FINAL FOUR APPEARANCES u 1939
u 1988
12-9 Overall Record 1-1 NCAA Tournament Record Coached by Bruce Drake
35-4 Overall Record 5-1 NCAA Tournament Record Coached by Billy Tubbs
The 1938-39 Sooners were led by rookie head coach Bruce Drake, so it seems only fitting that Oklahoma advanced to the national semifinals in the first ever NCAA Tournament. Drake coached the Sooners to a share of the Big Six Conference regular season crown with a 7-3 league record. One of eight teams to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, OU downed Utah State in the Western Regional semifinals by a 50-39 score. All-American Jimmy McNatt and the Sooners couldn’t get past eventual national champion Oregon in the regional final, however, and bowed out of the tournament with a 55-37 defeat. The Ducks went on to beat Ohio State in the title game, 46-33, in Evanston, Ill. McNatt’s All-America honor was the first of two in his career, while Drake went on to become a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Perhaps the best team in school history and certainly one of the most exciting, the 1987-88 Sooners set numerous school records that still stand, including wins (35) and points per game (102.9). Coached by the brash and unrelenting Billy Tubbs, OU featured three players that earned All-America honors either that season or the next in senior Harvey Grant and juniors Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King. MVP of the Southeast Regional, King averaged 25.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in OU’s six NCAA Tournament games. The Sooners beat UT Chattanooga, Auburn, Louisville and Villanova to advance to the Final Four in Kansas City. There, they downed fellow No. 1 seed Arizona, 86-78, before losing in the national championship game to No. 6 seed Kansas, 83-79. The halftime score in the 50th national title game was 50-50.
u 1947
u 2002
24-7 Overall Record 2-1 NCAA Tournament Record Coached by Bruce Drake
31-5 Overall Record 4-1 NCAA Tournament Record Coached by Kelvin Sampson
Bruce Drake’s second Final Four team was his best OU squad. Led by Helms Foundation National Player of the Year Gerald Tucker, the 1946-47 Sooners featured several World War II veterans and raced to a then-school-record 24 victories (the previous high was 19). OU survived its first two NCAA Tournament games by a combined three points to reach the national championship game. It squeaked by Oregon State in the NCAA Western Regional semifinals by a 56-54 score in Kansas City, and the next night edged Texas, 55-54, thanks to Ken Pryor’s two-handed jumper from the left wing with just seconds remaining. The national title game, held at New York’s Madison Square Garden, pitted OU against Holy Cross. The Crusaders, led by tournament most outstanding player George Kaftan, notched a 58-47 victory.
Kelvin Sampson coached 12 seasons at OU and took 11 of his teams to the NCAA Tournament. His 2001-02 squad was his most talented. Behind junior guard Hollis Price and senior forward Aaron McGhee, OU finished the regular season 24-5 before winning three Big 12 Tournament games to capture its second of three straight titles (it defeated a No. 1-ranked Kansas team in the championship game that was 18-0 against league foes). From there, No. 2 seed OU beat Illinois-Chicago and Xavier in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Dallas, Texas. OU dominated No. 3 seed Arizona, 88-67, in the Sweet 16 in San Jose, Calif., and held off No. 12 seed Missouri, 81-75, in the Elite Eight. The seven-game postseason winning streak ended in the Final Four in Atlanta, Ga., as No. 5 seed Indiana pulled a 73-64 upset.
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