Indiana-Oklahoma Preview

March 27, 2002

GAME: No. 5 Indiana (24-11) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (31-4).
REGIONAL: National Semifinal.
TIME: Saturday, 6:07 p.m. EST.
SITE: Georgia Dome; Atlanta.

Indiana and Oklahoma have played in the shadows all season: the Hoosiers, trying to step out of the past of legendary coach Bobby Knight; the Sooners, behind high-profile conference rival Kansas, a team it could potentially meet for a third time this season, for the National Championship on Monday night.

For one game at least, the Hoosiers and the Sooners will share the spotlight in the Final Four.

While coach Mike Davis shed the "interim" tag prior to the start of the season, most of the Hoosier faithful remained steadfast in their allegiance to Knight, who performed a remarkable turnaround in his first year at Texas Tech before his first-round exit in the NCAA tournament.

It has been a tough road for Davis, whose team claimed a share of the Big Ten title but lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Before this impressive run, he admitted thoughts of resigning at season's end.

"I knew it was going to be a tough task," he said. "I just wasn't ready for how tough it's been. Now I understand it's not about me. It's about being the guy who followed coach Knight. I don't like criticism sometimes, but that's part of it."

The Hoosiers, making their first Final Four appearance since 1992, have shown a remarkable grit in coming together for their four NCAA tournament wins. The most impressive aspect may have been the two distinctly different styles in their regional victories.

Indiana rode the dominant inside play of Jared Jeffries to its upset victory over Duke in the Sweet 16 before putting on a breathtaking display from the perimeter - making 15 of 19 3-point shots - in the regional final victory over Kent State.

"We have a good basketball team. These guys have represented Indiana well," Davis said. "It's nothing we're doing differently as a coaching staff. It's the players who are giving the effort."

One of those players notorious for giving effort - starting point guard Tom Coverdale - is questionable for this game with a sprained right ankle suffered in Saturday's win over the Golden Flashes. Davis used freshman Donald Perry in practice with the first team this week.

"I think it's about 50-50 that he plays," Davis said of Coverdale. "We want him to get well, but as of now he's still on crutches. But if anyone can play through injuries, it's Coverdale."

Oklahoma has spent almost the entire season playing second fiddle to Big 12 rival Kansas, which won the Midwest Region; and playing second fiddle to the powerhouse football program on the Norman campus.

Even after defeating the Jayhawks in the Big 12 tournament championship game, the Sooners were slighted by the NCAA tournament selection committee, who awarded them a No. 2 seed.

"There's a reason why when you think Oklahoma, you think football," Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I'm anxious to see how the fans react to our program now. They've always respected us. We've always been good. But we've taken another step up."

Sampson's team methodically advanced through the West and disposed of Arizona and conference rival Missouri in the regionals.

The Sooners have showcased an impressive inside-outside combination offensively of forward Aaron McGhee and shooting guard Hollis Price in their four wins, with McGhee scoring 51 points in the first two rounds before Price totaled 44 in the regionals.

But with Coverdale's status uncertain, the focus of Oklahoma may turn to point guard Quannas White, who has been unheralded in his role of efficient leader on offense and defensive stopper. White, a junior college transfer, has had 25 assists and seven turnovers in the four NCAA tournament wins, but he can make the 3-pointer as evidenced by his 41 percent marksmanship from beyond the arc.

"The thing I liked about him when he came in here is he could defend the ball," said Sampson, who watched White hold Kansas' Kirk Heinrich to 0-for-10 shooting in the Big 12 title game and Missouri's Clarence Gilbert to 1-for-16 from the field in the West Region final. "He was good at defending dribble penetration."

The Sooners are in the Final Four for the first time since 1988, when they lost to the Jayhawks in the championship game.

Indiana leads the all-time series 3-1 and posted NCAA tournament victories in 1983 and 1998.

The winner of this game will play Kansas or Maryland for the National Championship Monday.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Indiana - F Jeffries (15.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg), F Kyle Hornsby (7.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg), F Jarred Odle (9.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg), G Dane Fife (8.8 ppg, 2.4 apg), G Coverdale (12.2 ppg, 4.9 apg) or G Perry (2.3 ppg, 1.2 apg). Oklahoma - F McGhee (15.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg), F Ebi Ere (14.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg), F Jabahri Brown (4.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg), G White (7.9 ppg, 4.8 apg), G Price (16.8 ppg, 2.6 apg).

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Indiana - At-large bid, Big Ten Conference; defeated No. 12 Utah 75-56 in first round; defeated No. 13 NC-Wilmington 76-67 in second round; defeated No. 1 Duke 74-73 in South Region semifinal; defeated No. 10 Kent State 81-69 in South Region final. Oklahoma - Automatic bid, Big 12 Conference tournament champion; defeated No. 15 Illinois-Chicago 71-63 in first round; defeated No. 7 Xavier 78-65 in second round; defeated No. 3 Arizona 88-67 in West Region semifinal; defeated No. 12 Missouri 81-75 in West Region final.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Indiana - 56-25, 31 years. Oklahoma - 27-20, 21 years.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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