATE
Following a stretch in which it lost five of six games, Maryland has recovered nicely over the last two contests with a 16-point win at Wake Forest last Saturday and a 29-point home triumph over North Carolina State Tuesday. The Terrapins enter the weekend in sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an 8-6 record. Head Coach Gary Williams' squad averages 86.3 points and leads the ACC with a whopping 20.0 assists and 6.3 blocks per outing.
Junior guard Juan Dixon paces the team with his 17.9 points per game and is coming off a 30-point performance against N.C. State in which he was 11-for-12 from the field. Dixon has made a team-high 41 three-pointers and leads the ACC with 2.6 steals per outing and an .887 free throw mark. Junior center Lonny Baxter averages 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting .565 from the floor. Senior forward Terence Morris averages 13.1 points and team highs in rebounds (7.5 rpg) and blocks (2.4 bpg). Sophomore point guard Steve Blake averages 6.6 points and an ACC-leading 6.8 assists per outing. Blake recorded a career-high 15 points and nine assists Tuesday versus N.C. State.
The 10th-winningest coach in ACC history, Williams has compiled a 233-137 (.630) mark in nearly 12 years at Maryland. In his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach, he owns a 440-265 (.624) mark and is a three-time national-coach-of-the-year finalist.
SERIES WITH MARYLAND
Oklahoma and Maryland both own one victory in the series. The Terrapins won the first meeting Jan. 19, 1993, in Baltimore, 89-78, as Evers Burns and Kevin McLinton led five Maryland players in double figures with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Jeff Webster paced the Sooners with 20 points and also pulled down 10 rebounds while Bryan Sallier registered 16 points and 15 boards. OU shot just .349 from the field and .200 (4-for-20) from three-point land in the contest.
A year later on Dec. 7, the Sooners earned a narrow 88-85 victory at The Myriad in Oklahoma City. Sophomore Ryan Minor, who was held scoreless versus the Terps in the teams' first matchup, poured in a then-career-high 30 points on 13-for-23 field goal shooting and grabbed seven rebounds while Webster contributed 23 points and seven boards. Maryland's Joe Smith also scored 30 points and hauled in a game-high 16 rebounds. He was 10-for-14 from the field.
RECAPPING THE MISSOURI CONTEST
The Sooners continued their hot streak with a buzzer-beating road win at Missouri Monday in front of a national ESPN audience. Senior forward Jameel Heywood's eight-foot jumper in the lane with no time showing on the clock was the game-winner in a thrilling 63-61 affair. It marked OU's first true buzzer-beating triumph under seventh-year Head Coach Kelvin Sampson. The contest was close the majority of the way with neither team possessing a lead larger than eight points. Missouri led 30-24 at halftime as Oklahoma committed 10 first-half turnovers (the Sooners entered the game averaging 12.6 per contest). OU tied the game at 33 less than five minutes into the second stanza and took their first lead of the half (39-37) on a J.R. Raymond three-pointer with 12:48 remaining. The Sooners extended their advantage to six two minutes later and still led by one with just under three minutes to go. A Wesley Stokes baseline jumper with 17 seconds on the clock tied the game at 61 and set the stage for Heywood's heroics. Nolan Johnson's shot on a clear-out play was off the mark, but Heywood grabbed the rebound and hit a fall-away jumper with no time left on the clock to capture the two-point win. Officials reviewed the play before confirming the shot had left Heywood's hand in time. J.R. Raymond made 3-of-7 three-point tries on the night and finished with a team-high 13 points while Hollis Price added 12. Heywood's nine points were a season high and Johnnie Gilbert turned in perhaps his best outing as a Sooner by scoring a career-high seven points and adding seven boards, two assists and a pair of blocks. Missouri's Clarence Gilbert scored a game-high 16 points with the help of four treys.
MISSOURI LEFTOVERS
PATCH HONORS OSU PLANE CRASH VICTIMS
The Sooners began donning a black circular patch with an orange "O" inside it on their jerseys Jan. 31 versus Baylor. The patch, which appears on the upper left chest, will be worn for the rest of the season to honor the 10 victims of the Jan. 27 Oklahoma State charter plane crash. OU is also wearing the black jersey bands issued by the Big 12 Conference.
SAMPSON VS. THE ACC
Saturday's game will mark just the fourth against an ACC opponent by a Kelvin Sampson-coached Oklahoma team. The Sooners lost games to Georgia Tech (89-85 in the Rainbow Classic in 1994-95 and 83-72 in Atlanta in the Preseason NIT in 1995-96) and North Carolina State (62-58 in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic in 1998-99).
STREAK STOPPERS
OU's victory at Missouri Monday snapped the Tigers' 13-game home winning streak. Missouri entered the contest 12-0 at home this year. The Sooners also snapped Texas' 25-game home winning streak Feb. 10 with a 75-54 victory in Austin. The Longhorns were 13-0 at home this season.
SOONERS POST FOURTH STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASON
Last Saturday's 82-60 win over Baylor marked OU's 20th victory of the season. The Sooners have recorded four consecutive 20-win campaigns and have reached the 20-win mark in five of seven seasons under Kelvin Sampson. This is the 19th time in school history that OU has won at least 20 games. Seventeen of those 20-win seasons have come over the past 20 years.
SOLID DOWN THE STRETCH
Since Kelvin Sampson became OU's head coach prior to the 1994-95 season, the Sooners are 41-17 (.707) in February and March regular season games. Oklahoma is 18-5 (.783) in the regular season in those two months over the last three years. This year, OU is 5-1 in February.
