Sampson and Sooners Go for Sixth Win in Last Seven Games

GAME INFORMATION
Unranked in the AP poll for the first time in 46 weeks, Oklahoma (15-5 overall, 5-4 Big 12) tries for its sixth win in its last seven games when it plays at Texas A&M (7-13, 0-9) on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. CST inside Reed Arena in College Station. The game 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. It will be televised regionally by ESPN Plus (KOCB Ch. 34/Cox Cable 11 in OKC) with Fred White (play-by-play) and Reid Gettys (analyst) announcing.

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Oklahoma rebounded nicely from a dreary 37-point performance at Texas on Sunday with an impressive 63-48 triumph over No. 18 Texas Tech on Wednesday in Norman. The Sooners forced 22 Red Raider turnovers (16 in the first half), registered 15 steals and held Tech 11 points below its previous season scoring low. True freshman guards Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie combined for 26 points, nine assists and four steals as the Sooners moved into a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 with Texas Tech. De'Angelo Alexander contributed a trio of three-pointers and 11 points off the bench despite playing with a severely sprained ankle. The win was Oklahoma's fifth in its last six games and improved the Sooners to 48-2 in their last 50 games at Lloyd Noble Center.
Alexander and McKenzie have provided the scoring punch during OU's recent surge thanks in large part to solid three-point shooting. Alexander, after going seven straight games without reaching double figures in points, has scored at least 11 in each of the last three games (averaging 13.3) and is 11 for his last 21 (.524) from beyond the arc over the last five outings. Alexander leads the team with his 10.5 points per game on the year and ranks third with his 4.8 rebounds per contest. McKenzie, coming off a team-high 15-point game against Texas Tech, has scored at least 15 in three of the last four games. He has reached double digits in four of the last five games (averaging 12.4) and has made 13 treys in those five outings. McKenzie now averages 8.3 points on the season to rank fourth on the team, but paces the squad in Big 12 play with his 10.3 scoring average. He averages 2.1 three-point makes per league game.

Senior guard Jason Detrick was extremely effective in OU's recent four-game winning streak with a 14.5 scoring average during the stretch (included were games of 24 against Kansas State and 15 against Baylor and Iowa State). But Detrick was held scoreless in 14 minutes of play versus Texas Tech. He now averages 10.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Point guard Lavender is tied for the team lead with his 10.5 points per game and paces the team with his 3.8 assists. He has hit 29 treys, two fewer than team-leader McKenzie. The Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year has made at least one trey in 18 of 20 games and leads the team with 30.1 minutes played per contest. Another guard, junior Jaison Williams has been extremely valuable this season. Coming off the bench in each game, the high-energy Williams is averaging 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a team-high 1.6 steals. He is shooting a team-high .920 from the foul line and has made 27 three-pointers. Williams is averaging 4.0 assists over the last three games.

On the inside, the Sooners have stomached the loss of Kevin Bookout's 7.6 points and 5.5 boards per outing rather well. Bookout underwent successful season-ending shoulder surgery Feb. 5. Senior center Jabahri Brown recorded nine points and nine rebounds against Texas Tech and now averages 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on the season. He has 99 blocks in an OU uniform to rank sixth on the school's all-time list. Junior forward Johnnie Gilbert replaced Bookout as a starter the last six games and has averaged 4.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals in those contests. Gilbert is averaging 4.6 points, 3.9 boards and 1.4 rejections per game. Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner is also seeing more playing time and is averaging 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds over the last seven contests. Turner has also rejected three shots three times in the last four games.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M
Picked ninth in both Big 12 preseason polls, Texas A&M stands in last place with a 0-9 league record. The Aggies, who are 7-13 overall and 5-6 at home, have lost nine straight after going 7-4 in non-conference play. A&M has lost by an average of 7.5 points in Big 12 action but three of the home losses have been by six points or less (versus Kansas, Texas Tech and Nebraska). The Aggies are coming off an 83-77 home defeat at the hands of Nebraska in a game that saw them shoot .382 from the field and .200 from three-point range (4-for-20). The Huskers scored 51 points in the second half.

