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 Looking to Get Back on Track
February 15, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked fourth in this week's AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, Oklahoma (19-4 overall, 8-3 Big 12) returns home after a two-game road stint to host Kansas State (10-12, 4-7) 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 by ESPN Plus (KOCB Channel 34 in OKC) with Brad Sham (play-by-play) and Chris Piper (analyst) announcing.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Oklahoma State snapped OU's four-game winning streak on Wednesday with a 79-72 overtime victory in Stillwater. The loss dropped the Sooners to 8-3 in the Big 12, still a full game ahead of third-place Missouri and Texas. Three of OU's five remaining games are at home, where the squad is 13-0 this year. Oklahoma owns a 19-game winning streak at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 28 of its last 29 there.
Senior forward Aaron McGhee has elevated his game the past few weeks and has been one of the nation's top producers during the stretch. McGhee has recorded four double-doubles in OU's last five games and is averaging 19.3 points and 10.0 rebounds over the last six contests. He has posted three consecutive 20-point efforts, including a season-high 27-point game at Oklahoma State. On the season, McGhee ranks second on the team with his 14.7 points and leads the club with his 7.3 boards. He ranks 10th in Big 12 games in scoring (16.7 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (8.3 rpg).
Junior guard Hollis Price leads the team in scoring with his 16.9 points per contest, although he has averaged 9.3 points over the last three games. Last week's Big 12 Player of the Week, Price also averages 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals on the season. He has drained a team-high 52 treys (2.4 per game) and is shooting .489 from the field and .406 from beyond the arc. His .862 mark from the foul line ranks as the third best in the conference.
Ebi Ere, the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and three-time league rookie of the week, averages 14.7 points per game like McGhee, but has fallen off drastically the last three games by averaging just 6.7 points. The junior guard ranks third on the squad with 5.6 rebounds and with 1.5 assists on the year, although he has just one assist in the last six games. Ere is shooting .339 from long range and owns a .789 free throw percentage.
Jason Detrick, another junior guard, has come off the bench to score in double figures in three of the last four games. On Wednesday at OSU, he contributed 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. A week before that he scored 18 against Baylor. Detrick averages 10.2 points and 3.7 rebounds on the season.
ABOUT KANSAS STATE
Kansas State began the Big 12 season with a 1-5 record but has picked up steam of late by winning three of its last five. Included in the three victories, which all came at home, were wins over top-25 teams Texas (71-70) and Oklahoma State (70-61). The Wildcats are coming off a 69-38 win over Texas A&M on Tuesday. Kansas State, which appears 138th in the College RPI and 141st in the Sagarin ratings, is 10-5 in home games but 0-7 on the road.
Senior guard Larry Reid, who was a high school teammate of OU's Richard Ainooson at Midwest City High School, leads the team in scoring (14.8 ppg), assists (5.7), steals (1.5) and free throw percentage (.813). He has made 34 treys on the year and owns a .386 three-point figure. Junior forward Pervis Pasco averages 11.2 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per outing. He shoots .558 from the floor but just .508 from the foul line. Freshman guard Nick Williams averages 8.2 points and 2.6 assists while senior guard Phineas Atchison averages 8.0 points. Atchison, like Reid, has made 34 treys on the season.
Jim Wooldridge is in his second year at Kansas State where he is 21-30 (.412). He is in his 15th year as a college head coach and owns a 250-177 (.585) career record.
SEASON AVERAGES KANSAS STATE PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 3 Quentin Buchanan (6-7, 200, Jr.) 3.0 2.9 1.1 F 34 Matt Siebrandt (6-8, 240, Jr.) 7.1 3.5 1.0 F 44 Pervis Pasco (6-9, 218, Jr.) 11.2 8.3 1.0 G 11 Larry Reid (6-0, 170, Sr.) 14.8 3.3 5.7 G 24 Nick Williams (6-4, 185, Fr.) 8.2 2.5 2.6OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 13 Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.) 14.7 7.3 1.0 C 42 Jozsef Szendrei (6-9, 240, Jr.) 1.8 2.7 0.1 G 4 Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.) 7.7 3.0 4.5 G 5 Jason Detrick (6-5, 210, Jr.) 10.2 3.7 1.3 G 10 Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.) 16.9 3.0 2.5
SERIES WITH KANSAS STATE
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Kansas State, 94-89, and is 55-23 against the Wildcats in Norman. The Sooners have won their last two games versus KSU and five of their last eight. Last year in Manhattan, OU escaped with a 64-63 overtime victory. Two years ago in Norman, the Sooners posted a comfortable 85-64 win. Oklahoma has won four of the last five in the series at Lloyd Noble Center. Kelvin Sampson owns a 5-4 record against Kansas State and is 3-1 at home.
