Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State faces Arizona in Sweet 16 from Chicago
March 21, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (26-6)
Sweet 16 vs. Arizona (28-6)
Chicago Regional
Thursday, March 24, 2005 • 8:57 p.m.
Allstate Arena [17,500] • Chicago, Ill.
CBS Sports
Oklahoma State advances to Chicago Regional
Oklahoma State advances to the Chicago Regional this weekend as the No. 2 seed. The Cowboys defeated 15th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana (63-50) and No. 7 seed Southern Illinois (85-77) in the first and second round in Oklahoma City. OSU will face No. 3 seed Arizona on Thursday night at 8:57 p.m. inside Allstate Arena. Oklahoma State is 26-6 overall this season and ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press poll and eighth in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Wildcats are 28-6 overall and ranked No. 9 in the final AP poll and the Coaches poll. Arizona defeated 14th-seeded Utah State (66-53) and 11th-seeded UAB (85-63) to advance from Boise, Idaho. These two teams have met only twice previously, with Arizona owning a 2-0 edge in the series.
Headquarters/Interview Opportunities
Oklahoma State will be headquartered at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare. The media hotel will be the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Oklahoma State’s student-athletes and coaches will be available for interviews from 2:30 - 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, in the Skyline Room at Allstate Arena. OSU’s practice from 3:10 - 4 p.m. will be open to the media and general public. Oklahoma State’s opponent, Arizona, will practice from 1 - 1:50 p.m., and will hold press conferences in the Skyline Room of Allstate Arena from 2 - 2:30 p.m. Lockerrooms are open during the interview period.
Down the road
The winner of the Oklahoma State vs. Arizona game will play either No. 1 seeded Illinois or 12th seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday, March 26. Game time has yet to be determined. The winner of the Chicago Regional will advance to the Final Four and play the winner of the Albuquerque Regional on April 2.
Games on Television
All NCAA Tournament games are televised by CBS Sports. This weekend, Dick Enberg will handle the play-by-play duties, while Jay Bilas will provide color commentary and Armen Keteyian be the sideline reporter. Oklahoma State had two games during the regular season televised by CBS Sports, and both times the commentators were Verne Lundquist and Billy Packer. OSU’s home game against Texas Tech and the game at Kansas were both on CBS. OSU is 3-1 on CBS this season.
Back-to-back Big 12 titles
With a 72-68 win over Texas Tech Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma State won its second-consecutive Big 12 Tournament championship. In the last two seasons, OSU has won 75 percent of the league titles. The Cowboys won both the Big 12 Conference regular season and tournament titles last year. In fact, over the last two years, Oklahoma State has the best record in the league, both overall and in conference games only. OSU is 55-10 overall and 25-7 in league play. Oklahoma is 47-17 overall, while Kansas is 24-8 in Big 12 Conference action.
Last game
Ivan McFarlin scored a career-high 31 points and led the Cowboys to an 85-77 win over Southern Illinois on Sunday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. McFarlin was 10-of-13 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. OSU shot 54.3 percent as a team and, after allowing 46 points in the first half, held the Salukis to just 31 in the second on 33 percent shooting. JamesOn Curry added 18 points for the Cowboys while John Lucas chipped in 17. Joey Graham had just eight points but dished out six assists. Down seven at halftime, OSU started the second period on a 12-0 run and never trailed again. Jamaal Tatum scored 22 points for SIU, which ended its season at 27-7.
Series vs. the Wildcats
The series has been brief between OSU and Arizona, with the Wildcats winning both in the early 1990s. The eighth-ranked Cowboys fell to No. 19 Arizona, 97-84, on Dec. 5, 1993, in Phoenix. One year later, the fifth-ranked Wildcats defeated No. 19 Oklahoma State, 79-63, in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. Those are the only two times Eddie Sutton has played Arizona in his 35 year career. It is also the only two times Sutton has coached against Lute Olson in their careers at the Division I level.
Series vs. the Fighting Illini
Oklahoma State is 1-2 all-time vs. the Illinois Fighting Illini, with all three games taking place in the 1950s. In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, on March 27, 1951, No. 2 ranked Oklahoma A&M fell to fifth-ranked Illinois, 61-46, in the NCAA Consolation Finals in Minneapolis, Minn. The Fighting Illini hosted the Aggies in the next meeting on Dec. 21, 1953, and OAMC came away with a 65-60 win. On year later, on Dec. 11, 1954, Illinois defeated Oklahoma A&M, 59-53, in Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
Series vs. the Panthers
Oklahoma State has never played Wisconsin-Milwaukee on the hardwood. However, the Cowboys are 15-12 against teams currently in the Horizon League. OSU is 10-6 vs. Detroit, 4-2 against Loyola (Ill.), 1-0 against Cleveland State and 0-4 vs. Butler.
Sutton ranks sixth all-time
With the Cowboys’ win over Southern Illinois, Coach Eddie Sutton earned his 781st win as a Division I coach, putting him in sole possession of sixth place on the all-time career coaching victories list. Entering the NCAA Tournament, he was tied with Lou Henson, who had 779 career wins before retiring earlier this year. Coach Sutton is just five wins away from the all-time top-five list. Lefty Driesell, who ended his career at Georgia State, sits in fifth place with 786 career wins. Bob Knight of Texas Tech is the only active coach ahead of Sutton in career victories.
Sweet 16 a familiar place
Since Eddie Sutton’s return to Oklahoma State, this year marks the Cowboys’ sixth trip to the NCAA’s Sweet 16. It is also the second time in his tenure that the Pokes have made back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16. OSU advanced to the Sweet 16 in both 1991 and 1992, Coach Sutton’s first two years. The Cowboys made it to the Final Four in 1995, and the Elite Eight in 2000. Last year, Oklahoma State advanced to the Final Four, including a 63-51 win over No. 3 seeded Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16.
Sutton in the Sweet 16
In Eddie Sutton’s 35 years of coaching at the Division I level, his teams have made 26 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In those 26 appearances, his teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 on 13 occasions. His first NCAA Tournament team was the 1974 Creighton squad which finished with a 23-6 record and a regional semifinal appearance. His 1978 team at Arkansas won the national runnerup game after advancing to the Final Four. His 1979 Razorback squad made the Elite Eight, falling to Indiana State in the regional finals. In 1981, Arkansas made the Sweet 16 before losing to LSU. The 1983 Razorbacks lost to Louisville in the regional semifinals. Sutton’s first Kentucky squad, the 1985-86 team, lost to LSU in the regional finals. The 1988 Wildcats lost in the regional semifinals. This year’s Sweet 16 appearance marks the sixth under Sutton at Oklahoma State.
OSU in the NCAAs
With the win over Southern Illinois in the second round, Oklahoma State is now 37-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 22-12 mark in the Eddie Sutton era. OSU is 11-2 in first-round games under Sutton, and has won three consecutive. The Cowboys are 8-2 as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and are 3-1 in NCAA games played in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma State is 6-5 in second-round games in the Sutton era, including a 3-0 mark as a No. 2 seed.
Miscellaneous NCAA Notes
The trip to Chicago will mark the first time Oklahoma State has played a regional semifinal game in the central time zone since 1992, when the Cowboys fell to Michigan in Lexington, Ky. ... OSU is 3-2 vs. Pac-10 teams in the NCAA Tournament ... OSU was 7-1 in the regional semifinals before the current bracketing system was instituted in 1985.
