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NCAA Tournament Recap (Oklahoma-Arizona)
Posted: Fri March 12, 1999 at 7:07 p.m. EST MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Ryan Humphrey's tip-in with 21 seconds to play lifted 13th-seeded Oklahoma to an exciting 61-60 upset of Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region. A 3-pointer from the left wing by Eduardo Najera brought Oklahoma within 60-59 with 48 seconds left and Kelvin Sampson immediately had his Sooners call a timeout. Oklahoma did not press following the stoppage, but inexplicably, Arizona freshman Michael Wright stepped over the end line on the inbounds pass, giving the Sooners possession. "It was just a mistake, that's all," said Arizona coach Lute Olson of Wright's mistake. "There was nobody denying the pass. He just stepped across. There is nothing you can can about that. It was disappointing for it to happen." Eric Martin came off a pick from Najera on the left wing, only to miss badly on a 3-point attempt. Najera's follow rimmed out, but Humphrey was there to tip in the eventual game-winner. "It was coming out and I might have had a fingertip on it," Humphrey said. "As long as we won that's the only thing that matters." "It doesn't matter who touched it," added Najera. "All that matters is we won. Arizona put the ball in the hands of Jason Terry, the Pac-10 Conference's leading scorer and Player of the Year this season at 22.1 points per game. Terry dribbled right and spun on Alex Spaulding, only to see his short jumper from the right side rim out. Freshman Richard Jefferson grabbed the rebound, but his fallaway shot at the buzzer was no good and Oklahoma, the lowest at-large seed in the field of 64, celebrated its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1990. Coach Kelvin Sampson improved to 1-4 in the first round as Sooners coach. "To say this is a satisfying win doesn't give it justice," Sampson said. "We knew Arizona's penchant for being a high-powered team. This was a great game, a very physical game. It was an Oklahoma game." Najera tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds, Humphrey added 15 points and Martin 14 for the Sooners (21-10), who will play fifth-seeded North Carolina-Charlotte in the second round Sunday. "Growing up in Oklahoma, I knew the tradition that Oklahoma had," said Humphrey. "Everybody talks about football, but I grew up wanting to play basketball. We were truly blessed today with a victory." Wright accumulated 16 points and 12 rebounds and Terry added 15 points for Arizona (22-7), which lost in the first round for the first time since falling to Miami of Ohio in 1995. Aside from their stunning run to the 1997 NCAA Tournament title which started in the Southeast Region, the Wildcats have never won an NCAA Tournament game outside the West. "It's a disappointing loss, but certainly Oklahoma scrapped and battled, and was able to make the big play when they had to," said Olson. The Wildcats were held to their second-lowest point total of the season and, in a rare instance, victimized by Terry's shooting. He connected on just 4-of-17 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. "I've been here four years now," Terry said. "Just the success that we've had as a program, as a team. The last couple of seconds there, I was just reminiscing of all the good days. This was not one of them." Arizona shot a miserable 33 percent (19-of-57), including 3-of-9 from 3-point range, and was 19-of-28 from the free throw line. Arizona led by as many as six points in the second half but allowed Oklahoma to hang around as the Sooners took their first lead of the period with 8:00 left when Najera drained a 3-pointer to make it 49-48. But the Wildcats scored 10 of the next 15 points and led 58-54 after A.J. Bramlett hit a pair of free throws with 2:19 to play. Najera fed Humphrey for a dunk that pulled the Sooners within two points, but Jefferson's layup with 1:43 left gave Arizona a 60-56 lead. "As a player you always dream of making big shots and getting the rebounds," Najera said. "You just focus on playing hard." Najera's 3-pointer made it a one-point game and set up the final moments. "It (the game-winning shot) was kind of like a scramble," Bramlett said. "There was a lot of guys there. I tried to get the rebound. We were all just fighting for the last basket." Spaulding contributed 10 points and Michael Johnson dished out eight assists for Oklahoma, which shot 41 percent (24-of-59) and connected on 10-of-25 from 3-point range. The Sooners won despite committing 16 turnovers and making only three of their nine foul shots. "I didn't understand why we came in as a seed," said Sampson. "Certain teams are good because of toughness. I think we're a good road team. The two toughest jobs are the Selection Committee and the referees. It was then up to us to prove we were good enough to advance." Bramlett had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Arizona, which held a 39-38 advantage on the boards and commited just 10 turnovers.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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