OU Men Try To Knock Off Baylor For 15th Straight Time

Feb. 5, 2002

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

GAME INFORMATION
Ranked fourth in this week's AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, Oklahoma (17-3 overall, 6-2 Big 12) plays host to unranked Baylor (13-8, 3-5) Wednesday at 7 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 across 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 concluded the first half of its conference schedule with victories over two rivals last week. The Sooners edged Oklahoma State, then ranked ninth nationally, by a 58-53 score last Wednesday before securing an 85-84 overtime win at Texas on Saturday. OU enters Wednesday's contest alone in second place in the Big 12 with a 6-2 record, two-and-a-half games behind 9-0 Kansas. The Sooners are 4-0 at home in league play and boast an 18-game home winning streak. Oklahoma has also won 27 of its last 28 at Lloyd Noble Center.

Junior guard Hollis Price has paced the Sooners in scoring in each of the last four games and was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week for his performances over the last two (he averaged 21.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists against OSU and Texas). The all-league candidate is averaging a team-high 18.1 points per game on the year to go along with his 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals. Price, who has drained a team-high 49 treys (2.6 per game), is shooting .508 from the field, .434 from long range and a team-best .864 from the foul line. In conference play, he ranks third with his 19.8 points per outing.

Ebi Ere, the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year and three-time league rookie of the week, averages 15.9 points per game but has fallen off lately by averaging 12.3 points over the last four contests. The junior guard has scored in double digits in 16 of the last 17 outings and ranks third on the squad with 5.9 rebounds and with 1.7 assists on the year. Ere is shooting .359 from long range and owns a .776 free throw percentage, although he is shooting just .607 from the foul line in league games.

Senior forward Aaron McGhee is averaging 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest, and is coming off his sixth double-double performance of the year (and of his career) against Texas. He has three double-doubles in the last six games and is averaging 14.5 points and 9.8 boards over the last four outings. McGhee has started all 20 games and leads the Sooners with 7.8 boards in league play.

Junior point guard Quannas White has increased his production over the last five games, averaging 12.2 points, 4.4 boards, 4.4 assists and 2.0 steals during the stretch. He is shooting .513 from the field and .439 (17-for-38) from beyond the arc on the year. White also boasts a solid 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

ABOUT BAYLOR
Baylor upended Texas A&M on Saturday, 97-45, in Waco. The 52-point win marked the second-largest margin of victory in by a team in conference action since the Big 12 was formed. The victory snapped a three-game losing skid for the Bears, who fell by seven at Colorado, by six at home against Texas and by three at A&M. Baylor is 11-2 at home and 2-1 at neutral sites, but hasn't won on the road (0-5).

A pair of freshmen have led the way for the Bears this season. Forward Lawrence Roberts leads the team in both scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (8.1 rpg) and blocked shots (1.2 bpg). Point guard John Lucas, son Cleveland Cavaliers head coach of the same name, averages 13.2 points and a team-high 4.5 assists per outing. Lucas has made 43 treys and is shooting .402 from long range. Junior guard Wendell Greenleaf averages 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a team-high 2.4 steals. Greenleaf's 51 three-pointers lead the team and he owns a .455 three-point mark. As a team, the Bears lead the Big 12 with 9.6 three-point makes per game and rank second with a .390 three-point mark.

Former OU mentor Dave Bliss is in his third year as Baylor's head coach. Bliss, who began his head coaching career at Oklahoma in 1975, posted a 77-62 record in Norman and was the Big 12 Coach of the Year twice in his five years. He guided OU to the 1979 NCAA Tournament, its first since 1947. Bliss is 46-35 (.568) at Baylor and 511-306 (.625) in his career.

                                            SEASON AVERAGES
BAYLOR PROJECTED STARTERS                  PPG    RPG    APG
F  32  Greg Davis (6-9, 230, Sr.)          8.3    6.6    2.6
F  44  Lawrence Roberts (6-8, 225, Fr.)    16.3   8.1    1.5
C  34  R.T. Guinn (6-10, 240, So.)         5.3    3.7    1.1
G  15  John Lucas (5-10, 150, Fr.)         13.2   2.5    4.5
G  20  Wendell Greenleaf (6-2, 195, Jr.)   14.2   3.2    3.6

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS                PPG    RPG    APG
F  13  Aaron McGhee (6-8, 250, Sr.)        13.4   7.0    1.0
C  21  Jabahri Brown (6-10, 210, So.)      5.1    7.4    1.5
G  2   Ebi Ere (6-5, 215, Jr.)             15.9   5.9    1.7
G  4   Quannas White (6-1, 190, Jr.)       8.0    2.9    4.3
G  10  Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Jr.)        18.1   2.6    2.5

SERIES WITH BAYLOR
Oklahoma and Baylor have met 24 times and the Sooners have won on 19 occasions, including the last 14 times. OU is 9-2 against the Bears in Norman, 8-2 in Waco and 2-1 in neutral sites. The last time Baylor beat Oklahoma was during the 1977-78 season, 75-67 in Norman. OU head coach Kelvin Sampson is 12-0 against Baylor and 5-0 versus the Bears at Lloyd Noble Center. In those five games in Norman, the Sooners won by an average of 21.6 points.

