OU Men's Hoops Preps For Seventh Straight NCAA Tournament

March 14, 2001

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance under seventh-year Head Coach Kelvin Sampson and 20th appearance all told, Oklahoma (26-6 overall, 12-4 Big 12) enters Friday's game against Indiana State (21-11 overall, 10-8 Missouri Valley) as the South Region's No. 4 seed. The contest will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Virginia vs. Gonzaga game that is scheduled to begin at 11:25 a.m. CST. The Sooners are ranked 13th and 14th in the latest AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, respectively. Indiana State is the region's No. 13 seed and is unranked.

Should it advance to second-round play, Oklahoma will face the winner of the aforementioned Virginia (No. 5 seed) vs. Gonzaga (No. 12 seed) affair Sunday at 1:15 p.m. CST. The Cavaliers sport a 20-8 record while the Bulldogs are 24-6. Also in Memphis will be top-seeded Michigan State (23-4), 16th-seeded Alabama State (22-8), eighth-seeded California (20-10) and ninth-seeded Fresno State (25-6).

All of OU's NCAA Tournament 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. Friday's and Sunday's games will be televised regionally by CBS (KWTV Channel 9 in OKC). Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Jim Spanarkel (analyst) and Brett Haber (courtside reporter) will announce.

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Fresh off a Big 12 Tournament championship in which it beat Missouri (67-65), No. 9 Kansas (62-57) and No. 20 Texas (54-45), Oklahoma enters the NCAA Tournament as one of the nation's hottest teams. The Sooners have won seven of their last eight games and 14 of their last 16. The conference tournament title was OU's first since winning the Big Eight postseason crown in 1990.

The Sooners have gone 5-1 since point guard J.R. Raymond was suspended and subsequently dismissed from the team for violating team policy. Raymond averaged 18.5 points and 3.9 three-pointers over his last 10 games and was the team's leading scorer in Big 12 play with a 13.7 average. Last week's Big 12 Player of the Week, Hollis Price has replaced Raymond at the point and was named to the Big 12 Tournament's all-tourney squad. Price started OU's first 16 games this year at the position and averages 11.8 points, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals per outing on the year. He has led the team in assists in 25 of 32 games this season and was named MVP of the team's first two tournaments of the campaign (Sooner Invitational and Big Island Invitational).

The Big 12 Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Nolan Johnson carried the Sooners to the title by averaging 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds over three games. In the championship game against Texas, the senior guard recorded 18 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals. He had 15 points and 11 boards in the second half as OU rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit. Johnson now leads the team with his 13.1 points per game on the year and ranks second with his 4.9 boards per outing. He also ranks third in the Big 12 with his .831 free throw percentage.

Junior forward Aaron McGhee has been a welcome addition to the team's frontcourt this year and averages 13.0 points per game to rank second on the squad. McGhee, who has scored at least 20 points eight times this season, also averages 4.6 rebounds per contest. He has battled foul trouble much of the year and averages just 23.8 minutes per game. Projected to 40 minutes per outing, his scoring average equals 21.9 points. McGhee, who like Johnson has started all 32 games, has also made 21-of-44 three-point attempts (.477) on the season.

Senior guard Kelley Newton has started the last six games and is shooting .429 from long range to rank fifth in the Big 12. He averages 9.3 points and 2.3 three-pointers per contest. Newton's .416 career three-point percentage ranks as the best in OU history.

INDIANA STATE UPDATE
Indiana State, which is making its second straight appearance in the "Big Dance," finished the regular season by losing six of its final eight games, but rebounded by notching three victories in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Sycamores beat Southern Illinois (67-64), Creighton (87-74) and Bradley (69-63) to earn the conference tourney crown. Included in ISU's 21 wins was a 59-58 home triumph over Indiana in its fifth game of the year.

