SportsLine.com Report
March 18, 2000

Round 2: Purdue's late surge bumps Sooners

Oklahoma was looking to qualify for the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, but Purdue's Jaraan Cornell wouldn't let it happen.

Cornell scored 13 of his 15 points over the final 9:30 of the game as the Sooners fell to the Boilermakers 66-62 in a second-round West Regional game in Tucson, Ariz.

Oklahoma led the nip-and-tuck battle as late as the final two minutes of the second half, when a Nolan Johnson tip-in gave the Sooners a 58-56 lead. The game was tied at 60 in the final minute, but Cornell was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 43.7 seconds remaining. He sank all three shots to effectively put the game away for Purdue.

The Sooners have their ineffectiveness from long range to blame for their defeat. In their first-round game, a 74-50 thrashing of Winthrop, Oklahoma connected on 10-of-21 shots from behind the 3-point line, but the 3-pointer abandoned the Sooners against Purdue, when they only hit 2-of-19.

The game marked the end of the distinguished collegiate career of senior power forward Eduardo Najera. Najera, who fouled out in the game's final minute, scored 15 points and had six rebounds. His point total was second-highest on the team to Johnson, who finished with 20.

How They Got There

Oklahoma was awarded an at-large bid after finishing third during the regular season of the Big 12 Conference. The Sooners were picked to finish fifth in the preseason polls, but rolled off nine straight wins to start the season and 13 of their first 14. The Sooners suffered only one loss to an unranked team -- to Colorado in Boulder.

Starting Lineup

• PG J.R. Raymond (6-2, 175, So.): Raymond was a partial qualifier his first year at Oklahoma, but practiced with the team and showed his potential. Raymond has started every game for the Sooners at the point, but he's really a combo guard who will eventually be their shooter. He loves the 3-point shot, shooting 206 of them and hitting 41 percent.
• SG Hollis Price (6-1, 165, Fr.): The improvement of Price in the backcourt is one of the reasons the Sooners are tremendously confident going into the tournament. Price got off to a great start, then hit the wall midway through the season, only to rebound in fine fashion over the final seven regular-season games. An excellent penetrator, Price is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. He brings tremendous speed on the defense end.
• C Renzi Stone (6-10, 250, Sr.): Stone is a tremendous role player, doing the dirty work for the Sooners. He plays an intricate part in the offense, with his screens and offensive board work. A solid post defender, Stone does a good job of checking bigger centers.
• SF Nolan Johnson (6-4, 215, Jr.): Once Johnson settled into the offense, Oklahoma became an outstanding basketball team. Johnson is the team's best penetrator off the dribble and is a super scorer near the basket. Johnson is deadly from 15 to 17 feet and shoots 57 percent from the floor. Don't put him on the free-throw line either; he is a 79 percent shooter.
• PF Eduardo Najera (6-8, 240, Sr.): The Sooners' unquestioned leader and best player, Najera is regarded as one of the top 15 players in the country. Najera is an excellent scorer, rebounder and passer. He has struggled with his outside shot this year, but began to find his range in the final five regular-season games. He is one of the best post defenders in the country.

Keys to Success

With teams constantly doubling Najera, the Sooners must continue to get consistent scoring from Raymond, Price and especially Johnson, the Sooners' best one-one-one offensive threat.

Johnson and Price are also the Sooners' best defenders on the perimeter. Johnson held Oklahoma State's Desmond Mason to just six points recently. The Sooners must continue to shut down opponents' guards to be successful.

The Sooners are a streaky shooting team. If they are shooting 47 percent or better they tend to blow teams out, but if they are around the 40 percent mark, it's anybody's game.

The Coach

Kelvin Sampson has established himself as one of the top coaches in college basketball. Sampson won his 300th career game this year and has led the Sooners to six consecutive 20-win seasons.

Sampson broke out of a five-year losing streak in the NCAA Tournament last year. Sampson lost in the first round of the NCAAs in his last season at Washington State in 1994 and then lost four straight first-round games at Oklahoma from 1995 to 1998.

The Bench

At the most, Sampson will play nine, and many times just goes with eight. Victor Avila is the first big man off the bench and splits time with Stone at the center position. Tim Heskett and Kelly Newton, similar players, relieve at the guard spots. Both love to shoot the 3-pointer; Heskett gives tremendous effort and Newton brings a little more athletic ability to the floor. Both are shooting guards, but Heskett can play the point guard for short periods.

Jameel Heywood probably doesn't play as much as he should because he is the backup for Najera -- a Superman for the Sooners who rarely comes out and doesn't often get into foul trouble. When Heywood has played, he has been productive.

Offense

Oklahoma is a "set" offensive team and will run a lot of plays. The Sooners work primarily out of a 1-4 offensive set or a high/low post. Toward the end of the season, the Sooners ran more to take advantage of the floor skills of Price, Raymond and Johnson. That also seemed to open up things a little more for Najera inside.

Defense

The Sooners run an aggressive man-to-man style that excels at help defense. They will play an occasional zone, and have several in their repertoire. Very seldom will they press, though they will use a half-court trap a few times every game.