GDC
3/23/2006, 09:06 AM
I can't believe the 85 OU team isn't in the top ten, and the 88 team should have been first.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/images/2006/060323_B1_1946C55816_b1ou23.jpg
Who’s the best
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
3/23/2006
74 teams from the state of Oklahoma have made the NCAA Tournament. The Tulsa World ranks them from top to bottom and answers ... Who’s the best
1946 Cowboys top the list of NCAA Tournament teams
The rest of the country is still celebrating March Madness. Oklahoma? We have been driven sane.
For the first time since 2001 and the third time since 1984, the men's Division I college basketball teams from this state combined for zero NCAA Tournament victories.
What's a basketball junkie to do while waiting for Courtney Paris to post up again? Wallow in the past, of course.
The 60th anniversary of Oklahoma State's 1946 national championship victory over North Carolina arrives Sunday. The Cowboys gained an additional reason to celebrate. The Tulsa World has ranked the state's all-time NCAA Tournament qualifiers -- a total of 74 squads -- from top to bottom and OSU's '46 team is at the top of the heap, just ahead of OSU's 1945 national title team and Oklahoma's 1988 national runner-up team.
Picking a team from the era of Chuck Taylor shoes (the basketball equivalent of leather football helmets) will no doubt enrage those who argue that players from yesteryear are inferior to today's metahuman athletes.
Former OSU player and coach Sam Aubrey, who played in the '46 title game, admits that today's players are bigger and faster and jump higher. "Gee whiz, they are good," he said.
Put vintage teams from the '40s on the court against a 1988 OU team that started three top 12 NBA draft picks and the outcome could get ugly. But only two teams from the state have won an NCAA hoops title, so the victors got the spoils, at least in regard to this project.
The '88 Sooners were picked third, ahead of two other teams (OSU 1949, OU 1947) that lost in the title game.
Also judged among the state's top 12 NCAA Tournament participants were three OSU Final Four teams (2004, 1951, 1995), a 2002 OU Final Four team, Tulsa's 2000 Elite Eight squad, Oral Roberts' 1974 Elite Eight team and Oklahoma City University's 1957 Elite Eight team.
Let's take a closer look at the Dandy Dozen:
1. Oklahoma A&M 1946
Led by two-time tournament MVP Bob Kurland's 23 points, the Oklahoma A&M Aggies beat North Carolina 43-40 to clinch a 31-2 national title season. A&M became the first school to win back-to-back national crowns and all five starters were named first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference.
2. Oklahoma A&M 1945
Oklahoma A&M was four games above .500 in mid-January but won 20 of the final 21 games, including a 49-45 national championship victory over Dolph Schayes-led New York U. The Aggies finished 27-4.
3. OU 1988
This is arguably the best state team never to win a national championship. Stacey King, Mookie Blaylock and Harvey Grant combined for nearly 50 points per game during a 35-4 season. The Sooners beat Danny Manning-led Kansas twice during the regular season, but lost an 83-79 rematch in the national title game.
4. Oklahoma A&M 1949
Oklahoma A&M's hopes of a third national championship in a five-year span ended because the Aggies couldn't stop Kentucky's Lou Groza in the title game. Groza scored 25 points in a 10-point UK win. A&M went 23-5 and was second in the final AP poll.
5. OU 1947
Bruce Drake guided the Sooners to a 24-7 national runner-up season. Oklahoma won 12 of 13 games before losing 58-47 to Holy Cross in the title contest.
6. OSU 2004
The Cowboys rode first-round NBA draft picks Joey Graham and Tony Allen to a school-record 31 victories and a Final Four appearance. OSU, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, was beaten on a late shot by Georgia Tech's Will Bynum in a national semifinal.
7. OU 2002
Hollis Price, Aaron McGhee and Ebi Ere combined to average more than 47 points for a team that won 31 games and reached the Final Four. Ranked third in the final poll, the second-seeded Sooners lost a national semifinal to Indiana.
8. Oklahoma A&M 1951
Oklahoma A&M went 29-6 and advanced to the Final Four, losing 68-44 to Kansas State and 61-46 to Illinois in a third-place game. The Aggies, second in the final AP poll, were No. 1 midway through the season.
9. OSU 1995
The Cowboys started 10-6 but got hot at season's end and made the Final Four as a No. 4 seed. Bryant Reeves and Randy Rutherford carried the scoring load for a team that went 27-10 and lost to national champ UCLA in a semifinal game.
10. TU 2000
The Golden Hurricane won a school-record 32 games and suffered a four-point loss to North Carolina in an Elite Eight game. This Tulsa team, ranked as high as 12th during the regular season, could play with anyone, according to former coach Bill Self.
11. ORU 1974
Expect a miracle? After making consecutive NIT appearances, Ken Trickey's high-scoring Titans almost advanced to the Final Four. They went 23-6 and secured NCAA Tournament victories over Syracuse and Louisville before suffering a three-point loss to Kansas in an Elite Eight showdown.
