Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Travel To South Carolina For NCAA Tournament
March 12, 2002 | Cowboy Basketball
March 12, 2002
Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Kent State
2002 NCAA Tournament * South RegionM
Thursday, March 14, 2002 * 11:20 a.m. CST
BI-LO Center [14,322] * Greenville, S.C.
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About the Cowboys
Oklahoma State enters the tournament with a 23-8 overall record, the fifth-straight season of 20 or more wins and the 10th under head coach Eddie Sutton in his 12 seasons in Stillwater. The Cowboys began the season with a 13-game winning streak, the fourth-longest in school history. OSU finished 10-6 in the rugged Big 12 Conference, tying for third behind Kansas (16-0) and Oklahoma (13-3). The Cowboys tied Texas and Texas Tech at 10-6.
Cowboys Make 19th NCAA Appearance
This will be Oklahoma State's 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and the fifth straight, dating back to 1998. The Cowboys have won two NCAA titles, in 1945 and 1946, and made three appearances in the Final Four (the other was in 1995). This will be the 10th NCAA appearance for Oklahoma State in the Coach Sutton era. Oklahoma State has played seven teams that made the 65-team field, and has a 5-6 record vs. those teams. Those teams are: No. 1 Cincinnati, No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 6 Texas, No. 12 Missouri and No. 16 Siena. Last year, as a No. 11 seed, OSU lost in the first round for the first time under Coach Sutton. Senior Fredrik J?nz?n has 82 points in his career at the NCAA Tournament, and needs just nine to move into the top five all-time in OSU history (he currently ranks 10th). This will mark Oklahoma State's third appearance in the South Region, having made back-to-back appearances in the South in 1998 and 1999. Check out pages 6-27 through 6-33 of the 2002 OSU Basketball Media Guide for a complete look at OSU's NCAA history.
Here's a look at some OSU Tournament trivia:
* Oklahoma State, then known as Oklahoma A&M College, was the first school to win back-to-back NCAA titles when Bob Kurland led the Aggies to titles in 1945 and '46. OSU is one of just five schools with back-to-back NCAA trophies and one of only 11 universities with two trophies overall.
* Kurland was named the Outstanding Player of the tournament in both championship years and is one of only five players in NCAA history to win the award twice.
* OSU hit 80 percent (20-of-35) of its field-goal attempts in the 1992 second round against Tulane. That mark still stands as a tournament record.
* The 1946 NCAA Championship game vs. North Carolina was the first to be televised locally and was broadcast on WCBS in New York with an estimated audience of 500,000.
Last Time Out For Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State had its worst offensive output of the season as the Cowboys scored just 51 points in a 73-51 loss to Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament last Friday. OSU was equal to Tech in most statistical categories, including turnovers (OSU 13, TTU 11), rebounds (OSU 38, Tech 34), points in the paint (OSU 34, TTU 32), points off turnovers (OSU 14, Tech 13) and fastbreak points (Tech 10, OSU 8). However, the glaring difference was in shooting percentage. While Oklahoma State shot the ball 61 times and Texas Tech shot it 56, the Red Raiders connected on 53.6 percent of their shots, compared to just 34.4 percent for OSU. Terrence Crawford led all OSU scorers with 12 points, while Fredrik J?nz?n was one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Andre Williams had one of his better games of the season, scoring nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbing eight boards. However, the guard trio of Victor Williams, Maurice Baker and Cheyne Gadson combined to shoot just 13.8 percent, or 4-of-29 from the floor.
OSU vs. the Opponents
Oklahoma State has never met Kent State on the hardwood, although the Cowboys are 3-2 vs. the Mid-American Conference, including an 82-70 win over Ball State earlier this season. OSU is 2-3 all-time vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide, including a 66-52 win that advanced Oklahoma State to the Sweet 16 in 1995. OSU is 0-1 all-time vs. Florida Atlantic, with the only meeting being an 83-81 loss on Dec. 1, 1998, a loss that snapped a 78-game home non-conference winning streak. Oklahoma State has never played Furman, host of the tournament site in Greenville, but the Cowboys are 4-0 vs. the Southern Conference. Oklahoma State did play in South Carolina, competing in the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C. in December of 1975. OSU defeated Virginia, 72-69, before falling to South Carolina, 70-61.
