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
No. 5 Sooners Host 13-1 Texas Tech Saturday
January 11, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 5th and 7th in this week's AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, respectively, Oklahoma (12-1 overall, 1-0 Big 12) faces Texas Tech (13-1, 2-0) Saturday at 12:45 p.m. CST inside Lloyd Noble 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 Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. The game will be televised regionally on ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34 in OKC) with Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Chris Piper (analyst) announcing.
TEXAS TECH PROJECTED STARTERS G 14 Andre Emmett (6-5, 205, So.) G 21 Will Chavis (5-10, 171, Jr.) C 55 Andy Ellis (6-11, 235, Sr.) F 11 Pawel Storozynski (6-8, 245, Jr.) F 22 Kasib Powell (6-7, 198, Jr.)OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS F 13 Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.) C 21 Jabahri Brown (6-10, 210, So.) G 2 Ebi Ere (6-5, 215, Jr.) G 4 Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.) G 10 Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.)
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Oklahoma has won 11 straight games and is making national waves by earning its highest AP ranking (No. 5) since the end of the 1989-90 season when it finished the regular season No. 1 in the poll. OU's 11-game winning streak is its longest since winning its first 12 contests of the 1989-90 campaign.
The Sooners are coming off a 69-67 non-conference win at Connecticut on Monday, a game in which they never trailed and led by as many as 12 points on three occasions. OU grabbed an incredible 28 offensive rebounds, the most during the Kelvin Sampson era, and outboarded the Huskies 45-32.
Junior guard Hollis Price has played in the last two games after missing his first career game Dec. 29 against Texas Southern (he was poked in the left eye during practice Dec. 27). Price, who wore protective glasses against Texas A&M but not against UConn, is averaging 15.5 points in his two games since the injury. He is the team's leading scorer by average (16.7 ppg) and also averages 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals per outing. He has drained a team-high 27 three-pointers and is shooting .415 from long range and .871 from the free throw line.
Ebi Ere, the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, ranks second on the team by averaging 16.2 points per game. The junior guard had a team-high 24 points Monday and has scored in double digits in nine of the last 10 games. Ere is averaging 17.6 points over the stretch. Ere is also averaging 6.6 rebounds (second most on the team) and 1.8 assists on the year. He owns an .889 (40-for-45) free throw percentage to rank third in the conference.
Over the last 11 games, senior forward Aaron McGhee is averaging 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds. He has three double-doubles on the year and has scored in double figures in nine of the last 11 outings. McGhee tied a season high with 22 points last Saturday against Texas A&M and ranks third on the squad with his 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest.
Sophomore center Jabahri Brown has played in seven games in a Sooners uniform and is averaging 6.7 points, a team-high 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.9 steals in 25.4 minutes per game.
ABOUT TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech has won 10 straight games and hasn't lost since dropping a 69-65 home decision to Sam Houston State on Nov. 24. The Red Raiders, who have not yet played a ranked opponent, are 13-1 overall, 9-1 at home, 3-0 on the road and 1-0 at neutral sites. Ranked 26th in the AP poll, 10th in College RPI and 18th in the Sagarin ratings, Tech is outscoring opponents by 14.2 points per game and outrebounding foes by 1.7 boards per contest. The Red Raiders are shooting .464 from the field, .343 from beyond the arc and .694 from the free throw line.
Senior center Andy Ellis leads a quintet of players who average more than 9.0 points a game. Ellis averages 17.9 points to go along with team highs in rebounds (7.6) and blocked shots (1.2). Sophomore guard Andre Emmett is averaging 17.1 points, 6.8 boards and 1.4 assists while shooting a team-best .511 from the field. Junior forward Kasib Powell averages 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Junior guard Will Chavis and junior forward Pawel Storozynski average 9.9 and 9.6 points, respectively. Chavis is the team's top three-point threat (20-for-49 for a .408 mark). Storozynski served a seven-game NCAA supension to start the year due to overseas playing experience while a high schooler in France.
Bob Knight is in his first year as Texas Tech head coach after serving 29 years at Indiana and six at Army as head coach. Knight was 662-239 (.735) at Indiana and 102-50 (.671) at Army. He won national titles at Indiana in 1976, 1981 and 1987.
SERIES WITH TEXAS TECH
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Texas Tech, 16-11, and has won six of the last seven contests. The Sooners are 10-4 against the Red Raiders in Norman, although Tech has won three of the last six meetings in the building. Kelvin Sampson is 6-4 against the Red Raiders and 0-3 against Bob Knight. Sampson's Washington State Cougars lost to Indiana in 1987-88 (63-56), and 1993-94 (79-64). Both games were in Bloomington, Ind. Sampson's Sooners lost to Indiana in 1998 NCAA Tournament first-round play, 94-87, in overtime.
Last year OU and Tech split the series with the home team winning both times. The Red Raiders pulled out a 60-59 victory as Jamal Brown hit a 10-foot pull-up bank shot with 1.5 seconds left on Jan. 16. Three weeks later, OU notched an 80-72 decision as J.R. Raymond (19 points) led five Sooners in double figures. The Sooners grabbed a season-high 26 offensive rebounds in the game.
