AP PhotoKansas City, Mo. ? Following Oklahoma’s Big 12 tournament semifinal victory over Texas, OU’s Aaron McGhee and Daryan Selvy were asked how the Sooners should play against Kansas University in today’s Big 12 title game.
McGhee felt No. 4-ranked Oklahoma should try to slow the tempo because KU has so many talented players. Selvy, though, opted for the bolder approach, saying the Sooners should run with the Jayhawks.
It wasn’t hard to tell with which player OU coach Kelvin Sampson was more likely to side.
“I anticipate not involving Selvy in our staff meeting. That’s highly unlikely,” Sampson quipped after the Sooners’ 67-51 victory Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena. “Aaron has a shot of at least being able to listen in. Based on Selvy’s response you’ve got foot soldiers and the guys with the stripes. Selvy’s a foot soldier.”
Oklahoma (26-4) certainly was in a good mood after holding Texas (20-11) to 37.5-percent shooting and forcing 22 turnovers.
The same couldn’t be said about Texas coach Rick Barnes.
“My thoughts are, we were awful,” Barnes said. “Because we were missing shots early, I thought it really affected us. Our offense wasn’t there and it dug a big hole for us. We were awful. We couldn’t hold the ball, we couldn’t catch the ball, turnovers we were just awful.”
The Sooners sprinted to a 20-11 lead, then closed the first half on a 10-3 run to take a 38-23 advantage into the halftime break. In addition to forcing 14 turnovers, OU also drained eight of 15 three-point attempts.
Oklahoma, which finished 10-of-21 shooting overall on threes, was led by Jason Detrick (3-of-3) and Ebi Ere (3-of-5) from beyond the arc. The OU duo chipped in 15 points apiece.
“Coming off the bench, I just try to do whatever the team needs me to do,” Detrick said. “Since Hollis his shot was off today, so I just thought I needed to step up my offense. When they’re on normally they don’t need me too much for my offense. When other guys are struggling, then I try to step up my offense a little bit.”
Hollis Price, a first-team All-Big 12 selection, was held to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. Aaron McGhee led the Sooners with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
The Longhorns were led by freshman sensation T.J. Ford’s game-high 18 points, but the lethal point guard managed a mere two assists.
“You’re never going to stop T.J. Ford,” Sampson said, “but if you can get him to be the focal point of their offense you want him to do the scoring. He’s at his best when he’s passing.”
Now Sampson and the Sooners must set their sights on toppling the top-ranked Jayhawks.
“I think the key to playing Kansas, you’re not going to stop them,” Sampson said. “I think everybody in this room fully expects Kansas to win. I think you all think they’re probably the best team that’s been in the Big 12. You know what? I’m not sure I don’t agree with you.
“But you play Kansas, you’ve got to make baskets. It’s as simple as that.”
When the Jayhawks and Sooners squared off earlier this season, KU came away with a hard-fought 74-67 victory. Now not only does Oklahoma want redemption, but also to win its second straight Big 12 tournament title.
“Guys felt really bad after the loss up there in Lawrence last time,” McGhee said. “I think we’ve gotten better since then, but I think they’ve also gotten better. But we’re a confident team and we’re not going to back down.”
Selvy offered a prediction of his own.
“It’s going to be a war,” he said. “That’s about it.”
AP PhotoKansas City, Mo. ? Following Oklahoma’s Big 12 tournament semifinal victory over Texas, OU’s Aaron McGhee and Daryan Selvy were asked how the Sooners should play against Kansas University in today’s Big 12 title game.
McGhee felt No. 4-ranked Oklahoma should try to slow the tempo because KU has so many talented players. Selvy, though, opted for the bolder approach, saying the Sooners should run with the Jayhawks.
It wasn’t hard to tell with which player OU coach Kelvin Sampson was more likely to side.
“I anticipate not involving Selvy in our staff meeting. That’s highly unlikely,” Sampson quipped after the Sooners’ 67-51 victory Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena. “Aaron has a shot of at least being able to listen in. Based on Selvy’s response you’ve got foot soldiers and the guys with the stripes. Selvy’s a foot soldier.”
Oklahoma (26-4) certainly was in a good mood after holding Texas (20-11) to 37.5-percent shooting and forcing 22 turnovers.
The same couldn’t be said about Texas coach Rick Barnes.
