Winning Streak On the Line Against Connecticut

Jan 7, 2002

NORMAN, Okla (AP) -Oklahoma puts its longest winning streak in 10 years on the line when it meets Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center on Monday.

The fifth-ranked Sooners (11-1) won their 10th straight with Saturday's 89-63 victory over Texas A&M in the Big 12 conference opener for both teams. Aaron McGhee scored 22 points and Daryan Selvy added 18 as six Sooners finished in double figures.

"Aaron's a rhythm guy and he's playing with good rhythm right now as well as confidence," Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He's such a good shooter. He can make a lot of different types of shots. He's also not turning the ball over and that's something we've been working on."

McGhee and Selvy also combined to grab 13 rebounds, while Jabahri Brown had six. Brown leads the Sooners at 9.0 per game.

Along with McGhee and Selvy, guard Hollis Price returned to the lineup and scored 14 points. Oklahoma's leading scorer with a 16.6 points per game, Price missed the 97-55 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 29 after being poked in the eye during a practice.

The Sooners are winning by an average of 26.2 points during their winning streak and have won their past six games by an average of 36.7.

"When we're making shots, we're a very, very hard team to play against, regardless who you are," Sampson said. "Last year we beat you, but we weren't beating you with a sledgehammer. This year we can put the hammer down a lot better."

The winning streak is Oklahoma's longest since the Sooners opened the 1991-92 season 10-0. The last time Oklahoma won at least 11 in a row was at the start of the 1989-90 season. The Sooners began that slate 12-0 en route to a 27-5 overall record.

Connecticut (8-2) won for the fifth time in six games with Saturday's 76-75 upset of No. 21 Miami. Caron Butler scored a team-high 18 points and Johnnie Selvie made two clutch free throws with 5.7 seconds left as the Huskies snapped the Hurricanes' 14-game winning streak.

Butler leads four Huskies averaging in double figures with 19.1 points per game, while his 6.9 rebounds per game rank second on the team to Emeka Okafor's 9.0. Taliek Brown is pacing the Huskies with 4.9 assists per game.

The Huskies will look to build upon Saturday's triumph with a second upset in three days.

"No rest for the weary," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "The biggest thing we got to do is keep going forward."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Winning Streak On the Line Against Connecticut

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