4B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FINALFOUR
FRIDAY, MARCH. 29. 2002
Sooners face unfamiliar foe, not yet satisfied with season
By Brent Wasko Kansan sportswriter
Oklahoma isn't familiar with playing in the Final Four, but the Sooners are very familiar with two of the teams left in the NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners faced Kansas twice and Maryland once this season, winning two of the three games. The only team in this year's Final Four that Oklahoma hasn't played, Indiana, is its opponent tomorrow night in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Until this week, Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said he was fairly unfamiliar with Indiana and its style of play.
"Normally, when you get ready to play a team, you try to compare them to someone you've already played," Sampson said. "In ways, Indiana is similar to Missouri and, in other ways, similar to Arizona. They are a really good three-point shooting team."
Sampson said containing Indiana sophomore forward lared leffries would be important for his team.
"They run their offense through him a lot," he said. "It's a tremendous advantage to run your offense through a big man. You can't double-team him because he's such a good passer and you can't move him to the perimeter because he can shoot threes. He really makes a difference."
The Sooners entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the West Region after out-muscling Kansas for a 64-55 in the Big 12 tournament championship game. That momentum has carried the team all the way to the Final Four.
"Basically, we're doing it with defense and rebounding," junior guard Hollis Price said. "Doing those things well was one of our goals at the beginning of the year. If you're rebounding and playing defense, the scoring will take care of itself."
The play of Oklahoma's bench as a been key to the Sooners' success in the NCAA Tournament, especially the performance of senior forward
Ebi Ere, No.2
6-5, 215, junior guard
Quannas White, No.4 6-1,190,junior guard
Jabahri Brown, No.21 6-10.210, soph. center
Aaron McGhee, No.13 6-8.250, senior forward
Daryan Selv, who is averaging more than seven points and seven rebounds a game during the postseason.
Oklahoma Sooners
West region No. 2-seed.
**Record:** 31-4 overall; 13-2 in the Big 12
**Head Coach:** Kelvin Sampson
Top scorer: Hollis Price, 16.8 ppg
"Daryan doesn't have a true position, but you can get creative with him because he can do so many different things," Sampson said. "He can change the game, and I loved how we used him better as the season progressed."
Top storer: Ruths 81-75
How they got here: defeated No. 15-seed Illinois-Chicago, 71-63; defeated No. 7-seed Xavier, 78-65; defeated No. 3-seed Arizona, 86-67; defeated No. 12-seed Missouri, 81-75
By defeating Missouri
Hollis Price, No. 10
6-1,165,junior guard
By Collecting Mission 81-75 last Saturday in the West Region Final. Oklahoma advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1988 and for only the fourth in school history. That doesn't mean the Sooners are just happy to be there.
Contact Waske at bwaske@kansan.com. This story
Email: wtskao at twask@kansan.com. This story was edited by Jena Goepfert.
Indiana likes being underdog; ready to surprise tough Sooners
By Brent Wasko
Kansan sportswriter
Indiana isn't supposed to be still playing.
The No. 5-seed Hoosiers were given little chance to get past the No. 1-seed Duke in the East Region semifinal game, but they did, coming back from 22 points down to defeat the Blue Devils, 74-73.
Now Indiana finds itself in the underdog role once again, preparing to battle the No.2 seed out of the West Region, Oklahoma, in the Final Four.
"Being the underdog is good because we are trying to prove a point." Indiana coach Mike Davis said. "Being close is not good enough. We have to win."
Senior guard Dane Fife said the Hoosiers actually played better when people pick them to lose.
"we're used to the underdog role like we are used to putting on our shoes." Fife said.
No.11, Dane Fife 6-4,200,senior guard
used to putting even though the team feels it has a good shot to beat the Sooners tomorrow evening at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the coaches and players realize they are facing a formidable and physical opponent
"We were conditioning at practice basically preparing for a track meet out there," senior forward Jarrad Odle said. "They are similar to Duke, because they penetrate and dish. They run the ball like Michigan State because they take it out of the net and are looking to run from there."
Indiana's ability to run with the Sooners might be hampered by junior guard Tom Coverdale's status tomorrow. He reaggravated a left ankle sprain against Kent State last weekend, ending up in a wheelchair for a day.
"As far as percentage on me playing is concerned, it is way to early to tell," Coverdale said. "I have a pretty good pain threshold right now ... you have to. This is the type of game you dream of playing in. Anybody would play with this pain."
X-rays on the ankle came up negative, but Coverdale was forced to wear an aircast this week. He said it was still painful for him to walk.
Indiana Hoosiers
South region No.5 seed
Record: 24-11 overall; 11-5 in the Big 10
Head coach: Mike Qayis
Jarrad Odle, No.43 6-8.220. senior forward
Top scorer; Jared Jeffries, 15.4 ppg
- How they got here: defeated No. 12 seed Utah, 75-56; defeated No. 13 seed UNC Wilmington, 76-67; defeated No. 1 seed Duke, 74-73; defeated No. 10 seed Kent State, 81-69.
Kyle hornsby, No.32 6-5,205,junior forward
Despite the possible loss of Coverdale, Indiana still has a lot of offensive weapons to work with. Sophomore forward Jared Jeffries leads the team, averaging 15.4 points per game, and Fife is a strong outside shooter, draining 47.7 percent of his shots from behind the arch.
Tom Coverdale, No.3 6-2,185,junior guard
The Hoosiers are using their underdog role
Jared Jeffries, No.1
6-9.220 soph.forward
Covendale's injury and the plight of their coach, Davis, for inspiration. Davis replaced legendary coach Bob Knight two years ago after Knight was fired.
- Contact Wasko at bwasko@kansan.com. This story was edited by Gillian Titus.
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