The Best of the Rest: Nos. 13 to 74 of the state's best teams
13. OU 1989
Other OU teams made deeper tournament runs, but this was a No. 1 seed with a 30-6 record. Billy Tubbs wonders how far his team might have gone if Mookie Blaylock hadn't suffered an eye injury in a Sweet Sixteen loss to Virginia.
14. OU 1985
This was the best of OU's Wayman Tisdale teams. The Sooners went 31-6 (13-1 in Big Eight games) and beat Karl Malone-led Louisiana Tech before falling to Memphis State in an Elite Eight game.
15. OCU 1956
The Chiefs averaged 97 points in NCAA Tournament victories over Memphis State and Kansas State, then lost an Elite Eight game to an SMU squad with a 19-game win streak. OCU was 11th in the final AP poll.
16. OU 1990
This is the highest-ranked Round of 32 team to make the list, and with good reason. The Sooners (27-5) entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. They lost a second-round game to eighth-seeded North Carolina on a late basket by Rick Fox.
17. OU 2003
Many of the same players who led Oklahoma to a Final Four appearance in 2002 helped the Sooners capture a No. 1 seed and a No. 3 national ranking in '03. OU finished 27-7 and lost to national champ Syracuse in an Elite Eight game.
18. OSU 2000
The third-seeded and Desmond Mason-led Cowboys advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to national runner-up Florida. OSU went 27-7 and was ranked as high as eighth during the regular season.
19. OSU 2005
The Cowboys returned four starters from a team that reached a Final Four in 2004. They went 26-7 and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament but lost a cliffhanger to Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen. The Pokes were sixth in the final AP poll.
20. OU 1939
The Sooners went to the Final Four. Why aren't they ranked higher? They were only 12-9 and had the most losses of any team invited to the inaugural NCAA Tournament. They were beaten by eventual champ Oregon in the semifinal round.
21. Oklahoma A&M 1953
The Cowboys made the Elite Eight of a 22-team field, losing a six-point game to national runner-up Kansas. OSU went 23-7 and was eighth in the final AP poll.
22. Oklahoma A&M 1954
The Cowboys made a second consecutive Elite Eight trip, going 24-5 and losing to the national runner-up (Bradley) for the second year in a row. The Pokes were 10th in the final AP poll.
23. OSU 1958
The Cowboys, who went 21-8 and were ranked 19th in the final poll, lost to Kansas State in an Elite Eight game.
24. OU 1943
Oklahoma went 18-9 and was among eight teams invited to the NCAA Tournament. The Sooners lost a first-round game to Wyoming but beat Washington in a regional consolation game.
25. OSU 1992
A senior-heavy and second-seeded OSU team was ambushed by Michigan's "Fab Five" freshmen in the Sweet Sixteen. The Cowboys went 28-8 and were 11th in the final poll. The Wolverines reached the first of two consecutive NCAA title games.
26. OU 1987
The Sooners went 24-10 and were ranked as high as sixth during a Sweet Sixteen season that ended with an overtime loss to Iowa.
27. TU 1994
Tulsa had never won a first-round NCAA Tournament game but sprang back-to-back upsets of fifth-seeded UCLA and fourth-seeded OSU in Oklahoma City. The Hurricane was never ranked during a 23-8 campaign, but took eventual national champ Arkansas to overtime during the regular season.
28. OSU 1991
The third-seeded Cowboys went 24-8 and lost a Sweet Sixteen game to Temple. Eddie Sutton's first OSU team was 14th in the final poll.
29. OSU 1965
Henry Iba's last NCAA Tournament team advanced to the Elite Eight and lost to Wichita State. The Cowboys went 20-7 and were 18th in the final UPI poll.
30. TU 1995
Tubby Smith's last Tulsa team reached a second consecutive Sweet Sixteen. The sixth-seeded Hurricane (24-8) beat Illinois and Old Dominion before falling to Marcus Camby-led UMass.
