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 Gearing Up For Big 12 Tournament
March 09, 2001 | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2001
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TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Ranked 16th in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, Oklahoma (23-6 overall, 12-4 Big 12) finished tied with Kansas and Texas for second place in the Big 12 race and, because of tiebreaker rules, has earned the No. 3 seed at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament to be played at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas are the top four seeds, respectively, and will not play Thursday. The Sooners will take the court Friday at approximately 8:20 p.m. CST against the winner of Thursday's Missouri (No. 6 seed) versus Texas A&M (No. 11 seed) contest. If OU wins on Friday, it will play a semifinal contest Saturday at approximately 3:20 p.m. Sunday's championship game will start at 2 p.m. CST.
All of OU's Big 12 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. The Sooners' Friday contest will be televised by ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34 in Oklahoma City and KJRH Channel 2 in Tulsa). Saturday's semifinal contests will also be televised by ESPN Plus (KFOR Channel 4 in Oklahoma City and KJRH Channel 2 in Tulsa). Sunday's title contest will be shown nationally by ESPN. Ron Franklin (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) will announce.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
A winner of 11 of its final 12 Big 12 games following a 1-3 league start, Oklahoma notched 86-67 and 68-56 wins over Colorado and Oklahoma State, respectively, last week. The Sooners' 12-4 conference record ties last year's mark as the program's best since the Big 12 was formed five years ago.
The Sooners have gone 2-1 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. Big 12 Player of the Week Hollis Price has replaced Raymond at the point and is coming off 21- and 16-point efforts against Colorado and Oklahoma State. Price started OU's first 16 games this year at the position and averages 12.0 points, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals per outing on the year. He has led the team in assists in 23 of 29 games this season and was named MVP of the team's first two tournaments of the campaign (Sooner Invitational and Big Island Invitational).
Junior forward Aaron McGhee has been a welcome addition to the team's frontcourt this year and averages a team-high 13.7 points per game. McGhee, who has scored at least 20 points eight times this season, also averages 4.7 rebounds per contest. He has battled foul trouble virtually all year and averages just 23.8 minutes per game. Projected to 40 minutes per outing, his scoring average equals 22.9 points. McGhee has also made 19-of-42 three-point attempts (.452) on the year.
Nolan Johnson averages 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per contest and posted a career-high-tying 23 points and 11 rebounds last Wednesday before scoring 16 points Saturday. The senior guard, who ranks third in the Big 12 with his .844 free throw percentage, has averaged 6.2 rebounds over the last 13 outings. Johnson and McGhee have both started in all 29 games.
Senior guard Kelley Newton has started the last three games and is shooting .462 from long range to rank seventh nationally. He averages 9.2 points and 2.3 three-pointers per contest. Newton's .433 career three-point percentage ranks as the best in OU history.
OKLAHOMA IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The Sooners are 29-20 (.592) in conference postseason action (6-4 in four seasons of the Big 12 format). Oklahoma has participated in nine tournament championship games, including last year's, and has won four crowns. The program's last tournament championship was recorded in 1990 when OU beat Colorado, 92-80, under Head Coach Billy Tubbs. Oklahoma also earned titles in 1979, 1985 and 1988. Head Coach Kelvin Sampson is 7-6 in six previous tournament appearances and has guided two squads to championship games (1998 and last year). For more information on OU's Big Eight/Big 12 Tournament history, consult pages 138 and 139 of the Oklahoma media guide.
LAST YEAR IN KANSAS CITY
Oklahoma advanced to the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the second time in three seasons last year, but fell short against the top-seeded Iowa State Cyclones, 70-58. OU earned the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye before it survived a thrilling 84-80 overtime win against No. 6 seed Missouri. Trailing by two with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, freshman Hollis Price calmly sank two free throws to force overtime. Down by one in the extra session, junior Kelley Newton, a Kansas City, Kan., native, knocked down a three-pointer with 20 seconds on the clock to put the Sooners up for good. Nolan Johnson scored a then-career-high-tying 21 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead Oklahoma while Eduardo Najera posted his 14th double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The team set season highs for free throws (37) and free throw attempts (47).