Sutton Earns 700th Career Victory
Coach Eddie Sutton became just the 18th coach in NCAA history to reach the 700-victory plateau, and the 14th at the Division I level. He became just the sixth active coach to reach that mark, joining Jim Phelan, Bob Knight, Lefty Drissell, Jerry Tarkanian and Lou Henson. Coach Sutton was the eighth-fastest ever to 700 victories by games played (975), and has the second-most wins ever through the first 32 seasons of a career behind Dean Smith (774), surpassing Bob Knight, who had 701 wins in his first 32 years at the Division I level.
20 Wins Becomes the Norm at Oklahoma State
For the fifth-straight season, and the 10th time in the Coach Sutton era, Oklahoma State has reached the 20-win mark for a single season. In fact, this is the 24th time in OSU history that a team has reached 20 wins, and the third time that the Cowboys have won 20 or more games in five-consecutive seasons. OSU won 20 or more in six-straight seasons from 1944 until 1949, and accomplished that feat five times from 1991-95. Another win would put this year's squad in a seven-way tie for 10th on the all-time victories list, and two more wins would tie for ninth. Three wins would tie for eighth, and four wins would tie for third. Below is a list of the most wins in a four-year span at OSU, with a minimum of 90 victories.
Cowboys In The Polls
Oklahoma State is ranked 22nd in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, dropping nine spots from 13th after last week's loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament. The Cowboys are 14th in the most recent AP Poll as of print time. OSU's No. 5 ranking earlier this season was the highest ranking OSU has achieved since the Cowboys were ranked second nationally in mid-February of 1992. OSU was ranked No. 2 for two weeks before dropping back to eighth that year. Three of Oklahoma State's opponents this season are ranked in the top 25 of both polls (Kansas, Cincinnati, Oklahoma), while three more (Texas, Texas Tech, Missouri) are receiving votes in at least one of the polls. Here is a look at where OSU has ranked in each poll this season:
Gadson Steps to the Forefront
Despite knee surgery at the beginning of the season that slowed his learning of Coach Sutton's system, Cheyne Gadson has come into his own the last several games. He had a breakout game at Oklahoma as he set a career-high with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and also had seven rebounds. Against Oklahoma in Stillwater, he scored 10 points and had five boards. At Texas A&M, Gadson scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and also had three three-pointers. He also dished out five assists. In the last seven games, he is averaging 10 points per game. He also had a career high with nine rebounds vs. Texas.
McFarlin Posting Big Numbers
Oklahoma State sophomore Ivan McFarlin is showing the league what the coaching staff has known all along - he's a prime-time player. Against Nebraska, he set career highs in both points and rebounds with 20 and 17, respectively. It was the most rebounds by a Cowboy since Bryant Reeves had 20 vs. Kansas in 1995. In I-Mac's first season with the Cowboys (he was a partial qualifier last year), he has 18 double-figure scoring games with a season-high of 22 points vs. Oklahoma. He also recorded his first double-double in the second game of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds vs. Austin Peay. He had back-to-back double-doubles with 10 and 10 vs. Arkansas and 11 and 11 vs. Ball State. He had four-straight double-figure rebounding games through one stint in the season. In the first exhibition game of the season, I-Mac had 20 rebounds, including 10 on each end of the court. He leads the team in steals with 46 and in blocked shots with 36. He is second in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage, connecting on 61.2 percent of his overall shots.
I-Mac's Rebounds Rank High in First Year
Sophomore Ivan McFarlin, in his first year on the court for Oklahoma State, is one of the top first-season rebounders in Cowboy history. Only three former Cowboys have had more rebounds in their first year as a player for OSU than McFarlin. Andy Hopson leads all first-year rebounders with 352 in 1972-73, his sophomore season. Prior to 1973-74, freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity team. Ivan is currently eight rebounds away from surpassing Don Youman, who had 242 in 1977-79, and 18 from moving past Byron Houston for second on the all-time list. Here is a list of the four all-time first-year rebounders:
J?nz?n Moving Up Scoring Chart
With 14 points vs. Texas A&M, senior forward Fredrik J?nz?n moved up to 14th on the all-time career scoring list. He surpassed Arlen Clark, who had 1,197 points in his career, and Darwyn Alexander, who had 1,199 points. J?nz?n currently has 1,217 points in his four-year career, and needs four to surpass Kevin Fitzgerald, who had 1,220 points in his career from 1971-73. After that, J?nz?n would need 100 points to reach Corey Williams, who is in 12th place with 1,320 points.
