Oklahoma State University Athletics
Elite Eight Game Preview: OSU vs. St. Joe's
March 27, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
The debate on who's the real No. 1 in the East Rutherford Regional will come to a fitting conclusion.
The team that got the No. 1 seed in this region faces the squad many felt deserved that spot when Saint Joseph's takes on Oklahoma State with a trip to the Final Four at stake.
Despite the Hawks being the first team in 13 years to enter their conference tournament unbeaten, some considered them undeserving of a top seed due to their blowout loss to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals and lack of quality wins.
Those same critics felt a No. 1 seed should have gone to the Cowboys after they won the Big 12 Conference tournament. Oklahoma State settled for a No. 2, and now the argument of which team is better will be decided how it should be -- on the court.
``It's really not about sticking our chest out. You know, enough is enough,'' Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said. ``We're 30-1 and we are in the Elite Eight so we are what we are and you can say what you want. This is one of the best teams in America. It is the best story in all of college basketball.''
Though Thursday's 84-80 regional semifinal win over Wake Forest showed the Hawks don't rely solely on Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, Oklahoma State is considered a more balanced team.
While Nelson and West, who scored 24 points apiece Thursday, might give Saint Joe's the backcourt edge over Tony Allen and John Lucas, the Cowboys are superior up front.
Forwards Ivan McFarlin and Joey Graham led the team in scoring in the first two games of the tournament, respectively, and that duo has combined to average more than 24 points and 11 rebounds this season.
Allen was the only double-digit scorer for Oklahoma State in the round of 16, with 23 points in Thursday's 63-51 win over Pittsburgh.
``That's what's so special about this team. You can't just key in on one person,'' Lucas said. ``We have a lot of hitters on our team that we are just going to go out there and play. It's hard because a lot of players can flat-out score on our team.''
Lucas may land the assignment of defending Nelson, the National Player of the Year who has averaged 27.0 points in the tournament. West has added 19.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
If Lucas or Allen gets hot, the Hawks could turn to Tyrone Barley off the bench after he handcuffed Wake's Chris Paul and limited the ACC freshman of the year to 12 points -- seven on free throws.
Barley also stepped up to score 13 points in Thursday's win while Pat Carroll added 17, including five 3-pointers.
``I take so much pride in my defense,'' Barley said. ``But when you have two great guards and the defense is focusing all their attention on them, it's so much easier for us to find a shot.''
A big key for Oklahoma State may be simply playing its best for more than one half.
After being held to 30 percent shooting from the field in the first half against Pitt, the Cowboys hit 16-of-25 shots in the final 20 minutes. They were tied 36-all at halftime in the first round before blowing out Eastern Washington, then dominated the opening 20 minutes in the next round against Memphis before struggling in the second half.
``Like coach (Eddie Sutton) always says, we have to put two halves together and we can't just keep relying on one half to get us through the stretch,'' Allen said.
This is the sixth regional final for Sutton, looking to reach the Final Four for the third time in his career and first time since taking Oklahoma State in 1995.
The Hawks, whose only Final Four berth came in 1961, is playing in a regional final for the first time since 1981 -- a loss to Indiana.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Oklahoma St - F Graham (12.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg), F McFarlin (12.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg), G Lucas (15.1 ppg, 4.6 apg), G Daniel Bobik (7.5 ppg, 2.8 apg), G Allen (16.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg). Saint Joseph's - F John Bryant (3.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg), F Carroll (10.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg), C Dwayne Jones (6.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg), G Nelson (20.7 ppg, 5.2 apg, 2.9 spg), G West (18.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.7 rpg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Oklahoma St - Automatic bid, Big 12 champion; beat No. 15 Eastern Washington 75-56, first round; beat No. 7 Memphis 70-53, second round; beat No. 3 Pittsburgh 63-51, regional semifinals. Saint Joseph's - At-large berth; beat No. 16 Liberty 82-63, first round; beat No. 8 Texas Tech 70-65, second round; beat No. 4 Wake Forest 84-80, regional semifinals.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Oklahoma St - 34-22, 21 years. Saint Joseph's - 18-20, 17 years.
