RICHMOND, Va. – Several years down the road, junior Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla.) (right) may be asked the question, what's the best birthday present you've ever received.

November 21, 2009 may now be his answer after he and his teammates pounded 17th-ranked Oklahoma, 82-69 in front of a sold-out crowd at Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Saturday evening.

"I'm really proud of the way our guys played tonight," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "The college basketball season is about resilience. We came back from Western Michigan and had one of the best practices of the year on Thursday. It showed me that our guys had a tremendous amount of focus and that's exactly what we displayed tonight."

In what was booked as Jeff Capel's return to VCU, the Rams were the one who stole the show, never allowing the Sooners to hold a lead en route to VCU's first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since January 8, 1994 when the Black & Gold beat 11th-ranked Louisville, 93-89, in overtime.

Sanders and sophomore Jay Gavin (Seat Pleasant, Md.) combined for 37 points, six rebounds and seven assists, while junior Ed Nixon (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was the third Ram in double-figures with 10 points in the evening.

Back-to-back three pointers from Gavin and junior Brandon Rozzell (Richmond, Va.) capped off a 9-2 run early in the first half that gave the Black & Gold a 16-6 advantage.

After that, the Rams would never look back, pushing its lead to as many as 17 in the first half thanks to seven three-pointers and 50.0% from the field in the first 20 minutes.

For the third consecutive game, VCU held a halftime lead. This time the Black & Gold would not let anything slip away thanks to 12 second-half points from Sanders and Gavin.

A huge part of the Rams' success on the evening was thanks in large part to the all-around games from sophomore Bradford Burgess (Midlothian, Va.) and senior T.J. Gwynn (Burlington, N.C.) (left). Burgess nearly posted his first double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while Gwynn chipped in eight points and corralled nine rebounds.

The fast-paced VCU style disrupted Preseason All-American Willie Warren to the tune of just 3-of-14 shooting and 0-8 from beyond the arc.

"Our guys woke up a little bit after the Western Michigan loss and it really showed tonight," Smart added. "The guys came out with a little more hunger tonight and it showed on both ends of the court."

Tony Crocker led the way with 19 points, while Tiny Gallon added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Sooners.  

"As much fun as it was tonight, our focus all year is about the next game. This won't mean anything if we can't go to Hampton and show that we can win on the road," Sanders added.

The Rams will have just two days to prepare with a 7 p.m. road contest at Hampton looming on Monday evening.