LAST YEAR VERSUS THE BEARS
The Sooners posted a pair of wins against Baylor last year, 65-51 in Waco and 82-60 in Norman. In the first meeting at Baylor, OU made 9-of-16 (.563) three-point tries while the Bears went 1-for-16 (.063) from long range. Nolan Johnson led Oklahoma with 17 points while J.R. Raymond and Kelley Newton added 15 each. Raymond was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and Newton was 5-for-8. For the game, OU shot .480 from the field while Baylor posted a .311 figure.

In Norman two-and-a-half weeks later, the Sooners shot .545 from the floor and .583 from three-point range in the 22-point win. Raymond hit half of OU's 14-three-pointers on nine tries and finished with 24 points. Aaron McGhee added 16 points while Hollis Price chipped in with 10. Baylor shot .350 from the field and .235 (4-for-17) from three-point range.

TEXAS RECAP
Oklahoma continued its mastery over Texas with an 85-84 overtime win against the Longhorns in Austin on Saturday. 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 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.

TEXAS LEFTOVERS

OU improved to 2-0 in overtime games this year and 13-7 under eighth-year coach Kelvin Sampson.

The Sooners won for the sixth straight time against Texas and 22nd time in the last 26 meetings.

Oklahoma's .591 (13-for-22) free throw performance was its worst of the season. The Sooners entered the game shooting .760 from the line and had turned in a .700-or-better effort in eight straight contests.

PRICE WINS LEAGUE AWARD
Junior guard Hollis Price earned OU's first Big 12 Player of the Week award of the season on Monday. The 6-1, 165-pound New Orleans product averaged 21.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in Oklahoma wins over rivals Oklahoma State and Texas. Price scored a game-high 17 points versus the Cowboys and added a team-high 25 at Texas. Against the Longhorns, he made four three-pointers and also made the go-ahead basket with 20 seconds left in overtime. This marks the second time Price has been named the league's player of the week as he also garnered the final honor of the 2000-01 season.

SOONER STREAKERS
OU's win at Texas on Saturday marked its sixth straight versus the Longhorns, but that's not the longest winning streak against a Big 12 foe. It's not even the second longest. The Sooners have won 14 straight games against Baylor and eight straight over Missouri. OU also owns a five-game streak over Texas A&M, and a three-game streak against Nebraska. The Sooners have won two consecutive against Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

OU INCREASES USE OF LONG RANGE WEAPONS
Over the last seven ball games, Oklahoma has made 54-of-125 three-point attempts for a .432 figure. In OU's first 13 outings, the Sooners posted a .345 three-point mark. OU ranks third in Big 12 games (through Sunday) with a .415 three-point percentage. Missouri leads with a .416 mark while Kansas also shoots .415.

SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
The Sooners own an impressive 58-9 (.866) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (12-0), Texas (13-3), Texas A&M (11-1) and Texas Tech (8-5), OU is 44-9 (.830) 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 five of seven games. OU still owns a +7.1 rebounding margin on the year.

SOONERS RANK WELL IN LEAGUE GAMES
In Big 12 Conference games, Oklahoma leads the league in free throw percentage (.750) and blocked shots (5.0). It ranks second in scoring offense (79.8), scoring defense (70.0), scoring margin (+9.8), field goal percentage (.466), steals (9.0) and turnover margin (+3.6). OU also ranks third in three-point field goal percentage (.415), field goal percentage defense (.413) and three-point percentage defense (.336).

QUICK TIPS

OU has won 18 straight home games and 27 of its last 28.

In two games versus Baylor last year, OU shot .514 from the field and .575 (23-for-40) from three-point land. The Bears, meanwhile, posted .333 and .152 (5-for-33) respective marks.

Oklahoma's No. 4 AP ranking is its highest since the final poll of the 1989-90 season when it was ranked No. 1.

In seven previous seasons under Kelvin Sampson, OU was never ranked in the AP top 10. It has now been ranked there for six straight weeks.

Ebi Ere has grabbed at least seven rebounds on nine occasions this season. Over the last six games, though, he is averaging 3.8 boards. Also, Ere made 40 of his first 45 free throw tries this year (.889) compared to just 12 of his last 22 attempts, however (.545).