Against No. 2 seed and 13th-ranked Texas in the semifinals, OU outscored the Longhorns 51-33 after halftime to post an 81-65 win. Najera was 12-for-20 from the field and finished with a career-high 31 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Johnson and J.R. Raymond added 16 each for OU.
The Sooners managed just a .349 field goal performance against Iowa State in the title game and had difficulty slowing down Big 12 Player of the Year Marcus Fizer, especially early in the contest. Fizer tallied a game-high 22 points and was aided by 14 and 13-point efforts from guards Michael Nurse and Jamaal Tinsley, respectively. The seventh-ranked Cyclones shot .460 from the field and .840 (21-for-25) from the foul line as they avenged a double-overtime loss to OU earlier in the year. Najera, who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Sooners with 19 points while Renzi Stone grabbed a career-high-tying 10 rebounds.
RECAPPING SATURDAY'S OKLAHOMA STATE CONTEST
In one of its more entertaining games of the season, Oklahoma avenged an earlier season loss to Oklahoma State by downing the Cowboys in Norman on Saturday, 68-56. Oklahoma State's Maurice Baker scored a career-high 31 points, the second-highest output by an OU opposing player this season, and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough as OSU committed 23 turnovers compared to Oklahoma's 13 (just three after halftime). After trailing 8-7, OU used a 13-2 run to lead 20-10 with 12 minutes left in the first half. OSU cut the lead to seven by halftime before the Sooners went back up by 13 early in the second half. The Cowboys wouldn't fold, however, and trailed by just four, 58-54, with just over two minutes remaining. OU's Hollis Price canned two free throws and beat the shot clock with a thrilling 25-footer to put the Sooners back up by nine with 1:22 left, sealing the victory. Price finished with 16 points, a game-high eight assists and three steals. Nolan Johnson also scored 16 points while Aaron McGhee tallied 11. Johnnie Gilbert and Jameel Heywood pulled down seven boards apiece to lead OU. After scoring a career-high 26 points in the teams' first meeting this year, OSU guard Victor Williams was held to three points Saturday on 1-for-8 shooting. He committed seven turnovers before fouling out.
OKLAHOMA STATE 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.
ANOTHER BYE
Oklahoma has earned its fourth consecutive Big 12 tournament first-round bye by virtue of its second-place league finish and No. 3 seeding. The Sooners also earned a No. 3 seed last year, a No. 4 seed in 1999 and a No. 3 seed in 1998. In the first Big 12 Tournament in 1997, OU was the No. 6 seed.
CLOSE, BUT NOT QUITE
For the third time in the last four seasons, Oklahoma has finished tied for second place in the Big 12 Conference race (OU tied for third last year). This season, the 12-4 Sooners finished one game behind league champion Iowa State. OU also finished tied for second in the 1997-98 (Kansas was 15-1) and 1998-99 (Texas was 13-3) seasons with 11-5 records. In the last four years, the Sooners are 46-18 (.719) in Big 12 regular season play.
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 (Iowa State) and Roy Williams (Kansas) as finalists. The seventh-year OU head coach has guided the Sooners to four straight 20-win seasons and is expected to earn his eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid (he guided Washington State to the "Big Dance" in 1993-94). Sampson was named the 1995 national coach of the year by the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association and Basketball Weekly in his first season at OU.
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. Oklahoma is 20-6 (.769) in the regular season in those two months over the last three years. This year, OU posted a 7-2 mark in February and March.
GUARDS SHOULDERING THE LOAD
In OU's 16 Big 12 games, the team's guards accounted for 66 percent of its points (746 of 1,129). That figure is even larger over the Sooners' last 13 conference games as the backcourt scored 68 percent of OU's points (663 of 971).
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 .739 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 shot .700 or better from the line in 13 of 16 conference games and posted a .752 free throw mark in those 16 outings.