31. OU 1984
This ranking is based more on reputation than NCAA accomplishments. The Sooners (29-5, 13-1 Big Eight) received a No. 2 seed and got a first-round bye to the round of 32 but were shot out of the tournament by Dayton's Roosevelt Chapman.
32. TU 1982
Tulsa was awarded its best seed -- three -- in tournament history and got a first-round bye to the round of 32 but had the misfortune of being matched against a Houston team bound for the first of three straight Final Four appearances. The Hurricane went 24-6 and was ranked as high as sixth during the regular season.
33. OU 2000
This team had the same overall record and Big 12 record as the 2000 OSU squad, which is ranked higher on this list. Why the disparity? The Cowboys reached the Elite Eight and the Sooners, despite 27 wins and a No. 3 seed, were beaten by sixth-seeded Purdue in the second round.
34. TU 1984
The fourth-seeded Hurricane went 27-4, collecting its fewest losses in the modern era, and got a first-round bye but was beaten by fifth-seeded Louisville in the round of 32. Tulsa was 12th in the final poll.
35. TU 2002
Tulsa got into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed and secured its biggest victory of the season by whacking Dwyane Wade-led Marquette in a first-round game. The Hurricane (27-7) lost a five-point game to Kentucky in the second round.
36. OU 1986
Life after Tisdale? The Sooners won 26 games, earned a No. 4 seed and lost to DePaul in the second round of the tournament. OU was 15th in the final poll.
37. OCU 1966
The Chiefs rode All-American Jerry Lee Wells to a 24-5 season and a No. 13 ranking in the final UPI poll. They lost a first-round game to eventual national champ Texas Western.
38. OU 2005
OU went 25-8 and captured a third seed. The Sooners lost in the second round to a Utah team led by No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Andrew Bogut.
39. OU 1979
Dave Bliss' fifth-seeded and 16th-ranked Sooners (21-10) reached the Sweet Sixteen before running into Larry Bird, who carried Indiana State to the national championship game.
40. OCU 1952
This Chiefs team had more operatives than in other years of star player Arnold Short's career. They were ranked as high as 13 in mid-February and went 19-8 and beat UCLA in a regional third place game.
41. OCU 1953
The Chiefs (18-6) lost an eight-point tournament opener to Kansas, which reached the NCAA title game. OCU was 18th in the final UPI poll.
42. OSU 1994
The fourth-seeded and 19th-ranked Cowboys (24-10) were upset by Tulsa in a second-round game.
43. OU 2001
Fourth-seeded Oklahoma won 14 of 16 games prior to the NCAA Tournament, but a 26-7 season ended with a first-round overtime loss to Indiana State.
44. TU 1997
The Shea Seals era ended with a second-round loss to Clemson. Fifth-seeded TU went 24-10.
45. TU 1985
Sixth-seeded Tulsa (23-8) was ranked as high as 12 during the regular season but lost a tournament opener to UTEP.
46. OU 1983
OU's first NCAA Tournament victory of the Billy Tubbs era came at UAB's expense, but a 24-9 season ended with a second-round loss to Indiana. The seventh-seeded Sooners were 19th in a late-season poll.
47. OSU 1993
The fifth-seeded and 23rd-ranked Cowboys ended a 20-9 season with a second-round loss to Louisville.
48. OSU 2003
OSU had eventual national champion Syracuse on the ropes but suffered a come-from-ahead defeat in a second-round game. The Cowboys (20-9) were ranked as high as ninth but finished the season unranked.
49. OU 1999
This team was a late bloomer. The 13th-seeded Sooners beat a No. 4 seed and a No. 5 seed before losing a Sweet Sixteen game to Final Four-bound Michigan State. OU went 22-11 and was never ranked after showing up in two early-season polls.
50. TU 2003
The 13th-seeded Hurricane toppled Dayton and gave up a late lead in a second-round loss to Big Ten champ Wisconsin. TU (23-10) was ranked as high as 19th early in the season.
