Sooners, Longhorns meet for shot at Big 12 title

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Saturday's basketball game between No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Oklahoma is more than just a renewal of their intense rivalry. <br><br>The teams are tied for second place in the Big 12,

Friday, March 7th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Saturday's basketball game between No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Oklahoma is more than just a renewal of their intense rivalry.

The teams are tied for second place in the Big 12, and each needs to win Saturday afternoon to have any shot at catching league-leading Kansas, which closes its season Sunday at Missouri. They're also jockeying for NCAA tournament seedings. So there's plenty at stake.

And it's the final home game for four Oklahoma seniors _ Hollis Price, Ebi Ere, Quannas White and Jozsef Szendrei.

``All your teams are special, they really are,'' coach Kelvin Sampson said. ``But this group, we've been through so much together and you've seen a rise in the program.

``We've always been good, but the toughest thing is going from good to great, and it's even tougher to stay at that level.''

Szendrei, White and Ere to Oklahoma from junior colleges. Price is a four-year starter who has established himself as one of the great players in school history.

Price, Ere and White were major factors in Oklahoma (21-5, 12-3 Big 12) getting to the Final Four last year for the first time since 1988. The Sooners are 52-10 in the past two years, with Ere and White in the lineup, and 105-24 in Price's four years.

``I think that's what Hollis has done for this program since he's been here _ he's taken us from being a really good program to one of the best in the country,'' Sampson said.

``You want to leave your footprint somewhere. That should be all of our challenge,'' he said. ``This group has left some unbelievable footprints, and that's something they can be proud of.''

Price, who is second in the Big 12 at 19.3 points per game, moved into seventh place on the school's career scoring chart with his 20-point game against Nebraska on Tuesday night. He was the media's preseason choice as the league's player of the year and has played like it, with just one game in which he failed to score in double digits.

The player of the year will be announced next week, but Sampson said he doesn't spend much time promoting Price for the award.

``If you've got to politic for him, then there must be a problem,'' he said. ``It's not close.''

Texas (21-5, 12-3) has a player-of-the-year candidate in guard T.J. Ford, who leads the conference in assists and also averages close to 15 points per game. Ford is complemented by arguably the deepest and most talented team in the conference.

James Thomas leads the Big 12 in rebounding, with 11 per game. Brandon Mouton is averaging 14 points per game. Royal Ivey can be an explosive scorer.

The Longhorns beat Oklahoma 67-61 in Austin on Feb. 10, ending an eight-game losing streak to the Sooners. A victory Saturday would snap Oklahoma's 37-game home winning streak.

``Every great team tries to win and have a home court advantage,'' Mouton said. ``Their fans will be loud and talk trash to us, but that's all a part of the game.

``We have lost two games there in two years, it's time to get a win. We know it's going to be tough.''

Price said it will be sad playing for the final time at Lloyd Noble Center. Sampson said it would be emotional, but not sad.

``It's going be intense, because we're going to come to play,'' he said.