The Sycamores boast a balanced scoring attack, led by senior Matt Renn. The 6-6, 220-pound forward averages 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per outing, both team highs. Renn is shooting .533 from the field and has made 22-of-48 three-point attempts for a .458 mark. He also averages 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game to rank second on the squad in both categories. Junior guard Kelyn Block averages 14.8 points, 4.0 boards and 2.5 assists per game while senior backcourt mate Michael Menser averages 13.5 points and team highs in assists (5.4 apg) and steals (1.8 spg). Menser also averages 2.7 three-pointers per contest and is shooting .398 from beyond the arc. Junior forward Djibril Kante averages 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds, and sports a team-high .574 field goal percentage.

Head Coach Royce Waltman is in his fourth season at Indiana State where he owns a 74-44 (.627) record. The 1999-2000 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year is in his 14th season as a collegiate head coach and sports a 263-130 (.669) career mark. He also coached five seasons at Division II University of Indianapolis and five years at Division III Depauw University.

SERIES WITH INDIANA STATE
Oklahoma and Indiana State have met three previous times with the Sooners winning two of those contests. The teams last met in the second round of the 1979 NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Regional. Indiana State came away with a 93-72 win over the fifth-seeded Sooners as Larry Bird scored 29 points and had 15 rebounds. The Sycamores eventually lost to Michigan State in the national title game that year. OU posted its victories in the 1972-73 (92-84 in Norman) and 1973-74 (65-55 in Terre Haute) seasons.

BEYOND THE SYCAMORES
If Oklahoma defeats Indiana State on Friday, it will play the winner of the Virginia vs. Gonzaga contest on Sunday. The Sooners are 1-1 against Virginia and have never met Gonzaga. OU last met the Cavaliers in the 1989 NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional semifinals. The No. 1-seeded Sooners, with first-team All-Americans Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King, lost by an 86-80 count in Lexington, Ky. Bryant Stith scored 28 points to lead fifth-seeded Virginia while King tallied 22. A season earlier, OU posted a 109-61 victory over the Cavaliers in the opening round of the Chaminade Christmas Classic in Honolulu. King and Harvey Grant both scored 20 points for the Sooners. Oklahoma made 11 three-pointers in the contest to Virginia's two.

SOONERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Oklahoma, which owns a 24-19 NCAA Tournament record, is making its 20th tourney appearance. The Sooners had lost five straight first-round games prior to their Sweet 16 showing in 1999. OU also picked up a first-round win last year over Winthrop as the West Region's No. 3 seed before dropping a narrow decision to sixth-seeded Purdue. The 1939, 1947 and 1988 squads advanced to the national semifinals with the two most recent teams losing in the championship game.

SAMPSON EARNS EIGHTH STRAIGHT NCAA BID
This year's NCAA Tournament appearance marks Kelvin Sampson's eighth straight as a head coach (seven with Oklahoma and one with Washington State). That string ranks fifth among current coaches. Only Arizona's Lute Olson (17 straight), Temple's John Chaney (12), Kansas' Roy Williams (12) and Cincinnati's Bob Huggins (10) have taken teams to more consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Kentucky's Tubby Smith and Maryland's Gary Williams have also been to eight straight "Big Dances" while Stanford's Mike Montgomery has been to seven.

OU BOASTS NATION'S FOURTH-LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 20 consecutive postseason appearances (16 NCAA and four NIT), the fourth-longest streak among Division I programs. Only North Carolina (35), Georgetown (27) and Indiana (24) 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:

AN OKLAHOMA WIN FRIDAY WOULD...

Give Kelvin Sampson his third consecutive NCAA Tournament first-round win after five straight first-round exits (four at Oklahoma). Sampson is 3-8 in NCAA Tournament play.

Give the Sooners 27 victories against just six losses. Sampson's 27 wins last year were the most in his career (he's now in his 18th year as a head coach).

Give Oklahoma an 11-0 record in tournament play this season and improve the team's neutral-site record to 9-0. The Sooners have won four tournaments this year.

Give OU 15 wins in its last 17 games. Its only two losses during the span came at Oklahoma State and at Maryland.