Senior Jesse King and sophomore Antoine Wright lead a balanced scoring attack by averaging 13.3 and 13.2 points per game, respectively. Both guard/forwards, King also averages 5.7 rebounds per contest while Wright adds 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Wright has also made a team-high 33 treys on the year (he has attempted 121 for a .273 season mark). King scored a team-high 18 points versus Nebraska while Wright tallied three in a career-low 15 minutes. Senior center Andy Slocum averages 9.1 points a game, as well as 9.7 rebounds to rank second in the conference. The seven-footer is shooting .497 from the field. Senior guard Leando Garcia-Morales averages 7.8 points and 2.3 assists per game while freshman guard Acie Law averages 7.5 points and 3.9 handouts.

Texas A&M is shooting .424 from the field and owns .335 three-point and .685 free throw marks. Opponents have shot .471 from the field and .391 from beyond the arc. The Aggies outboard their foes by 6.2 per contest.

Head coach Melvin Watkins is 60-104 (.366) in his sixth year at Texas A&M and 102-124 (.451) in his eighth season overall.

SERIES WITH TEXAS A&M
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Texas A&M, 19-1, and holds a 7-1 advantage in College Station. Kelvin Sampson is 14-1 against the Aggies as OU's head coach and is 6-1 in College Station. The Sooners have won the series' last eight games and the only A&M victory came on a buzzer-beater in 1999 (74-72).

Oklahoma posted a 75-68 win in Norman last year and followed with a 69-64 victory in College Station. Hollis Price scored 24 and 23 points in the respective wins and was a combined 8-for-12 from beyond the arc while Ebi Ere had 18 points at home and 12 on the road. Bernard King led A&M with 21 and 17 points.

A WIN OVER TEXAS A&M WOULD...
Give OU a 20-1 record against the Aggies and an 8-1 mark in College Station. Kelvin Sampson would improve to 15-1 against Texas A&M. It would also be the Sooners's ninth straight win in the series.
Keep Oklahoma in at least a tie for fourth place (with Texas Tech) in the Big 12 standings. The top five regular season finishers earn first-round Big 12 Tournament byes.
Give OU a 45-11 record in its last 56 games against Big 12 teams (including postseason play).

TEXAS TECH RECAP
In their third straight dominating home performance, the Sooners avenged a 20-point loss at Texas Tech on Jan. 19 by knocking off the No. 18 Red Raiders, 63-48, on Wednesday. Oklahoma's zone defense stymied Texas Tech virtually all evening and resulted in Tech's lowest point total of the season by 11. The Sooners forced the Red Raiders into 22 turnovers, their most of the year, and held them to .380 field goal shooting to move into a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 standings. Texas Tech's lone lead of the night came when it scored the game's first basket. From there it was mostly OU. Oklahoma jumped to an 11-4 lead behind seven early points from Drew Lavender and pushed its advantage to as many as 15 (23-8 at 9:49) before settling for a 31-21 halftime lead. The Sooners missed 11 of their first 13 field goal attempts of the second half and the Red Raiders closed to within one, 34-33, with 14:26 remaining. Tech trailed 43-41 with 9:30 left before a 13-2 OU run over the next five minutes gave the Sooners a 56-43 lead and put the game on ice. Freshman Lawrence McKenzie scored a team-high 15 points and was followed by Lavender (11) and De'Angelo Alexander (11). Jabahri Brown registered nine points and nine rebounds while frontcourt mate Johnnie Gilbert had eight points, five boards, two blocks and three steals. Andre Emmett led Tech with 22 points while Devonne Giles added 10.

TEXAS TECH LEFTOVERS
Oklahoma's four freshmen who played accounted for 32 of OU's 63 points (51 percent). The team's frontcourt had one of its best efforts, combining for 23 points, 23 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Texas Tech's 22 turnovers were the most by an Oklahoma league opponent this year. OU's 15 steals were its second most of the entire season.
Five different Sooners converted from beyond the three-point line and OU had nine makes on the night. Senior center Jabahri Brown made his first career three-pointer with 1:18 to go.
The win was OU's 48th in its last 50 games at Lloyd Noble Center.

