NMSooner'80
2/1/2013, 02:24 PM
Let's just start off by saying the OU-KSU game of 1/31/77 was epic, for those who were there.
I still think this game, and outcome, was HUGE for the development of the OU basketball program. OU beat K-State in Norman, 64-63, in front of what was, at the time, the largest crowd to see a game in Norman.
It was a thriller right down to the end. But, in the first half, OU started out slowly and fell behind by 13 points. Then John McCullough and the guys got hot and closed the gap to two by halftime. McCullough and Mike Evans of KSU seemed to be having their own personal shootout in the second half, as the lead changed hands several times.
With about a minute to play, McCullough scored on a top-of-the-key jumper to give OU the lead for good. But, the Cats got a steal and breakaway - but Curtis Redding missed a contested layup and OU rebounded. McCullough made the free throws to put OU up 64-61.
It appeared to be over when OU forced another K-State miss and Cary Carrabine rebounded with 19 seconds left. But the normally automatic Carrabine missed the free throw, and K-State got out quickly on the rebound and scored. Then an odd charging call on Eddie Fields, the team's only senior, gave K-State the ball again with seven ticks left.
OU's defense kept the ball away from Evans, resulting in a 20-foot jumper from JC transfer Larry Dassie at the horn. He missed, freshman Al Beal grabbed the rebound, and the crowd of 8,000 went nuts over the 64-63 win.
Four days later, OU had its first-ever LNC sellout, a Wednesday night game with defending league champ Missouri. The game almost mirrored the K-State game, except the final wound up 66-63. In that one, Beal scored the game-winner and defended the Tigers' final shot succesfully. Carrabine got his chance at redemption and made two freebies with one second left.
Back then, OU barely had a radio network, so if you were outside of Norman you had to try to find stations like KMOX (St. Louis, for Mizzou), KFAB (Omaha, for NU), and whatever Kansas station for KU or KSU came in clearly enough to hear it. My brother's future OU roommate was a sophomore at Ardmore then, and he heard the ending on KMOX. He said the crowd was so loud for the last minute that you barely hear the announcers.
The sold-out crowd for OU-Mizzou might not have happened if the Wildcats had pulled out that Saturday afternoon game. And both games really made OU basketball appealing, mostly to the student body (which is now in its mid-to-late 50's in age).
I still think this game, and outcome, was HUGE for the development of the OU basketball program. OU beat K-State in Norman, 64-63, in front of what was, at the time, the largest crowd to see a game in Norman.
It was a thriller right down to the end. But, in the first half, OU started out slowly and fell behind by 13 points. Then John McCullough and the guys got hot and closed the gap to two by halftime. McCullough and Mike Evans of KSU seemed to be having their own personal shootout in the second half, as the lead changed hands several times.
With about a minute to play, McCullough scored on a top-of-the-key jumper to give OU the lead for good. But, the Cats got a steal and breakaway - but Curtis Redding missed a contested layup and OU rebounded. McCullough made the free throws to put OU up 64-61.
It appeared to be over when OU forced another K-State miss and Cary Carrabine rebounded with 19 seconds left. But the normally automatic Carrabine missed the free throw, and K-State got out quickly on the rebound and scored. Then an odd charging call on Eddie Fields, the team's only senior, gave K-State the ball again with seven ticks left.
OU's defense kept the ball away from Evans, resulting in a 20-foot jumper from JC transfer Larry Dassie at the horn. He missed, freshman Al Beal grabbed the rebound, and the crowd of 8,000 went nuts over the 64-63 win.
Four days later, OU had its first-ever LNC sellout, a Wednesday night game with defending league champ Missouri. The game almost mirrored the K-State game, except the final wound up 66-63. In that one, Beal scored the game-winner and defended the Tigers' final shot succesfully. Carrabine got his chance at redemption and made two freebies with one second left.
Back then, OU barely had a radio network, so if you were outside of Norman you had to try to find stations like KMOX (St. Louis, for Mizzou), KFAB (Omaha, for NU), and whatever Kansas station for KU or KSU came in clearly enough to hear it. My brother's future OU roommate was a sophomore at Ardmore then, and he heard the ending on KMOX. He said the crowd was so loud for the last minute that you barely hear the announcers.
The sold-out crowd for OU-Mizzou might not have happened if the Wildcats had pulled out that Saturday afternoon game. And both games really made OU basketball appealing, mostly to the student body (which is now in its mid-to-late 50's in age).