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
OU Men's Hoops Tries To Lasso `Horns On Saturday
February 01, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked sixth in this week's AP poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today version, Oklahoma (16-3 overall, 5-2 Big 12) plays at unranked Texas (14-6, 5-2) Saturday at 3 p.m. CST inside Frank Erwin Center. The Longhorns were ranked 24th in last week's AP poll. 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 regionally televised by ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34 in OKC) with Fred White (play-by-play) and Reid Gettys (analyst) announcing.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Wrapping up an extremely tough eight-game stretch this Saturday against Texas, the Sooners are coming off a 58-53 victory Wednesday over rival Oklahoma State in Norman. Oklahoma squandered a 16-point first-half lead as OSU went up by one point twice late in the game, but Hollis Price and Aaron McGhee helped seal the win with clutch play down the stretch. Price scored 17 points on the night while McGhee produced 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Sooners upped their home winning streak to 18 games and gave Kelvin Sampson his 100th victory at Lloyd Noble Center.
Junior guard Hollis Price has paced the Sooners in scoring in each of the last three games and is averaging a team-high 17.7 points on the year. The All-Big 12 candidate also averages 2.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals. Price, who has drained a team-high 45 treys (2.5 per game), is shooting .511 from the field, .433 from long range and a team-best .873 from the foul line. In conference play, he ranks fourth with his 19.0 points per game.
Ebi Ere, the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and three-time league rookie of the week, averages 15.8 points per game but is averaging only 11.0 points over the last three games. The junior guard has scored in double digits in 15 of the last 16 outings and ranks third on the squad with 6.1 rebounds and with 1.8 assists on the year. Ere is shooting .351 from long range and owns an .810 free throw percentage.
Senior forward Aaron McGhee is averaging 13.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest, and is coming off his fifth double-double performance of the year (and of his career) against OSU. He was 6-for-6 from the free throw line against the Cowboys and made a pair of clutch foul shots with 30 seconds left to give OU a four-point lead. McGhee has started all 19 games and leads the Sooners with 7.3 boards in league play.
Junior point guard Quannas White has increased his production over the last four games, averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 boards, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals during the stretch. He is shooting .509 from the field and .447 from beyond the arc on the year (17-for-38). White boasts a solid 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio and averages just 2.0 turnovers per game.
ABOUT TEXAS
After opening the conference season with four wins, including road victories at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, the Longhorns have dropped two of their last three games and are coming off a 71-70 defeat at Kansas State on Wednesday. Texas won at Baylor (69-63) in its previous contest and lost at home to Texas A&M (80-74) before that. UT lost leading scorer and second-leading rebounder Chris Owens for the season when the fifth-year senior forward tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Dec. 29 at Utah. He averaged 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in his 11 games.
Sophomore guard/forward Brandon Mouton is averaging 13.1 points per game (14.4 in league games) to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He's made a team-high 36 treys and owns a .396 three-point mark. Sophomore guard Royal Ivey, who like Mouton has started all 20 games, averages 12.1 points, 3.6 boards and 1.8 assists. Sophomore center James Thomas has filled in admirably for Owens and is averaging 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. In conference play, Thomas is averaging 13.1 points and 10.7 rebounds (his board average ranks third in the league). Freshman point guard T.J. Ford averages 8.9 points on the year and leads the nation with his 8.4 assists per outing.
Head coach Rick Barnes is in his fourth season at Texas where he is 82-37 (689). He has compiled a 284-171 (.624) record in 15 years as a head coach at George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas. He has guided his teams to a total of nine NCAA Tournament appearances (current streak of six consecutive) and three NIT berths.
SEASON AVERAGES OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS PPGRPG APG F 13 Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.) 13.3 6.7 0.9 C 21 Jabahri Brown (6-10, 210, So.) 5.5 7.4 1.6 G 2 Ebi Ere (6-5, 215, Jr.) 15.8 6.1 1.8 G 4 Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.) 7.5 2.8 4.3 G 10 Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.) 17.7 2.4 2.6TEXAS PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 3 Brandon Mouton (6-4, 210, So.) 13.1 4.5 1.3 F 15 Deginald Erskin (6-6, 218, Jr.) 6.0 2.4 0.4 C 0 James Thomas (6-8, 220, So.) 10.5 8.3 0.4 G 11 T.J. Ford (5-10, 165, Fr.) 8.9 4.5 8.4 G 24 Royal Ivey (6-3, 192, So.) 12.1 3.6 1.8
SERIES WITH TEXAS
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Texas, 39-16, and holds a 14-9 advantage in Austin. The Sooners have won 21 of their last 25 games against the Longhorns, including the last five. Kelvin Sampson is 12-3 against Texas as OU's head coach and is 4-2 inside the Erwin Center.
LAST YEAR VERSUS THE LONGHORNS
The Sooners played Texas three times last year and came away with three victories. OU earned a 75-68 win in Norman on Jan. 24 as J.R. Raymond buried five treys en route to a game-high 21 points. Hollis Price added 17. Texas shot just .373 from the field and .552 from the foul line (16-for-29). Maurice Evans led UT with 15 points while James Thomas contributed 14.
