OU Men's Hoops Hosts Missouri In Key Big 12 Game

Jan. 20, 2002

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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 5th in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls as of Sunday morning, Oklahoma (14-2 overall, 3-1 Big 12) plays host to Missouri (14-4, 4-1) Monday at 8 p.m. CST inside Lloyd Noble Center. The Tigers are ranked 21st in the AP poll and 19th in the coaches' version. 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 nationally televised by ESPN with Ron Franklin (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) announcing.

MISSOURI PROJECTED STARTERS
F  5   Travon Bryant (6-9, 243, So.)
F  23  Rickey Paulding (6-5, 212, So.)
C  50  Arthur Johnson (6-9, 265, So.)
G  4   Clarence Gilbert (6-2, 190, Sr.)
G  21  Kareem Rush (6-6, 215, 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 will attempt to start a new winning streak after its 13-game skein was snapped Saturday at fourth-ranked Kansas, 74-67. OU hadn't lost since Nov. 14, a span of 65 days, prior to the game against the Jayhawks. Despite losing, the Sooners outscored KU by 15 points over the game's final 12 minutes.

The Sooners find themselves in fourth place in the Big 12 standings behind Kansas (4-0), Texas (4-0) and Missouri (4-1). Oklahoma will be attempting to extend a 15-game home winning streak when Missouri visits on Monday. OU has also won 25 of its last 26 contests at Lloyd Noble Center (.961).

Ebi Ere, the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and two-time league rookie of the week, leads the team by averaging 16.8 points per game. The junior guard has scored in double digits in 12 of the last 13 outings and is averaging 18.0 points over the stretch. He ranks second on the squad with 6.4 rebounds and third with 1.9 assists on the year. Ere is shooting .349 from long range and owns an .839 free throw percentage. He has led OU in scoring in six games this year, including three of the last four.

Junior guard Hollis Price is right behind Ere by averaging 16.7 points per contest. Featured in Sports Illustrated this week, the All-Big 12 candidate also averages, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals. Price has drained a team-high 36 treys (2.4 per game) and is shooting .424 from long range and .875 from the foul line. He has battled a number of injuries lately. Price tore the triceps tendon in his right arm in the final game of last season, sustained a serious poke in the eye during a Dec. 27 practice (forcing him to miss his first career game) and sprained his left ankle on Saturday against the Jayhawks.

Although he had six points and two rebounds versus Kansas, senior forward Aaron McGhee is averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds over the last 14 games. He has four double-doubles on the year, the only four of his career. McGhee tied a season high with 22 points against Texas A&M in the Big 12 opener and ranks third on the squad in scoring (13.1 ppg) and in rebounding (6.3 rpg).

Junior point guard Quannas White turned in a solid effort on Saturday, recording 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals against KU. He is averaging 7.2 points and a team-high 4.2 assists this year.

ABOUT MISSOURI
Picked to finish second in preseason Big 12 polls, Missouri enters Monday's game as a winner of three straight and five of its last six. The Tigers began the season with nine consecutive victories and were ranked as high as No. 2 nationally before losing three in a row to Iowa (83-65), Illinois (72-61) and DePaul (63-62). The team's only league loss came at Iowa State (71-67) on Jan. 9. Conference victories have come against Nebraska (60-53), Kansas State (81-66), Texas A&M (74-50) and Colorado (92-77).

Junior All-America candidate Kareem Rush averages a team-high 19.6 points and 3.3 three-pointers per contest. The left-handed guard is shooting .431 from long-range and also averages 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Rush is coming off a 29-point effort versus Colorado on Saturday. Senior guard Clarence Gilbert averages 16.0 points and 2.9 treys per outing to go along with 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals. Sophomore center Arthur Johnson was 10-for-13 from the field against CU and finished with 20 points. He is averaging 12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds on the season (15.2 and 9.2 in Big 12 play) and owns a .571 field goal percentage. Sophomore forward Rickey Paulding averages 10.1 points and 3.8 boards. Paulding has started the last five games, his only starts on the year. Sophomore point guard Wesley Stokes started the first 15 games but has come off the bench the last three. He leads the team with 5.1 assists per game.

Quin Snyder is in his third year as Missouri's head coach and owns a 52-30 (.634) record. He guided the Tigers to a 20-13 mark last year and 9-7 (sixth place) conference performance. Snyder is 0-4 against Oklahoma and 0-1 at Lloyd Noble Center.

SERIES WITH MISSOURI
Oklahoma has won its last seven games against Missouri and leads the series 106-88. In Norman, the Sooners own a commanding 61-19 advantage and have won four straight and 13 of the last 15. The teams have not played in Norman since the 1999-2000 season, when OU posted an 83-56 victory on Senior Night. Oklahoma has won its last three games against MU by a total of eight points.

