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
No. 6 Sooners Try For Series Sweep Of Texas
February 22, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2002
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GAME INFORMATION
Ranked sixth and fifth in this week's respective AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, Oklahoma (21-4 overall, 10-3 Big 12) hosts Texas (17-9, 8-5) Saturday at 8 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 nationally by ESPN with Ron Franklin (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) announcing.
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Oklahoma returns home after notching a 65-54 road win at Baylor on Tuesday. The Sooners, hoping to secure a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed, stand alone in second place in the Big 12 by two full games ahead of Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech. A win over Texas on Saturday would clinch a No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. OU has won 20 games in a row at home and 29 of its last 30. The Sooners have also won six in a row against Texas and 22 of the last 26 head-to-head meetings.
Senior forward Aaron McGhee continues to turn in one solid effort after another and has been one of the league's top performers during the month of February. McGhee has recorded five double-doubles in OU's last seven games and is averaging 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last eight contests. He has posted four 20-point efforts in the last five games, including a season-high 27-point game Feb. 13 at Oklahoma State. He has led the team in scoring the last five games and in rebounding in seven of the last eight. On the season, McGhee ranks second on the team with his 15.0 points and leads the club with his 7.3 boards. He ranks sixth in Big 12 games in scoring (17.0 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (8.1 rpg).
Junior guard Hollis Price leads the team in scoring with his 16.4 points per contest and snapped out of a four-game scoring slump (he averaged 8.8 points) Tuesday by scoring 15 points at Baylor. Price also averages 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals on the season. He has drained a team-high 54 treys (2.3 per game) and is shooting .478 from the field and .388 from beyond the arc. His .866 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, has come off the bench the last two outings after starting the first 23 and averages 14.6 points per game. He averaged just 6.7 points his last three starts but has scored 13 and 15 as a reserve. The junior guard ranks third on the squad with 5.7 rebounds and with 1.5 assists on the year.
Jason Detrick, another junior guard, has started the last two games in Ere's place and has averaged 13.0 points. He has scored at least 15 points in three of the last five games and averages 10.4 points and 3.7 rebounds on the season. He has made 26 of his last 29 free throw tries (.897).
ABOUT TEXAS
After posting wins against Texas A&M and Colorado, taking then-No. 2 Kansas to overtime and winning at Missouri, Texas lost at home to Oklahoma State on Wednesday, 85-80. The Longhorns shot .397 from the field while the Cowboys posted a .577 mark. OSU also outrebounded the Horns, 47-27. Texas sports an impressive 5-1 record in Big 12 road games with its only loss coming by a single point at Kansas State. UT has been playing without the services of senior center Chris Owens since the All-America candidate tore the ACL in his right knee Dec. 29 at Utah. He averaged 15.8 points and 7.4 boards in his 11 games.
Sophomore forward Brandon Mouton leads available UT players with his 14.3 points per game (16.2 in Big 12) and 53 three-pointers (2.0 per game). Fellow sophomore Royal Ivey, a guard, averages 12.0 points per contest and has made 23 treys on the season. Freshman point guard T.J. Ford averages 10.6 points and leads the nation with his 8.7 assists per outing. Over the last six games, Ford is averaging 15.8 points and 9.7 assists. Sophomore center James Thomas averages 11.8 points and 10.3 boards in Big 12 play.
Head coach Rick Barnes is in his fourth season at Texas where he is 85-40 (680). He has compiled a 287-174 (.623) record in 15 years as a head coach at George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas.
SEASON AVERAGES TEXAS PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 3 Brandon Mouton (6-4, 210, So.) 14.3 4.5 1.3 F 15 Deginald Erskin (6-6, 218, Jr.) 6.7 2.8 0.5 C 0 James Thomas (6-8, 220, So.) 10.4 8.7 0.3 G 11 T.J. Ford (5-10, 165, Fr.) 10.6 4.1 8.7 G 24 Royal Ivey (6-3, 192, So.) 12.0 3.9 1.5OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS PPG RPG APG F 13 Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.) 15.0 7.3 1.0 C 42 Jozsef Szendrei (6-9, 240, Jr.) 1.7 3.1 0.1 G 4 Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.) 7.7 3.0 4.5 G 5 Jason Detrick (6-5, 210, Jr.) 10.4 3.7 1.4 G 10 Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.) 16.4 2.8 2.7
SERIES WITH TEXAS
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Texas, 40-16, and holds an 18-5 advantage in Norman. The Sooners have won 22 of their last 26 games against the Longhorns, including the last six. Kelvin Sampson is 13-3 against Texas as OU's head coach and is 5-1 inside Lloyd Noble Center.
