Oklahoma's Enduring Legacy in the NCAA Tournament: A Tradition of Excellence

Oklahoma's basketball history is rich with tradition and success, marked by consistent appearances and memorable moments in the NCAA Tournament for both men's and women's programs. From the early days of the men's tournament to the rise of the women's program and the excitement surrounding the NCAA Tournament games hosted in Oklahoma City, the state has demonstrated a deep passion for college basketball.

Early Years and the Men's Program Rise

The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represents the University of Oklahoma in intercollegiate men's basketball. The team 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.

The very first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship was held in 1939, and Oklahoma was one of the Final Four teams. Led by All-American Jimmy McNutt, the Sooners defeated Utah State 50-39 in the Elite Eight round, but lost to eventual national champion Oregon in the national semifinals, 55-37. Eight seasons later, in 1947, Oklahoma posted a 24-7 record and made their second appearance in the Final Four under head coach Bruce Drake. The Sooners and National Player of the Year Gerald Tucker won their first two tournament games, but only narrowly, by a combined three points, advancing to the national championship game against Holy Cross, who defeated the Sooners 58-47.

The Sooners enjoyed moderate success on the court during this era, posting just 16 losing records in their first 72 seasons. They were led by 9 different coaches during this period, beginning with Bennie Owen (who also coached the football team) and ending with Dave Bliss in 1980.

The Billy Tubbs Era and National Prominence

The program gained national prominence under Billy Tubbs when he took over in 1981. Star players Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, and Stacey King guided the Sooners to several deep runs in the NCAA tournament. Tubbs took the 1987-88 Big Eight-champions and No. 1-seeded Sooners to the final game, where heavily favored OU lost to the No. 6-seeded Kansas Jayhawks. Oklahoma, 35-4 that season, had the most wins in program history, and with All-Americans Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock, has never been in a better position to win its first national championship in basketball than it was that season.

Overall, Tubbs led Oklahoma to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in 14 seasons at the helm, including one Elite Eight (1984-85) and two Sweet 16 teams (1986-87 and 1988-89). Tubbs resigned on April 10, 1994, indicating that "he did not feel appreciated enough working at a football school". Tubbs' record at OU was 333-132 (0.716) overall, 126-70 (0.643) conference, with 10 NCAA tournament appearances, one Final Four appearance, and one National Title Game appearance.

Kelvin Sampson and Continued Success

Kelvin Sampson became the 11th head coach at the University of Oklahoma on April 25, 1994. Sampson was named national coach of the year in 1995 (his first year at OU) by the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association and Basketball Weekly after guiding the Sooners to 23-9 overall and 15-0 home marks. Sampson possesses the highest winning percentage in Oklahoma history (.719). He guided OU to nine consecutive 20-win seasons. Standouts Eduardo Nájera and Hollis Price helped the Sooners maintain a streak of 25 straight post season appearances, the longest in the nation.

Sampson's record at OU was 279-109 (0.719) overall, 128-60 (0.681) conference, with 11 NCAA tournament Appearances, including one Final Four appearance. In the Big 12, Sampson had 3 Conference tournament Titles and 1 Conference regular season Title.

The Jeff Capel Era

On April 11, 2006, Jeff Capel was named the 12th head basketball coach at Oklahoma, succeeding Kelvin Sampson. In his second year, after signing McDonald's All-American Forward Blake Griffin, the Sooners finished 21-10 during the regular season (9-7 in Big 12 play) earning them a No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, where they won one game before losing to Texas in the semi-finals. They received a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they defeated St. Joseph's in the first round before losing to No. 3 seed Louisville in the second round, finishing the season at 23-12, an improvement of 7 wins over the previous season. The Sooners were granted a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament.

Capel's record at OU was 83-69 (0.546) overall, 33-43 (0.463) in conference (with 13 total wins and 4 conference wins having been vacated), with 2 NCAA tournament Appearances, and one Elite Eight appearance.

Lon Kruger and the 2016 Final Four Run

Lon Kruger was hired by OU to replace Jeff Capel as head coach prior to the 2011-12 season. In the 2015-2016 season, Oklahoma finished 24-6 in the regular season, and despite losing to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament's second round, received a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Oklahoma easily beat Cal State Bakersfield in the first round, but struggled to finish off VCU in the second round despite an early 21-7 lead. Oklahoma then went on to defeat Texas A&M 77-63 to advance to the west regional final where the Sooners defeated top-seed Oregon 80-68 to advance to the Final Four. Their Final Four opponent was Villanova.

