OU vs. Michigan State Men's Basketball Preview

GAME INFORMATION

Ranked 14th and 12th in the latest AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, respectively, Oklahoma (4-0) plays its first road game of the season when it takes on Michigan State (3-2) at the Palace of Auburn Hills Saturday at 11 a.m. CST. The Spartans are ranked fifth and sixth in the national polls. The contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (flagship KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Chuck Cooperstein (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN with Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Dick Vitale (analyst) handling the call.

OU 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.)

MSU PROJECTED STARTERS

G/F 15 Alan Anderson (6-6, 220, Jr.)

C 40 Paul Davis (6-11, 255, So.)

G 5 Chris Hill (6-3, 190, Jr.)

G 13 Maurice Ager (6-4, 190, So.)

G 23 Kelvin Torbert (6-4, 215, Jr.)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE

Oklahoma's game against Michigan State on Saturday will mark Kelvin Sampson's 300th as OU's head coach. The 10th-year Sooner mentor owns a 218-81 (.729) record at OU and is 115-26 (.816) since the start of the 1999-2000 season (only Duke has a better record over the past four-plus years). Sampson's squad is 4-0 this year with home wins against Eastern Washington (69-59), Oral Roberts (84-68), Tulsa (81-73) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (94-24). In the 70-point win over Pine Bluff on Tuesday, the Sooners set Sampson era records for margin of victory, steals (26), opponent points, opponent points in a half (9 in the first), opponent field goals (9), opponent field goal percentage (.205) and opponent turnovers (41).

Sophomore De'Angelo Alexander has led the squad in scoring twice this year and paces OU with his 15.3 points per contest. The 6-5 guard also averages 5.5 rebounds per game, just off the team high of 5.8 (Kevin Bookout and Jaison Williams), and has attempted 27 free throws on the year 14 more than any other Sooner. Fellow guards Jason Detrick (12.0 ppg), Lawrence McKenzie (10.3) and Drew Lavender (10.0) also average double figures in scoring. Detrick missed the first two games as he recuperated from an abdominal injury while McKenzie and Lavender have started all four games as true freshmen. McKenzie has made a team-high eight three-pointers and Lavender has led OU in assists each outing (averaging 5.0). Another guard, Williams has been a spark off the bench and averages 9.0 points, a team-high-tying 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals in 24.3 minutes per game. The junior college transfer, who played his freshman season (2001-02) at Xavier, has made seven treys and is shooting .875 at the foul line.

On the inside, senior center Jabahri Brown averages 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. A career .590 free throw shooter entering the season, Brown is 10-for-12 at the line this year for a .833 mark. After missing the team's two exhibition games due to a shoulder injury, sophomore forward Bookout has started all four games and is averaging 8.5 points and 5.8 boards per contest. Over the last two outings, Bookout is averaging 12.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. Junior forward Johnnie Gilbert has been solid off the bench. The lefty averages 6.8 points, 4.5 boards and 1.3 rejections per outing.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE

Michigan State enters Saturday's game with a 3-2 record and is coming off a 72-50 home loss to No. 6 Duke on Wednesday. The 22-point defeat was its worst at the Breslin Center since 1997 (span of 106 games) as no Spartan reached double figures in points. MSU has beaten Bucknell (64-52), Penn (77-52) and DePaul (89-81) and also lost at Kansas (81-74). Last year, MSU went 22-13 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight where it fell to Texas, 85-76.

Sophomore center Paul Davis leads the team in scoring and rebounding with his 11.8 and 6.8 respective averages. He also averages a team-high 2.0 steals per contest. Davis and OU leading scorer De'Angelo Alexander both played on the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team this past summer in Greece. Davis averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds while Alexander averaged 11.9 and 6.4. Also averaging double figures in scoring for the Spartans are junior guards Chris Hill (11.4 ppg) and Kelvin Torbert (10.4). Fellow guards Shannon Brown (9.2), Maurice Ager (9.0) and Alan Anderson (9.0) are pushing the double-digit mark.

The Spartans are shooting .447 from the field and .307 from beyond the arc while opponents have combined for .467 and .315 figures. In its wins, MSU is averaging 12.7 turnovers. In its losses, it is averaging 22.0.

In his ninth year as a college head coach, all at Michigan State, Tom Izzo owns a 192-80 (.706) record and has taken three Spartan teams (1999, 2000, 2001) to the Final Four. MSU won the 2000 national title.

SERIES WITH MICHIGAN STATE

Oklahoma and Michigan State have met only six times but half of those contests have come in the last five years. The Sooners trail the series 4-2 but earned a 60-58 victory last year in the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City on Jan. 4. Ebi Ere (game-high 21 points) and Hollis Price (19 points with the help of 10-for-11 free throw shooting) and the rest of the backcourt combined for 50 points in a physical matchup. Chris Hill and Maurice Ager each scored a team-high 12 points for the Spartans.

Two years ago, Michigan State posted a 67-55 home win in the second round of the Preseason NIT. Price scored 18 for the Sooners while Ere added 16. Adam Ballinger netted 13 and had nine rebounds to lead MSU to its 46th straight home victory. In the 1999 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional semifinals, No. 1 seed Michigan State won a 54-46 contest in St. Louis that featured an infamous collision between OU's Eduardo Najera and MSU's Mateen Cleaves. The 13th-seeded Sooners beat No. 4 seed Arizona and No. 5 seed UNC Charlotte to get to the Sweet 16.