J?nz?n Eclipses 700 Rebound Mark
Senior forward Fredrik J?nz?n pulled down four rebounds vs. Texas A&M, eclipsing the 700-career rebound mark. He now has 738 boards, and is in ninth place on the career rebounding charts. He became just the seventh player in school history to record 1,200 points and 700 rebounds in a career.
Duo Consistently in the Starting Lineup
Senior Fredrik J?nz?n and junior Melvin Sanders have started 67 and 61 consecutive games, respectively, for OSU, ranking fifth and seventh on the Cowboy consecutive starts list. J?nz?n will be unable to move up any, needing 10 to tie Bryant Reeves for fifth place. Sanders should tie Byron Houston for sixth on Thursday against Kent State.
Victor Williams Showing Leadership
While fellow starting guard Maurice Baker was hampered by groin injury and a sprained ankle, junior Victor Williams stepped up his game. He is averaging 16.3 points per game over the last five contests and 4.9 assists per game in the last nine games. Vic is second on the team in scoring with a 13.1 ppg average, and is also second on the team in free-throw percentage (.743). He has 125 assists, leading the team, and 69 turnovers, a 1.81 assist-to-turnover ratio. He recorded the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. Fresno State.
OSU Post Players Host Block Party
Through 31 games, OSU has blocked 108 shots, and average of 3.5 swats per game. Ivan McFarlin leads the team with 36, while Andre Williams has 29. Antoine Broxsie has 16 blocked shots, while Fredrik J?nz?n has 12. Maurice Baker and Melvin Sanders each have five, while Cheyne Gadson has three and Terrence Crawford and Jack Marlow each have one. Williams had four vs. Cincinnati, and three vs. Northwestern State, Texas and Texas Tech, while Broxsie had three vs. TCU, New Orleans and Northwestern State. McFarlin had three vs. North Texas, Ball State, Nebraska, K-State and OU.
Andre Williams Fifth on All-Time Blocked Shots Chart
Andre Williams recorded four blocks in the first game of the seeason vs. Cincinnati, and has 29 total this year. He became just the fifth player in school history to reach the century mark in blocked shots in his career. The amazing fact is that he accomplished that feat in just two seasons, the second Cowboy ever to do so. Byron Houston had 131 blocks after his sophomore year. Andre has had six multiple-block games this season, including four vs. Cincinnati and three vs. Northwestern State, Texas and Texas Tech.
Baker Nearing Top 25 in Scoring
With 19 points vs. Texas Tech, Maurice Baker surpassed four former Cowboys and moved into 26th place on the career scoring list. He moved past Clayton Carter (939 points), Ed Odom (945), Don Johnson (945) and Eli Johnson (946). He needs seven points to move past Larry Hawk and into the top 25 all-time. Baker has the second-most points by a Cowboy with just two years at OSU, trailing Director of Basketball Operations Brooks Thompson (996 points in 1993-94) by 32 points.
Sutton First Member of 250-250 Club
After some dilligent research by Gary Johnson at the NCAA, it has been determined that Coach Eddie Sutton is the first coach in NCAA history to win 250 games at two different Division I schools. Coach Sutton picked up 260 wins while at Arkansas, and currently has 272 at Oklahoma State. He picked up his 250th win with the Cowboys on Nov. 16, 2001, vs. Cincinnati. Lou Henson of New Mexico State has just joined the 250-250 win club. He had 423 wins at Illinois and has 254 this season at NMSU. He picked up his 250th win with the Aggies on Jan. 31 of this year vs. New Orleans. Connecticut's Jim Calhoun had 349 wins entering the season at UConn, and had 248 victories at Northeastern.
Comeback Cowboys
OSU has trailed all but one opponent this season at some point in the game, including nine games where the Cowboys were in double-digit deficits. In two of those games, OSU came back to win. The first was vs. Arkansas, when the Cowboys trailed the Razorbacks by 22 points midway through the first period. OSU ended up winning that game by nine. Against Texas Tech in Stillwater, OSU fell behind by as many as 15 points with 12 minutes remaining in the game, but defeated Tech, 64-62. In the other seven games, OSU lost by single digits in four of those.
