NMSooner'80
2/3/2012, 06:27 PM
(previously posted on "another" site)
If you were there, you'll probably agree. Without this game (the atmosphere and the win), who knows where OU men's basketball would be now?
This was the epic 1977 showdown between two-time defending Big 8 champ Mizzou and the upstart kids (mostly freshman and sophomores) from OU. It followed another great game, the Saturday classic between OU and Kansas State. OU won that one, 64-63, in front of what had been the largest crowd to ever see a game in Norman. That one came down to the last shot, which KSU missed, and the place erupted. So you knew that the game four days later, on a Wednesday, would be huge. It also helped that OU would be playing for a share of the league title.
The OU Daily even previewed the game by saying, "you might want to leave at noon, and that's from the (nearby) Kraettli Apartments." They weren't wrong. Students had pretty much all of the west side of LNC seats (general admission), and they filled it up quickly. By 6 p.m., the whole west side of the arena was packed, and the rest of the arena was filling up for the first time ever.
Sometimes I think we even intimidated our own team in pregame. The OU team's first shootaround was met with a standing ovation, and of course "Sit Down Norm" Stewart and Company received thuderous boos upon their first entrance.
OU barely led in the game but hung tough until the final two minutes. It was still 63-58, Mizzou, when OU made its move. Aaron Curry hit a floater off the left wing to make it 63-60, then a Mizzou turnover led to another Curry pull-up in almost the same spot. That cut it to 63-62, and the place was about to explode.
Missouri tried to run a four-corners, which led to a foul and a one-and-one by MU's Jim Kennedy, one of their seniors. He missed, but still got the rebound, with about 30 seconds left. But, John McCullough was able to force another turnover, and OU got the ball back for the chance to win (and only its second lead of the game). So after a timeout, Cary Carrabine got open for a 15-footer but missed. Long-armed freshman Al Beal snared the long rebound and took it back up and in with 12 seconds to play. Timeout, Missouri! (and I still remember my brother telling me a buddy of his at Ardmore High, listening on KMOX-AM, said you could barely hear anything on the radio when Beal scored - it was that loud)
After the timeout, Missouri ran a play for all-league forward Kim Anderson. He got open from just outside the foul line but missed with two seconds left. Carrabine grabbed the rebound and was fouled with one second left, and the arena probably shoot to its foundation from the crowd reaction. Carrabine, who had a rare one-and-one miss in the K-State game, then made both, and that was it. The '79 media guide had the photo from the upper deck, of that scene, and it showed students jumping the retaining wall (and some guy, and it wasn't me, even got on to the court to congratulate Terry Stotts), before Carrabine went to the line).
This was also back in the day when only one road led in and out of the then-new Lloyd Noble Center. A bunch of us went "cross country" to Chautauqua, and it was still slow to get out of the parking area. But, we just sat back and enjoyed all the postgame radio coverage that John Brooks did.
The game didn't mark the beginning of a huge dynasty, although I think it set the stage for the '79 league title run (injuries killed OU's season in '78). But I still believe it showed people that basketball was a great event and worthy of their time. It may also explain why so many people who were OU students at the time became such big basketball fans. The '82 NIT run also helped make OU basketball become what it did once a kid named Tisdale arrived later that fall.
If you were there, you'll probably agree. Without this game (the atmosphere and the win), who knows where OU men's basketball would be now?
This was the epic 1977 showdown between two-time defending Big 8 champ Mizzou and the upstart kids (mostly freshman and sophomores) from OU. It followed another great game, the Saturday classic between OU and Kansas State. OU won that one, 64-63, in front of what had been the largest crowd to ever see a game in Norman. That one came down to the last shot, which KSU missed, and the place erupted. So you knew that the game four days later, on a Wednesday, would be huge. It also helped that OU would be playing for a share of the league title.
The OU Daily even previewed the game by saying, "you might want to leave at noon, and that's from the (nearby) Kraettli Apartments." They weren't wrong. Students had pretty much all of the west side of LNC seats (general admission), and they filled it up quickly. By 6 p.m., the whole west side of the arena was packed, and the rest of the arena was filling up for the first time ever.
Sometimes I think we even intimidated our own team in pregame. The OU team's first shootaround was met with a standing ovation, and of course "Sit Down Norm" Stewart and Company received thuderous boos upon their first entrance.
OU barely led in the game but hung tough until the final two minutes. It was still 63-58, Mizzou, when OU made its move. Aaron Curry hit a floater off the left wing to make it 63-60, then a Mizzou turnover led to another Curry pull-up in almost the same spot. That cut it to 63-62, and the place was about to explode.
Missouri tried to run a four-corners, which led to a foul and a one-and-one by MU's Jim Kennedy, one of their seniors. He missed, but still got the rebound, with about 30 seconds left. But, John McCullough was able to force another turnover, and OU got the ball back for the chance to win (and only its second lead of the game). So after a timeout, Cary Carrabine got open for a 15-footer but missed. Long-armed freshman Al Beal snared the long rebound and took it back up and in with 12 seconds to play. Timeout, Missouri! (and I still remember my brother telling me a buddy of his at Ardmore High, listening on KMOX-AM, said you could barely hear anything on the radio when Beal scored - it was that loud)
After the timeout, Missouri ran a play for all-league forward Kim Anderson. He got open from just outside the foul line but missed with two seconds left. Carrabine grabbed the rebound and was fouled with one second left, and the arena probably shoot to its foundation from the crowd reaction. Carrabine, who had a rare one-and-one miss in the K-State game, then made both, and that was it. The '79 media guide had the photo from the upper deck, of that scene, and it showed students jumping the retaining wall (and some guy, and it wasn't me, even got on to the court to congratulate Terry Stotts), before Carrabine went to the line).
This was also back in the day when only one road led in and out of the then-new Lloyd Noble Center. A bunch of us went "cross country" to Chautauqua, and it was still slow to get out of the parking area. But, we just sat back and enjoyed all the postgame radio coverage that John Brooks did.
The game didn't mark the beginning of a huge dynasty, although I think it set the stage for the '79 league title run (injuries killed OU's season in '78). But I still believe it showed people that basketball was a great event and worthy of their time. It may also explain why so many people who were OU students at the time became such big basketball fans. The '82 NIT run also helped make OU basketball become what it did once a kid named Tisdale arrived later that fall.