Last year, the Sooners won 63-61 at Missouri and 67-65 in Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal play. In Columbia, senior forward Jameel Heywood's eight-foot putback of a Nolan Johnson game-winning attempt beat the final buzzer in a thrilling game. J.R. Raymond led OU with 13 points while Hollis Price scored 12. Clarence Gilbert's four treys and game-high 16 points weren't enough for the Tigers. The Sooners held MU to .339 field goal shooting and posted a 40-35 edge on the boards. In Kansas City, the third-seeded Sooners nipped the sixth-seeded Tigers as Johnson's driving layin with 3.2 seconds left put OU ahead by one and proved to be the game-winner. Johnson finished with 20 points while Aaron McGhee , Daryan Selvy and Hollis Price chipped in with 11, 11 and 10. Kareem Rush was 5-for-7 from three-point range and scored 31 points in a losing effort. OU went on to beat Kansas and Texas to earn the tourney title.

KANSAS RECAP
Oklahoma led early, fell behind big in the second half, then outscored the Jayhawks by 15 over the last 12 minutes in a battle of top-five teams at Kansas on Saturday. The result was a 74-67 KU victory that snapped the Sooners' 13-game winning streak. No. 5 Kansas shot .500 from the field and forced 19 OU turnovers as it improved to 15-2 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12. Oklahoma shot .417 from the field and fell to 14-2 and 3-1. The Sooners posted a 22-17 lead with 7:20 left in the first half after Quannas White nailed a 19-footer. Kansas answered by scoring 13 of the next 16 points to take a 30-25 halftime lead. The Jayhawks took control right away after intermission as Drew Gooden keyed a 27-10 run to start the second half. Trailing 57-35 with 12 minutes remaining, OU responded with a 14-0 spurt over the next three minutes that cut the margin to eight. The Sooners got to within six on three occasions but could draw no closer as Kansas won its sixth straight over OU at Allen Fieldhouse. Ebi Ere and White led OU with 17 points each while Hollis Price added 11. Fifteen of Ere's 17 came after the break. White's performance may have been his best at OU as he also contributed five boards, four assists and four steals. Gooden posted game highs with 19 points and 10 rebounds while fellow forward Nick Collison registered 17 and 9. Kirk Hinrich scored 15 points and tallied a game-high seven assists.

KANSAS LEFTOVERS

The Sooners shot .333 in the first half (10-for-30) but .500 after the break (15-for-30).

Senior forward Aaron McGhee was 1-for-8 from the field and scored six points. In three career games against Kansas, McGhee is 4-for-27 from the field and averaging 4.7 points.

Allen Fieldhouse is the only facility on the Big 12 circuit in which Kelvin Sampson has not won (0-5).

BACK TO BOARDING SCHOOL
Although it ranks third in the Big 12 with a +8.8 rebounding margin, Oklahoma has been outboarded in three of its four league games (Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Kansas). League foes have 157 rebounds to the Sooners' 153.

BALANCED ATTACK
In its four Big 12 contests, OU has five players who average double figures in scoring. Ebi Ere (17.3 ppg), Hollis Price (16.3), Aaron McGhee (13.8), Jason Detrick (11.5) and Quannas White (11.0) all average at least 10.0 points per game. Daryan Selvy averages 8.0 points in conference outings.

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS
Kelvin Sampson is approaching his 100th win at Lloyd Noble Center and will reach the mark with two more home victories. Oklahoma is 98-16 (.860) at home under the eighth-year head coach and has won 16 straight in Norman. OU has also won 25 of its last 26 home affairs.

WHITE BREAKS OUT AT KANSAS
Junior point guard Quannas White played perhaps his best game of the year Saturday in OU's seven-point loss at Kansas. White poured in 17 points, good for a career high, on 7-for-12 field goal shooting and registered five rebounds, four assists and four steals despite getting into first-half foul trouble. Not usually counted on for his scoring, the coaching staff let him go one-on-one on several occasions and the New Orleans native came through, prompting OU coach Kelvin Sampson to say after the game, "Quannas is more of a table-setter, but that doesn't mean he's not able to sit down and eat, too." White is averaging 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

QUICK TIPS

Oklahoma's 13-game winning streak was the fourth longest within a season in school history and was the longest since the 1987-88 squad started the season 14-0.

Dating back to last year, Oklahoma has won 19 of its last 22 games and 28 of its last 33.

Since the start of the 1999-2000 season, OU is 67-16 (.807).

The Sooners boast a 58-26 (.690) Big 12 regular season record in the league's five-plus years, second only to Kansas' 68-16 (.810) mark.

Only three opponents - St. Bonaventure (74), Texas Tech (72) and Kansas (74) - have cracked the 70-point barrier this year.

In five games televised by ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Plus this year, Ebi Ere is averaging 22.6 points and 7.2 rebounds. In OU's other 10 games he is averaging 14.1 points and 6.0 boards. Ere has earned the nickname "ESPN" from his teammates.

Ere has grabbed at least seven rebounds on eight occasions this season.

