Oklahoma Makes Its Statement in Game

When Oklahoma’s players gathered for their pregame huddle at midcourt, Illinois Chicago’s players were already there--and the Flames weren’t about to move.

Some bumping and shoving led to snickers from Illinois Chicago players and coaches, who were proud of their take-that approach. The Sooners didn’t let that good feeling last long.

Forward Aaron McGhee threw around his 6-foot-10, 250-pound body for 26 points and 12 rebounds, and guard Hollis Price came out of the game twice because of injuries but still managed to score 17 points in the No. 2-seeded Sooners’ 71-63 victory Friday in the first round of the West Regional at American Airlines Center.

In Sunday’s second round, Oklahoma (28-5) will play Xavier, a 70-58 winner Hawaii.

“Whenever we step on the court, we feel like we own it,” said forward Daryan Selvy, who scored nine unanswered points in an 18-3 Oklahoma run that broke the game open midway through the first half. “So they were invading our territory. We were serious. I don’t know what their intention was.”

Martell Bailey, who led the shoves for Illinois Chicago despite being the team’s smallest player at 5-feet-10, said the intention was to let the Sooners know the Flames weren’t to be taken lightly. “Coach [Jimmy Collins] told us not to fear anyone,” Bailey said. “I felt we were there first, so we shouldn’t have to move.”

While Oklahoma struggled with its three-point shooting (two for 18), it defended Illinois Chicago (20-14) well on long-range shots. The Flames were five for 22 on three-point shots after being the sixth-most accurate team (41.8%) in the country from behind the arc .

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Xavier 70, Hawaii 58--With guards Romain Sato and Lionel Chalmers turning up the defensive pressure in the second half, the No. 7-seeded Musketeers (26-5) rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit and won going away.

Hawaii (27-6) missed its first 11 shots of the second half, and Xavier went on an 11-1 run to take its first lead since the opening minutes.

Predrag Savovic, who scored 16 points for the Warriors in the first half, was forced into numerous bad shots while being guarded by Sato in the second half and didn’t get a basket until 5:25 remained. Warrior point guard Carl English, harassed by Chalmers, had seven turnovers.

Hawaii scored more points in the last three minutes of the second half (10) than in the first 17 (eight), but Xavier sealed the victory by making 12 of 14 free throws in the final 1:16.

Sato finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Chalmers had 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots and five steals.