Men's Basketball: Back in Time #5

July 9, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - Each Monday through August, SoonerSports.com will take you back in time with the OU men's basketball program as we highlight some of the biggest games and biggest names from the 1970s, '80s, '90s and 2000s.

The fifth installment features a breakthrough performance during the Kelvin Sampson era. The date was Friday, March 12, 1999, the location was the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis., and the event was the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma's first-round opponent was 12th-ranked and fourth-seeded Arizona.

Eduardo Najera, then a junior, loaded his teammates on his back for what would be a war against now-NBA-stars Jason Terry and Richard Jefferson and the rest of the Wildcats. Battling until the very end, the Sooners attempted to give Sampson his first ever victory in the Big Dance.

March 12, 1999
Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Arizona | Box Score

Not many fans or pundits gave Oklahoma a chance against Arizona in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Then again, why should they have?

The Sooners, as the No. 13 seed, were the final at-large team to make the 64-squad field. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were the No. 4 seed and featured Pac-10 Player of the Year Jason Terry, Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Michael Wright and Pac-10 All-Freshman Team member Richard Jefferson. That's not even mentioning senior center A.J. Bramlett, who averaged more than 14 points and nine rebounds during the regular season.

Throw in the fact that Kelvin Sampson had lost in the NCAA Tourney first round each of the previous five years (four at OU) and that Sampson was 0-15 against Arizona head coach Lute Olson, and it's easy to understand why the Wildcats were the heavy favorites inside the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.

1999 OU vs. Arizona Video Highlights

When the dust cleared after 40 minutes, however, just about everyone was left scratching their heads as the scoreboard revealed an unlikely 61-60 Oklahoma victory. And what a triumph it was for OU.

The Sooners shot just .313 from the field in the first half and fell behind by as many as nine points before rallying to within three at the break (27-24) behind an unexpected 10 points from low-scoring guard Alex Spaulding.

OU's defense kept Sampson's squad in the game, holding Arizona to a .345 first-half field goal mark and Terry to just one point on 0-for-6 shooting in the first 20 minutes. Terry, who earlier in the week was named National Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated, entered the tournament averaging 22.1 points a game.

Oklahoma got down by six on three occasions early in the second half but rode junior forward Eduardo Najera in a comeback bid. Najera's 3-pointer with 8:00 remaining gave the Sooners their first lead of the day, 49-46. A back-and-forth game over the next several minutes turned sour for OU, however, as Terry heated up to give Arizona a 60-56 lead with 1:43 to go.

With 1:02 remaining and the difference still at four, Bramlett went to the line for two shots but came up empty on both attempts. Najera enhance the pain of Bramlett's missed charity tosses by hitting another trey with 48 seconds left to draw the Sooners to within one.

Then, a monumental lapse by Wright cost the Wildcats. After OU called timeout following Najera's 3-pointer, Wright stepped across the baseline while attempting to in-bound the ball.

With a chance for Oklahoma's first NCAA Tournament win in nine years, senior guard Eric Martin took a 3-pointer from the left wing with about 25 seconds to go. He missed. Fortunately, Najera was there for the rebound and putback. Only, that shot also missed. As Wildcats filled the lane waiting to see if Najera's layup would fall, sophomore forward Ryan Humphrey rose above everyone and tipped in the ball with 21 seconds left for the 61-60 lead. .

Last Week's "Back In Time" Feature

Arizona turned to its All-American on the final possession, but Terry's jumper in the lane was off the mark and Bramlett's follow attempt was also no good.

Fully aware they had helped Sampson remove the monkey from his back, Oklahoma players jubilantly sprinted onto the court in celebration. The Bradley Center crowd, whose backing of the Sooners grew as the game wore on, also cheered the outcome.

After shaking hands with the Arizona players, Sampson saluted the OU fans in attendance. Among them were his wife, two children and his parents.

"Sometimes you're successful in this business and it can get boring to people," said Sampson. "We've been successful at Oklahoma, but we haven't taken the extra step. Those fans at the game, and especially your family, they're there no matter what. That was to say thank you to them and acknowledge their support."

Sampson added, "To say this is a satisfying win would not be giving it justice."

Four Sooners finished in double figures in scoring, including Najera who ended with 17 points, 13 rebounds two blocks and three steals. Humphrey had 15 points, Martin 14 (on 4-for-8 3-point shooting) and Spaulding 10. Senior point guard Michael Johnson netted only two points but finished with a game-high eight assists.

"Najera had a fantastic game," said Olson. "He's every bit as good as what we saw from the tape. The greatest thing about it, he's a tremendous warrior. I don't know how many times there were rebounds that we thought we had and he came up with. He had big rebounds. He high big 3's, steals, blocks. There's not much he can't do."

Wright finished with 16 points for Arizona and was followed by Terry's 15 and Bramlett's 13. Terry was held to 4-for-17 shooting.

Notes: The Sooners advanced to the Sweet 16 after beating UNC Charlotte in the second round, 85-72 (OU lost to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 in St. Louis, 54-46) ... Arizona's A.J. Bramlett made four of his first five shots of the game but went 0-for-7 the rest of the way after Eduardo Najera began to guard him ... Starters scored 112 of the game's 121 points (OU had three bench points and Arizona six).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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