Michigan State also posted victories on Dec. 29, 1956, (76-74 in OT in Kansas City, Mo.) and Dec. 21, 1963, (118-100 in Tempe, Ariz.) while OU's other win came on March 17, 1993, (88-86 in Norman) in the first round of the NIT.

Kelvin Sampson, who served as a graduate assistant coach at Michigan State under former head coach Jud Heathcote during the 1978-79 (national title season) and 1979-80 campaigns, is 2-3 against the Spartans. Sampson's Washington State squad lost in East Lansing in 1992-93, 77-61, but rebounded for a 76-71 victory the following season in the second round of the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.

ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF RECAP

In the most lopsided game of the nine-plus year Kelvin Sampson era, Oklahoma discarded Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a 94-24 count on Tuesday in Norman. The Sooners registered the program's largest margin of victory (70 points) in 11 seasons despite shooting just .420 from the field, .286 from three-point range and .667 from the foul line. OU did it with defense as the Golden Lions committed 41 turnovers and shot a mere .205 from the field and .111 (1-for-9) from long distance. Pine Bluff also struggled at the charity stripe, going 5-for-12. Oklahoma took a 48-9 lead to halftime and held UAPB to single digits until 17:13 remained in the game. The Golden Lions didn't reach 20 points until the 2:37 mark. All 11 Sooners who played scored at least four points. De'Angelo Alexander led the way with 19 points and was followed by Kevin Bookout (14), Jason Detrick (13) and Jabahri Brown (12). Brown also had a team-high nine boards, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Detrick and Drew Lavender both registered five steals as OU logged 26 overall. Billy Hall was the only Golden Lion to make more than one field goal. He made three baskets and finished with a team-high six points.

ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF LEFTOVERS

The 24 points surrendered were the fewest by OU since the first game of the 1946-47 season when it beat Warrensburg 49-21 in Norman. That Sooner squad went on to lose to Holy Cross in the national title game.

Oklahoma set Kelvin Sampson era records for margin of victory (70), steals (26), opponent points (24), opponent points in a half (9 in the first), opponent field goals (9), opponent field goal percentage (.205) and opponent turnovers (41).

Four Sooners had at least four steals and OU scored 39 points off of turnovers to Pine Bluff's 0.

De'Angelo Alexander made three treys in a 2:10 span of the first half.

AN OU WIN OVER MICHIGAN STATE WOULD...

Give Oklahoma a 5-0 record, its best start since the 2000-01 squad also began 5-0.

Give the Sooners wins over the Spartans in back-to-back years (Oklahoma won 60-58 last year).

Up the Sooners' non-conference record since the start of the 1999-2000 season to 56-10 (.848).

WELCOME BACK, DETRICK

Senior guard Jason Detrick, who redshirted last year after averaging 9.2 points per game during OU's 2001-02 Final Four campaign, had to wait two additional games to get back on the court this season. Detrick missed the Sooner Invitational Nov. 21-22 because he was nursing an abdominal injury sustained during the team's exhibition trip to Costa Rica in August. Extremely limited in preseason practice, Detrick has made a splash in his two games. He is averaging 12.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals in 20.0 minutes per contest, and is shooting .500 from the field and .800 from the free throw line. His five steals Tuesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff matched a career high.

GUARDS LEADING THE WAY

Six Sooners are averaging at least 9.0 points per game in scoring and five are guards. De'Angelo Alexander (15.3 ppg) leads the team and is followed by Jason Detrick (12.0), Lawrence McKenzie (10.3), Drew Lavender (10.0) and Jaison Williams (9.0). Center Jabahri Brown averages 9.5 points per outing. Including Jimmy Tobias' seven points, OU's guards have accounted for 64 percent of the team's scoring (209 of 328 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 four games, the fivesome has accounted for 135 of OU's 328 points (41 percent), 47 of its 67 assists (71 percent) and 20 of its 26 three-pointers (85 percent). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner has also seen action in three 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 shot at least .700 from the free throw line in its first three games and owns a .707 season mark compared to its opponents' .568 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 94-24 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff this week, Oklahoma improved to 112-10 (.918) when scoring at least 80 points under 10th-year under Kelvin Sampson. OU was 7-0 last season under the circumstance and has won 51 of its last 53 games (.962) when scoring 80 or more.

NORTH, TO ALASKA

The University of Alaska-Anchorage recently announced the 2004 Great Alaska Shootout field and Oklahoma is among the seven teams. Joining the Sooners and UAA Seawolves in the Nov. 24-27 event will be Alabama, Minnesota, Utah, Wake Forest and Washington. A yet-to-be-named eighth team will complete the field.

SOONER MISCELLANY

The Sooners made their ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance last year and 18th in the last 21 years.

Oklahoma is 16-3 over the last three postseasons (9-0 in Big 12 and 7-3 in NCAA Tournaments).

The Sooners have won more NCAA Tournament games the past two years (seven) than they did in their previous 10 appearances combined.

The Sooners have won at least 26 games each of the last four seasons.

The Sooners' scoring defense mark of 60.0 points per game last year marked their lowest in 25 years.

Oklahoma is 16-8 in overtime games under Sampson and has won 10 of its last 12. OU went 3-0 in overtime affairs last season (beat Texas Tech twice and Kansas State).

Sampson's .729 winning percentage is the best in OU history (Billy Tubbs ranks second at .716).

OU shot .439 from three-point range over last season's final 17 games (136-for-310).

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 115-26 record the last 4-plus years for the NCAA's second-best winning percentage (.816).

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).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU vs. Michigan State Men's Basketball Preview

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