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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson is going
to another Final Four -- only this time, he won't have to go alone.
With a dynamic combination of toughness and late-game cool,
Oklahoma rolled to its first national semifinal since 1988 with an
81-75 victory over 12th-seeded Missouri on Saturday.
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Congratulations to Kelvin Sampson and his Oklahoma Sooners as they march on
to the Final Four in Atlanta. Sampson is one of the real brilliant minds in
college basketball. His enthusiasm and motivational ability has paid off big
time.
Oklahoma, going to the Final Four for the first time since 1988, came out
strong against fellow Big 12 member Missouri. The Sooners really attacked
and played aggressively right out of the gate. Their style is to beat you
with quickness, toughness and aggresiveness on both ends of the court. They
have depth and it showed as several Sooners were in first-half foul trouble,
including Aaron McGhee with three.
Whenever Oklahoma needs a big play, it gets help from one of its many
weapons. Hollis Price was the star of stars on Saturday, hitting big shot
after big shot. When Missouri rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a
32-31 lead, Price hit a key trifecta and added another one at the end of the
half to spark a 10-1 run, giving the Sooners momentum and an eight-point
lead into the locker room.
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Hollis Price scored the last of his 18 points on two free throws
with 6 seconds left to give the Sooners their 12th straight victory
and a ticket to Atlanta.
"Coach goes to the Final Four every year, but he never takes
us," Price said with a grin. "We're tagging along this time."
After the final buzzer, Price enjoyed a long and joyous hug with
Sampson, whose 19 years in charge of three programs culminated with
a relatively trouble-free run through the West Regional,
highlighted by an ugly but satisfying win over the Tigers.
"You can never imagine the exact way you'll achieve a dream
like this, but I'm pretty happy with the way it happened," Sampson
said.
Like many college basketball coaches, Sampson makes a regular
pilgrimage to the Final Four, where he watches his profession's
best and dreams of getting his own chance. Most seasons, he was
unable even to take his wife because of his schools' budget
constraints.
"I'd sit up there in the stands and watch the teams practice,"
Sampson said. "I always wanted to bring our team. I didn't want to
go alone.
"As soon as I got to our locker room a minute ago, I was
thinking there's some young coach out there who's going to be
watching Oklahoma this year ... and my message to him is that you
can get here."
After building the Sooners' program for eight seasons, Sampson
has a deep, versatile squad peaking at the right time -- and only
two victories remain between Oklahoma and its first national title.
The Sooners lost to Danny Manning-led Kansas in the 1988 final.
Ebi Ere scored 17 points for Oklahoma (31-4), seeded No. 2 in
the West. The Sooners made their reputation this season with
hard-nosed play on both ends of the court and that made the
difference against the Tigers, who were looking for a historic
upset.
The Sooners buckled down on defense to claim the lead, then kept
their tempers in check and hit their free throws down the stretch.
It was Oklahoma's ninth straight victory over its Big 12 rival.
While his players kept their heads throughout, it actually was a
technical called on Sampson with under 15 minutes left and Oklahoma
leading by eight points that precipitated a 10-3 Missouri run. The
spurt pulled the Tigers within 54-53.
But Oklahoma never trailed in the second half, although the
Sooners also never pulled away fully from the pesky Tigers, the
lowest-seeded team ever to advance to the round of eight.
|  | | Ebi Ere was one of four Sooners in double-figures with 17 points. |
With their depth and toughness, the Sooners should pose a stiff
challenge for Indiana or Kent State in Atlanta next Saturday.
McGhee scored 15 points, while Quannas White had 12 points and
seven assists. Price, the region's MVP, hit four 3-pointers.
Missouri played with the same tenacity and opportunistic outside
shooting that got the Tigers to the round of eight for the first
time since 1994. Rickey Paulding scored 23 points for Missouri,
while Kareem Rush had 17.
"Some of the shots that we normally make didn't fall," Rush
said. "It's hard to understand right now."
Clarence Gilbert, Missouri's senior leader and leading scorer in
the tournament, had a 1-for-16 shooting performance, including
eight missed 3-pointers. Though the Tigers also were beset by foul
trouble, poor free-throw shooting and 15 turnovers, they remained
close to Oklahoma all game.
The Sooners led by eight with 3:44 left. Missouri pulled within
70-67 on Rush's 3-pointer a minute later, but McGhee answered with
a 3-pointer, and Oklahoma made two key defensive stops to force a
free-throw shooting contest in the final minute.
Missouri's frustration boiled over when Rush, in likely his
final college game, got a technical foul for shoving an Oklahoma
player to the ground with 36 seconds left.
Instead of challenging Rush, as McGhee appeared to want to do,
the Sooners stayed cool -- and moments later, they were wearing
celebratory T-shirts and hats.
"They were cool," Missouri coach Quin Snyder said. "That's
all you can say about them. They kept their composure and waited
for their chances."
Missouri missed out on a chance to become the lowest-seeded team
to reach the Final Four. That distinction still belongs to LSU,
which made it as a No. 11 in 1986.
Both teams looked tense in the opening minutes Saturday.
Gilbert, who led the Tigers with 23 points in their victory over
UCLA on Thursday, didn't score until hitting a free throw nearly 10
minutes in.
Ere hit a series of early shots to give Oklahoma an early lead,
but Rush and Rickey Paulding kept Missouri close. The Tigers took a
32-31 lead, but the Sooners closed the half on a 10-1 run, capped
by Price's 3-pointer at the buzzer. | 
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