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 Hoops Team Tries to Avoid Bear Trap
February 18, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked sixth and fifth in this week's respective AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, Oklahoma (20-4 overall, 9-3 Big 12) plays at Baylor (14-11, 4-8) Tuesday at 7 p.m. CST inside the Ferrell Center. The game will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KRXO 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. The game will be televised in Oklahoma by the Sooner Sports Network (KSBI Channel 52 in OKC) with Dean Blevins (play-by-play), Wayman Tisdale (analyst) and Renzi Stone (courtside reporter) announcing.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Oklahoma extended its home winning streak 20 games with a 73-62 victory over Kansas State on Saturday. The Sooners, who have now won 20 or more games in a season five straight years, stand alone in second place in the Big 12 race. OU trails No. 1-ranked Kansas (12-0) by three games and leads third-place Texas (8-4) by a game. Kelvin Sampson's squad owns a 5-4 road record on the season and is 3-3 away from home in league games.
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 six games and is averaging 19.7 points and 9.1 rebounds over the last seven contests. He has posted four consecutive 20-point efforts, including a season-high 27-point game last Wednesday at Oklahoma State. On the season, McGhee ranks second on the team with his 15.0 points and leads the club with his 7.2 boards. He ranks seventh in Big 12 games in scoring (17.2 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.9 rpg).
Junior guard Hollis Price leads the team in scoring with his 16.5 points per contest but is averaging 8.8 points over the last four outings. He had averaged 23.3 points over the previous four games. Price also averages 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals on the season. He has drained a team-high 53 treys (2.3 per game) and is shooting .480 from the field and .396 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 14.6 points per game and snapped a three-game single-digit string with 13 points against Kansas State. The junior guard ranks third on the squad with 5.7 rebounds and with 1.5 assists on the year. Ere is shooting .331 from long range and owns a .795 free throw percentage.
Jason Detrick, another junior guard, made his first start since Jan. 7 on Saturday and poured in a career-high 21 points. He has scored at least 15 points in three of the last four games and averages 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds on the season. He has made 26 of his last 29 free throw tries (.897).
ABOUT BAYLOR
It's been a tale of two seasons for Baylor this year: the home season and the away season. The Bears have not won a true road game (they're 0-8) but sport a fancy 12-2 home record. Baylor is 4-2 at home in Big 12 games with wins over Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas A&M and Missouri. Its home losses were to Oklahoma State and Texas. The Bears are coming off an 87-72 loss at Kansas Saturday, a game in which Baylor trailed by just two points six minutes into the second half. BU has lost six of its last eight contests.
Two of Baylor's top players are freshmen. Forward Lawrence Roberts is a Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate and leads the team in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg). He had 21 and seven against Kansas. Point guard John Lucas scored 16 points on Saturday and averages 12.8 points and a team-high 4.1 assists per game. Junior guard Wendell Greenleaf averages 13.5 points per contest but was just 1-for-10 from the field against Kansas to finish with a season-low two points. He averages 2.3 three-pointers per outing and is shooting .404 from long range despite his 0-for-6 effort Saturday.
Former OU head coach Dave Bliss is in his third year at Baylor where he is 47-38 (.553). Bliss began his coaching career at OU in 1975 and guided five OU teams to a 77-62 mark. He is 512-308 in his career.
SEASON AVERAGES OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 13 Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.) 15.0 7.2 1.0 C 42 Jozsef Szendrei (6-9, 240, Jr.) 1.8 3.0 0.1 G 4 Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.) 7.7 3.0 4.5 G 5 Jason Detrick (6-5, 210, Jr.) 10.6 3.8 1.4 G 10 Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.) 16.5 2.9 2.75BAYLOR PROJECTED STARTERS PPGRPG APG F 32 Greg Davis (6-9, 230, Sr.) 7.7 6.1 2.4 F 44 Lawrence Roberts (6-8, 225, Fr.) 16.5 8.1 1.4 G 13 Matt Sayman (6-4, 190, So.) 6.2 2.6 2.6 G 15 John Lucas (5-10, 150, Fr.) 12.8 2.4 4.1 G 20 Wendell Greenleaf (6-2, 195, Jr.) 13.5 3.2 2.5
SERIES WITH BAYLOR
Oklahoma and Baylor have met 25 times and the Sooners have won on 20 occasions, including the last 15 times. OU is 10-2 against the Bears in Norman, 8-2 in Waco and 2-1 at neutral sites. The last time Baylor beat Oklahoma was during the 1977-78 season, 75-67 in Norman. OU head coach Kelvin Sampson is 13-0 against Baylor and 6-0 versus the Bears at the Ferrell Center. Two of Oklahoma's last four wins at Baylor have been by a single point. The Sooners won by 14 there last year, 65-51.