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. THE LONGHORNS
Oklahoma continued its mastery over Texas with an 85-84 overtime win against the Longhorns in Austin Feb. 2. The Sooners led by six at halftime and extended their advantage to 17 when Hollis Price converted a three-point play with 6:31 left in regulation. But Texas chipped away with the help of poor OU free throw shooting and trailed by just three with 0.7 seconds remaining. With the ball under his own basket, UT point guard T.J. Ford found Brandon Mouton open in the corner and Mouton drained a trey to force overtime. Brian Boddicker scored the first bucket of the extra session to give the Horns a two-point lead, but OU hung tough and took a one-point advantage when Hollis Price knocked down a shot in the lane with 20 seconds showing on the clock. Texas' James Thomas was stripped while going up for a game-tying field goal and Jason Detrick grabbed the ball, was fouled and sank two free throws with seven seconds remaining to put OU up by three. A three-point try by Royal Ivey was off the mark for Texas and Mouton tipped in the rebound as time expired to account for the one-point OU win. Price led the Sooners with 25 points while Aaron McGhee notched his second straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ebi Ere and Quannas White both scored 16 points and Detrick scored all 11 of his points after halftime. Mouton's 26 points led all scorers.
TICKETS LEFT FOR SENIOR NIGHT
A limited number of tickets are still available for next Tuesday's 8 p.m. regular season finale against Iowa State. The game will mark "Senior Night" as four Sooners will be playing at Lloyd Noble Center for the final time. Forwards Aaron McGhee and Daryan Selvy and guards Richard Ainooson and Michael Cano will be introduced with their families before the game. After the contest they will be given the opportunity to address the crowd by microphone. Tickets for the game can be purchased by calling the OU Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 456-4668 or (405) 325-2424.
BAYLOR RECAP
Oklahoma broke open a close game late in the contest with a 10-0 run and dealt Baylor just its third home loss of the season, 65-54 on Tuesday night. A John Lucas layup drew the Bears within one at 51-50 with 6:13 to go, but three-pointers from Quannas White and Aaron McGhee, two free throws by Hollis Price and a putback layup by Ebi Ere put the Sooners ahead 61-50 with 3:21 on the clock. Within nine points was the closest the Bears could draw as OU posted its 16th straight win over Baylor. McGhee registered his fifth double-double in seven games with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while Price and Ere also scored 15 points. White pitched in with nine points and a game-high five assists. Baylor freshmen John Lucas and Lawrence Roberts scored 19 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Bears. Roberts also grabbed eight boards and blocked a career-high five shots. BU shot just .386 from the field, .136 from three-point range and .583 from the foul line. Meanwhile, OU shot .482, .389 and .800, respectively.
BAYLOR LEFTOVERS
AN OU WIN AGAINST TEXAS WOULD...
SAMPSON NAMED NAISMITH FINALIST
Kelvin Sampson was named one of 25 finalists for the Naismith Award, given to the national coach of the year, on Tuesday. Fellow Big 12 coaches joining Sampson on the list were Texas Tech's Bob Knight, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton and Kansas' Roy Williams. Sampson won AP, USBWA and Basketball Times national coach-of-the-year honors in 1995, his first year at Oklahoma, when his team went 23-9.
PRICE ADDED TO WOODEN AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior guard 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.
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 14-0 at home this year, is 339-59 (.852) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 102-16 (.864) at home under eighth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 20 straight. The 20-game home winning streak is OU's longest since winning 51 in a row in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
START ME UP
The Sooners' 21-4 record marks their best 25-game start in 12 years. Billy Tubbs' 1989-90 team also began 21-4 (it actually started 27-4 before losing its final game of the season to finish 27-5).