“My thoughts are, we were awful,” Barnes said. “Because we were missing shots early, I thought it really affected us. Our offense wasn’t there and it dug a big hole for us. We were awful. We couldn’t hold the ball, we couldn’t catch the ball, turnovers we were just awful.”
The Sooners sprinted to a 20-11 lead, then closed the first half on a 10-3 run to take a 38-23 advantage into the halftime break. In addition to forcing 14 turnovers, OU also drained eight of 15 three-point attempts.
Oklahoma, which finished 10-of-21 shooting overall on threes, was led by Jason Detrick (3-of-3) and Ebi Ere (3-of-5) from beyond the arc. The OU duo chipped in 15 points apiece.
“Coming off the bench, I just try to do whatever the team needs me to do,” Detrick said. “Since Hollis his shot was off today, so I just thought I needed to step up my offense. When they’re on normally they don’t need me too much for my offense. When other guys are struggling, then I try to step up my offense a little bit.”
Hollis Price, a first-team All-Big 12 selection, was held to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. Aaron McGhee led the Sooners with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
The Longhorns were led by freshman sensation T.J. Ford’s game-high 18 points, but the lethal point guard managed a mere two assists.
“You’re never going to stop T.J. Ford,” Sampson said, “but if you can get him to be the focal point of their offense you want him to do the scoring. He’s at his best when he’s passing.”
Now Sampson and the Sooners must set their sights on toppling the top-ranked Jayhawks.
“I think the key to playing Kansas, you’re not going to stop them,” Sampson said. “I think everybody in this room fully expects Kansas to win. I think you all think they’re probably the best team that’s been in the Big 12. You know what? I’m not sure I don’t agree with you.
“But you play Kansas, you’ve got to make baskets. It’s as simple as that.”
When the Jayhawks and Sooners squared off earlier this season, KU came away with a hard-fought 74-67 victory. Now not only does Oklahoma want redemption, but also to win its second straight Big 12 tournament title.
“Guys felt really bad after the loss up there in Lawrence last time,” McGhee said. “I think we’ve gotten better since then, but I think they’ve also gotten better. But we’re a confident team and we’re not going to back down.”
Selvy offered a prediction of his own.
“It’s going to be a war,” he said. “That’s about it.”
AP PhotoKansas City, Mo. ? Following Oklahoma’s Big 12 tournament semifinal victory over Texas, OU’s Aaron McGhee and Daryan Selvy were asked how the Sooners should play against Kansas University in today’s Big 12 title game.
McGhee felt No. 4-ranked Oklahoma should try to slow the tempo because KU has so many talented players. Selvy, though, opted for the bolder approach, saying the Sooners should run with the Jayhawks.
It wasn’t hard to tell with which player OU coach Kelvin Sampson was more likely to side.
“I anticipate not involving Selvy in our staff meeting. That’s highly unlikely,” Sampson quipped after the Sooners’ 67-51 victory Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena. “Aaron has a shot of at least being able to listen in. Based on Selvy’s response you’ve got foot soldiers and the guys with the stripes. Selvy’s a foot soldier.”
Oklahoma (26-4) certainly was in a good mood after holding Texas (20-11) to 37.5-percent shooting and forcing 22 turnovers.
The same couldn’t be said about Texas coach Rick Barnes.
“My thoughts are, we were awful,” Barnes said. “Because we were missing shots early, I thought it really affected us. Our offense wasn’t there and it dug a big hole for us. We were awful. We couldn’t hold the ball, we couldn’t catch the ball, turnovers we were just awful.”
The Sooners sprinted to a 20-11 lead, then closed the first half on a 10-3 run to take a 38-23 advantage into the halftime break. In addition to forcing 14 turnovers, OU also drained eight of 15 three-point attempts.
Oklahoma, which finished 10-of-21 shooting overall on threes, was led by Jason Detrick (3-of-3) and Ebi Ere (3-of-5) from beyond the arc. The OU duo chipped in 15 points apiece.
“Coming off the bench, I just try to do whatever the team needs me to do,” Detrick said. “Since Hollis his shot was off today, so I just thought I needed to step up my offense. When they’re on normally they don’t need me too much for my offense. When other guys are struggling, then I try to step up my offense a little bit.”
Hollis Price, a first-team All-Big 12 selection, was held to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. Aaron McGhee led the Sooners with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
The Longhorns were led by freshman sensation T.J. Ford’s game-high 18 points, but the lethal point guard managed a mere two assists.
