Oklahoma Basketball: A Rich History in the NCAA Tournament

Oklahoma's basketball heritage extends far beyond the hardwood courts of its universities, weaving a narrative that intersects with the state's own evolution. From the early days of Native American Territory to the present, basketball has been a unifying force, fostering local talent and propelling teams to national prominence.

Early Days and Growth of Basketball in Oklahoma

Basketball's journey in Oklahoma mirrored the state's own development. Following its invention in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, the sport quickly gained traction. By 1907, both the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University, OSU) had established their men's basketball programs. Women's basketball followed suit, with OSU launching its program in 1973 and OU in 1974. The early adoption of basketball in Oklahoma's high schools, with an unofficial championship emerging in 1919 and a sanctioned one in 1924, further solidified the sport's place in the state's culture.

The state also boasts achievements of Oklahoma’s NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) men’s and women’s college basketball programs, with Oklahoma City University (OCU) men winning three straight championships (1999, 2000, and 2001) and Southern Nazarene University's women holding a 122-game home-win streak.

High School Basketball: A Foundation for Success

Oklahoma's high school basketball scene has played a crucial role in nurturing local talent. Before 1971, only nine other states offered girls’ championship competitions. Bertha Teague, a pioneering figure in women's coaching, began her illustrious career in Byng, Oklahoma, in 1927, amassing 1,157 wins and eight state championships. The tradition of six-on-six basketball, where three players focused on offense and three on defense, persisted in Oklahoma longer than in any other state.

Charles Heatly pushed the high school girls' basketball tradition to another level, taking teams to the state tournament fourteen years, winning the championship twice, beginning the first girls’ basketball camp in the state and a very early one nationally, and founding the state’s All-State game.

Many small-town and inner-city schools have produced future NBA stars and top-notch basketball teams. In 1918 Oklahoma crowned a state champion in basketball, the first Oklahoma state championship in any sport. The top three state career-points leaders came from small towns: Ty Harman (Maud, 3,639 points by 1989), Keiton Page (Pawnee, 3,709 by 2008), and Rotnei Clark (Verdigris, 3,758 by 2008).

The Price Family Legacy

One notable "first family" of Oklahoma basketball is the Price family. Denny Price, the patriarch, led Norman High to a state championship in 1956 and later coached at Phillips University. His sons, Mark, Matt, and Brent, all excelled in college basketball, with Mark and Brent reaching the NBA.

Integration and the Rise of Black Basketball

The integration of Oklahoma's public school systems following Brown v. Board of Education (1954) led to the emergence of basketball powerhouses in historically Black towns like Taft and Boley. Taft, for example, won three consecutive Class C championships from 1960 to 1962. Many of these Black players went to Oklahoma’s African American college, Langston, and played for Zip Gayles, who coached athletic programs there for thirty-five years (1930-65). In 1946 Gayles coached Marques Haynes, the twins Lance and Lawrence Cudjoe, and Frank Luster to an upset victory over the Harlem Globetrotters in Oklahoma City. Haynes and the Cudjoes joined the Globetrotters after college.

College Basketball: Division I Programs

Oklahoma State University (OSU) Cowboys

Henry Iba's legendary tenure at Oklahoma A&M (now OSU) solidified the program's national standing. His teams, led by Bob Kurland, won national championships in 1945 and 1946. Iba also coached the U.S. Olympic basketball teams to gold medals in 1964 and 1968. Known for his tough defense, he created a network of disciples who coached Oklahoma high school basketball for decades.

Eddie Sutton returned to Oklahoma State in 1990 to coach. In 1995, the Pokes captured the Big Eight Conference Tournament and clinched a bid to the 1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They advanced to the Final Four in Seattle, Washington, where they lost to eventual national champion UCLA. Led by John Lucas III, Joey Graham, and 2004 Big 12 Player of the Year Tony Allen, Sutton's 2003-04 team finished with a school-record 31 wins (31-4), won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships, and advanced to the Final Four as a No. 2 seed in the 2004 NCAA tournament.

The Cowboys have appeared in the NCAA tournament 29 times. Their combined record is 39-28. The Cowboys have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 14 times.

University of Oklahoma (OU) Sooners

Bruce Drake at the University of Oklahoma (OU) was also an innovator. His “Drake shuffle” was a series of picks to set up a wide-open, mid-range jump shot. Through a Saturday Evening Post article, he helped outlaw goaltending. After playing on the 1928 undefeated OU basketball team that won the Missouri Valley Conference and won the first Big Six title the next year, Drake coached the 1939 Oklahoma team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) first Final Four, losing to Oregon in the semifinals, and to the final game of the 1947 tournament, losing to Holy Cross. In 1988, coached by Billy Tubbs and led by Mookie Blaylock, Harvey Grant, and Stacey King, OU played for the national championship but lost to Danny Manning and the Kansas Jayhawks. Overall, OU has won 21 conference championships, advanced to the NCAA tournament 33 times, and made it to the Final Four 5 times.