Three Sooners rank in the top 10 in the league in free throw shooting. Nolan Johnson (.844) ranks third while Hollis Price (.781) and Aaron McGhee (.780) rank eighth and ninth, 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. 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 were 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, 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
Despite committing more turnovers than their opponents in five of the last 10 games, OU leads the Big 12 in turnovers per game (12.9) and turnover margin (+4.7). OU led the league with just 12.8 turnovers per game last year. This year, opponents have committed 136 more miscues. The Sooners have committed more turnovers than their foes in just seven of 29 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.
HEYWOOD'S ROLE INCREASING
Senior Jameel Heywood has started 13 games this year (including the team's last 10), and the Sooners are 11-2 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 5.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in games against Baylor, Missouri, Maryland, Colorado and Oklahoma State (he has shot a combined 12-for-20 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 Feb. 19. He is shooting .545 from the field (30-for-55) over his last 17 games after shooting .308 in his first 11 contests.
JOHNSON STEADY AS HE GOES
Senior guard Nolan Johnson, who ranks second on the team with his 12.6 scoring average, has been one of OU's most consistent players this season and was named Big 12 Player of the Week Feb. 12 after averaging 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in wins over Texas Tech and Texas. He is coming off a two-game week in which he averaged 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in home wins over Colorado and Oklahoma State. Against the Buffaloes last Wednesday, Johnson scored a career-high-tying 23 points and pulled down 11 boards, one shy of his career high. He also turned in a 23-point, eight-rebound effort in OU's 21-point win at Texas Feb. 10. Over the past 13 games, Johnson is averaging 13.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Johnson, who has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games, ranks third in the Big 12 with his .844 season free throw mark.
McGHEE EXPERIENCING ROLLERCOASTER SEASON
OU's leading scorer (13.7 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.7 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. He has been steadier of late, scoring between 10 and 16 points in six of the last eight outings. On the year, the 6-8 lefty is shooting .474 from the field, .452 from three-point range and .780 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 collegiate 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 three games after coming off the bench the previous 13, is enjoying a stellar season from beyond the three-point arc. Newton has gone a combined 10-for-21 from long range in the last three outings and ranks among the Big 12's leaders in three-point percentage (.462) and three-pointers per game (2.3). In fact, he entered the week ranked seventh nationally in three-point percentage. Newton has made at least one three-pointer in 25 of 29 games and at least two treys in 19 contests. He has raised his career three-point percentage to .433 (116-for-268), 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 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 14 times this year and ranks fifth on the squad with his 9.2 points per game.
PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore point guard Hollis Price is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week after scoring 21 points on 8-for-11 field goal and 3-for-4 three-point shooting against Colorado, and totaling 16 points, eight assists and three steals versus Oklahoma State. Price, who ranks third on the squad in scoring with his 12.0 points per game, had averaged just 7.1 points and 5.4 field goal attempts over the previous nine contests. Price plays a team-high 32.8 minutes per game and also leads the squad in assists (4.8 apg) and steals (1.8 spg). He boasts a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio to rank sixth in the Big 12. Additionally, he has been OU's leading assist man in 23 of 29 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.
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.
SAMPSON LOOKING FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT NCAA BID
Kelvin Sampson has participated in seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments as a head coach (six with Oklahoma and one with Washington State). That string ranks sixth among current coaches. Only Arizona's Lute Olson (16 straight), Temple's John Chaney (11), Kansas' Roy Williams (11), Cincinnati's Bob Huggins (nine) and Purdue's Gene Keady (eight) have taken teams to more consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Kentucky's Tubby Smith and Maryland's Gary Williams have also been to seven straight "Big Dances" while Stanford's Mike Montgomery has been to six.
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 554-245 (.693) record over the past 25 years.
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.
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 153-68 (.692) record and an 88-16 (.846) 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.
Porter Moser Postgame vs West Virginia
Sunday, April 05
MBB Highlights: OU 82, Baylor 69
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser, Xzayvier Brown, and Tae Davis Postgame vs Baylor
Saturday, April 04
Porter Moser and Nijel Pack Postgame vs Colorado
Thursday, April 02