51. TU 1955
The Hurricane (21-7) lost a tournament opener to Colorado but beat SMU in a regional third-place game. Tulsa was 16th in the final poll.
52. OCU 1963
Abe Lemons had Final Four aspirations for a team that won 13 straight regular season games, but the Chiefs finished 19-10 and got only as far as the Sweet Sixteen in a 25-team bracket. OCU lost to Texas in a regional third-place game.
53. OCU 1965
The unranked Chiefs went 21-10 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of a 23-team bracket, beating BYU in a regional third place game.
54. OU 1995
In Ryan Minor's senior season and Kelvin Sampson's first season, the fourth-seeded Sooners were upset by Manhattan in a first-round game. OU salvaged 23 victories and a ranking of 17th in the final poll.
55. OSU 1983
The fifth-seeded and 19th-ranked Cowboys won the Big Eight Tournament but lost a first-round game to Princeton and finished 24-7.
56. TU 1999
Ninth-seeded Tulsa (23-10) was blistered in a second-round game against national runner-up Duke but learned lessons that helped set the stage for an Elite Eight run in 2000.
57. OSU 1998
The Cowboys (22-7) didn't win enough games to avoid a dreaded No. 8 seed, which resulted in a second-round exit at the hands of top-seeded Duke.
sh5 58. OSU 1999
See above. OSU (23-11) didn't win enough games to avoid a dreaded No. 9 seed, which resulted in a second-round exit at the hands of top-seeded Auburn.
59. OU 1992
Despite a No. 4 seed and a No. 23 ranking, the Sooners (21-9) were scuttled by Southwest Louisiana in a first-round game.
60. OU 2006
Despite a No. 6 seed and a No. 24 ranking, the Sooners (20-9) were handed a first-round defeat by Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
61. OSU 2002
A first-round loss to Kent State looks better now that Stan Heath and Antonio Gates have gone on to bigger things. Seventh-seeded OSU (23-9) was ranked as high as fifth early in the season and finished at No. 20.
62. TU 1996
A late collapse caused the 11th-seeded Hurricane (22-8) to lose a first-round overtime game to Louisville. Tulsa was ranked 25th early but was unranked at season's end.
63. OCU 1954
The Chiefs (18-7), who were ranked 15th late in the season, lost a first-round game to Bradley.
64. OU 1998
The 10th-seeded Sooners were ranked as high as 18th early in the season, but they were unranked at season's end and a 22-11 campaign ended with a first-round overtime loss to Indiana.
65. TU 1987
The unranked and 11th-seeded Hurricane capped a 22-8 season with a five-point loss to OU in a first-round game.
66. ORU 1984
Dick Acres' unranked and 11th-seeded Titans went 21-10 and lost a first-round game at Memphis State.
67. ORU 2006
The only state team ever to be a 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, ORU (21-12) led Memphis by as many as four points in the first half of a first-round defeat.
68. TU 1986
David Robinson led Navy to a first-round conquest of Tulsa, which was seeded 10th and finished 23-9.
69. OCU 1973
All-American Ozie Edwards guided the Chiefs to a 21-6 season, but it ended with a 25-point first-round loss to Arizona State.
70. OSU 2001
The Cowboys deserve congratulations for reaching the NCAA Tournament in a season marred by a team plane crash, but the final chapter in a 20-10 campaign was a lopsided first-round loss to USC.
71. OU 1996
The Sooners (17-13) survived a difficult schedule to make the NCAA Tournament as a 10 seed, but they were beaten in the first round by Temple.
72. OU 1997
The 11th-seeded and unranked Sooners (19-11) bowed out with a first-round loss to Stanford.
73. OCU 1964
The Chiefs went 15-11 and lost a first-round game to Creighton.
74. OCU 1955
History was made. The Chiefs became the only state team to enter the NCAA Tournament with a losing record. They lost a first-round game to Bradley in El Reno and finished 9-18.