The Sooner men have made 33 appearances in the NCAA Basketball Championship since the first year of the tournament in 1939. That would put them in the top 20 of all schools. There last appearance was in 2021 in Lon Kruger's final season as the Oklahoma head coach. Kruger was at OU 10 seasons (2011-2021) and took the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament eight times, advancing as far as the Final Four in 2016.

Kelvin Sampson, the current head coach at Houston, a No. 1 seed in the South Region of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, was at Oklahoma 12 seasons (1994-2006). The Sooners appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 11 of those 12 seasons and made it as far as the Final Four in 2002, losing to Indiana in the national semifinals, and the Elite Eight in 2003.

Billy Tubbs was at the helm of Oklahoma men's basketball for 14 seasons (1980-1994). During that span, the Sooners made nine NCAA Tournament appearances. The 1987-88 Sooner team played in the national championship game against Kansas, losing 83-76 to Danny Manning and the No. 6-seeded Kansas Jayhawks. Tubbs' 1984-85 OU team, led by Wayman Tisdale, lost in the Elite Eight round to No. 2 Memphis State 63-61 in the Midwest Region final.

In total, the Oklahoma men are 43-33 in NCAA Tournament action. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represents the University of Oklahoma in intercollegiate men's basketball. The program competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Sooners play their home games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has won 14 conference championships, 7 conference tournaments. The team has participated in five Final Fours, and holds the record for most NCAA tournament wins without a championship. As of the 2022 season, they are tied for 12th all-time in NCAA tournament appearances. In addition to their tournament successes the program has produced 33 All-Americans including Wayman Tisdale, Stacey King, Harvey Grant, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor, Hollis Price, Buddy Hield, and Blake Griffin, 9 first round draft picks, including one No.

University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane

After Nolan Richardson’s team won the National Invitational Tournament in 1981, the University of Tulsa has climbed to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen three times and to the Elite Eight in 2000. Former Tulsa coaches have left to have stellar careers in college basketball. Richardson went on to have powerhouses at Arkansas, Tubby Smith coached at one of the meccas of college hoops, Kentucky, and Bill Self became coach of a Final Four team at Illinois. Self had played at Oklahoma State and became an OSU assistant before taking the head coaching job at Oral Roberts University, the state’s only other NCAA Division I school at the end of the twentieth century, and from there he went to Tulsa.

Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles

Oral Roberts University began playing NCAA basketball in 1965 and made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in 1974.

Women's Basketball

Oklahoma women’s basketball came late to college campuses but grew rapidly over a half-century. The OU women have won the NCAA conference thirteen times and rose to three Final Fours under the coaching of legendary Sherri Coale, whose career with the Sooners spanned twenty-five years, 1996-2021. OSU’s women are three-time NCAA conference champions and have been to sixteen NCAA tournaments. Small-college ball has also thrived. The Southern Nazarene women’s team won six NAIA national championships from 1989 to 2003, with four of those consecutively in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. The Oklahoma City University women won the NAIA crown in 1999, 2000, and 2001. The Women’s National Basketball Association has drafted a total of fifteen OU players, among them Crystal Robinson, Keitha Dickerson, Courtney Paris, and Danielle Robinson. OSU has sent six women to the NBA, including Andrea Riley and Toni Young. Other Oklahomans have competed at many nationally prominent colleges.

Small-College Success

Small-college men’s basketball in Oklahoma has been exceptional. Using primarily Oklahoma talent, the NAIA and NCAA Division II schools have consistently been winners. Abe Lemons coached OCU basketball for twenty-five years (1955-73, 1983-90) and had 599 career wins (including his time at the University of Texas and Pan-American University). OCU dropped from NCAA I basketball to NAIA when Lemons began his second stint, but the school won four NAIA National Championships in the 1990s, developing great rivalries with Oklahoma Christian College (now Oklahoma Christian University) and Oklahoma Baptist University. Oklahoma Christian won national NAIA championships in 2007 and 2008. An assistant to Lemons for eighteen years, Paul Hansen coached at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) for five years after being head coach at OCU (1973-79) and at OSU (1979-86). He led USAO to the district play-offs twice and to the conference semifinals in 1990. Since then, USAO has won five conference titles and been to the NAIA Tournament five times, winning the national championship in 2002 under Brisco McPherson’s coaching. Oklahoma’s small-college tradition has an excellent reputation, and the other colleges, as well as junior colleges not mentioned here, have all had competitive teams and many championships.

The Phillips 66ers: An AAU Dynasty

Before the NBA paid enormous salaries to basketball players, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sanctioned teams fielded by companies such as Phillips Petroleum. The Phillips 66ers were an AAU dynasty, winning six straight national amateur championships (1943-48) and eight overall. Phillips Petroleum, started in 1917, organized its first basketball team in 1921. Its first star was Paul Endacott, who was the AAU player of the year for Kansas University in 1923. The 66ers attracted top talent, and in 1946 former Oklahoma A&M (OSU) star Bob Kurland joined the team. Olympic team coached by 66ers coach Bud Browning. The 66ers era ended in 1968 as professional basketball’s popularity soared. Four ex-66ers have served as Phillips Petroleum board chair, and the team contributed as an advertising gem for over forty years.