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. THE BEARS
For the first time of the year, Hollis Price (six points) and Ebi Ere (seven) were both held to single digits, but Aaron McGhee and Jason Detrick picked up the slack as OU beat Baylor 70-57 Feb. 6 in Norman. McGhee poured in a then-season-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Detrick came off the bench to supply 18 points in 21 minutes to help the Sooners extend their home winning streak to 19 games. The victory was OU's 15th straight against the Bears. Baylor's last lead of the game was 5-3 just two minutes into the contest as Detrick's 14 first-half points assisted the Sooners to a 33-26 halftime edge. Oklahoma shot .500 from the field and .889 (8-for-9) from the foul line after the break and led by as many as 17. The Sooners grabbed 42 rebounds to Baylor's 24 and also claimed 20 offensive boards, their most since Jan. 7 at Connecticut (28). In addition to double-digit point totals by McGhee and Detrick, Daryan Selvy came off the bench to produce 10 points and six rebounds (five offensive). Baylor's Matt Sayman was 9-for-10 from the free throw line and led the Bears with 15 points while Lawrence Roberts and Wendell Greenleaf tallied 13 and 12, respectively.
KANSAS STATE RECAP
The Sooners extended their home winning streak to 20 games with a hard-fought 73-62 win over Kansas State on Saturday. Jason Detrick's three-pointer in the waning seconds of the first half gave OU a 35-32 halftime edge. The Wildcats tied the game early in the second half but Oklahoma finally got its offense in gear and went on a 23-5 run over a nine-minute span to take a 58-40 advantage. Kansas State never got closer than the final margin of 11 points. Aaron McGhee recorded his fourth straight game of 20-or-more points with a game-high 22 and Detrick added a career-high 21 points in his first start since Jan. 7. In his first non-start of the year, Ebi Ere scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high-tying eight rebounds along with Jozsef Szendrei. Szendrei made just his second start of the season and his first since the team's opener against Central Connecticut. Oklahoma shot an impressive .571 in the second half after a .355 first-half effort. The Sooners committed just nine turnovers, their second fewest of the year, and posted a 37-27 rebound advantage. Larry Reid led Kansas State with 14 points and was followed by Phineas Atchison, Pervis Pasco and Matt Siebrandt who each tallied 12.
KANSAS STATE LEFTOVERS
PRICE ADDED TO WOODEN AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior guards Hollis Price is one of 15 players who were added to the list of midseason candidates to make the 10-player Wooden Award All-America Team and to receive the John R. Wooden Award. Thirty players were named to the original midseason list, including Big 12 standouts Maurice Baker, Nick Collison, Drew Gooden and Kareem Rush. Price was the only Big 12 player on the list of 15 additional candidates. The Wooden Award All-America Team will be announced March 26 and the Wooden Award Trophy will be awarded to the nation's "Most Outstanding Collegiate Basketball Player of the Year" April 7.
20/20
Saturday's win over Kansas State marked OU's 20th victory of the season. This is the 20th time in school history that Oklahoma has reached the 20-win plateau. Eighteen of those 20-win seasons have come in the last 21 years. Kelvin Sampson has posted six 20-win campaigns in his eight years at OU, including five straight.
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 last Wednesday 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. His performance landed him a starting role against Kansas State on Saturday and the emotional and vocal Szendrei responded with a game-high-tying eight rebounds. He is averaging 9.5 boards over the last two games. Szendrei had not started since the season opener Nov. 12 against Central Connecticut.
Szendrei's parents, Jozsef IV and Eva, are visiting Norman from Budapest. They arrived on Thursday and will stay for two weeks. Saturday marked the first time Szendrei's parents have seen him play basketball at the collegiate level, either Division I or junior college.
SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
The Sooners own an impressive 60-9 (.870) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (13-0), Texas (13-3), Texas A&M (12-1) and Texas Tech (8-5), OU is 46-9 (.836) under Sampson.