BOOKOUT'S SURGERY A SUCCESS
Kevin Bookout underwent successful right shoulder surgery Feb. 5 in Oklahoma City. Team physicians Brock Schnebel and Don McGinnis performed the two-hour shoulder reconstruction that corrected instability in the joint. Bookout, a 6-8, 265-pound sophomore forward who earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors last year when he led the league in field goal percentage (.587), will be in a sling for three weeks. According to team medical personnel, standard recovery time for surgery of this nature is three to five months. Bookout played in 13 games this season and averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and shot .516 from the field (his final game was at Texas Tech on Jan. 19). Last year he averaged 9.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The Stroud native also earned All-America honors in the shot put last June. Bookout, who will redshirt in track and field this year, will have two seasons of basketball eligibility remaining and three in track. He hurt the shoulder the first week of basketball practice (on Oct. 21).

SAMPSON'S SUCCESS VS. STATE OF TEXAS
Oklahoma owns an impressive 75-13 (.852) record against teams from the state of Texas under Kelvin Sampson. Against Big 12 foes Baylor (17-0), Texas (15-6), Texas A&M (14-1) and Texas Tech (13-6), OU is 59-13 (.819) under Sampson.

SERVED ON A TREY
With the exception of a 1-for-21 performance against Texas last Sunday, Oklahoma has shot extremely well from three-point range over the last six games. OU has made at least eight treys in five of the last six outings and has averaged 9.0 makes in those five. Freshman Lawrence McKenzie has 14 treys over the last six games while sophomore De'Angelo Alexander has made 12. Four Sooners have made at least 27 three-pointers on the year (31 by McKenzie, 29 by Drew Lavender, 28 by Alexander and 27 by Jaison Williams).

MORE FROM THE LAND OF THREE
Sophomore De'Angelo Alexander became the fourth Sooner to make five three-pointers in a game this year when he went 5-for-7 against Iowa State on Feb. 4. Jaison Williams was 5-for-9 against Texas-Pan American (Dec. 29), Drew Lavender was 5-for-8 at Connecticut (Jan. 11) and Lawrence McKenzie was 5-for-8 against Nebraska (Feb. 1). The last time four Sooners made five three-pointers in a game in a season was in 1998-99 when Tim Heskett, Michael Johnson, Eric Martin and Eduardo Najera accomplished the feat.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR
Kelvin Sampson's Oklahoma teams have been known to peak in the latter portion of the regular season over his nine-plus years in Norman. The Sooners are now 38-11 (.776) in February and March regular season games since the start of the 1998-99 campaign.

BALANCED ATTACK
In OU's 78-67 win at Baylor Jan. 28, eight of the nine Sooners who saw action scored. What makes the feat interesting is that all eight scored at least eight points. It marked the first time since the first game of the 1995-96 season (Kelvin Sampson's second year as OU head coach) that eight players scored at least eight points in a contest. On the season, seven Sooners average between 6.5 and 10.5 points per game. Eight players have scored at least 10 points in a game this year (another tallied nine twice) and seven have scored at least 15.

COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES
The Sooners' biggest downfalls in their four losses have been shooting, rebounding and turnovers. Below is a statistical comparison between OU's 15 wins and its five losses.

FG Percentage -- .433 in wins, .341 in losses
Opp. FG Percentage -- .382 in wins, .490 in losses
3FG Percentage -- .342 in wins, .277 in losses
Opp. 3FG Percentage -- .335 in wins, .414 in losses
Rebounding Margin -- +3.9 in wins, -10.4 in losses
Turnovers Per Game -- 13.4 in wins, 17.4 in losses

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 367-61 (.857) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 130-18 (.878) at home under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 48 of their last 50. OU had won 37 straight at home before losing to Texas in last year's regular season finale. 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).

BIG 12 DOMINANCE
Oklahoma had more than its fair share of success against Big 12 opponents the last couple of seasons by winning 44 of its last 55 games (.800) against conference competition (including postseason play). Aiding that record is a 9-0 Big 12 Tournament mark over the last three years.