After averaging 9.6 rebounds in his first five games, center Jabahri Brown is averaging 4.8 in nine games since.

In Big 12 games, the Sooners are shooting better from three-point land (.415) than its opponents are shooting from the field (.413).

Dating back to last year, Oklahoma has won 22 of its last 26 games and 32 of its last 37.

Since the start of the 1999-2000 season, OU is 69-17 (.802).

The Sooners boast a 61-27 (.693) Big 12 regular season record in the league's five-plus years, second only to Kansas' 72-16 (.818) mark.

Hollis Price shot a combined .439 from the field and .354 from three-point land his first two seasons. So far this year, he owns .508 and .434 respective marks.

In seven-plus years under Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners sport a 96-10 (.906) record when scoring at least 80 points. OU is 35-2 under the circumstance since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season.

OU has already surpassed the 100-point mark three times this year. The last time it reached the century mark three or more times was in 1995-96 (Sampson's second year) when it did it four times.

Ere and Aaron McGhee are the only two Sooners to start all 20 games this year.

Oklahoma (12-0) and Kansas (9-0) are the only Big 12 schools who are undefeated at home.

In its last 46 true road games, Oklahoma is 29-18 (.617).

A CHARITY CASE
The Sooners, who are among the nation's best foul shooters, lead the Big 12 with a .751 season mark. OU's top four scorers are shooting at least .776 from the charity stripe and its top scorer, Hollis Price, owns an .864 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.

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, scored 25 points at Texas on Saturday and has averaged 23.3 points over the last four contests. He has scored at least 24 points four times in the last seven games. Price is averaging 18.1 points, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals. 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 great shooting year with his .508 field goal, .434 three-point and .864 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.

WHITE'S A DELIGHT
Junior point guard Quannas White has played some of his best basketball over the last five games. White poured in a career-high 17 points, had five rebounds, four assists and four steals 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 next two games against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, he totaled 14 points and nine assists. And on Saturday at Texas, White registered 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. That's a five-game average of 12.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 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 11.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals in Big 12 play while shooting .500 from long range (8-for-16).

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 13.5 points (third on team) and 7.0 rebounds (second on team). In 12 home games, the lefty is averaging 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds. McGhee has posted his lone six career double-doubles this year with the most recent coming Saturday at Texas when he had 16 points and 11 boards. The southpaw, who enjoyed a 19-point, 19-rebound game against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 5, is averaging 14.5 points and 9.8 rebounds over the last four outings.

ERE'S PRODUCTION FALLS SLIGHTLY
Junior guard Ebi Ere ranks second on the team with his 15.9 points per game and third with his 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists. The three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week has seen his numbers slip of late, however. Over the last four games he is averaging 12.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist. Also, Ere was one of the league's best free throw shooters with an .889 (40-for-45) mark through 14 games. Over the last six, however, he is shooting .545 (12-for-22) from the foul line. Despite the recent falloff, Ere has posted double-digit point totals in 16 of the last 17 games. 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.

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 9.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 20.7 minutes per contest. Detrick has scored in double figures in nine of the last 14 games and is averaging 10.4 points over the span. On Saturday at Texas, he scored all 11 of his points and grabbed five of his six rebounds after halftime. 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 1.8 thefts per game to rank seventh in the Big 12. Selvy, who has at least two steals in four of the last six contests, is also enjoying a solid shooting season. The senior forward owns a .492 season field goal mark and is shooting .475 in league games. Last year in conference action, Selvy shot just .275 (22-for-80) from the floor. Over the last 13 games he is shooting .551 (43-for-78). He averages 7.7 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 14 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 5.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals for the Sooners. He also averages 6.4 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.

ROAD RULE
Oklahoma has had its share of success on the road under Kelvin Sampson with a 29-18 (.617) record in its last 47 true away contests. In Big 12 play, OU is 25-13 in its last 38 road contests for a .658 mark. The Sooners have finished 5-3 in three of the last four seasons in conference road play (they were 6-2 in 1998-99).

YOUTH IS SERVED
Of Oklahoma's 10 regular players who have seen action in the team's first 20 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

Kelvin Sampson guided Oklahoma to a .791 combined winning percentage the past two seasons (53-14), the seventh best in NCAA Division I. Only Stanford, Duke, Michigan State, Iowa State, Tulsa and Cincinnati posted higher winning percentages over the span.

Last season's NCAA Tournament appearance marked Sampson's eighth straight as a head coach (seven with Oklahoma and one with Washington State). That streak ranks fifth among current coaches.

Oklahoma has finished 12th (2000) and 13th (2001) in the final AP poll the past two years.

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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Men Try To Knock Off Baylor For 15th Straight Time

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors