GAME INFORMATION
Ranked 14th and 12th in the latest AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, respectively, Oklahoma (3-0) plays the last of a four-game season-opening homestand against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-3) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center. The contest will air on the Sooner 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 by the Sooner Sports Network (KWTV Channel 9 in OKC) with Bob Carpenter (play-by-play) and Renzi Stone (analyst) handling the call.
OKLAHOMA'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 34 Kevin Bookout (6-8, 240, So.)
C 21 Jabahri Brown (6-10, 220, Sr.)
G 1 Lawrence McKenzie (6-2, 170, Fr.)
G 3 Drew Lavender (5-7, 155, Fr.)
G 15 De'Angelo Alexander (6-5, 215, So.)
UAPB'S PROJECTED STARTERS
F 24 Justin Lloyd (6-7, 215, Sr.)
C 44 Jarvis Gunter (6-9, 215, Fr.)
G 10 Lee Curry (6-1, 190, Sr.)
G 15 Michael Kendrick (5-11, 160, Jr.)
G 30 Chris Parker (6-5, 185, Sr.)
OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Oklahoma's game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday will mark its first in a week as the Sooners knocked off intrastate foe Tulsa last Tuesday, 81-73, at Lloyd Noble Center. The win over the Golden Hurricane was OU's third in three home games this season. Kelvin Sampson's team also beat Eastern Washington (69-59) and Oral Roberts (84-68) on consecutive nights a week earlier to earn the Sooner Invitational title.
Though he was held to seven points against Tulsa, sophomore guard De'Angelo Alexander leads five Sooners who average double figures in scoring with his 14.0 points per contest. The 6-5 Alexander also averages a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game and has attempted 21 free throws on the year (made 15), 13 more than any other Sooner. A pair of true freshman guards rank second and third in scoring as Lawrence McKenzie and Drew Lavender average 12.0 and 11.3 points per outing, respectively. McKenzie has canned 7-of-18 trey attempts while Lavender has paced the squad in assists each game (he is averaging 5.0 against just 1.3 turnovers).
Senior Jason Detrick, who redshirted last year, made his first appearance since the 2002 Final Four when he scored 11 points against Tulsa in 23 minutes off the bench. Fellow reserve Jaison Williams has been arguably the team's most valuable player through three games, averaging 10.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per contest. Williams is 7-for-14 from three-point distance and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. He averages 25.3 minutes per game.
Since Oklahoma was outrebounded 50-28 in an exhibition loss to Athletes First on Nov. 10, it has outboarded its four opponents (including second exhibition foe EA Sports) by an average of 41-31. In three regular season games, the average is 39-29.
ABOUT ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which plays 11 of its first 12 games this year on the road, enters Tuesday's non-conference game with a 0-3 record. The Golden Lions lost at Air Force (63-40 on Nov. 22), Texas A&M (82-53 on Nov. 24) and Tulane (80-50 on Saturday). The average score of the three games has been 75-48.
Senior forward Justin Lloyd is the only Golden Lion who averages double figures in scoring. He averages 10.0 points and a team-high 4.3 rebounds per contest, and is 11-for-12 at the free throw line. Senior guard Chris Parker averages 7.0 points and 4.0 boards per outing but is shooting .176 (6-for-34) from the field and .142 (3-for-21) from three-point range. As a team, Pine Bluff is shooting .297 from the field, .293 from beyond the arc and .800 from the foul line. It has been outrebounded 127-94 (11.0 margin per game).
Van Holt is in his second year as Arkansas-Pine Bluff's head coach and owns a 4-27 (.129) record.
SERIES WITH ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
Oklahoma won its only previous meeting with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 82-51, on Dec. 4, 1997, in Norman. The Sooners used a .554 shooting performance to win their seventh game to start Kelvin Sampson's fourth OU campaign. Freshman Ryan Humphrey scored a team-high 18 points in 22 minutes off the bench while Evan Wiley had 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Guards Robert Allison (13) and Corey Brewer (11) also reached double figures in points. Thirteen of the Sooners' 18 first-half field goals came in the paint as they bolted to a 45-20 lead at intermission. Pine Bluff's Fred Luckett scored a game-high 20 points.
TULSA RECAP
The Sooners and Golden Hurricane met for the first time in a regular season campus setting since Jan. 9, 1985, and Oklahoma emerged with an entertaining 81-73 victory last Tuesday in Norman. Tulsa jumped out to a 22-9 lead at the 10:50 mark of the first half before a 27-8 OU run gave the Sooners a 36-30 lead. Oklahoma led 41-37 at the half and 64-55 with 7:48 left in the game. Tulsa cut the margin to two points, 69-67, with 2:17 remaining but a Drew Lavender basket and three more scores in a 20-second span pushed OU's advantage to 10, 79-69, with 36 seconds on the clock. The six-point scoring spree featured a Kevin Bookout layup, a Jaison Williams steal and layup, and a Johnnie Gilbert blocked shot and fast break dunk. The Sooners grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to TU's seven and had 15 second-chance points compared to five for the Golden Hurricane. Guard Jaison Williams scored a team-high 16 points and added three rebounds, three assists and three steals off the bench. Lawrence McKenzie scored 13 points and Jason Detrick had 11 in his season debut, while Kevin Bookout and Jabahri Brown had 10 each in the frontcourt. Tulsa, which shot .592 from the field and .583 from three-point territory, was led by Jason Parker's 20 points. Oklahoma shot .789 (15-for-19) from the free throw line while TU turned in a .471 (8-for-17) figure.
TULSA LEFTOVERS
Tulsa's .592 field goal effort was the fourth highest against a Kelvin Sampson-coached Oklahoma squad and the highest by a losing team against OU since Sampson became the Sooners' head coach.
Senior guard Jason Detrick made his first appearance since OU's 2002 Final Four contest against Indiana. Detrick played 23 minutes off the bench and had 11 points (10 in the first half), two rebounds, one assist and two steals. He was 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from the foul line.
Junior forward Johnnie Gilbert's four assists were a career high. His previous high was three at Texas Tech last season (Feb. 15).
AN OU WIN OVER ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF WOULD...
Give Oklahoma a 4-0 record, its best start since the 2000-01 squad began 5-0.
Give the Sooners 50 wins in their last 52 games at Lloyd Noble Center (.962). It would also improve Oklahoma's home record under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson to 123-17 (.879).
Up the Sooners' non-conference record since the start of the 1999-2000 season to 55-10 (.846).
Give Oklahoma 27 straight non-conference home victories dating back to a 72-57 loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 22, 1999.
GUARDS LEADING THE WAY
Five Sooners are averaging double figures in scoring and all five are guards. De'Angelo Alexander (14.0 ppg) leads the team and is followed by Lawrence McKenzie (12.0), Drew Lavender (11.3), Jason Detrick (11.0) and Jaison Williams (10.7). Including Jimmy Tobias' two points, OU's guards have accounted for 67 percent of the team's scoring (157 of 234 points).
YOUNG GUNS
Making their Oklahoma debuts in the season opener against Eastern Washington were freshmen Brandon Foust, Drew Lavender, Lawrence McKenzie and Jimmy Tobias, and junior Jaison Williams. Through three games, the fivesome has accounted for 109 of OU's 234 points (47 percent), 32 of its 45 assists (71 percent) and 17 of its 20 three-pointers (85 percent). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner has also seen action in two games. Six of OU's 12 roster players are freshmen (walk-on Kellen Sampson is the sixth) while eight are freshmen or sophomores.
YOUNG GUNS PART II
Against Eastern Washington on Nov. 21, Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie became the third and fourth freshmen under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson to start the first game of a season. The others were Kevin Bookout last season and guard Prince Fowler in 1994-95, Sampson's first OU campaign. Lavender's 12 points against Eastern Washington were the second most by a Sooner freshman in a season-opening game under Sampson (forward Ryan Humphrey had 17 against Jackson State on Nov. 15, 1997). McKenzie's 19 points versus Oral Roberts Nov. 22 were the most by an OU freshman since Hollis Price tallied 20 against Texas Tech on Feb. 23, 2000. The 19 points represented the third most by a freshman under Sampson (center Bobby Joe Evans scored 20 at Oral Roberts on Dec. 21, 1995).
FINE AT THE LINE
Oklahoma has shot at least .700 from the free throw line in all three of its games. The Sooners own a .732 season mark compared to their opponents' .597 figure. OU has traditionally been a sound free throw shooting team under Kelvin Sampson as seven of his previous nine squads have finished first or second in the Big Eight/Big 12 in percentage. Last year's squad finished third in the Big 12 with a .693 figure.
TOP-10 HIT NO MORE
OU's streak of 30 straight weeks in the AP poll's top 10 came to an end three weeks ago when the organization ranked the Sooners No. 14 in its preseason poll. Oklahoma, still No. 14 in this week's version, has now been ranked in the last 36 AP polls and in 69 of the last 73. Kelvin Sampson's teams were ranked No. 3 in the past two seasons' final AP polls.
BREAKING 80
With its 81-73 win over Tulsa last week, Oklahoma improved to 111-10 (.917) when scoring at least 80 points under 10th-year under Kelvin Sampson. OU was 7-0 last season under the circumstance and has won 50 of its last 52 games (.962) when scoring 80 or more.
HOME IS WHERE THE “W” IS
Lloyd Noble Center has always been extremely kind to the Sooners. Oklahoma, which posted a perfect 16-0 mark at home in 2001-02 and finished 15-1 last season, is 359-60 (.857) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 122-17 (.878) at home under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 49 of their last 51. OU had won 37 straight at home before losing to Texas in the regular season finale last March. The 37-game home winning streak was OU's longest since winning 51 in a row in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was the nation's longest streak at the time. It also stands as the longest streak in Big 12 history (Kansas held the previous league record with 33 straight home wins).
OU SIGNS A PAIR OF STANDOUTS
Sooners head coach Kelvin Sampson inked two recruits to national letters of intent during the early signing period. Post players Taj Gray and Longar Longar will join Oklahoma for the 2004-05 season.
Gray, a 6-9, 240-pound forward who is regarded as one of the nation's top junior college players, hails from Wichita, Kan., and attends Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla. The preseason first-team All-American led Redlands to a 32-3 record and NJCAA Tournament berth last year when he averaged 15.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game. He also shot 68 percent from the field. Gray was the NJCAA's Region 2 Player of the Year and earned second-team All-America acclaim. A Wichita East High School product, Gray was Kansas' Class 6A Player of the Year as a senior in 2001-02. He led his 24-3 team to the state title and was named the state tournament's MVP.
“Taj fits Sooner Basketball,” said Sampson. “Our program is built around a warrior mentality. Taj is a warrior. He's a relentless rebounder. Aaron McGhee had the highest ceiling of any frontline junior college player we've ever signed, and Taj is the same type of player. He'll have an immediate impact on our program. His greatest strengths are his relentlessness, his toughness, his rebounding and his ability to score. Taj has the total package and he's as good a junior college player as there is in the country.”
A Sudan native who moved to the United States as a high schooler, Longar stands 6-11 and weighs 210 pounds. He attended John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minn., and is now at Laurinburg (N.C.) Institute, the nation's No. 1-ranked preparatory school. Longar, who originally signed with Oklahoma in November 2002, was a consensus top-75 recruit as a senior last year and led his 24-4 John Marshall squad to the Elite Eight of the state tournament, the school's best-ever finish. He averaged 18.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocks en route to earning first-team All-State honors.
Sampson said, “I'm not sure you can ever have enough quality post players. The thing I love about Longar is that he has an unbelievably high ceiling. His potential is tremendous and one of the things that excites us it that his offensive skills are improving by the day. With post guys like Taj Gray, Kevin Bookout, Johnnie Gilbert and Larry Turner already in the fold, Longar gives us a great young big man to develop and that's something we're excited about.”
LAST YEAR REVISITED
Oklahoma turned in yet another fine season under head coach Kelvin Sampson last year. The Sooners recorded an impressive 27-7 overall record and 12-4 (third place) Big 12 mark. OU also won its third straight Big 12 Tournament and made its ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Elite Eight appearance was its seventh overall. Following is a list of team notes and accomplishments from the 2002-03 season:
Oklahoma finished 27-7 overall, tying the second-best winning percentage (.794) under Sampson.
The 27 wins tied for the sixth most in school history.
OU's Elite Eight appearance marked its seventh ever and second consecutive.
The team's Big 12 Tournament title was its third straight. The championship game appearance was OU's fifth in the last six years.
The Sooners made their 22nd consecutive postseason appearance (18 NCAA and four NIT). Only Indiana (26) owns a longer current postseason streak. The NCAA Tournament appearance was OU's ninth consecutive.
Oklahoma finished the year ranked No. 3 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today version. The AP finish tied as its best since 1989-90 when OU ended up No. 1 in both the media and coaches' polls (OU also finished No. 3 in 2002).
OU's No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed was its fifth ever and first since 1990.
The Sooners upped their nation's-best home winning streak to 37 games before losing the regular season finale to Texas, 76-71.
Oklahoma led the Big 12 (all games) in scoring defense (60.0 ppg), three-point field goal percentage (.392) and opponent rebounds (32.3 rpg). It ranked second in scoring margin (+10.3), three-point field goal percentage defense (.321), turnovers (12.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.17).
SOONERS THIS CENTURY
Entering 2003-04, Oklahoma has posted the second-best winning percentage in NCAA Division I over the past four seasons (starting with 1999-2000)...
Duke 121-20 (.858)
Oklahoma 111-26 (.810)
Stanford 102-26 (.797)
Kansas 113-29 (.796)
Arizona 107-29 (.787)
SIX STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS
The Sooners have compiled six straight seasons of at least 22 wins under head coach Kelvin Sampson. Last year marked the 21st 20-win season in school history and seventh under Sampson (this is his 10th year).
NINE STRAIGHT...AND COUNTING
Oklahoma has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of Kelvin Sampson's nine years in Norman. Only seven other schools have made the “Big Dance” each of the past nine seasons (Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and Stanford).
KELVIN'S SCHOOL OF DANCE
Last year's NCAA Tournament appearance marked Kelvin Sampson's 10th straight as a head coach (nine with Oklahoma and one with Washington State). That string ranks fourth among current coaches. Only Arizona's Lute Olson (19 straight), North Carolina's Roy Williams (14) and Cincinnati's Bob Huggins (12) have taken teams to more consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Kentucky's Tubby Smith and Maryland's Gary Williams have also been to 10 straight “Big Dances” while Stanford's Mike Montgomery has been to nine.
OU OWNS NATION'S SECOND-LONGEST POSTSEASON STREAK
Oklahoma has made 22 consecutive postseason appearances (18 NCAA and four NIT), the second-longest streak among Division I programs. Only Indiana owns a longer postseason streak. The last time OU did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81. Here are the two longest postseason streaks:
Team Streak NCAA NIT Started
Indiana 26 24 2 1977-78
Oklahoma 22 18 4 1981-82
UNDER KELVIN SAMPSON...
OU has a 114-26 record the last 4-plus years for the NCAA's second-best winning percentage (.814).
OU has posted an 80-32 (.714) Big 12 Conference record.
OU has made nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
OU has advanced to the Sweet 16 (1999), Final Four (2002) and Elite Eight (2003).
OU has recorded a 122-17 (.878) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 49 of its last 51 home games.
OU has won at least 26 games each of the last four seasons and at least 22 games each of the last six years.
OU has won three straight Big 12 Tournaments and has made five title game appearances in the last six events.
OU has won 24 of its last 28 games against Big 12 opponents (including Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments).
