NIT Preview: Oklahoma vs. Michigan

GAME INFORMATION
Oklahoma (20-10 overall, 8-8 Big 12) travels to face Michigan (19-11, 8-8 Big Ten) in a second-round National Invitation Tournament contest on Monday at 8 p.m. CST at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. The Sooners advanced Wednesday after beating LSU in Norman, 70-61, while the Wolverines earned a second-round game by defeating Missouri at home on Tuesday, 65-64. Comprised of 40 teams, the NIT will hold its semifinals and championship game on March 30 and April 1 at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

All of OU's NIT games will air live on the Sooner Basketball Radio Network (flagship KOMA 1520 AM in Oklahoma City) with Bob Barry, Sr. (play-by-play) and Mike Houck (analyst) calling the action. Monday's contest will be televised by ESPN2 (Cox Cable 28 in Oklahoma City) with Dave Sims (play-by-play) and Brad Daugherty (analyst) announcing.

2004 National Invitation Tournament | Printable Bracket

OKLAHOMA PROJECTED STARTERS
F 22 Brandon Foust (6-6, 205, Fr., 3.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.4 apg)
F 32 Johnnie Gilbert (6-8, 235, Jr., 5.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.7 apg)
G 3 Drew Lavender (5-7, 155, Fr., 11.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G 5 Jason Detrick (6-6, 215, Sr., 11.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G 15 De'Angelo Alexander (6-5, 215, So., 9.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.4 apg)

OFF THE BENCH
G 1 Lawrence McKenzie (6-2, 170, Fr., 8.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)
G 2 Jaison Williams (6-3, 185, Jr., 6.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.6 apg)
C 44 Larry Turner (6-11, 235, Fr., 3.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.4 apg)

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
The Sooners missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years but now own the nation's longest current postseason streak (23 seasons) by virtue of their NIT bid. OU has won four of its last five games and nearly knocked off then-No. 11 Texas in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals March 12. Oklahoma led by 12 points with seven minutes left before falling 66-63. The Sooners are coming off a 70-61 first-round NIT win over LSU on Wednesday as freshman forward Brandon Foust scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed a career-high-tying seven rebounds in his first career start.

Point guard Drew Lavender, Foust's high school teammate, had 15 points and five assists versus LSU and leads a balanced OU scoring attack with his 11.6 points a game. The 5-7 Big 12 All-Freshman Team member also leads the Sooners in assists (3.9), steals (1.7), three-point makes (1.8), three-point percentage (.379) and minutes (31.3). Lavender has made at least one trey in 27 of 30 games and has made 24 over the last 10. The Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year scored 31 points against Texas A&M Feb. 14, the most by an OU true freshman in 20 years. Lone senior Jason Detrick has reached double digits in points in nine of the last 10 games and is averaging 13.7 points in those 10 outings. Included was a 35-point game at Colorado on Feb. 25. The wing ranks just behind Lavender with his 11.5 points per outing and has made 12 three-pointers over the last eight games (he has made 21 treys on the year). Detrick leads the team with eight charges taken and had four against Texas two games ago.

Sophomore guard De'Angelo Alexander scored a team-high 15 points versus Texas in the Big 12 Tourney and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds the game before against Nebraska. He ranks third on the team with his 9.7 points per game and is the squad's leading rebounder among available players (5.0 rpg). He is shooting .371 from three-point range (he is 22-for-53 over the last 15 games for a .415 figure). Guard Lawrence McKenzie has had an extremely productive freshman campaign and has made 43 treys this year (average of 1.5 per game). McKenzie, who has scored in double figures 11 times, averages 8.1 points per game (he averaged 9.7 in conference play).

Another guard, junior Jaison Williams has elevated his play lately. Williams had a 16-point game at Colorado and a 12-point, seven-rebound effort against Texas A&M March 3. Coming off the bench each game this year, he now averages 6.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting a team-high .842 from the free throw line and has made 37 three-pointers.

On the inside, the Sooners are down to three players as Kevin Bookout underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Feb. 5 and Jabahri Brown was removed from the roster on March 5 for a violation of team rules. Bookout averaged 7.6 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds a game while Brown averaged 7.1 points and 5.1 boards in his 25 starts. Foust has had the hot hand of late as he has averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds over the last two games. He averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 boards over OU's first 25 games but has seen those averages increase to 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 27.4 minutes over the last five. Foust is shooting .541 from the field (20-for-37) in those last five outings. Junior forward Johnnie Gilbert has started in 15 of OU's 16 games since Bookout's departure and averages 5.1 points, 3.9 boards and a team-high 1.5 rejections per game. He is coming off an 11-point performance (one shy of his career high). Redshirt freshman center Larry Turner is also seeing more playing time (he's started five of the last seven games). He is shooting .473 from the field and ranks second on the team with his 1.1 blocks per game (averaging 1.9 in his last 11 games).