“You’re never going to stop T.J. Ford,” Sampson said, “but if you can get him to be the focal point of their offense you want him to do the scoring. He’s at his best when he’s passing.”
Now Sampson and the Sooners must set their sights on toppling the top-ranked Jayhawks.
“I think the key to playing Kansas, you’re not going to stop them,” Sampson said. “I think everybody in this room fully expects Kansas to win. I think you all think they’re probably the best team that’s been in the Big 12. You know what? I’m not sure I don’t agree with you.
“But you play Kansas, you’ve got to make baskets. It’s as simple as that.”
When the Jayhawks and Sooners squared off earlier this season, KU came away with a hard-fought 74-67 victory. Now not only does Oklahoma want redemption, but also to win its second straight Big 12 tournament title.
“Guys felt really bad after the loss up there in Lawrence last time,” McGhee said. “I think we’ve gotten better since then, but I think they’ve also gotten better. But we’re a confident team and we’re not going to back down.”
Selvy offered a prediction of his own.
“It’s going to be a war,” he said. “That’s about it.”
AP PhotoKansas City, Mo. ? Following Oklahoma’s Big 12 tournament semifinal victory over Texas, OU’s Aaron McGhee and Daryan Selvy were asked how the Sooners should play against Kansas University in today’s Big 12 title game.
McGhee felt No. 4-ranked Oklahoma should try to slow the tempo because KU has so many talented players. Selvy, though, opted for the bolder approach, saying the Sooners should run with the Jayhawks.
It wasn’t hard to tell with which player OU coach Kelvin Sampson was more likely to side.
“I anticipate not involving Selvy in our staff meeting. That’s highly unlikely,” Sampson quipped after the Sooners’ 67-51 victory Saturday afternoon at Kemper Arena. “Aaron has a shot of at least being able to listen in. Based on Selvy’s response you’ve got foot soldiers and the guys with the stripes. Selvy’s a foot soldier.”
Oklahoma (26-4) certainly was in a good mood after holding Texas (20-11) to 37.5-percent shooting and forcing 22 turnovers.
The same couldn’t be said about Texas coach Rick Barnes.
“My thoughts are, we were awful,” Barnes said. “Because we were missing shots early, I thought it really affected us. Our offense wasn’t there and it dug a big hole for us. We were awful. We couldn’t hold the ball, we couldn’t catch the ball, turnovers we were just awful.”
The Sooners sprinted to a 20-11 lead, then closed the first half on a 10-3 run to take a 38-23 advantage into the halftime break. In addition to forcing 14 turnovers, OU also drained eight of 15 three-point attempts.
Oklahoma, which finished 10-of-21 shooting overall on threes, was led by Jason Detrick (3-of-3) and Ebi Ere (3-of-5) from beyond the arc. The OU duo chipped in 15 points apiece.
“Coming off the bench, I just try to do whatever the team needs me to do,” Detrick said. “Since Hollis his shot was off today, so I just thought I needed to step up my offense. When they’re on normally they don’t need me too much for my offense. When other guys are struggling, then I try to step up my offense a little bit.”
Hollis Price, a first-team All-Big 12 selection, was held to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. Aaron McGhee led the Sooners with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
The Longhorns were led by freshman sensation T.J. Ford’s game-high 18 points, but the lethal point guard managed a mere two assists.
“You’re never going to stop T.J. Ford,” Sampson said, “but if you can get him to be the focal point of their offense you want him to do the scoring. He’s at his best when he’s passing.”
Now Sampson and the Sooners must set their sights on toppling the top-ranked Jayhawks.
“I think the key to playing Kansas, you’re not going to stop them,” Sampson said. “I think everybody in this room fully expects Kansas to win. I think you all think they’re probably the best team that’s been in the Big 12. You know what? I’m not sure I don’t agree with you.
“But you play Kansas, you’ve got to make baskets. It’s as simple as that.”
When the Jayhawks and Sooners squared off earlier this season, KU came away with a hard-fought 74-67 victory. Now not only does Oklahoma want redemption, but also to win its second straight Big 12 tournament title.
“Guys felt really bad after the loss up there in Lawrence last time,” McGhee said. “I think we’ve gotten better since then, but I think they’ve also gotten better. But we’re a confident team and we’re not going to back down.”
Selvy offered a prediction of his own.
“It’s going to be a war,” he said. “That’s about it.”