OU'S SCHEDULE NO PICNIC
By the time the regular season is over, Oklahoma will have played eight games against teams in this week's AP top 25 (one vs. No. 5 Connecticut, two vs. No. 10 Oklahoma, two vs. No. 11 Texas, one vs. No. 12 Kansas and two vs. No. 18 Texas Tech). The Sooners also beat preseason AP No. 3 Michigan State and Purdue, and lost in overtime to preseason AP No. 5 Missouri.

LOW LEADER
De'Angelo Alexander and Drew Lavender lead the team with their 10.5 points per game. The last time a Sooner averaged fewer points as the team's season scoring leader was in 1959-60 when Warren Fouts averaged 10.4.

LIFT THE LID
The Sooners have struggled making shots this year and own a .410 overall season mark to rank last in the Big 12. The last OU team to shoot less than .410 for an entire season was the 1963-64 squad (it shot .398). Kevin Bookout (.516) and Larry Turner (.511) are the only Sooners with a field goal percentage at or above .500 this year. The Missouri and Baylor games marked the only times this season OU shot .500 or better.

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Through 20 games, the Sooners have registered 103 blocked shots, an average of 5.2 per contest. The school record for rejections per game is 5.8 (1988-89) and last year's squad averaged just 3.6. Junior Johnnie Gilbert leads Oklahoma and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with his 1.4 blocks per game (total of 28). Senior center Jabahri Brown and freshman center Larry Turner have 18 blocks apiece this year while sophomore forward Kevin Bookout recorded 13 in 13 games. Brown ranks sixth on the school's career list with 99 blocks while Gilbert ranks seventh with 92.

LOVING LAV
Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Drew Lavender has led OU in scoring five times this season with 14-, 13-, 23-, 22-, and 15-point efforts against Purdue, Prairie View A&M, Jackson State, Connecticut and Oklahoma State, respectively. Lavender became the first frosh and the shortest player to ever win Big 12 Player of the Week honors when he reeled in the award Dec. 16. Lavender, who hit the game-winning shot with 1.1 seconds left to give OU a 47-45 victory over Purdue, is averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has also made 29 three-pointers, an average of 1.5 a game. The last Oklahoma freshman to average 10.5 points per game for an entire season was Jeff Webster (18.3 ppg in 1990-91). Since Oklahoma assist statistics were first kept during the 1976-77 season, Terry Evans is the only freshman to average more assists for an entire campaign (4.4 in 1989-90).

FRESH FACES
Making their Oklahoma debuts in the season opener against Eastern Washington were freshmen Brandon Foust, Drew Lavender, Lawrence McKenzie and junior Jaison Williams. Through 20 games, the group has accounted for 526 of OU's 1,339 points (39 percent), 148 of its 260 assists (57 percent) and 88 of its 125 three-pointers (70 percent). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner has also seen action in 19 games and scored a career-high nine points against both Prairie View A&M and Texas Tech (Jan. 19). Five of OU's 11 roster players are freshmen (walk-on Kellen Sampson is the fifth) while seven are freshmen or sophomores.

STARTING FRESH(MEN)
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 23 points against Jackson State Dec. 20 represent the most by a freshman during the Sampson era while McKenzie's 19 points versus Oral Roberts Nov. 22 stand as the sixth most by an OU frosh under Sampson.

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 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. Opponents are scoring 59.9 points per game this season.
Oklahoma is 18-9 in overtime games under Sampson and has won 12 of its last 15. OU went 3-0 in overtime affairs last season (beat Texas Tech twice and Kansas State).
Sampson's .727 winning percentage is the best in OU history (Billy Tubbs ranks second at .716).

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.

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).

UNDER KELVIN SAMPSON...
OU has a 126-31 record the last four-plus years for the NCAA's third-best winning percentage (.803).
OU has posted an 85-36 (.702) regular season 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 130-18 (.878) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 48 of its last 50 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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sampson and Sooners Go for Sixth Win in Last Seven Games

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