OU NCAA TOURNEY TIDBITS

This is the Sooners' seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the eighth straight for Head Coach Kelvin Sampson.

OU is 8-5 this year against teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Oklahoma is 13-6 in NCAA Tournament first-round games.

This marks the first time OU has been placed in the NCAA South Region. The Sooners participated in Southeast Region play four times.

Three OU teams (1939, 1947 and 1988) advanced to the Final Four. The 1947 and 1988 squads lost in the national championship game.

Stacey King poured in 37 points against Auburn in the 1988 NCAA Tournament to set the OU single-game postseason scoring record.

Notable individual OU opponents in NCAA Tournament play include Holy Cross' Bob Cousy (1947), Indiana State's Larry Bird (1979), Indiana's Isiah Thomas (1983), Louisiana Tech's Karl Malone (1985), Northeastern's Reggie Lewis (1986), Arizona's Sean Elliott (1988) and Kansas' Danny Manning (1988).

The last time OU was a No. 4 seed was in 1995. Interestingly, the Sooners played in Memphis that year and lost to 13th-seeded Manhattan, 77-67, at the Pyramid.

The last time Oklahoma participated in a tournament game featuring the fourth and 13th seeds was in 1999. The 13th-seeded Sooners upset Arizona, 61-60, in Milwaukee before beating fifth-seeded UNC Charlotte in the second round, 85-72.

LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Oklahoma entered the 2000 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the West Region and opened play against No. 14 seed Winthrop in Tucson, Ariz., with a comfortable 74-50 victory. J.R. Raymond, who was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, led five Sooners in double figures in scoring with his 14 points. Tim Heskett, who canned 4-of-5 three-point attempts himself, and Nolan Johnson scored 12 apiece while Eduardo Najera and Hollis Price added 10 each. OU turned in one of its best overall shooting performances of the year by producing .510 field goal, .476 three-point and .857 free throw marks. Winthrop, meanwhile, shot .268 from the field, a season-low .100 from three-point territory and .667 from the charity stripe. After spotting the Eagles a 6-2 lead to start the game, Oklahoma gained control and took a 39-23 halftime lead. OU upped its lead to as many as 27 after the break. The 24-point win marked OU's largest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament since a 43-point win over Louisiana Tech in 1989. It was the team's second-largest first-round victory margin (the 1988 squad's 28-point triumph over UT-Chattanooga stands as the largest).

Despite leading much of the contest, OU stumbled against No. 6 seed Purdue in the second round and saw its season end with a 66-62 setback. Johnson's 9-for-14 field goal effort and game-high 20 points were not enough to stave off the Boilermakers and their 20-13 run to end the game. Ahead 49-44 midway through the second half, the Sooners watched Jaraan Cornell score eight straight points to give Purdue a 52-49 edge with 7:49 remaining. With the score tied at 60, Cornell was fouled while attempting a three-pointer and converted all three free throws with 43.7 seconds on the clock. A pair of Hollis Price free throws drew OU to within one but Purdue slammed the door on the Sooners' hopes of making a return trip to the Sweet 16. Greg McQuay (16 points) and Cornell (15) were the only Boilermakers to score in double figures while Najera (15) and Price (10) joined Johnson in reaching double digits for OU. Johnson also grabbed 10 rebounds to account for his fourth double-double of the year. Oklahoma shot a season-low .105 from long range (2-for-19) just two days after going 10-for-21.

SOONERS CAPTURE BIG 12 TOURNEY TITLE
Oklahoma claimed its first Big 12 Tournament title Sunday at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., when it handled Texas, 54-45. It was the Sooners' 10th conference tournament championship game appearance and fifth title (they won four crowns in the Big Eight format). The third-seeded Sooners earned a first-round bye before beating Missouri, Kansas and the Longhorns.

