March 01, 2000
Texas A&M head coach Melvin Watkins: "It was too much Oklahoma. We got going pretty good, but it is hard for us to maintain it. I was trying to get our guys fired up. It was really a combination of us and them on that run in the first half. We've had defensive problems all year. They are a good team, we're not, yet. We went to a zone defense and it actually caused them some problems. Good teams make an adjustment and they did. We've gotten better throughout the conference season. It's not showing on the scoreboard yet. We're not good enough to beat teams like Oklahoma yet. They're a top 20 team. They are playing with a lot of passion. They know what's at stake. It's hard for us to maintain intensity for 40 minutes. I'm not down on them, because we're trying. We're missing pieces, but they'll be better days down the road."
Texas A&M forward Aaron Jack: "I was a little more tired than usual. I'm not quite 100%. Overall I felt OK. Eduardo (Najera) did some things. He hit some tough shots. He's a great player. OU is probably top two in the league when they hit their shots. They have a chance to do a lot of good things."
Texas A&M guard Bernard King: "We picked up our defensive intensity in the second half. We started coming back. Najera works hard, and we stop that and they kick it out for a three. They hit some wide open shots. That's what good teams do."
Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson: "They were giving us threes. They were collapsing inside. We're good at hitting threes. I want our guys shooting those shots. Hollis (Price) is good. He is a good freshman. Stats won't show, because of his role on the team, but he's going to be a special player. He's mature at both ends of the floor. We turned it up on defense. We made A&M start their offense about five feet further out than they wanted to. I tip my hat to Melvin. A lot of teams will drop their head when they are down by 22, but they kept fighting. I was impressed with their fight."
Oklahoma guard Hollis Price: "I don't feel like a freshman. At times I go fast and not control myself. I rate this game like the past few. I've been playing good, and I hope to continue that."
Oklahoma forward Eduardo Najera: "I think I usually play better in the second half. If A&M had a chance to beat us, I knew it would be in the first half. I was really ready to play them. We got out to a big lead. We were concerned coming in after last year. Our guards are playing like veterans, not freshmen. We are playing better as a team. We are playing our best basketball of the year."
Texas A&M Notes
Bernard King scored 15 points tonight, including 3-of-6 three-pointers. King has 75 treys on the season, setting an A&M record and extending his school freshman record. The former record was 74 by Derrick Hart in 1995-96. King is also closing on the Big 12 freshman record of 79 set by Kansas Jeff Boschee last season.
King has scored 438 points this season, closing on the Big 12 freshman record of 447 set by Iowa State's Marcus Fizer in 1997-98. King's 16.8 scoring average is already a Big 12 freshman record, breaking Fizer's mark of 14.7. King is also approaching the A&M freshman record of 459 points set by Rudy Woods in 1978-79 and is one pace to break the school freshman record for scoring average of 15.6 set by Damon Johnson in 1992-93.