Sooners, Cowboys begin Big 12 play Saturday

<br>NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Whether they like it or not, Big 12 Conference play is here for the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State men's basketball teams. <br><br>The ninth-ranked Sooners (9-2) open league play

Friday, January 10th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Whether they like it or not, Big 12 Conference play is here for the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State men's basketball teams.

The ninth-ranked Sooners (9-2) open league play at home Saturday against Colorado (10-3). Oklahoma State (11-1) goes on the road to play Texas A&M (8-3) Saturday night.

``You're never ready,'' OSU coach Eddie Sutton said after his team's 91-58 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Wednesday night. ``I think you'll get a better feel for where you are after you play these first three conference games.''

After playing A&M, the Cowboys return home for two difficult home games _ Monday night against Oklahoma and Saturday afternoon against No. 13 Missouri.

Oklahoma has already gone through some tough tests. The Sooners opened the season against No. 4 Alabama in New York City, and also have played No. 7 Mississippi State, No. 25 Michigan State and No. 3 Connecticut.

They won two of those games, most recently Tuesday night against UConn, 73-63. That victory was costly, as point guard Quannas White sprained his left knee. He returned in the closing minutes but was limited, and his availability for Saturday is uncertain.

The Sooners still have Hollis Price and Ebi Ere, however. Price scored a career-high 33 against UConn and Ere is averaging 18 points per game.

``They can score 20, 25 on any given night,'' coach Kelvin Sampson said. ``Sometimes they're going to run up against a great defense, but that doesn't mean we can't win that night. Don't ever think because Hollis doesn't score that we can't win, because someone else will step up in his place.''

Oklahoma certainly impressed Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, whose team was held nearly 30 points below its average.

``I don't know if they're quite as good as last year, but I tell you what, they're a top 10 team,'' Calhoun said.

Oklahoma State has won 13 of the past 14 against Texas A&M, but these don't appear to be the same Aggies. Led by senior Bernard King and freshman Antoine Wright, they have already beaten LSU and Tennessee and are off to their best start since 1987-88.

``A&M is the best that they've been since the Big 12 was formed,'' Sutton said. ``They're a lot more talented than they have been and they've already proven they can win against good teams.''

As conference play begins, Sutton is encouraged about his team's half-court offense, something he cited as a major concern early on. Tony Allen, a junior-college transfer, leads the team with a 16-point average and has played much better than expected.

``Tony continues to amaze me,'' Sutton said.

The coach's biggest concern is interior defense. Ivan McFarlin and Jason Miller have not met Sutton's expectations, and Andre Williams has been inconsistent.

``Our interior defense is one area we've really got to pick up on,'' Sutton said.