For the second straight season OU edged No. 6 seed Missouri in the quarterfinals, this time by a 67-65 count. Nolan Johnson's driving baseline lay-in with 3.2 seconds left gave the Sooners a 66-65 advantage before Aaron McGhee added a free throw with 2.9 seconds left to seal the win. Johnson made the first of two free throws with 13.2 seconds remaining to cut Missouri's lead to one, but missed the second. Fortunately for OU, the rebound squirted off the hands of a Missouri player and out of bounds to afford Johnson the game-winning shot attempt. The Sooners trailed by as many as 10 (30-20) and were behind by six at halftime, 31-25. After OU tied the game at 33-33, Missouri used a 10-2 run to post its largest lead of the second half at 43-35. Oklahoma managed another tie at 48-48 and took a 53-48 lead on a Johnson trey and a Kelley Newton two-pointer. The game went back and forth and was tied when MU's Justin Gage hit a driving basket with 34 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 65-63 lead. Johnson was 8-of-11 from the field and finished with a team-high 20 points. Daryan Selvy added 11 points and a team-high 10 boards for his third double-double of the season while Aaron McGhee and Hollis Price contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Missouri's Kareem Rush scored a game-high 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting (5-for-7 from three-point range).

Despite shooting just .327 from the field, Oklahoma snapped a six-game losing streak to Kansas Saturday by winning 62-57 in semifinal action. Except for a 1-0 lead, the Sooners trailed the entire first half and found themselves down by as many as 10 at 15-5. For the second straight game, OU trailed by six at halftime (30-24). Kansas increased its lead to eight (44-36) midway through the second half and led by seven (46-39) with 8:45 to go. An 8-0 run gave the Sooners a 47-46 lead, however, and OU upped its margin to four with 5:05 left on a pair of Kelley Newton free throws. KU tied the game twice, but a Newton three-pointer with 1:49 to go put the Sooners up for good. Oklahoma canned five of its final six free throws to seal the win. Newton scored a game-high 17 points with the help of five treys and added six rebounds and two steals. Johnson scored 16 points and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Jameel Heywood's nine rebounds (five offensive) were a game high. Kirk Hinrich led Kansas with 12 points while Kenny Gregory and Jeff Boschee added 11 each. The Jayhawks' .377 field goal performance marked a season low and their 57 points were their second fewest of the season.

On Sunday, the Sooners scored just 14 first-half points (tying for the fewest in a half under Kelvin Sampson) and trailed by 18 (26-8) with 4:45 left in the half. OU trimmed the margin to 12 by intermission and went on to outscore the Longhorns, 40-19, after the break to take home a 54-45 win, as well as the tournament trophy. Johnson scored 15 of his game-high 18 points after halftime thanks to several clutch shots and also pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds as he earned tourney most outstanding player honors. Price, an all-tournament team member, and Selvy contributed 12 points apiece. The Sooners, who shot just .214 in the first half, recorded a .480 mark after halftime. Texas, meanwhile, shot .417 in the first half and a mere .167 after intermission. The Longhorns made just three field goals in the second half. OU was solid at the free throw line where it converted 16-of-19 attempts for an .842 mark. Texas was 15-of-24 for a .625 figure. Chris Owens was UT's only double-digit scorer with 13 points.

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT LEFTOVERS

Oklahoma made 43-of-47 (.915) second-half free throw attempts over its three games. Hollis Price was 15-for-15 from the line during the tournament.

The Sooners claimed the tournament trophy despite shooting a combined .373 from the field and .262 from three-point range.

OU's victory Sunday was its 21st in the last 25 meetings with Texas. It was the second time in four seasons that OU went 3-0 against the Longhorns.

COMEBACK KIDS
Oklahoma trailed by double digits in each of its three Big 12 Tournament victories last weekend. The Sooners' largest deficit versus Missouri in the quarterfinals was 10 (30-20 with 1:22 left in the first half). In the semifinals against Kansas, OU also fell behind by 10 (15-5 at the 14:53 mark). And versus Texas in the championship game, Oklahoma dug itself an 18-point hole (26-8 with 4:46 left in the opening half). The Sooners trailed at halftime by six against Missouri (31-25), six versus Kansas (30-24) and 12 against Texas (26-14). OU outscored those three foes in the second half by a combined 120-80 count.