Cowboy Noteworthy
* With a capacity crowd at the Oklahoma game, the Cowboys broke the single-season total attendance mark. The previous mark was set last season when 144,524 fans entered historic Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU finished the season with 178,340 fans entering the arena in 15 games, an average of 11,890 fans per contest.
* Oklahoma State has played 27 games into overtime in the Coach Sutton era, including last week's 79-72 win over Oklahoma. That game tied OU with Kansas for the most overtime games in the Coach Sutton era. OSU is 2-2 vs. KU in overtime games and 2-2 vs. the Sooners in OT games. OSU has played Missouri in three overtime games, with a 1-2 mark vs. the Tigers. Teams that Oklahoma State has played twice in overtime include Iowa State, Kansas State, Colorado and Texas Tech. OSU is 1-1 vs. all those teams in overtime.
* Oklahoma State's 29 three-point field goal attempts vs. Texas on Jan. 5, 2002, tied for the second-most in school history. OSU attempted 30 vs. Florida in 1994 and 29 vs. Oklahoma in 1999.
Father-Son Coaching Duos
Head Coach Eddie Sutton and Associate Head Coach Sean Sutton are one of 12 father-son duos to be coaching at the same school. OSU will play two other teams that include the same coaching phenomenon, including Texas Tech's Bob and Pat Knight. The Cowboys will also play Fresno State, coached by Jerry and Danny Tarkanian. Here is a list compiled by ESPN's research department:
School Head Coach Assistant Coach Fordham Bob Hill (F) Cameron Hill (S) Fresno State Jerry Tarkanian (F) Danny Tarkanian (S) Georgia Jim Harrick (F) Jim Harrick, Jr. (S) Jacksonville Hugh Durham (F) Doug Durham (S) Liberty Mel Hankinson (F) Chad Hankinson (S) Oklahoma State Eddie Sutton (F) Sean Sutton (S) St. John's Mike Jarvis (F) Mike Jarvis, II (S) Samford Jim Tillette (F) Tristan Tillete (S) Stony Brook Nick Macarchuk (F) Nick Macarchuk, III (S) Tennessee Tech Jeff Lebo (S) Dave Lebo (F) Texas Tech Bob Knight (F) Pat Knight (S) UNLV Charlie Spoonhour (F) Jay Spoonhour (S)
Cowboys in the NCAA Tournament
Here is a look at the Cowboys' career numbers in NCAA Tournament play. Fredrik J?nz?n has played in three NCAA Tourneys, while Andre Williams has played in two.
Fredrik Jonzen FG-A 3FG-A FT-A R PF TP A M 1999 vs. Syracuse 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 4 0 0 5 1999 vs. Auburn 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 0 9 2000 vs. Hofstra 1-4 0-0 11-15 11 2 13 1 32 2000 vs. Pepperdine 7-13 0-0 7-8 9 4 21 1 31 2000 vs. Seton Hall 6-13 0-0 3-4 7 2 15 1 35 2000 vs. Florida 6-9 0-0 2-2 7 2 14 2 24 2001 vs. USC 8-16 0-0 1-3 3 4 17 0 39 Totals 29-59 0-0 24-32 39 18 82 5 166Andre Williams FG-A 3FG-A FT-A R PF TP A M 2000 vs. Hofstra 0-0 0-0 0-0 4 1 0 0 8 2000 vs. Pepperdine 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 1 0 0 14 2000 vs. Seton Hall 1-2 0-0 0-0 5 1 2 1 11 2000 vs. Florida 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 4 4 0 14 2001 vs. USC 1-5 0-0 0-7 13 1 2 2 33 Totals 4-11 0-0 0-7 29 8 8 3 80
2001 vs. USC FG-A 3FG-A FT-A R PF TP A M Maurice Baker 5-9 0-2 0-1 5 2 10 2 39 Antoine Broxsie 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 2 2 0 3 Melvin Sanders 4-8 1-3 0-0 4 3 9 0 27 Victor Williams 4-12 0-4 1-2 6 2 9 3 37 Terrence Crawford 0-2 0-0 1-2 3 2 1 0 17 Jack Marlow 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 4 0 3