Professional Basketball in Oklahoma

In 1988 the Fast Breakers, Tulsa’s first professional basketball team, played its inaugural season and won the Continental Basketball League (CBA) championship. In 1990 the Oklahoma City Cavalry joined Tulsa in the CBA, a developmental association for the NBA. The Fast Breakers left Tulsa in 1992, and the Cavalry developed financial problems and left Oklahoma City in 1997 after winning the championship. The Enid Storm joined the United States Basketball League in 2000 and at the end of the twentieth century was the state’s only professional basketball team.

NBA basketball came to Oklahoma in 2005, when Oklahoma City served as a temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The team remained in Oklahoma City for two seasons (2005-06, 2006-07). In 2006 Clayton I. Bennett, an Oklahoma City business entrepreneur, formed an investors group that acquired the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics. He negotiated a team relocation and brought “the Sonics,” who were renamed “Oklahoma City Thunder,” to the Sooner State for the 2008-09 season. The Sonics had played thirty-eight seasons in the NBA (1968-2008), advancing to the league finals three times (1978, 1979, 1996), and winning the NBA championship in 1979.

The Thunder compiled twelve winning seasons during their first sixteen years in Oklahoma City (2008-09 through 2023-24). They made the playoffs eleven times, advancing to the Western Conference finals in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In 2012 they progressed to the league finals but lost to the Miami Heat.

NCAA Tournament Games in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City has hosted games in eight NCAA Tournaments.

1957: Oklahoma City University played a first-round game at Capitol Hill High School against Loyola (Louisiana). OCU won 76-55.
1977: The Myriad hosted the Midwest Regional. Marquette beat Kansas State and Wake Forest to win the regional. Marquette then beat Charlotte and North Carolina in the Final Four to win the national championship.
1994: No. 1 seed Arkansas beat No. 16 seed North Carolina A&T and No. 9 seed Georgetown at the Myriad. No. 12 seed Tulsa upset No. 5 seed UCLA, which led to a Tulsa vs. No. 4 seed Oklahoma State matchup in the second round. Tulsa upset OSU 82-80 in Oklahoma City before losing to Arkansas in the Sweet 16 in Dallas.
1998: No. 13 seed Valparaiso upset No. 4 seed Ole Miss. Valpo then beat Florida State to advance to its only Sweet 16 in school history. The Myriad hosted another huge upset as Cuttino Mobley and No. 8 seed Rhode Island beat Paul Pierce and No. 1 seed Kansas.
2003: The brand new Ford Center hosted No. 1 seed OU in wins against South Carolina State and Cal. Second-seeded Kansas squeaked past 15th-seeded Utah State 64-61.
2005: No. 2 seed OSU got to play in front of the home crowd in wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Illinois. The third-seeded Jayhawks were upset by No. 14 seed Bucknell. KU’s streak of 21 consecutive first-round victories was snapped.
2010: Another nightmare for Kansas in Oklahoma City. Not in Round 1, but in Round 2 against No. 9 seed Northern Iowa.
2016: OKC was a fitting starting line for OU’s Final Four run. No. 10 seed VCU gave OU a second-round scare, but the Sooners survived. Six years after stunning Kansas, No. 11 seed Northern Iowa slayed another Big 12 opponent in No. 6 seed Texas. Then Northern Iowa led Texas A&M by 10 points with less than 30 seconds in regulation left before Alex Caruso and the Aggies mounted the improbable comeback to force overtime. Texas A&M finished the job in double overtime.

NCAA Tournament Games Elsewhere in Oklahoma

Stillwater: OSU, then Oklahoma A&M, beat Rice before falling to Bradley in a 1954 regional played in Stillwater. OSU beat Loyola (Louisiana) in a 1958 tournament game in Stillwater.
El Reno: OCU lost to Bradley at El Reno High School in the first round of the 1955 NCAA Tournament.
Tulsa: The 1974 Midwest Regional was played at Oral Roberts’ Mabee Center. Kansas beat Oral Roberts in the regional final. Tulsa has hosted first-and second-round games in seven tournaments - four times at Mabee Center (1975, 1978, 1982, 1985) and three times at BOK Center (2011, 2017, 2019).
Norman: Lloyd Noble Center hosted first-round games in 1977, two years after the building opened. Kansas State beat Providence and Wake Forest beat Arkansas.

Looking Ahead

Oklahoma City is set to host the men’s NCAA Tournament again in 2026. Paycom Center will host first-and second-round matchups while a new downtown arena is being constructed on the other side of Reno Avenue where the Myriad once stood.

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