LAST YEAR VS. THE WILDCATS
Trailing virtually the entire game, OU snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with its 64-63 overtime win at Kansas State last year. Hollis Price's steal and three-foot jumper in the lane with 10.5 seconds left in overtime gave the Sooners the unlikely triumph as they never led by more than one point. Oklahoma, which trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, was down nine at halftime and also at the 8:36 mark of the second half. The Sooners tied the game at 51 with 3:45 to go, but watched K-State go back up by four. Two free throws by Nolan Johnson drew OU to within two before Johnnie Gilbert was given the opportunity to tie the game from the free throw line with 5.9 seconds left in regulation. Gilbert missed his first free throw and was forced to miss his second. OU won the scramble for the rebound and Johnson tied the game with a three-foot bucket with 2.0 seconds left to force overtime. The Sooners were down most of the extra session and the outcome appeared bleak when Aaron McGhee was whistled for an intentional foul with 13.4 seconds left and OU down by one. KSU's Matt Siebrandt missed both free throws, however, and Price stole the ensuing inbounds pass before driving to the hoop for the winning shot. J.R. Raymond canned five three-pointers and finished with a season-high 25 points to pace OU. Price tallied six of his 13 points in overtime and Johnson and Gilbert led OU with eight rebounds. K-State's Travis Reynolds and Larry Reid scored 16 points each and Reynolds grabbed a game-high nine boards.
OKLAHOMA STATE RECAP
It was definitely Bedlam on Wednesday night in Stillwater as OU faced rival Oklahoma State. The 16th-ranked Cowboys overcame a seven-point halftime deficit and an overtime session to beat the fourth-ranked Sooners, 79-72. OU scored the first six points of the game and led by as many as nine in the first half before settling for the seven-point halftime edge. That lead was quickly erased, though, as OSU scored the first nine points of the second half. The Sooners battled back to take a three-point lead with 6:18 left but an 8-0 Cowboy resulted in a five-point OSU lead with 3:37 left in regulation. Oklahoma State still led by four with 1:27 left before two free throws apiece by Aaron McGhee and Jason Detrick knotted the score at 61 with 41.9 seconds to go. Detrick came up with a steal with 17.1 seconds left but Quannas White's three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out. OU scored the first two points of overtime, but a flurry of close-range OSU buckets gave the Cowboys a four-point lead with 1:12 remaining. OU was forced to foul and the Cowboys made their last six free throws to preserve the lead. McGhee scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed a game-high-tying 11 rebounds while Detrick came off the bench to contribute 15 points and six boards. Jozsef Szendrei played 17 minutes, his most since Dec. 29, and also grabbed 11 rebounds. OSU's Ivan McFarlin registered 22 points while Fredrik Jonzen scored 19. Oklahoma outrebounded the Cowboys 50-39 but committed 16 turnovers, its most in seven games.
OKLAHOMA STATE LEFTOVERS
PRICE, ERE EARN NABC HONORS
Junior guards Hollis Price and Ebi Ere were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 12 first and second teams, respectively, Wednesday. Price was joined by Kansas' Drew Gooden and Kirk Hinrich, Missouri's Kareem Rush and Oklahoma State's Maurice Baker. Ere was accompanied by Iowa's Reggie Evans and Luke Recker, Kansas' Nick Collison and Creighton's Kyle Korver.
SZENDREI PROVIDES SPARK
Junior post Jozsef Szendrei, who redshirted last year and played a combined 35 minutes in OU's first 10 league games this season, earned 17 minutes of court time at Oklahoma State and grabbed a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. The Budapest, Hungary, native also scored four points. The 17 minutes were his most since playing 20 minutes Dec. 29 against Texas Southern in the All-College Classic.
HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS
Lloyd Noble Center has always been extremely kind to the Sooners over the years, and this season is no different. Oklahoma, which is a perfect 13-0 at home this year, is 338-59 (.851) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 101-16 (.861) at home under eighth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 19 straight. OU has also won 28 of its last 29 home affairs.