12. OCU 1957
Wilt Chamberlain kept the Chiefs out of the Final Four. Chamberlain outscored Hub Reed 30-26 and Kansas beat OCU in an Elite Eight game. The Chiefs, ranked ninth in the final AP poll, finished 19-9 and became the first school to make six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jimmie Tramel 581-8389
[email protected]
http://www.tulsaworld.com/images/2006/060323_B1_1946C55816_b1ou23.jpg
Who’s the best
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
3/23/2006
74 teams from the state of Oklahoma have made the NCAA Tournament. The Tulsa World ranks them from top to bottom and answers ... Who’s the best
1946 Cowboys top the list of NCAA Tournament teams
The rest of the country is still celebrating March Madness. Oklahoma? We have been driven sane.
For the first time since 2001 and the third time since 1984, the men's Division I college basketball teams from this state combined for zero NCAA Tournament victories.
What's a basketball junkie to do while waiting for Courtney Paris to post up again? Wallow in the past, of course.
The 60th anniversary of Oklahoma State's 1946 national championship victory over North Carolina arrives Sunday. The Cowboys gained an additional reason to celebrate. The Tulsa World has ranked the state's all-time NCAA Tournament qualifiers -- a total of 74 squads -- from top to bottom and OSU's '46 team is at the top of the heap, just ahead of OSU's 1945 national title team and Oklahoma's 1988 national runner-up team.
Picking a team from the era of Chuck Taylor shoes (the basketball equivalent of leather football helmets) will no doubt enrage those who argue that players from yesteryear are inferior to today's metahuman athletes.
Former OSU player and coach Sam Aubrey, who played in the '46 title game, admits that today's players are bigger and faster and jump higher. "Gee whiz, they are good," he said.
Put vintage teams from the '40s on the court against a 1988 OU team that started three top 12 NBA draft picks and the outcome could get ugly. But only two teams from the state have won an NCAA hoops title, so the victors got the spoils, at least in regard to this project.
The '88 Sooners were picked third, ahead of two other teams (OSU 1949, OU 1947) that lost in the title game.
Also judged among the state's top 12 NCAA Tournament participants were three OSU Final Four teams (2004, 1951, 1995), a 2002 OU Final Four team, Tulsa's 2000 Elite Eight squad, Oral Roberts' 1974 Elite Eight team and Oklahoma City University's 1957 Elite Eight team.
Let's take a closer look at the Dandy Dozen:
1. Oklahoma A&M 1946
Led by two-time tournament MVP Bob Kurland's 23 points, the Oklahoma A&M Aggies beat North Carolina 43-40 to clinch a 31-2 national title season. A&M became the first school to win back-to-back national crowns and all five starters were named first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference.
2. Oklahoma A&M 1945
Oklahoma A&M was four games above .500 in mid-January but won 20 of the final 21 games, including a 49-45 national championship victory over Dolph Schayes-led New York U. The Aggies finished 27-4.
3. OU 1988
This is arguably the best state team never to win a national championship. Stacey King, Mookie Blaylock and Harvey Grant combined for nearly 50 points per game during a 35-4 season. The Sooners beat Danny Manning-led Kansas twice during the regular season, but lost an 83-79 rematch in the national title game.
4. Oklahoma A&M 1949
Oklahoma A&M's hopes of a third national championship in a five-year span ended because the Aggies couldn't stop Kentucky's Lou Groza in the title game. Groza scored 25 points in a 10-point UK win. A&M went 23-5 and was second in the final AP poll.
5. OU 1947
Bruce Drake guided the Sooners to a 24-7 national runner-up season. Oklahoma won 12 of 13 games before losing 58-47 to Holy Cross in the title contest.
6. OSU 2004
The Cowboys rode first-round NBA draft picks Joey Graham and Tony Allen to a school-record 31 victories and a Final Four appearance. OSU, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, was beaten on a late shot by Georgia Tech's Will Bynum in a national semifinal.
7. OU 2002
Hollis Price, Aaron McGhee and Ebi Ere combined to average more than 47 points for a team that won 31 games and reached the Final Four. Ranked third in the final poll, the second-seeded Sooners lost a national semifinal to Indiana.
8. Oklahoma A&M 1951
Oklahoma A&M went 29-6 and advanced to the Final Four, losing 68-44 to Kansas State and 61-46 to Illinois in a third-place game. The Aggies, second in the final AP poll, were No. 1 midway through the season.
9. OSU 1995
The Cowboys started 10-6 but got hot at season's end and made the Final Four as a No. 4 seed. Bryant Reeves and Randy Rutherford carried the scoring load for a team that went 27-10 and lost to national champ UCLA in a semifinal game.
10. TU 2000
The Golden Hurricane won a school-record 32 games and suffered a four-point loss to North Carolina in an Elite Eight game. This Tulsa team, ranked as high as 12th during the regular season, could play with anyone, according to former coach Bill Self.
11. ORU 1974
Expect a miracle? After making consecutive NIT appearances, Ken Trickey's high-scoring Titans almost advanced to the Final Four. They went 23-6 and secured NCAA Tournament victories over Syracuse and Louisville before suffering a three-point loss to Kansas in an Elite Eight showdown.
12. OCU 1957
Wilt Chamberlain kept the Chiefs out of the Final Four. Chamberlain outscored Hub Reed 30-26 and Kansas beat OCU in an Elite Eight game. The Chiefs, ranked ninth in the final AP poll, finished 19-9 and became the first school to make six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jimmie Tramel 581-8389
[email protected]