In Austin on Feb. 10, Oklahoma halted UT's 25-game home winning streak with a convincing 75-54 victory. Nolan Johnson registered 23 points and nine rebounds while Raymond was 5-for-6 from long range to finish with 19 points. OU, which led by as many as 29 points, outrebounded the Longhorns by a 48-29 tally. Texas shot .322 from the field, .240 from long distance and .500 (10-for-20) from the free throw line. Evans and Brian Boddicker led UT with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
OU scored a hat trick with a 54-45 win in the Big 12 Tournament title game on March 11 in Kansas City. The Sooners won despite trailing by 18 in the first half and by 12 at halftime. Johnson had 18 points and a career-high 13 boards to earn tourney MVP honors while Price and Daryan Selvy chipped in with 12 points each. Texas, which posted a .310 field goal mark for the game, was just 3-for-18 (.167) from the field after halftime. Chris Owens was the only Longhorn in double digits with 13 points.
DEFENSE, REBOUNDING KEYS VS. HORNS
In each of OU's three wins over Texas last year, the Sooners played stellar defense and won the rebounding battle. The Longhorns, who averaged just 55.7 points over the three contests, recorded a combined .338 field goal mark (54-for-160) and a .327 three-point field goal performance (18-for-55). OU was also aided by Texas' .562 free throw performance (41-for-73) over the three games. Additionally, the Sooners outrebounded the Longhorns by 9.0 boards per outing.
OKLAHOMA STATE RECAP
After building a 16-point first-half advantage and leading by 12 at halftime, Oklahoma withstood a second-half Oklahoma State rally and held on for a 58-53 win Wednesday night in Norman. The Sooners used a terrific defensive effort in the first half, limiting the Cowboys to 7-for-21 shooting, to take a 29-17 lead to the locker room. OSU's Cheyne Gadson, who scored the last four points of the first half, hit a trey to open the second half and triggered the Cowboys' run. OU point guard Quannas White picked up his fourth foul at the 15:51 mark and Oklahoma State went on a 15-8 spurt to trim the lead to two with White on the bench. OSU tied the game and went ahead by a single point on two occasions, but six points by Hollis Price in the final 5:38 and inspired play by Aaron McGhee down low proved to be the difference as OU extended its home winning streak to 18 games. Price led the Sooners with a game-high 17 points while Ebi Ere added 12. McGhee notched his fifth double-double of the season and his career with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Gadson scored a team-high 14 points for OSU and Victor Williams added 12. Oklahoma State's top two scorers entering the game, Maurice Baker (6) and Fredrik Jonzen (8) combined for 14 points.
OKLAHOMA STATE LEFTOVERS
SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
The Sooners own an impressive 57-9 (.864) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (12-0), Texas (12-3), Texas A&M (11-1) and Texas Tech (8-5), OU is 43-9 (.827) under Sampson.
BOARDED UP
In the Jan. 8 edition of the NCAA statistics release, Oklahoma ranked third nationally in rebounding margin with a +11.0 figure. Since that date, however, the Sooners have been outrebounded in four of six games. OU still ranks third in the Big 12 with a +7.7 rebounding margin
SOONERS RANK WELL IN LEAGUE GAMES
In Big 12 Conference games, Oklahoma leads the league in free throw percentage (.778), steals (9.43) and turnover margin (+3.9). It ranks second in scoring offense (79.0), scoring margin (+11.0), field goal percentage (.469), field goal percentage defense (.407) and blocked shots (4.9). OU also ranks third in three-point field goal percentage (.408) and three-point percentage defense (.330).
WHITE'S A DELIGHT
Junior point guard Quannas White has played some of his best basketball over the last four 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. The last two games against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, he totaled 14 points and nine assists. That's a four-game average of 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals. Prior to the KU 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 averages 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals in Big 12 play while shooting .538 from long range (7-for-13).
QUICK TIPS
A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners, who are among the nation's best foul shooters, lead the Big 12 with a .760 free throw percentage and are even better in conference games at .778. OU's top four scorers are shooting at least .795 from the charity stripe and its top two scorers (Hollis Price and Ebi Ere) own respective .873 and .810 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 last Saturday and has averaged 22.7 points over the last three contests. He is averaging 17.7 points per game to go along with his 2.4 assists and 1.8 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 great shooting year with his .511 field goal, .433 three-point and .873 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 ENJOYS CONSISTENT SENIOR YEAR
Aaron McGhee, OU's 6-8, 250-pound senior forward who was a first-team junior college All-American in 1999-2000, experienced a rollercoaster season as a junior last year. He has played with more consistency this season and is averaging 13.4 points (third on team) and 6.7 rebounds (second on team). In 11 home games, the lefty is averaging 16.0 points and 7.4 rebounds. McGhee has posted his lone five career double-doubles this year (four at home) with the most recent coming Wednesday night against Oklahoma State when he had 10 points and 11 boards. The southpaw, who enjoyed a 19-point, 19-rebound game against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 5, is averaging 14.0 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last three outings.
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 9.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 20.4 minutes per contest. Detrick has scored in double figures in eight of the last 13 games and is averaging 10.3 points over the span. He was a first-team junior college All-American last year at Southwest Missouri State-West Plains.
SELVY STEALING AND SHOOTING
Oklahoma's top steals man, Daryan Selvy is averaging 1.9 thefts per game to rank sixth in the Big 12. Selvy, who has at least two steals in four of the last five contests, is also enjoying a solid shooting season. The senior forward owns a .504 season field goal mark and is shooting .514 in league games. Last year in conference action, Selvy shot just .275 (22-for-80) from the floor. Over the last 12 games he is shooting .573 (43-for-75). He averages 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on the year.
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 5.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 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 19 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 100-16 (.862) in seven-plus seasons inside the building under Kelvin Sampson.
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