OU EXTENDS POSTSEASON STREAK TO 23 YEARS
With this season's NIT bid, Oklahoma is making its 23rd consecutive postseason appearance (18 NCAA and five NIT), now the longest streak among NCAA Division I programs. Indiana held the longest postseason streak (26) until this year. The last time OU did not compete in the postseason was in 1980-81.

SOONERS' NCAA STREAK SNAPPED
Oklahoma's nine-year NCAA Tournament streak finally came to a halt this season. The Sooners had qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of Kelvin Sampson's nine previous years in Norman. Only seven other schools had made the “Big Dance” each of the past nine seasons (Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and Stanford). Sampson had made 10 straight appearances as his final Washington State squad made the NCAA field in 1994. That string ranked fourth among current coaches. Only Arizona's Lute Olson (19 straight), North Carolina's Roy Williams (14) and Cincinnati's Bob Huggins (12) had taken teams to more consecutive NCAA Tournaments entering this season.

20 WINS AGAIN
Oklahoma has compiled seven consecutive 20-win seasons. The win over LSU on Wednesday gave OU its 22nd 20-win season in school history and the eighth under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson.

ABOUT MICHIGAN
Michigan enters Monday's game with 19-11 overall and 8-8 Big Ten records. The Wolverines tied for fifth place in conference play and went 1-1 in the league tournament (beat Iowa 79-70 before losing to Illinois 74-60). Their 65-64 win over Missouri on Tuesday marked their first postseason victory in six years. Michigan is 14-3 at home this year and its three defeats have come by a combined six points. It lost to Boston (61-60), Indiana (59-57) and Michigan State (72-69).

The Wolverines are led in scoring by sophomore wing Lester Abram and his 13.4 points a game. Abram, however, has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury sustained at the Big Ten Tournament. His status for Monday's game is uncertain. Senior wing Bernard Robinson Jr. averages 12.2 points a game to go along with team highs in rebounds (5.7), assists (3.8) and steals (1.9). Sophomore Daniel Horton made four treys and scored a career-high 20 points against Missouri last week and averages 12.0 per game, as well as 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals. The guard has also made 59 three-pointers to lead the squad. Another three-point threat, freshman guard Dion Harris has made 51 treys and averages 9.6 points a game. Freshman forward/center and thirty-game starter Courtney Sims averages 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds a game while shooting .568 from the field.

Michigan is shooting .445 from the field, .333 from beyond the arc and .697 from the foul line. Opponents have shot .420 from the floor and .337 from beyond the arc. The Wolverines outrebound their foes by 4.1 boards a game.

Head coach Tommy Amaker is 47-42 in his third year at Michigan and owns a 115-97 career record in his sixth season (he also coached at Seton Hall).

SERIES WITH MICHIGAN
In a battle of top-five teams, Michigan won the only previous meeting between the two schools, 91-80, on Nov. 27, 1988, in the Maui Classic championship game. It was the first of just six losses for an OU squad that won 30 games and featured All-America seniors Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King. The No. 3 Wolverines shot .625 from the field and outrebounded No. 4 Oklahoma 38-27. Rumeal Robinson led five Michigan players in double digits while Sean Higgins added 19 on 7-for-7 field goal shooting. King tallied a game-high 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting while Tyrone Jones went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc en route to 18 points. Michigan went on to beat Seton Hall in the national championship game that season, 80-79, in overtime.

A WIN OVER MICHIGAN WOULD...
Give Oklahoma three victories in three tries against Big Ten teams this year. The Sooners beat Michigan State 80-77 in overtime Dec. 6 in Auburn Hills, Mich., and outlasted Purdue 47-45 Dec. 11 in Norman.
Improve OU's postseason NIT record to 11-6.
Even the overall series with Michigan at one victory apiece.

