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
Men's Basketball Prepares For Bedlam
January 29, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked sixth in this week's AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (15-3 overall, 4-2 Big 12) hosts rival Oklahoma State (17-3, 4-3) Wednesday at 8 p.m. CST inside Lloyd Noble Center. The Cowboys are ranked ninth in both polls. The men's basketball season's first engagement of The Bank of Oklahoma Bedlam Series presented by the Oklahoma Ford Dealers 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 regionally televised by ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34 in OKC) with Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Paul Splittorff (analyst) announcing.
A limited number of restricted admission tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center's east and north box offices for $15 apiece.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
After posting a 13-game winning streak, Oklahoma has dropped two out of its last three contests. The Sooners lost at then No. 5 Kansas (74-67), rebounded for an 84-71 home triumph against then-No. 18 Missouri and dropped a 92-79 decision at Texas Tech on Saturday. The Red Raiders are now ranked No. 20 in the AP poll. OU takes a 17-game home winning streak into Wednesday's Bedlam game and has won 26 of its last 27 inside Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners are outscoring their opponents at home by 24.5 points per game this season. A win against OSU would give Kelvin Sampson his 100th home victory.
Junior guard Hollis Price averaged 25.5 points and 4.0 three-pointers in OU's two games last week and now leads the team by averaging 17.8 points per contest (19.3 in conference games). The All-Big 12 candidate also averages 2.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals. Price, who has drained a team-high 44 treys (2.6 per game), is shooting .514 from the field, .440 from long range and a team-best .898 from the foul line. In 11 home games, Price owns .574 field goal and .517 three-point marks.
Ebi Ere, the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and three-time league rookie of the week, averages 16.1 points per game but averaged only 10.5 points in two games last week. The junior guard, who shot .333 from the field against Missouri and Texas Tech, has scored in double digits in 14 of the last 15 outings. He ranks third on the squad with 6.4 rebounds and third with 1.9 assists on the year. Ere is shooting .348 from long range and owns an .823 free throw percentage.
Senior forward Aaron McGhee is averaging 13.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest and 16.5 and 7.1 inside Lloyd Noble Center. He has four double-doubles on the year, the only four of his career, and nearly earned a fifth on Saturday at Texas Tech with 19 points and nine rebounds. Projected to 40 minutes a game, McGhee's per-game averages at home equate to 25.2 points and 10.8 rebounds.
Junior point guard Quannas White has increased his production over the last three games, averaging 12.7 points, 4.3 boards, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals during the stretch. He is shooting .432 from beyond the arc on the year and owns a .542 (13-for-24) mark at home.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
Ranked ninth in the coaches' poll, Oklahoma State won both of its games last week after a 2-3 league start. The Cowboys are coming off home wins against Nebraska (70-63) and Colorado (64-55) last week. OSU has also beaten Baylor and Iowa State on the road while losing to Texas, Kansas (both at home) and at Texas Tech. Head coach Eddie Sutton's Cowboys lead the Big 12 in scoring defense (62.8) and rank second in field goal percentage defense (.398).
Senior guard Maurice Baker, a first-team All-Big 12 pick last year who has been battling a groin injury of late, leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg) and assists (3.9) while ranking second in steals (1.6) and third in rebounding (6.3). Baker is the team's top three-point shooter as he has made 37-of-89 attempts (.416). Senior forward Fredrik Jonzen averages 12.4 points and a team-high 7.4 boards per outing while junior point guard Victor Williams sports 12.3 scoring and 3.7 assist averages. Williams has nailed 33 treys on 91 attempts for a .363 mark. Sophomore forward and reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week Ivan McFarlin averages 10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting .600 from the field. Junior Melvin Sanders has started all 20 games and averages 8.3 points and 3.4 boards.
In his 12th season at Oklahoma State, Sutton is 268-106 (.717). He is in his 32nd year as a Division I head coach and owns a 696-272 (.719) record. He ranks 14th in Division I career victories.