MORE HOME COOKING
Following is a statistical comparison between Oklahoma and its opponents in the 13 games played inside Lloyd Noble Center this year:
Category OUOpp. FG Pct. .487 .393 3FG Pct. .380 .325 FT Pct. .768 .683 Avg. Points 83.6 61.5 Avg. Rebounds 39.9 30.7 Avg. Assists 16.8 11.3 Avg. Turnovers 12.5 18.4 Avg. Blocks 4.5 1.7 Avg. Steals 9.8 6.8
EVEN MORE HOME NOTES
SOONER STREAKERS
OU's win against Texas A&M last Saturday marked its sixth straight against the Aggies. The Sooners have also won 15 straight over Baylor, eight in a row versus Missouri and six straight against Texas. Oklahoma also owns a three-game winning streak against Nebraska and a two-game streak against Kansas State.
A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners, who are among the nation's best foul shooters, turned in a 22-for-25 effort Wednesday at Oklahoma State and lead the Big 12 with a .766 season mark. OU's top four scorers are shooting at least .789 from the charity stripe and its top scorer, Hollis Price, owns an .862 season figure. 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.
SOONERS RANK WELL IN LEAGUE GAMES
In Big 12 Conference games, Oklahoma leads the league in free throw percentage (.781) and three-point percentage defense (.320) while ranking second in scoring defense (69.1), scoring margin (+8.0), field goal percentage defense (.412) and steals (8.6). OU also ranks third in scoring offense (77.1), blocked shots (4.6) and turnover margin (+3.3).
QUICK TIPS
VOTE HOLLIS
Kelvin Sampson has recently mentioned that Hollis Price should be considered for All-America honors. And why not. The junior guard, who has shown no ill-effects from a severed triceps tendon sustained in his right (shooting) arm last March, has been stellar all year for OU. He has scored at least 24 points four times in the last nine games and is averaging 16.9 points, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals on the season. Nine 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 Texas Tech on Jan. 12. Price is having a terrific shooting year with his .489 field goal, .406 three-point and .862 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 SPECTACULAR OF LATE
Based on his recent performances, Aaron McGhee has all of a sudden become a viable All-Big 12 candidate. The 6-8, 250-pound senior forward has four double-doubles in the last five games and five in the last nine contests. He has been the team's most consistent producer of late and is averaging 19.3 points and 10.0 rebounds over the last six games. On the season, he ranks second on the team in scoring with his 14.7 points per outing and leads the squad with his 7.3 rebounds. The lefty has posted three straight 20-point performances (23, 21 and 27) and has led the team in rebounding each of the last six games. He also has seven blocked shots over the last four contests. The owner of a good shooting touch for a big man, McGhee is shooting .813 from the foul line and was 10-for-10 against Oklahoma State.
WHITE'S A DELIGHT
Junior point guard Quannas White has played his best basketball of the season over the last eight games. White started the spurt by producing a career-high 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals at Kansas on Jan. 19 and has been sensational since. Over the last eight games he is averaging 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Prior to the KU game he averaged 6.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists. 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 19.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals in Big 12 play while shooting .440 from long range (11-for-25).
ERE'S PRODUCTION DROPS
Less than a month ago, junior guard Ebi Ere averaged 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Sooners. Over the last seven contests, however, Ere has averaged 9.9 points and 3.7 rebounds to drop his season averages to 14.7 and 5.6. The Tulsa product has really struggled the last three outings by averaging just 6.7 points and by shooting .292 from the field (7-for-24). The Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and three-time league rookie of the week had scored in double figures in 16 of 17 games prior to his current three-game string of single-digit production. Ere was a second-team junior college All-American last year at Barton County (Kan.) Community College, averaging 25.5 points and 7.6 rebounds.
DETRICK STRONG OFF THE BENCH
Junior college transfer Jason Detrick, who scored 15 points at Oklahoma State on Wednesday, has been superb off the bench this year. The 6-5, 210-pound guard is averaging 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 21.3 minutes per contest. Detrick has scored in double figures in three of the last four games (averaging 12.8 points) and 11 of the last 17 outings. Detrick 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 1.7 thefts per game to rank seventh in the Big 12. Selvy is also enjoying a solid shooting season with his .482 field goal mark. Last year in conference action, Selvy shot just .275 (22-for-80) from the floor. Over the last 16 games he is shooting .527 (48-for-91). He averages 7.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 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 17 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 4.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals for the Sooners. He also averages 6.2 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 23 games, only one has multiple years of Division I experience at OU - 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 D-I competition. Juniors Jason Detrick, Ebi Ere and Quannas White are all in their first season after spending two years at junior colleges. Sophomore Jabahri Brown is in his first year at Oklahoma after playing his freshman year at Florida International.
More than 54 percent of OU's minutes this year are from first-year players. Ere leads the newcomers with 29.4 minutes per game and is followed by White (29.0), Brown (23.2) and Detrick (21.3).
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.
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