Associated Press Photo Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson, along with players and coaches, celebrates the Sooners' 64-55 win over top-ranked Kansas in the Big 12 championship game at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., earlier this month. Sampson's Sooners face Arizona in the Sweet 16 round Thursday in San Jose, Calif.

Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson knows Arizona basketball.

As the coach of Washington State for seven years, Sampson righted a dismal Cougar basketball program and was rewarded with a job offer by the more high-profile Oklahoma team.

"I'm happy to see the success (OU is) having," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "Even at Washington State when they weren't winning, Kelvin was doing a great job. It's a lot easier to get it done in Norman than Pullman. He's a hard-worker, a quality guy, and he does things the right way."

Though Sampson's old team struggled against Arizona, his new team has not.

In the four-game history of UA and OU, Oklahoma holds a 3-1 series advantage. Two of the four series games have come in the NCAA Tournament.

The first postseason meeting was in 1988 in the Final Four. Both teams came in as the No. 1 seeds from their respective regions, but it was Oklahoma that would play for the national championship after beating Arizona 86-78.

Eleven years later, the Sooners ruined Wildcat dreams again with a 61-60 upset over fourth-seeded UA in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament.

But this year's Oklahoma team could be the best in recent history.

The Big 12 Tournament champion Sooners (29-4) enter tomorrow's game riding a 10-game win streak that includes a defeat of Kansas and a pair of wins over Texas.

The athletic Sooner lineup is averaging 78 points per game and defensively averages 9.2 steals per game while holding its opposition to 40 percent shooting and 64 points.

Junior guard Hollis Price leads three Sooner players averaging double-figure scoring with 16.5 points per game.

The lightning-quick Price scored 23 points in Oklahoma's upset win over Kansas in the Big 12 final and was key in the Sooners' first two NCAA tourney wins.

Price, along with junior Quannas White, has caused problems for opponents on the perimeter.

"Their perimeter guys are very quick; they shoot the ball well from outside," Olson said. "They take the ball to the basket really well too."

Boating a powerful inside game as well, Oklahoma is one of the more well-rounded inside-outside teams in the country.

The Sooners have a pair of versatile forwards in junior Ebi Ere and senior Aaron McGhee.

At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Ere can go both inside and out. In Oklahoma's second-round win over Xavier, Ere posted 20 points and seven rebounds. He shot 7-of-14 from the field including two 3-pointers.

McGhee has a more traditional power-forward body. His 6-foot-8 height gives him an advantage on the boards, and his 250-pound frame makes him a tough body to move in the paint.

McGhee has 13 double-doubles on the season.

While matching up with Oklahoma could pose a few problems, Olson said his team is familiar with the type of ball the Sooners like to play.

"The matchup with Oklahoma is a tough matchup for us," Olson said. "The three teams that they would be the most like would be the three teams we've had the most trouble with: Connecticut, Kansas and Oregon. They are in attack mode all of the time."

The Wildcats went 0-4 this season against the three teams Olson mentioned.