LSU RECAP
Brandon Foust made the most of his first career start, scoring a career-high 19 points and tying a career high with seven rebounds as Oklahoma posted a 70-61 first-round NIT win over LSU in front of a boisterous home crowd of 8,817 on Wednesday. Foust, who scored a then-career-high 11 points in OU's previous game, had 12 by the half against the Tigers on 5-for-5 shooting. He added two assists, a block and a steal on the night. High school teammate and fellow freshman Drew Lavender added 15 points and five rebounds as the Sooners registered their 20th win of the season. OU scored the game's first five points, fell behind by six and then rode Foust to a 30-22 halftime lead. LSU cut the margin to three, 37-34, with 15:47 to go but a 6-0 OU run put it quickly back up by nine. The Sooners pushed their lead to as many as 12 and led by no fewer than five the rest of the way. OU shot .451 from the field, its second best mark in the last nine games, and posted a .783 free throw figure, its best in six outings. LSU shot just .364 from the field and committed 19 turnovers as it finished its year 18-11. Antonio Hudson led the Tigers with 16 points and was followed by Brandon Bass' 14. Bass also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

LSU LEFTOVERS
Brandon Foust made eight of his first nine field goal attempts before finishing 8-of-12. He was 2-for-8 from three-point range entering the game but made a pair of treys in a 1:26 span of the first half.
OU's four freshmen accounted for 44 of the team's 70 points (63 percent). Foust became the third freshman to score at least 19 points in a game this year (Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie).
Johnnie Gilbert scored 11 points, one shy of his career high, and added two blocks and two steals.
Jason Detrick had 10 points for his ninth double-figure game in the last 10. He also registered four steals.

RIM RATTLERS
Oklahoma is down to eight available players on its roster. Four are freshmen and one is a sophomore.
OU's loss to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals snapped a record-tying 10-game winning streak in the event. The Sooners had won the last three Big 12 Tourney titles.
Brandon Foust averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in OU's first 25 games but is averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 boards over the last five (15.0 and 6.0 over the last two).
Johnnie Gilbert shot .423 (22-for-52) from the free throw line in OU's first 25 games but is shooting .737 (14-for-19) in five outings since. He was 5-for-6 against LSU on Wednesday.
True freshmen have led OU in scoring in 15 of 30 games (nine times by Drew Lavender, five by Lawrence McKenzie and once by Brandon Foust).
The Sooners lead the Big 12 in turnover margin, averaging 4.7 fewer turnovers per game than their opponents. OU has committed more turnovers than its foe just four times in 30 games.
Oklahoma fell out of the AP top-25 poll five weeks ago for the first time since December 2001 (46 weeks). OU was ranked in the top 10 in 34 of the previous 45 polls.
OU has outrebounded just three opponents in its last 21 games.
Oklahoma has made at least one three-point basket in 255 straight games dating back to the 1996-97 season.
Nine different players have scored at least 10 points in a game this season while a 10th, Larry Turner, has tallied nine twice. Eight players have scored at least 15 points in a game.

OU FROSH: HEAD OF THE CLASSES
By class, freshmen have recorded the biggest chunk of Oklahoma's points this season. OU's frosh have registered 780 of the team's 2,005 points, or 38.9 percent. The four Sooner freshmen who play are Drew Lavender (11.6 ppg), Lawrence McKenzie (8.1), Brandon Foust (3.7) and Larry Turner (3.2). Jimmy Tobias averaged 2.0 points in six games before transferring to a junior college.

Class (Percent of Points)
Freshman (38.9%)
Sophomore (19.5%)
Junior (16.7%)
Senior (24.9%)

YOUNG GUNS
Against Eastern Washington, Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie became the third and fourth freshmen to start the first game of a season under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson (the others were Kevin Bookout last year and guard Prince Fowler in 1994-95, Sampson's first OU campaign). In all, four frosh have cracked the starting lineup this year as Larry Turner has gotten the nod six times and Brandon Foust once. Lavender and McKenzie finished second and third on the team in scoring in Big 12 play by averaging 10.6 and 9.7 points a game, respectively (Jason Detrick averaged 11.8). Lavender has scored in double figures a team-high-tying 17 times while McKenzie has done it 10 times. Lavender has led the team in scoring on nine occasions while McKenzie has done it five times. Foust scored a team-high 19 points against LSU on Wednesday.

GUARDS LEADING THE WAY
Despite the fact that Oklahoma lost three starting guards from last year's team, the Sooners' top five scorers (among available players) are all members of the backcourt. Drew Lavender paces the squad with 11.6 points per game and is followed by Jason Detrick (11.5), De'Angelo Alexander (9.7), Lawrence McKenzie (8.1) and Jaison Williams (6.0). OU's guards have scored 1,380 of its 2,005 points, or 69 percent. Over the last eight games, Sooner guards have scored 399 of the team's 536 points (74 percent).

PREACHING PROTECTION
Oklahoma has done an excellent job taking care of the basketball over the last nine games, averaging just 10.1 turnovers during the stretch. The Sooners recorded single-digit turnovers in five of those contests (nine versus Oklahoma State, a season-low five versus Texas, eight at Colorado, nine against Baylor and six versus Nebraska in the Big 12 Tournament). OU has committed more turnovers than its foes just four times in 30 games this season and leads the Big 12 in turnover margin (it averages 4.7 fewer turnovers per game than its opponents).