SOONER STREAKERS
OU's win against Baylor on Feb. 6 marked its 15th straight against the Bears. The Sooners have also won eight in a row versus Missouri and six straight against Texas and Texas A&M. Oklahoma also owns three-game winning streaks against Kansas State and Nebraska.
THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
The Sooners have made just 19-of-75 three-point attempts over the last four games for a .253 figure. That's a significant cool down from the team's previous seven games when it made 54-of-125 shots from beyond the circle for a .432 mark. On the season, OU is shooting .354 from long distance.
HANDLE WITH CARE
Last year the Sooners led the Big 12 by committing just 12.7 turnovers per game. Though the team ranks second in the category this season, it is actually committing fewer miscues per contest (12.5) than last year. OU had a season-low seven turnovers two Saturdays ago at Texas A&M and committed just nine this weekend against Kansas State. Nebraska leads the Big 12 with just 11.3 turnovers per game while the Sooners pace the league in turnover margin at +3.9.
ROAD RULE
Oklahoma has had its share of success on the road under Kelvin Sampson with a 30-19 (.612) record in its last 49 true away contests. In Big 12 play, OU is 26-14 in its last 40 road contests for a .650 mark. The Sooners have finished 5-3 in three of the last four seasons in conference road play and went 6-2 in 1998-99. Kansas (34-12), Oklahoma (27-19) and Texas (26-20) are the only schools with a winning road record since the Big 12 was formed.
TRAVELING TIDBITS
A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners, who are among the nation's best foul shooters, turned in a 22-for-25 effort last Wednesday at Oklahoma State and lead the Big 12 with a .762 season mark (they're shooting .774 in league games). OU's top four scorers are shooting at least .795 from the charity stripe and its top scorer, Hollis Price, owns an .862 season figure to rank third inthe Big 12. 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 (.774) and three-point percentage defense (.315) while ranking second in scoring defense (68.5), scoring margin (+8.2) and field goal percentage defense (.414). OU also ranks third in steals (7.9) and turnover margin (+2.4).
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 10 games and is averaging 16.5 points, 2.7 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 solid shooting year with his .480 field goal, .396 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 suddenly become a viable All-Big 12 candidate. The 6-8, 250-pound senior forward has four double-doubles in the last six games and five in the last 10 contests. He has been the team's most consistent producer of late and is averaging 19.7 points and 9.1 rebounds over the last seven games. On the season, he ranks second on the team in scoring with his 15.0 points per outing and leads the squad with his 7.2 rebounds. The lefty has posted four straight 20-point performances (23, 21, 27 and 22) and has led the team in rebounding in six of the last seven games. He also has seven blocked shots over the last five contests. The owner of a good shooting touch for a big man, McGhee is shooting .816 from the foul line and is 16-for-17 over the last two outings.
WHITE'S A DELIGHT
Junior point guard Quannas White has played his best basketball of the season over the last nine 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 nine games he is averaging 9.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.0 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 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals in Big 12 play while shooting .429 from long range (12-for-28).
ERE BACK IN THE SADDLE?
Less than a month ago, junior guard Ebi Ere averaged 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Sooners. Over the next seven contests, however, Ere averaged 9.9 points and 3.7 rebounds to drop his season averages to 14.7 and 5.6. Prior to Saturday's game at Kansas State in which he scored 13 points after coming off the bench for the first time this season, Ere had a three-game string of single-digit outputs. 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 the single-digit drought. Ere also grabbed eight rebounds on Saturday, his most in seven games. He 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 RESPONDS TO STARTING ROLE
Junior college transfer Jason Detrick, who came off the bench in 20 of the first 23 games this year, made his first start since Jan. 7 on Saturday and responded with a career-high 21 points, six rebounds and three assists with no turnovers. The 6-5, 210-pound guard also registered 15 points, six boards and three steals the previous game at Oklahoma State. Detrick, who has scored at least 15 points in three of the last four games, is averaging 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 21.7 minutes per contest. He is averaging 14.4 points over the last five games. 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 sixth in the Big 12. Selvy is also enjoying a solid shooting season with his .475 field goal mark. Last year in conference action, Selvy shot just .275 (22-for-80) from the floor. Over the last 17 games he is shooting .516 (48-for-93). He averages 7.0 points, 4.4 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 18 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 4.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals for the Sooners. He also averages 6.1 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 24 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 (29.1), Brown (23.1) and Detrick (21.7).
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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