TOURNAMENT TOUGH
The Sooners are 10-0 in tournament play this year with four tournament trophies in their collective pocket. OU opened the season with a Sooner Invitational title after beating Alcorn State and La Salle in Norman. The team won its next three games at the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii, against Montana State, Tulane and Oregon State. Oklahoma claimed the All-College Tournament crown in Oklahoma City by defeating Oral Roberts and SMU. Last weekend in Kansas City, the Sooners won their first conference tournament title since 1990 by defeating Missouri, Kansas and Texas.

SAMPSON'S SOONERS 0-2 AT THE PYRAMID
Head Coach Kelvin Sampson has taken two previous OU teams to the Pyramid in Memphis and came away with defeats both times. The first game was a first-round NCAA Tournament contest in 1995, Sampson's first season at Oklahoma. The Sooners, seeded fourth in the Southeast Region, were upset by 13th-seeded Manhattan, 77-67. OU also visited the Pyramid in the 1996-97 season and lost to Memphis by a 61-47 count.

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 players are also wearing black jersey bands on their left shoulder strap that were issued by the Big 12 Conference.

SAMPSON NAMED NAISMITH AWARD FINALIST
Kelvin Sampson is one of 20 finalists on the Naismith Coach of the Year Award list. Sampson joins fellow Big 12 coaches Larry Eustachy and Roy Williams as finalists. The seventh-year OU head coach has guided the Sooners to four straight 20-win seasons and seven straight NCAA Tournaments.

On March 1, Sampson was named Big 12 Coach of the Year by collegeinsider.com. This marks the second straight season he has claimed the Internet site's award.

SOONERS POST FOURTH STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASON
Oklahoma's 82-60 win over Baylor Feb. 17 marked its 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 43-18 (.705) in February and March regular season games. OU has gone 20-6 (.769) in the regular season in those two months over the last three years. This year, it posted a 7-2 mark in February and March.

GUARDS SHOULDERING THE LOAD
In OU's 19 games against Big 12 opponents, the team's guards have accounted for 66 percent of its points (864 of 1,312). Oklahoma's guard corps consists of Nolan Johnson, Hollis Price, Kelley Newton and Tim Heskett. (The statistics of former point guard J.R. Raymond, who was dismissed from the squad Feb. 25, are included in the figure.)

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 .742 season mark. Under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners have finished first or second in the conference in free throw shooting in five of six previous seasons (all except 1998-99). The Sooners shot .700 or better from the line in 13 of 16 conference games and posted a .752 free throw mark in those 16 outings. In its Big 12 Tournament semifinal and championship game appearances, OU shot a combined .837 at the charity stripe (36-for-43).

Three Sooners rank in the top 10 in the league in free throw shooting. Nolan Johnson is shooting .831 while Hollis Price and Aaron McGhee boast .811 and .767 marks, respectively.

OKLAHOMA'S BIG 12 HISTORY
The Sooners boast a 55-25 (.688) Big 12 regular season record in the league's five years, second only to Kansas' 64-16 (.800) 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. The Sooners also tied for second place this year with a 12-4 mark. Kelvin Sampson's Big 12 squads have posted a 31-9 league record at home and a 24-16 mark on the road.

STREAK STOPPERS
OU's victory at Missouri Feb. 19 snapped the Tigers' 13-game home winning streak. Missouri entered the contest 12-0 at home this year. The Sooners also stopped Texas' 25-game home winning streak Feb. 10 with a 75-54 victory in Austin. The Longhorns had been 13-0 at home this season. Unfortunately, Oklahoma was unable to halt Maryland's 76-game non-conference home winning streak Feb. 24.