BOARDED UP
Normally considered an Oklahoma strength, rebounding has been anything but this season. The Sooners outrebounded Texas A&M and Baylor in the their last two regular season games, marking just the second and third times in the last 18 regular season games they outboarded an opponent. In three postseason outings, they have been outrebounded by an average of 9.7 boards. On the year, opponents are grabbing 36.2 rebounds per game to OU's 34.0. The last time the Sooners were outrebounded for an entire season was in 1993-94 (Billy Tubbs' final season at OU).

LOVING “LAV”
Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Drew Lavender has led OU in scoring nine times this season and has tallied at least 22 points on three occasions. 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. He also garnered Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors Feb. 17. Lavender averages a team-high 11.6 points a game and also leads the team with his 3.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.8 treys per game. His .379 three-point percentage also paces the squad. The last Oklahoma freshman to average 11.6 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).

SERVED ON A TREY
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 (Drew Lavender since made six at Texas A&M). 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 at Nebraska (Feb. 1). The last time four Sooners made at least five treys in a game in a season was in 1998-99 (Tim Heskett, Michael Johnson, Eric Martin and Eduardo Najera).

NOT AFRAID OF REJECTION
Through 30 games, the Sooners have registered 152 blocked shots, an average of 5.1 per contest (ranks third in Big 12). 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 seventh in the Big 12 with his 1.5 blocks per game (total of 45) and has recorded at least two rejections in 11 of the last 16 outings (he had an OU-season-high four Feb. 29 at Kansas). Freshman center Larry Turner has 33 blocked shots in 29 games on the year for a 1.1 average while senior center Jabahri Brown finished his season with 23 (sophomore forward Kevin Bookout recorded 13 in his 13 games). Gilbert ranks fifth on the school's career list with 109 blocks while Brown ranks sixth with 104.

COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES
The Sooners' biggest downfalls in their 10 losses have been shooting and rebounding. Below is a statistical comparison between OU's 20 wins and its 10 defeats.

FG Percentage -- .435 in wins, .359 in losses
Opp. FG Percentage -- .385 in wins, .497 in losses
3FG Percentage -- .348 in wins, .314 in losses
Opp. 3FG Percentage -- .328 in wins, .413 in losses
Rebounding Margin -- +2.1 in wins, -10.8 in losses

SOONERS LEAD BIG 12 IN STEALS
Oklahoma's defense has been sound this season (OU ranks second in the Big 12 by giving up just 62.1 points per game) and its ability to come up with steals has been a major reason. The Sooners lead the conference by averaging 8.6 steals per contest. OU has reached double digits in steals nine times this year and logged 26 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 2 (the most under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson). Jason Detrick and Drew Lavender both recorded five steals in that game. On the season, Lavender averages 1.8 steals to pace the team and has recorded at least two in seven of the last eight games and in nine of the last 11. He is averaging 2.6 steals over the past five outings.

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), was in a sling until three weeks ago. 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).

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 369-63 (.854) inside the building since it opened for the 1975-76 campaign. The Sooners are 133-20 (.869) at home under 10th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have won 51 of their last 55. 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.

LOW LEADER
Drew Lavender leads the team with his 11.6 points per game. The last time a Sooner averaged as few points as the team's season scoring leader was in 1960-61 when Warren Fouts averaged 11.1.

SOONER MISCELLANY
Oklahoma is 18-4 over the last three postseasons (10-1 in Big 12 Tournament, 7-3 in NCAA Tournament and 1-0 in NIT).
The Sooners have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 10 years and 18 in the last 22.
The Sooners won at least 26 games each of the previous four seasons.
The Sooners' scoring defense mark of 60.0 points per game last year marked their lowest in 25 years. Opponents are scoring 62.1 points per game this season.
Oklahoma is 18-10 in overtime games under Sampson and has won 12 of its last 16. OU went 3-0 in overtime affairs last season and is 1-2 this year.
Sampson's .720 winning percentage is the best in OU history (Billy Tubbs ranks second at .716).

UNDER KELVIN SAMPSON...
OU has made 10 consecutive postseason appearances (nine NCAA and one NIT).
OU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (1999), Final Four (2002) and Elite Eight (2003).
OU has posted an 88-40 (.688) regular season Big 12 Conference record.
OU has recorded a 133-20 (.869) record at Lloyd Noble Center and has won 51 of its last 55 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 of the past four Big 12 Tournaments and has made five title game appearances in the last seven events.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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