OKLAHOMA STATE PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 12 Fredrik Jonzen (6-10, 230, Sr.) 12.4 7.4 1.4 F 23 Ivan McFarlin (6-7, 210, So.)10.9 7.6 0.6 G 1 Maurice Baker (6-1, 175, Sr.)16.0 6.3 3.9 G 5 Victor Williams (5-10, 185, Jr.)12.3 2.1 3.7 G 34 Melvin Sanders (6-5, 205, Jr.)8.3 3.4 1.5OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 13 Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.) 13.4 6.5 0.9 C 21 Jabahri Brown (6-10, 210, So.) 5.6 7.8 1.7 G 2 Ebi Ere (6-5, 215, Jr.) 16.1 6.4 1.9 G 4 Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.) 7.6 2.7 4.4 G 10 Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.) 17.8 2.6 2.6
SERIES WITH OSU
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Oklahoma State, 116-82, and is 70-25 against the Cowboys in Norman. The Sooners are 7-9 against OSU under head coach Kelvin Sampson but are 5-2 against the Pokes inside Lloyd Noble Center under the eighth-year mentor. OU won the first 11 contests of the series, which began in 1908, and 26 of the first 28.
LAST YEAR VERSUS THE COWBOYS
The Sooners and Cowboys split their two meetings last year with the home team winning each time. In Stillwater on Feb. 14, OSU handed the 13th-ranked Sooners their worst defeat of the Kelvin Sampson era, 72-44, to stop OU's seven-game winning streak. The Cowboys led the entire contest as Oklahoma posted season lows in points, field goals (15), field goal attempts (44), three-point field goals (2) and three-point percentage (.154). Victor Williams scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the first half for OSU and Nolan Johnson was the only Sooner to reach double figures (12).
In the regular season finale in Norman on March 3, OU was 7-for-12 from long range and forced 23 OSU turnovers while committing just 13 in a 68-56 win. Johnson and Price led the Sooners with 16 points apiece while Price added eight assists. Maurice Baker finished with a game-high 31 points and nine boards. Williams was held to just three points after scoring 26 in the first meeting.
TEXAS TECH RECAP
Exactly two weeks after handing Texas Tech a 98-72 loss in Norman, the Sooners yielded to the Red Raiders in Lubbock, 92-79. Tech shot .567 from the field, including a blistering .655 after halftime, to post its 11th home win in 13 tries this year. Oklahoma shot .446 from the field, .400 from three-point land and .882 from the foul line while also committing just 10 turnovers, one more than its season low. It was the OU defense, though, that struggled as most of Tech's second-half field goals came within five feet of the basket. The Sooners trailed by three at halftime, 40-37, but the Red Raiders used a 12-2 run early in the second half to go up by 11. Tech eventually pushed its lead to 15 before OU cut it to 10 with 3:51 remaining. Three straight Red Raider buckets put them back up by 16, however, and the Sooners couldn't catch up. Andre Emmett registered 26 points and 10 boards to pace Tech, while Kasib Powell and Andy Ellis scored 19 and 18, respectively. Hollis Price led OU with 27 points and Aaron McGhee added 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Ebi Ere (10 points) was the only other Sooner in double figures.
TEXAS TECH LEFTOVERS
Hollis Price's 22 second-half points were the most by a Sooner in a half this season.
Texas Tech became just the third OU opponent to shoot at least .500 from the field this year. Michigan State shot .561 and Kansas shot .500. The Sooners lost all three games.
OU fell to 3-3 this year when getting outrebounded. The Sooners are 12-0 when grabbing more boards than their foes.
TICKETS REMAIN FOR THREE HOME GAMES
Tickets are available for OU's home games against Baylor (Feb. 6), Kansas State (Feb. 16) and Iowa State (Feb. 26). The Feb. 23 contest against Texas is sold out. Fans can purchase tickets by stopping by the OU Athletic Ticket Office or by calling 405-325-2424 or 800-456-4668.
OU VS. RANKED TEAMS
The Sooners are 4-2 this year against teams currently ranked in the top-25 polls. OU has defeated current No. 3 (AP) Maryland, No. 17 Connecticut, No. 20 Texas Tech and No. 22 Missouri. Losses have come to No. 2 Kansas and Texas Tech. Oklahoma is 2-2 against teams ranked in the AP top 25 at gametime. In his eighth year at OU, Kelvin Sampson is 24-23 against AP top-25 teams. He is 4-3 at OU against AP top-10 teams inside Lloyd Noble Center.
SOONERS RANK WELL IN LEAGUE GAMES
In Big 12 Conference games, Oklahoma leads the league in free throw percentage (.786), blocked shots (4.8), steals (10.0) and turnover margin (+4.0). It ranks second in scoring offense (82.5), scoring margin (+12.0), field goal percentage (.469), three-point field goal percentage (.416) and assist/turnover ratio (1.24). OU also ranks third in field goal percentage defense (.406) and three-point percentage defense (.337).