ROAD WORK
The Sooners concluded their road season with a 5-5 record (5-3 in Big 12 play), marking the fourth straight year they have posted a .500-or-better finish on enemy wood. Oklahoma's 24-16 conference road record since Big 12 play began is the league's second best behind Kansas' 28-12 record. Since the Big 12's inception prior to the 1996-97 season, Texas (21-19) is the only other conference team with an aggregate winning road record. Oklahoma State ranks fourth with an 18-22 mark.

HANDLING WITH CARE
An Oklahoma strength the past two seasons has been its ability to take care of the basketball. In fact, OU leads the Big 12 in turnovers per game (12.6) and turnover margin (+4.8). OU led the league with just 12.8 turnovers per game last year. This year, opponents have committed 152 more miscues. The Sooners have committed more turnovers than their foes in just seven of 32 games.

BREAKING 80
In seven years under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners sport an 86-10 (.896) mark when scoring at least 80 points. OU is 11-1 (.917) this year under the circumstance and 25-2 (.926) over the last two years.

RAYMOND DISMISSED FROM TEAM
OU's leading scorer over a 10-game span from Jan. 20 to Feb. 19, junior point guard J.R. Raymond was dismissed from the team by Head Coach Kelvin Sampson Feb. 25 for a violation of team policy. Raymond had been suspended by Sampson Feb. 22 and did not travel with the Sooners for their Feb. 24 game at Maryland.

Raymond averaged 11.3 points in 25 games this year for OU and had averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.9 three-pointers over his final 10 games (the Sooners went 9-1 during the stretch). The Gastonia, N.C., native made 58 treys on the season and recorded a .400 three-point mark. Raymond was a third-team All-Big 12 selection last season when he averaged 13.4 points and drained 95 three-pointers, the second-highest single-season total in school history.

JOHNSON PEAKING AT RIGHT TIME
For the second straight season, guard Nolan Johnson seems to be playing his best basketball at season's end. The senior co-captain was named Most Outstanding Player at last weekend's Big 12 Tournament after averaging 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds. Against Texas in the title game, Johnson poured in 18 points and corralled a career-high 13 boards. Over the last five contests, all OU victories, Johnson is averaging 18.6 points and 6.4 boards while shooting .534 from the field. He has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 15 games and now leads the team with his 13.1 scoring average. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also averages 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals to rank second on the squad. His 1.8 assists per outing rates as the third-best figure on the team. Johnson, who was a third-team All-Big 12 pick by league coaches, also ranks third in the conference with his .831 season free throw mark.

PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore point guard Hollis Price was named Big 12 Player of the Week following OU's final two regular season games. He scored 21 points on 8-for-11 field goal and 3-for-4 three-point shooting against Colorado Feb. 28, and totaled 16 points, eight assists and three steals versus Oklahoma State March 3. Price continued his gritty play in the Big 12 Tournament and was named to the all-tournament team. He plays a team-high 33.0 minutes per game and ranks third in scoring with his 11.8 average. Price also leads the squad in assists (4.7 apg) and steals (1.9 spg). A product of New Orleans, he boasts a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio to rank fifth in the Big 12 and has been OU's leading assist man in 25 of 32 contests.

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.

HEYWOOD'S ROLE INCREASING
Senior Jameel Heywood has started 16 games this year (including the team's last 13), and the Sooners are 14-2 in those outings. Following a two-point, one-rebound effort in OU's loss at Oklahoma State Feb. 14, the forward has been a steady contributor. Heywood is averaging 5.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in his last six games (he has shot a combined 15-for-27 from the field in those contests). His eight-foot jumper in the lane with no time left on the clock gave OU a 63-61 road win against Missouri Feb. 19. He is shooting .532 from the field (33-for-62) over his last 20 games after shooting .308 in his first 11 contests.