Oklahoma is averaging 88.8 points and is shooting .484 (327-for-676) from the field over its last 10 games. The Sooners have also outscored their last 10 foes by 27.0 points per game and have outrebounded them by 10.1 boards per contest.

The Sooners have registered no fewer than 11 offensive rebounds this season and are averaging 15.4 offensive boards per game. The most offensive boards a Kelvin Sampson-coached OU team averaged was 15.6 (in 1995-96). The Sooners average 4.6 more offensive boards per game than their foes.

OU averaged 7.8 steals over its first six games but is averaging 12.2 over its last 10.

Jason Detrick is shooting .500 (47-for-94) from the field in his last 10 games. He shot just .313 (15-for-48) in his first six contests.

Hollis Price shot a combined .439 from the field and .354 from three-point land his first two seasons. So far this year, he owns .506 and .424 respective marks.

In seven-plus years under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners sport a 94-10 (.904) record when scoring at least 80 points. OU is 33-2 under the circumstance since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season.

OU has already surpassed the 100-point mark three times this year. The last time it reached the century mark three or more times was in 1995-96 (Sampson's second year) when it did it four times.

Ere and Aaron McGhee are the only two Sooners to start all 16 games this year.

In its last 45 true road games, Oklahoma is 28-17 (.622).

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Oklahoma's strong offensive performances over the past 10 games are well-documented. But the Sooners' defensive efforts have also been superb during the stretch. OU's last 10 opponents are shooting a mere .376 (211-for-561) from the field and just .265 (41-for-155) from beyond the arc. Also, those same foes are averaging 19.6 turnovers per game while OU has averaged 12.2 steals against them.

A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners lead the Big 12 and rank 15th nationally in free throw percentage at .759. OU's top four scorers are shooting at least .776 from the charity stripe and its top two scorers (Ebi Ere and Hollis Price) own respective .839 and .875 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 the network, junior guard Ebi Ere leads the team with his 16.8 points per game and is averaging 18.0 points over the last 13 contests. The two-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week is averaging 22.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in five games on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Plus (he had 16 points at Michigan State, 29 at Arkansas, 19 versus Maryland, 24 at Connecticut and 25 against Texas Tech). Ere has posted double-digit point totals in 12 of the last 13 games and also averages 6.4 rebounds per game to rank second on the squad. 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, scored a season-high 27 points against Texas Tech on Jan. 12 and is averaging 16.7 points per game to go along with his 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals. Twice this year Price has converted six treys in a game. He was 6-for-10 in the season opener against Central Connecticut and 6-for-7 three games ago against the Red Raiders. Price is having a solid shooting year with his .506 field goal, .424 three-point and .875 free throw marks.

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. He missed his first career game this year (Dec. 29 against Texas Southern) after getting poked in the eye during practice.

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 performed very well during OU's recent 13-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 next 13 games since, however, McGhee averaged 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds. He has posted his lone four career double-doubles this year against Central Michigan (19 points and 11 rebounds), St. Bonaventure (19 points and a career-high 19 boards), Maryland (16 points and 11 rebounds) and Nebraska (13 points and 10 boards).

McGhee is now averaging 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per outing. A recent shooting slump -- he is 12-for-45 over the last four outings -- has dropped his season field goal mark to .424. He does sport a solid .788 free throw percentage, however.

DETRICK DELIGHTFUL OFF THE BENCH
Junior college transfer Jason Detrick has been superb off the bench this year. The 6-5, 210-pound guard is averaging 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 20.6 minutes per contest. Detrick has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games and is averaging 12.2 points over the span. In his first six games this year, he shot just .313 from the field. In 10 games since, he is shooting .500.

SELVY RESURFACES
Senior forward Daryan Selvy has been more aggressive the past nine 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 shot .391 from the field. Over the last nine games, though, he has averaged 10.2 points, 1.8 assists, and has shot .593 (35-for-59) 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 Jan. 5 and is now averaging 8.3 points, 5.0 boards, 1.3 assists and a team-high 2.0 steals while shooting .505 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 nine 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 5.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals for the Sooners. He also averages 6.5 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.

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.

YOUTH IS SERVED
Of Oklahoma's 10 regular players who have seen action in the team's first 16 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
Kelvin Sampson guided Oklahoma to a .791 combined winning percentage the past two seasons (53-14), the seventh best in NCAA Division I. Only Stanford, Duke, Michigan State, Iowa State, Tulsa and Cincinnati posted higher winning percentages over the span. Last season's NCAA Tournament appearance marked Sampson's eighth straight as a head coach (seven with Oklahoma and one with Washington State). That streak ranks fifth among current coaches. Oklahoma has finished 12th (2000) and 13th (2001) in the final AP poll the past two years.

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 98-16 (.860) in seven-plus seasons inside the building under Kelvin Sampson.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Men's Hoops Hosts Missouri In Key Big 12 Game

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