BALANCED ATTACK
In its six Big 12 contests, OU has six players who average at least 8.0 points per game. Hollis Price (19.3 ppg), Ebi Ere (15.0), Aaron McGhee (14.5), Quannas White (10.8), Jason Detrick (9.3) and Daryan Selvy (8.0) are Oklahoma's leading scorers in conference play.
HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS
Kelvin Sampson will claim his 100th win at Lloyd Noble Center with one more home victory. Oklahoma is 99-16 (.861) at home under the eighth-year head coach and has won 17 straight in Norman. OU has also won 26 of its last 27 home affairs.
MORE HOME COOKING
Following is a statistical comparison between Oklahoma and its opponents in the 11 games played inside Lloyd Noble Center this year:
Category OU Opp. FG Pct. .494 .393 3FG Pct. .389 .341 FT Pct. .765 .676 Avg. Points 87.2 62.6 Avg. Rebounds 41.0 30.9 Avg. Assists 18.0 11.5 Avg. Turnovers 12.5 19.3 Avg. Blocks 4.5 1.8 Avg. Steals 10.2 6.5
WHITE'S A DELIGHT
Junior point guard Quannas White has played some of his best basketball over the last three games. 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 against at Kansas on Jan. 19. Two nights later versus Missouri, he contributed 14 points, five boards, six assists and a steal on his 21st birthday. On Saturday at Texas Tech, White scored just seven points but added a team-high six assists. That's a three-game average of 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals. Prior to the Kansas game he averaged 6.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.6 steals. Not usually counted upon for his scoring, White prompted OU coach Kelvin Sampson to say after the Kansas 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 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.2 steals in Big 12 play while shooting .500 from long range (6-for-12).
QUICK TIPS
A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners, who are among the nation's best foul shooters, lead the Big 12 with a .762 free throw percentage and are even better in conference games at .786. OU's top four scorers are shooting at least .776 from the charity stripe and its top two scorers (Hollis Price and Ebi Ere) own respective .898 and .823 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 family, junior guard Ebi Ere ranks second on the team with his 16.1 points per game. The three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week is averaging 20.7 points and 7.5 rebounds in six games on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Plus (he had 16 points at Michigan State, 29 at Arkansas, 19 versus Maryland, 24 at Connecticut, 25 against Texas Tech and 11 points and nine boards against Missouri). Ere has posted double-digit point totals in 14 of the last 15 games and also averages 6.4 rebounds to rank third 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, tied a season high with 27 points against Texas Tech on Saturday and scored 24 in OU's previous game against Missouri. He is averaging 17.8 points per game to go along with his 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals. Eight times this year Price has converted at least three treys in a game. He has made six on two occasions, including a 6-for-7 performance against the Red Raiders on Jan. 12. Price is having a solid shooting year with his .514 field goal, .440 three-point and .898 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 two days earlier.
McGHEE BETTER AT HOME
Aaron McGhee, OU's 6-8, 250-pound senior forward who was a first-team junior college All-American in 1999-2000, recorded 19 points and nine boards Saturday at Texas Tech and is averaging 13.4 points (third on team) and 6.5 rebounds (second on team) on the year. In 11 home games, the lefty is averaging 16.5 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting .496 from the field, .375 from long distance and .787 from the foul line. Away from Lloyd Noble Center, McGhee is averaging 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds while posting .314, .083 and .762 respective shooting percentages. Last year he averaged 12.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. McGhee has posted his lone four career double-doubles this year (three at home) 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 at Nebraska (13 points and 10 boards).
DETRICK STRONG OFF THE BENCH
Junior college transfer Jason Detrick has been superb off the bench this year. The 6-5, 210-pound guard is averaging 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 20.4 minutes per contest. Detrick has scored in double figures in eight of the last 12 games and is averaging 11.0 points over the span. He was a first-team junior college All-American last year at Southwest Missouri State-West Plains.
SELVY RESURFACES
In OU's first seven games, senior forward Daryan Selvy averaged 5.7 points and 0.7 assists, and shot .391 from the field. Over the last 11 games, though, he has averaged 9.8 points, 1.7 assists, and has shot .571 (40-for-70) 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 8.2 points, 4.7 boards, 1.3 assists and a team-high 1.9 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 12 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 5.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 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 18 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 99-16 (.861) in seven-plus seasons inside the building under Kelvin Sampson.
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