Current Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger is one of now three college coaches (Kruger, Tubby Smith and Rick Pitino) to have taken five different NCAA Division I teams, including OU, to the NCAA Tournament. This will be his seventh trip to March Madness in 10 seasons with the Sooners, with whom he is 7-6 in NCAA Tournament action, including reaching the Final Four with Buddy Hield and Company in 2016.

A Consistent Presence

Since the Billy Tubbs era of Oklahoma basketball in the ’80s and early ’90s, the Sooners have been a regular participant in the NCAA Basketball Championship. When No. 8-seed Oklahoma (15-10) take the court on Saturday against No. 9 Missouri (16-9) it will be the Sooners’ 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance. Before Tubbs arrived at Oklahoma in 1980, the Sooners had been to the NCAA Tournament in basketball four times. In the 40 seasons that the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has been held since then, OU has been awarded a tournament bid 29 times, including this season.

Oklahoma’s 32 previous NCAA Tournament appearances have resulted in 10 Sweet 16s, 9 Elite Eights, 5 Final Fours and 2 runners-up finishes. The Sooners own an all-time record of 42-32 in 74 NCAA Tournament games.

The Women's Basketball Program: From Inception to National Prominence

OU women's basketball began during the 1974-75 academic year. In March 1990, Oklahoma officials released a statement saying that the women's basketball program was to be dropped, after many years of sub-par performance and low attendance. After complaints, OU reinstated the program eight days later. In 1996, Oklahoma hired former Norman High School women's basketball coach Sherri Coale to the same position at the university.

The Sooner women's basketball team developed in years since to status as a leader in attendance across the nation. The Sooners averaged attendance of 6,851 in 2011-12 at home games, and the support for the sport led to Oklahoma hosting first and second-round games in the Women's NCAA Basketball Championships at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. The Sooners also set a record on February 2, 2009, when they played host to the number 13 Tennessee Lady Volunteers, led by coach Pat Summit, who was trying to get career victory 1,000. The attendance for that game, which was held at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, was close to 13,000 as well as setting a record for the most watched women's basketball game in history. The Sooners led the Big 12 Conference in attendance as well.

Memorable Tournament Runs and Key Seasons

The program gained national prominence during the 2002 post-season when they advanced to the national title game and lost to the University of Connecticut Huskies. In the 2005-06 season, the Sooners were led by their coach Sherri Coale and the nationally known sophomore twins Courtney and Ashley Paris, daughters of former San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Bubba Paris, to the third round of the national tournament. The team also won the Big 12 regular-season championship (with a 16-0 conference record) and the Big 12 Tournament. In the 2008-09 season, the Sooners made it to the Final Four of the 2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

The Sooners reached the NCAA tournament and Sweet Sixteen for the first time in 1986. After another break, the Sooners made their third appearance in the 1999-2000 season, and have become a mainstay in the tournament since then, entering the field of 64 every year since. In that time period, the Sooners have reached three Final Four appearances, which is tied for 9th in NCAA Women's Basketball History.

NCAA Tournament Games in Oklahoma City and Across the State

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 and eventually 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, leading to a Tulsa vs. No. 4 seed Oklahoma State matchup in the second round.
1998: Bryce Drew’s buzzer-beater inside the Myriad is one of the most iconic shots in tournament history as No. 13 seed Valparaiso upset No. 4 seed Ole Miss. 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 Ford Center hosted No. 1 seed OU in wins against South Carolina State and Cal.
2005: No. 2 seed OSU got to play in front of the home crowd in wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Illinois. Kansas was upset by No. 14 seed Bucknell.
2010: Kansas lost against No. 9 seed Northern Iowa. Ali Farokhmanesh made one of the most iconic shots in tournament history.
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.

Other cities in Oklahoma have also hosted NCAA Tournament Games. Stillwater hosted games in 1954 and 1958. El Reno hosted a game in 1955. Tulsa hosted the Midwest Regional in 1974.

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