20/20
OU's win over Kansas State last Saturday marked the Sooners' 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.
SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
The Sooners own an impressive 61-9 (.871) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (14-0), Texas (13-3), Texas A&M (12-1) and Texas Tech (8-5), OU is 47-9 (.839) under Sampson.
SOONER STREAKERS
OU's win against Baylor on Tuesday marked its 16th 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.
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 is averaging just 10.3 over its last four games. Nebraska leads the Big 12 with just 11.2 turnovers per game while the Sooners pace the league in turnover margin at +3.8.
A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners, who are among the nation's best foul shooters, lead the Big 12 with a .763 season mark (they're shooting a Big 12-best .774 in league games). OU boasts four of the Big 12's top-13 free throw shooters in Hollis Price (3rd), Jason Detrick (6th), Aaron McGhee (8th) and Ebi Ere (13th). The quartet combines for an .821 figure (275-for-335). The Sooners have shot .800 or better from the line in four of the last five games.
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, NATIONAL STATS
In Big 12 Conference games, Oklahoma leads the league in scoring defense (67.4), free throw percentage (.774) and three-point percentage defense (.296) while ranking second in scoring margin (+8.5) and field goal percentage defense (.412). OU also ranks third in field goal percentage (.452), steals (7.9) and turnover margin (+2.4).
In the latest NCAA stats (games through Feb. 18), the Sooners rank eighth in free throw percentage (.762) and scoring margin (+14.6), 12th in rebounding margin (+7.5) and 29th in scoring offense (79.1 ppg).
QUICK TIPS
VOTE HOLLIS
Junior guard Hollis Price has shown no ill-effects from a severed triceps tendon sustained in his right (shooting) arm last March and has been stellar all year for OU. He has scored at least 24 points four times in the last 11 games and is averaging 16.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 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 .478 field goal, .388 three-point and .866 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 first-team All-Big 12 candidate. The 6-8, 250-pound senior forward has five double-doubles in the last seven games and nine on the year. He has been the team's most consistent producer of late and is averaging 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last eight 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 7.3 rebounds. The lefty has posted four 20-point performances (23, 21, 27 and 22) in the last five games and has led the team in rebounding in seven of the last eight games. He also has seven blocked shots over the last six 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 three outings. He is also shooting .389 from 3-point land over the last nine games (7-for-18).
WHITE'S A DELIGHT
Junior point guard Quannas White has played his best basketball of the season over the last 10 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 10 games he is averaging 9.5 points, 3.8 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, 3.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals in Big 12 play while shooting .433 from long range (13-for-30).
ERE BACK IN THE SADDLE?
Following the Jan. 19 Kansas affair, 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 OU's last two games in which he has averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds off the bench, 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 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, has averaged 13.0 points over the last two contests as a starter. He registered a career-high 21 points, six rebounds and three assists with no turnovers last Saturday against Kansas State. Detrick, who has scored at least 15 points in three of the last five games, is averaging 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 21.6 minutes per contest. He is averaging 12.8 points over the last six games. Detrick was a first-team junior college All-American last year at Southwest Missouri State-West Plains.
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, has totaled 48 minutes over the last three games (the last two as a starter). He earned 17 minutes of court time at Oklahoma State Feb. 13 and grabbed a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. The 17 minutes were his most since playing 20 minutes Dec. 29 against Texas Southern. His performance landed him a starting role against Kansas State last Saturday and he responded with a game-high-tying eight rebounds. Szendrei, who had not started since the season opener, had four more rebounds Tuesday at Baylor. He is averaging 7.7 boards over the last three games.
Szendrei's parents, Jozsef IV and Eva, are visiting Norman from Budapest. They arrived last 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.
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 .476 field goal mark. Last year in conference action, Selvy shot just .275 (22-for-80) from the floor. Over the last 18 games he is shooting .515 (50-for-97). He averages 6.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 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 19 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 4.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals for the Sooners. He also averages 6.0 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 25 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 (29.3), Brown (22.9) and Detrick (21.6).
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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Thursday, April 02