TEXAS RANGERS AT LNC
As part of their winter caravan, Texas Rangers players Justin Duchscherer, Gabe Kapler, Craig Monroe and bench coach Terry Francona will be signing autographs at halftime of tomorrow's basketball game versus Texas Tech. Several members of the OU baseball team will also be present and available for autographs at this time. Fans can pick up a free 2002 OU baseball poster. A Big 12 Conference representative will be on hand to distribute information about the 2002 Big 12 Baseball Championships, May 22 through 26 at The Ballpark in Arlington. All of these activities will take place on the upper concourse in the southwest corner of Lloyd Noble Center.
CONNECTICUT RECAP
Ebi Ere's jumper with 16.4 seconds left broke a 67-67 tie and proved to be the final points in Oklahoma's 69-67 win at Connecticut on Monday in front of a national ESPN2 audience. Ere, who finished with team highs in points (24) and rebounds (9), grabbed six of OU's astounding 28 offensive rebounds. The 28 offensive boards were the most by a Sooner team under eighth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. Oklahoma never trailed in the game and led by as many as 12 points twice in the first half and once in the second. The Sooners had an answer for every Connecticut run, including the Huskies' 11-1 outburst that tied the game at 67. After Ere's final bucket, OU's Quannas White made a steal with 3.3 seconds left and Jason Detrick was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play. Detrick missed the front end of a one-and-one before UConn called a timeout with 2.1 seconds to play. The Huskies' Ben Gordon shot a 35-foot game-winning attempt that hit the front of the rim and bounced away. Hollis Price scored 17 points for the Sooners while Detrick added 12 as OU won its 11th consecutive game. UConn's Caron Butler scored a game-high 25 points while Johnnie Selvie contributed 12 points and nine boards. Emeka Okafor rejected eight Oklahoma shots while Selvie swatted four more.
CONNECTICUT LEFTOVERS
SOONERS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
Through games of Jan. 7, the Sooners rank third in the nation in scoring margin (+21.4), third in rebounding margin (+11.0), seventh in winning percentage (.923), 12th in free throw percentage (.758), 16th in scoring offense (82.1) and 18th in scoring defense (60.7).
SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
The Sooners own an impressive 54-8 (.871) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (12-0), Texas (12-3), Texas A&M (10-1) and Texas Tech (7-4), OU is 41-8 (.836) under Sampson.
QUICK TIPS
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Oklahoma's strong offensive performances over the past seven games are well-documented. But the Sooners' defensive efforts have also been superb during the stretch. OU's last seven opponents are shooting a mere .384 (146-for-380) from the field and just .264 (28-for-106) from beyond the arc. Also, those same foes are averaging 20.9 turnovers per game while OU has averaged 12.9 steals against them.
A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners lead the Big 12 and rank 12th nationally in free throw percentage at .758. Nine of OU's top 11 scorers are shooting at least .700 from the charity stripe and its top two scorers (Hollis Price and Ebi Ere) own respective .871 and .889 season marks. Oklahoma has traditionally been a sound free throw shooting team under Kelvin Sampson as six of his first seven squads finished first or second in the league in the category. Last year, the Sooners paced the Big 12 with a .740 mark.
ERE EARNS NICKNAME
Nicknamed "ESPN" by his teammates because his best performances seem to have come in games televised by either ESPN or ESPN2, junior guard Ebi Ere ranks second on the team with his 16.2 points per game and is averaging 17.6 points over the last 10 contests. The Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year is averaging 22.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in four games on ESPN and ESPN2. He had 16 points at Michigan State, 29 at Arkansas, 19 versus Maryland and 24 at Connecticut. Ere has posted double-digit point totals in 11 of 13 games and also averages 6.6 rebounds per game to rank second on the squad. Ere was named the conference's rookie of the week Dec. 3 for his performances against Central Michigan and Arkansas. He was a second-team junior college All-American last year at Barton County (Kan.) Community College when he averaged 25.5 points and 7.6 rebounds.
PRICE IS RIGHT
Junior guard Hollis Price, who has shown no ill-effects from a severed triceps tendon sustained in his right (shooting) arm last March, is averaging a team-high 16.7 points per game to go along with his 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals. Price sat out the Dec. 29 Texas Southern game after getting poked in the eye during practice two days earlier but returned to contribute 31 points in wins over Texas A&M and UConn. He is shooting .510 from the field, .415 from three-point range and .871 from the foul line.
The New Orleans, La., native spent most of the offseason rehabilitating his arm after an injury during OU's NCAA Tournament game against Indiana State last spring. He collided with ISU's Kelyn Block and had a piece of Block's tooth embedded in the arm. Price underwent three surgeries within the span of a week to irrigate the wound, remove the tooth and repair the severed tendon.