McGHEE EXPERIENCING ROLLERCOASTER SEASON
OU's second-leading scorer (13.0 ppg) and third-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, two, three, four (twice), five, six (twice), eight (three times) and nine (twice) points. He has been steadier of late, scoring between 10 and 16 points in seven of the last 11 outings. On the year, the 6-8 lefty is shooting .464 from the field, .477 from three-point range and .767 from the foul line.

McGhee was a first-team junior college All-American last year at Vincennes (Ind.) University and was named the MVP of the national junior college tournament when he averaged 34.5 points. He began his career at Cincinnati where he sat out the 1997-98 season and played during the 1998-99 campaign.

NEWTON IS OU'S MAD BOMBER
Senior guard Kelley Newton, who has started the past six games after coming off the bench the previous 13, is enjoying a stellar season from beyond the three-point arc. Newton has made 16 treys over the last six outings and ranks among the Big 12's leaders in three-point percentage (.429) and three-pointers per game (2.3). Newton has made at least one three-pointer in 27 of 32 games and at least two treys in 20 contests. He has raised his career three-point percentage to .416 (122-for-293), the best ever at Oklahoma.

The Kansas City, Kan., native drained eight treys (tying Texas A&M's Bernard King and Missouri's Brian Grawer and Clarence Gilbert 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 has reached double digits in points 15 times this year and ranks fifth on the squad with his 9.3 points per game.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

OU has won more games this year (26) than any other Big 12 team.

The Sooners gave up just 55.7 points in three Big 12 Tournament wins.

Oklahoma is 53-13 (.803) over the past two years and 24-8 (.750) in regular season Big 12 play over the same span.

Oklahoma is 20-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent.

The Sooners are 8-0 at neutral sites this year.

OU is 14-2 this year when Jameel Heywood starts.

Tim Heskett ranks second in OU history with 215 three-pointers and 538 three-point attempts. He owns a .400 career percentage to rank fourth on the career chart. Heskett also ranks fourth in school history with 127 games played.

Kelley Newton is averaging 33.3 minutes over the last six games (since J.R. Raymond was dismissed from the team). Prior to those six games, Newton was averaging 21.0 minutes per outing.

Aaron McGhee has committed at least four fouls in 18 of 32 games.

In eight games versus Alcorn State, Montana State, North Texas, Southwest Texas, Iowa State, Texas A&M (twice) and Nebraska, Aaron McGhee has averaged 25.1 points. In OU's other 24 games this year, he is averaging 9.0 points.

OU has shot .500 from the field seven times this year but just once in its last 19 games.

Six different Sooners have led the team in scoring while eight have paced the squad in rebounding.

Nolan Johnson and McGhee have started all 32 games. Hollis Price has started 31 games (he yielded to Tim Heskett on Senior Night).

Johnnie Gilbert is shooting significantly better from the field (.535) than the free throw line (.389).

OU is 3-0 in overtime this year and 10-6 in overtime under Coach Sampson.

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Including this year, Oklahoma has registered a winning record in 24 of its last 25 seasons. No other Big 12 team can boast as many winning campaigns since the 1975-76 season as the Sooners. OU has posted a 557-245 (.695) record over the past 25 years.

SAMPSON SIGNS PAIR
Head Coach Kelvin Sampson announced Nov. 7 that center Jabahri Brown and wing Matt Gipson 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.

GOOD LUCK CHARM
Bob Picek, neighbor to Sooners Tim Heskett and Michael Cano, attends as many OU games that his schedule allows. The fanatical and vociferous 44-year-old, who is affectionately known as "Neighbor Bob" by the entire team and seemingly half of Norman, has been to 24 games this season and has seen the Sooners win 23 of those contests. The only loss he witnessed was a 68-60 setback at Maryland Feb. 24. Picek will be in Memphis this weekend cheering on his OU squad.

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 22.3 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 seven 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 156-68 (.696) record and an 88-16 (.846) home mark. Three of his squads have played in the Big 12 Tournament title game and this year's team won the trophy. 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

OU Men's Hoops Preps For Seventh Straight NCAA Tournament

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors