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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- No. 4 Oklahoma has what it wants in the Big 12 Conference tournament. Aaron McGhee collected 16 points and 15 rebounds as the defending Big 12 tournament champions returned to the title game with a 67-51 victory over Texas. Oklahoma (26-4) won its sixth straight game and set up a highly anticipated final with top-ranked Kansas. The Jayhawks won the regular-season meeting, 74-67, but that contest was in Lawrence. "When you play Kansas, you aren't going to stop them," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I think you all fully expect us to lose to them and I don't know if I don't agree with you." Jason Detrick did all the scoring as the Sooners used a 7-1 run to close the first half for a 38-23 halftime lead. Oklahoma did most of its damage from beyond the arc, draining 8-of-15 in the opening 20 minutes. Detrick and Ebi Ere each netted 15 points for Oklahoma, which has beaten Texas eight straight times. The contest was a rematch of last year's title game, in which the Sooners posted an 80-62 victory. "I guess we have their number," McGhee said. "It feels good to win against them every time we go out on the floor against them." Texas players did not disagree with McGhee's assessment. "It seems like it, doesn't it?" said freshman center Jason Klotz about whether Oklahoma has their number. "I really think the difference today was that OU came up with every loose ball and rebound and made every foul shot." Detrick's huge effort off the bench helped offset a poor outing by Hollis Price, who had averaged 19.5 points against Texas this season. Price missed his first five shots and finished with just seven points. "Coming off the bench, I do what the team needs me to do," Detrick said. "They usually don't need me to score but I stepped up my offense today because I saw that Hollis was struggling." Oklahoma set a tournament record with 10 3-pointers. The 23 points for Texas in the first half was a season low as was its 51 points for the game. Freshman T.J. Ford led Texas with 18 points but managed only two assists. He had 10 in a quarterfinal victory over Missouri and the Longhorns shot only 37.5 percent (18-of-48). "I thought there was no question who the best player out there was," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "It was T.J. Ford. We haven't seen the best of T.J. Ford yet. He can do it all." The game featured a pair of altercations early in the second half. Texas forward Brian Boddicker shoved Price to the floor and earned a technical. Later, McGhee and Deginald Erskin went face-to-face after Erskin committed a hard foul on the burly Oklahoma forward. The Sooners became the first No. 2 seed in the history of the tournament to reach the title game. |
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