GUARDS SHOULDERING THE LOAD
In OU's 14 Big 12 games, the team's guards have accounted for 66 percent of its points (641 of 975). That figure is even larger over the Sooners' last 11 games as the backcourt has scored 68 percent of OU's points (558 of 817).
TOPPING THE FREE THROW CHARTS...AGAIN
It should come as no surprise that Oklahoma leads the Big 12 Conference in free throw percentage with its .741 season mark. Under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners have finished first or second in the conference in free throw shooting every season except 1998-99. The Sooners have shot .700 or better from the line in 11 of 14 conference games and are shooting .754 from the charity stripe (153-for-203) over the last 10 outings.
Three Sooners rank in the top 10 in the league in free throw shooting. Nolan Johnson (.847) ranks third while Aaron McGhee (.786) and Hollis Price (.784) rank eighth and ninth, respectively.
SAMPSON JOINS WILLIAMS IN 50-WIN CLUB
Kelvin Sampson won his 50th Big 12 league game Feb. 7 against Texas Tech. Only Sampson (53-25) and Kansas' Roy Williams (61-16) have posted more than 50 wins in the Big 12 regular season.
OKLAHOMA'S BIG 12 HISTORY
The Sooners boast a 53-25 (.679) Big 12 regular season record in the league's four-plus years, second only to Kansas' 61-16 (.792) 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 29-9 league record at home and a 24-16 mark on the road.
ROAD WARRIORS
Oklahoma's 24-16 conference road record since Big 12 play began is the league's second best behind Kansas' 26-12 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 20-19 mark and is followed by Oklahoma State (17-21).
BREAKING 80
In six-plus years under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners sport an 85-10 (.895) mark when scoring at least 80 points. OU is 10-1 (.909) this year under the circumstance and 24-2 (.923) over the last two years.
HANDLING WITH CARE
Despite committing more turnovers than their opponents in four of the last seven games, OU leads the Big 12 in turnovers per game (12.6) and turnover margin (+5.0). OU led the league with 12.8 turnovers per game last year. This year, opponents have committed 129 more miscues. The Sooners have committed more turnovers than their foes in just six of 26 games.
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
A third-team All-Big 12 pick last year, junior guard J.R. Raymond has played like a first-team selection over the past 10 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. Raymond has continued his torrid pace as he is averaging 18.5 points and 3.9 treys over the last 10 games.
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 nine games (he now has 58). He has led the team in scoring in six of the last 10 games and is now averaging 11.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.3 treys per contest.
HEYWOOD'S ROLE INCREASING
Senior Jameel Heywood has started 10 games this year (including the team's last seven). The Sooners are 9-1 in those outings. Following a two-point, one-rebound effort in OU's loss at Oklahoma State Feb. 14, the forward has been a force. Not known for his offensive output, Heywood is averaging 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in wins over Baylor and Missouri (he shot a combined 7-for-10 from the field in those games). His eight-foot jumper in the lane with no time left on the clock gave OU a 63-61 road win against the Tigers Monday night. He is shooting .556 from the field (25-for-45) over his last 14 games.
JOHNSON STEADY AS HE GOES
Senior guard Nolan Johnson, who ranks second on the team with his 12.2 scoring average, has been one of OU's most consistent players this season and was named Big 12 Player of the Week last Feb. 12 after averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in OU's wins over Texas Tech and Texas. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native had scored in double figures in seven straight games prior to four- and nine-point performances versus Baylor and Missouri the last two outings. He turned in a career-high 23-point, eight-rebound effort at Texas Feb. 10. Over the past 10 games, Johnson is averaging 12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals. He has also made 51-of-61 free throw tries during the stretch (.836) and ranks third in the Big 12 with his .847 season free throw mark.
McGHEE EXPERIENCING ROLLERCOASTER SEASON
OU's leading scorer (13.8 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (4.6 rpg), Aaron McGhee has experienced a solid season, for sure. However, the junior forward has had several dips this year, as well. McGhee has recorded totals of 20, 22 (twice), 24, 26, 27, 28 and 32 points so far this year, but has also logged games of zero, three, four (twice), five, six (twice), eight (twice) and nine (twice) points. On the year, he is shooting .475 from the field, .450 from three-point range and .786 from the foul line.
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.
NEWTON IS OU'S MAD BOMBER
Senior guard Kelley Newton is enjoying a stellar season from beyond the three-point arc. Newton, who ranks among the Big 12's leaders in three-point percentage (.460) and three-pointers per game (2.2), has made at least one three-pointer in 22 of 26 games and at least two treys in 16 contests. He has raised his career three-point percentage to .429 (106-for-247). 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 11, has reached double digits in points 12 times this year. He ranks fifth on the squad with his 8.9 points per game.
PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore guard Hollis Price ranks third on the squad in scoring with his 11.7 points per game, but is averaging just 5.0 field goal attempts and 6.9 points over the last eight contests. Price, who plays a team-high 32.5 minutes per game, never struggles in finding ways to help his team, though. He leads the squad in assists (4.7 apg) and steals (1.8 spg) and also boasts a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio to rank fourth in the Big 12. Additionally, he has been OU's leading assist man in 20 of 26 games.
A member of last year's Big 12 All-Freshman Team, Price has 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.
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 transferred to OU at the end of the fall 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.
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 151-67 (.693) record and an 86-16 (.843) 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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