Sooners Fall To Indiana, 73-64, In Final Four

March 30, 2002

Quotes

Press Conference Audio

Sooners Final Four Flash

By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - Hoosiers: The Sequel.

Indiana, the most unlikely team in the Final Four, is one victory from its first national championship since 1987, using an amazing display of versatility to upset Oklahoma 73-64 Saturday night.

Fifteen years to the day that Keith Smart hit a baseline jumper to beat Syracuse in the title game, Indiana stunned the Sooners with a gimpy point guard, slicing through Oklahoma's vaunted defense with ease.

Six-foot-10 Jared Jeffries led the fast break. Backup forward Jeff Newton swatted away shots and kept getting inside. Even freshman Donald Perry, filling in at the end for the hobbled Tom Coverdale, came through with a key basket on an end-to-end drive with just over two minutes left.

Second-seeded Oklahoma (31-5) couldn't overcome the loss of Aaron McGhee, who scored 22 points but fouled out with 4:40 remaining.

Hollis Price, the Sooners' leading scorer and MVP of the West Regional, had a horrible night. He made just 1-of-11 shots and was held to six points - nearly 11 below his average.

With its tear through the NCAA tournament, Indiana (25-11) has rekindled thoughts of the movie, "Hoosiers," about the underdog team from the tiny high school that won the state championship in the 1950s.

But the stakes are much higher for these Hoosiers.

Indiana's last championship came with Bob Knight on the sideline. Standing there this time is second-year coach Mike Davis, who took over a program in turmoil and led his team to the title game.

"We're about ready to claim the championship," Davis said.

The Hoosiers already upset defending national champion Duke in the regional semifinals. Now, anything seems possible - even with either Maryland or Kansas, both No. 1 seeds, awaiting them in Monday night's championship.

Davis, who sprinted around the court like a wild man after the victory over Duke, was calm and collected this time. He shook hands with Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson and strolled off the court, his players were far more animated.

"One more! One more!" senior Dane Fife, who played for Knight his first two seasons, yelled to Davis.

The unheralded Newton scored 19 points to lead the Hoosiers. Jarrad Odle had 11 and Perry finished with 10, including four straight free throws to help seal the victory.

"I can't even explain how if feels right now," said Newton, who was averaging 7.8 points per game.

Indiana shot 52 percent (25-of-48) from the field against a team that had allowed opponents to make just 40 percent.

"We had to go zone to protect out big guys from foul trouble," Sampson said. "Our defense, which has been great all year long, obviously wasn't as good as it had to be."

And because it wasn't, the Hoosiers are in the Final Four for the first time since 1992 and get a chance to play for their sixth national title.

Oklahoma last made the Final Four in 1988, when it lost to Kansas in the championship game. This time, the Sooners fell two victories short of their first national title.

Oklahoma trailed 60-55 when McGhee fouled out.

"He's a great player. He's got a great touch," Jeffries said. "If he didn't (foul out), he'd probably have 40 on us."

With McGhee on the bench, the Sooners fought back to tie the game at 60 when Daryan Selby put back his own miss with 3:26 remaining.

The surge prompted Davis to pull out Coverdale, who was playing with a huge wad of tape on his sprained left ankle and had three straight turnovers.

Newton got inside again for the go-ahead basket with 2:42 left. After an Oklahoma miss, Perry grabbed the rebound and took off. He paused near the foul line, then burst to the basket as two Oklahoma defenders got tangled up with each other.

Price missed a 3-pointer - he was 1-of-7 beyond the arc - and Newton was fouled. He made both free throws. Oklahoma was done.

Coverdale started despite spraining his left ankle in the regional final victory over Kent State. While there wasn't an obvious limp, he grimaced at times and was clearly slowed by the injury.

In one telling play, Coverdale chugged away on a not-so-fast break, only to lose control of the ball as he crossed into the frontcourt.

Still, Coverdale managed to play 29 minutes. He wasn't that effective - scoring three points and dishing out four assists - but it was enough.

Oklahoma, the quicker and more athletic team, appeared on the verge of blowing the game open in the first half. Price turned on a burst of speed to create a layup for Jabahri Brown, and Ebi Ere knocked down an open jumper at the end of a fastbreak to push the Sooners to a 17-9 lead with 9:56 remaining.

The Hoosiers bounced back without their best player. Jeffries, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds against Duke, sat on the bench for the last 11{ minutes of the opening half after picking up his second foul.

Indiana turned to Newton, playing in his hometown, to get something going on the inside. The slender, 6-9 junior converted back-to-back three-point plays, then fed Odle for another basket.

Meanwhile, 6-11 sophomore George Leach made a surprising contribution after being virtually nonexistent through Indiana's first four NCAA games. He scored three points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a couple of shots in the opening half.

Leach played six minutes by halftime - two more than he had played total in the other NCAA games, in which he missed his only shot and didn't have any rebounds or blocks.

Oklahoma led 34-30 at halftime, but the Hoosiers were still in the game. They went right back to the lead when Jeffries scored the first five points after the break.

He played all but one minute in the second half, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Fall To Indiana, 73-64, In Final Four

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