Sweet to Elite - Sooners Give the Fans Plenty to Celebrate

From Sweet to Elite - The Oklahoma Sooners are gearing up for a big 12 match-up against Missouri in the Men's Regional FinalS on Saturday. Last night all eyes were on the court.<br><br>Oklahoma guard

Friday, March 22nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

From Sweet to Elite - The Oklahoma Sooners are gearing up for a big 12 match-up against Missouri in the Men's Regional FinalS on Saturday. Last night all eyes were on the court.

Oklahoma guard Hollis Price scored 22 of the Sooners' 33 points in the first half to lead Big 12 tournament champ Oklahoma over the Pac-10 tournament champ, Arizona. The Sooners played fantastic perimeter defense, limiting the Wildcats shooting opportunities.

Oklahoma also excelled on the glass, outrebounding Arizona. Sooners guard Ebi Ere, and forward Aaron McGhee helped seal the victory, as the second seeded Sooners pounded Arizona 88 to 67.

And there was plenty to cheer about at Coach's Sports Bar on 68th and Memorial - the place to be for the official OU watch party. Sooner fans decked out in crimson and cream packed the place to root for their team. Fans say much of the credit goes to the coach.

OU Fan: "I think this is the biggest game of Kelvin's career so far. This is going to solidify him as one of the top coaches in the nation, right here." "They've really done a super, super job Kelvin Sampson is just a great coach so he deserves it."

Fans say they are excited at the prospect of going for a national championship. They say until now OU was primarily known as a football powerhouse, but they say the winning record on the courts could change all that.