McGHEE PLAYING LIKE A SENIOR
Aaron McGhee, OU's 6-8, 250-pound senior forward who was a first-team junior college All-American in 1999-2000, struggled in the Sooners' first two games but has performed very well during OU's 11-game winning streak. McGhee, who averaged 12.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season, averaged just 6.5 points and 3.0 boards in the Sooners' first two games this year. In OU's 11 games since, however, McGhee is averaging 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds. He has posted his lone three double-doubles this year against Central Michigan (19 points and 11 rebounds), St. Bonaventure (19 points and a career-high 19 boards) and Maryland (16 points and 11 rebounds).
McGhee, who scored a season-high-tying 22 points last Saturday against Texas A&M, has upped his season averages to 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per outing. He is shooting .448 from the field, .286 from long range and .759 from the foul line.
SELVY RESURFACES
Senior forward Daryan Selvy has been more aggressive the past five games than he had been the previous several, and the effort has paid off statistically. In OU's first seven games, Selvy averaged 5.7 points and 0.7 assists, and was shooting .391 from the field. Over the last six games, though, he has averaged 13.0 points, 1.8 assists, and has shot .604 (29-for-48) from the floor. Against Texas Southern on Dec. 29, Selvy scored 15 points in 16 minutes on 7-of-10 shooting and registered a career-high five steals. He tied a career-high with 18 points against Texas A&M last Saturday and is now averaging 9.1 points, 5.1 boards, 1.2 assists and a team-high 2.0 steals while shooting .500 from the field.
BROWN IS OU'S MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Is it coincidental that OU seems to be playing some of its best basketball in recent memory since Jabahri Brown became eligible seven games ago? Maybe, but then again maybe not. Brown, OU's 6-10, 210-pound sophomore center who transferred from Rose State College in Midwest City, is averaging 6.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.9 steals for the Sooners. He also averages 6.7 altered shots per game (the stat is kept by the OU basketball staff). A native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Brown began his playing career at Florida International in 1999-2000 and signed with OU last November while a student at Rose State. He practiced with the Sooners last spring and this past fall. The athletic Brown has helped supply a defensive presence Coach Sampson has been seeking in the middle for several years. Brown averaged 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game as a freshman at Florida International. He also competed last summer in the World University Games for the U.S. Virgin Islands and averaged 7.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots.
GILBERT LIKELY DONE FOR SEASON
Sophomore Johnnie Gilbert has likely played his last game of the season for the Sooners. The forward played in the team's first six games (started in five) and averaged 4.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots, but injuries have forced him to the sideline. Gilbert has a rotator cuff injury in his left (shooting) shoulder and he is also battling bursitis in his right hip.
SAMPSON NAMED USA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ASSISTANT COACH
OU head coach Kelvin Sampson was announced Dec. 13 as one of three assistant coaches of USA Basketball's 2002 World Championship Team that will compete in the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men that is being held in Indianapolis, Ind., Aug. 29-Sept. 8, 2002. Sampson, San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich and Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery will serve as assistants for head coach George Karl (Milwaukee Bucks). The U.S. team is comprised of seven players thus far. They are Ray Allen (Milwaukee Bucks), Antonio Davis (Toronto Raptors), Michael Finley (Dallas Mavericks), Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers) and Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers). Five more players will be named to the team at a later date.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Of Oklahoma's 10 regular players who have seen action in the team's first 13 games, only one has multiple years of Division I experience at Oklahoma - junior guard Hollis Price. Seniors Aaron McGhee and Daryan Selvy are in their second seasons at OU after transferring from junior college, as is true sophomore Johnnie Gilbert. Junior Jozsef Szendrei and freshman Blake Johnston redshirted last year and are in their first full season of Division I competition. Juniors Jason Detrick, Ebi Ere and Quannas White are all in their first season at OU after spending two years at the junior college level. Sophomore Jabahri Brown is in his first year at Oklahoma after playing his freshman year at Florida International.
SOONER SUCCESS UNDER SAMPSON
BOOK IT
Kelvin Sampson: The OU Basketball Story is now in bookstores. Written by Dallas Morning News' Steve Richardson and released in October, the book chronicles the Oklahoma head coach's journey from his childhood days in North Carolina to coaching stints at Michigan State, Montana Tech and Washington State, and to his current position at OU. The 269-page book is filled with interviews and accounts of former players, coaches and associates. Retail price is $18.95.
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 years), Georgetown (27) and Indiana (24) 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 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. Entering the current campaign, OU had posted a 557-246 (.694) record over the past 25 years.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
The 26-year-old Lloyd Noble Center is in the midst of a $17.8 million renovation and expansion project with the majority of the facelift to the existing arena recently completed. The renovation included a new ceiling, new and brighter "sports lighting" and the addition of retractable floor seating that has moved fans closer to the playing surface.
The expansion portion of the project will result in arguably the top collegiate basketball practice, training and office facility in the country. The OU men's and women's teams have each begun working out in new practice gyms and will soon have at their disposal new locker rooms, player lounges, film rooms, training rooms, meeting rooms, a hydrotherapy room, an X-ray and examination room, a weight room and coaching offices. The new 70,000-square-foot facility will also include a banquet room and a legacy lobby.
Oklahoma posted a 13-1 record at Lloyd Noble Center last season and is 97-16 (.858) in seven-plus seasons inside the building under Kelvin Sampson.
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