Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Pittsburgh
Oklahoma State Defeats Pitt, Advances To Elite Eight
March 26, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ Oklahoma State took Pittsburgh's pushes, shoves and banging for 33 minutes and then delivered a knockout blow that sent longtime coach Eddie Sutton to his sixth regional final.
Tony Allen keyed a late 17-5 spurt when second-seeded Oklahoma State solved Pittsburgh's tenacious defense and beat the third-seeded Panthers 63-51 on Thursday night.
Oklahoma State (30-3) will face either St. Joseph's or Wake Forest on Saturday in the East Rutherford Regional for the right to go to San Antonio for the Final Four.
Allen lead the Cowboys with 23 points in a game that was a lot closer than the final score.
Carl Krauser had 15 points and Jaron Brown 11 for the Panthers (31-5), who lost in the regional semifinal for the third straight year.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first 30 minutes of a game that was almost like a heavyweight fight.
For each jab, there was a counter with both teams playing aggressive defense.
Pittsburgh and rookie coach Jamie Dixon seemed to have the edge because Oklahoma State struggled to find its up-tempo game.
The Cowboys finally broke loose after Krauser hit a floater in the lane to tie the game at 42 with 7:51 to play.
Then the Big 12 champions took over.
Joey Graham broke the tie with a jumper from the right wing and Allen stretched the lead to four points on a drive down the left side of the lane.
Ironically, the basket was set up when Chevon Troutman of Pittsburgh was shoved along the baseline on Pitt's possession and stepped out of bounds.
After Troutman and Graham exchanged baskets, Graham hit another jumper for a 50-44 lead with 5:07 to go.
Brown, who was in foul trouble early, gave the Panthers one last ray of hope hitting a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 50-47 with about 4:45 to play.
Allen answered with a 3-pointer and the game quickly got out of hand when Janavor Weatherspoon scored on a fastbreak and Allen got another basket for a 57-47 edge.
Both teams predicted a physical game on Wednesday and that's just what they got.
Pittsburgh took a 28-26 lead in a first half in which the teams combined to hit six jumpers, and that was a generous count.
Air balls, players hitting the floor after shots and whistles sending the teams to the foul line were more common than the ball going through the twine.
The Panthers got the lead because Krauser found ways to drive around the Oklahoma State defense for 11 points, and Troutman, Chris Taft and Mark McCarroll did some good work inside.
They combined for nine of Pittsburgh's 12 offensive rebounds, most of which led to either putbacks or second chances.
Allen was the only constant for the Cowboys. The senior guard went 3-for-6 from the field and hit all four of his free throws.
The rest of the Cowboys were 3-for-14 from the field as the Panthers' defense gave Oklahoma State few open looks and not one fastbreak.
