Oklahoma Sooners Basketball: A Legacy of Excellence

The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team stands as a prominent figure in the landscape of intercollegiate athletics. Representing the University of Oklahoma, the program competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). From their home court at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma, the Sooners have built a storied tradition marked by conference championships, NCAA tournament appearances, and the development of exceptional talent.

Early Years and Moderate Success

The Sooners enjoyed moderate success on the court, 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. Notably, Oklahoma participated in the very first Final Four in 1939, laying an early foundation for their future prominence.

The Billy Tubbs Era: A Rise to 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 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: Sustained Excellence and Tournament 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. It was the second-best overall record posted by a first-year coach in Big 8 history. Sampson possesses the highest winning percentage in Oklahoma history (.719). He guided OU to nine consecutive 20-win seasons. He averaged 24.4 wins over those nine campaigns. He directed the Sooners to postseason tournament berths in each of his 12 seasons (11 NCAA tournaments), with a Sweet 16 showing in 1999, a Final Four appearance in 2002 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. His teams also played in the Big 12 Tournament title game on five occasions during the 10 seasons he coached in the Big 12. In 2001, 2002, and 2003 the Sooners won that tournament. Sampson finished with a Big 12 Tournament record of 17-7. 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. During his final season at OU, Sampson's salary was approximately $900,000 annually, not including bonuses.

NCAA Investigation

Under Sampson's watch, Oklahoma was placed under a three-year investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. At the end of their investigation, the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 illegal calls made by Sampson and his staff to 17 different recruits.

Jeff Capel: High Hopes and Mixed Results

On April 11, 2006, Jeff Capel was named the 12th head basketball coach at Oklahoma, succeeding Kelvin Sampson. Though the Sooner Nation as a whole greeted Capel's hiring with optimism, one notable downside of the coaching change emerged-Sampson's departure caused three of the players who had signed with OU (once considered a top-five recruiting class) to rethink each's decision to attend OU. Scottie Reynolds went on to Villanova, and Damion James to Texas. In his first year, after going 8-4 in non-conference games, with losses to Memphis, Purdue, Villanova, and Alabama, the Sooners started 6-3 in conference play, before losing their final 7 conference games. 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 Blake Griffin Era

Player of the Year Candidate Blake Griffin announced he would be returning for his sophomore season, forgoing a possible lottery-pick status in the NBA draft. The team experienced one of the best starts in school history at 25-1, until Griffin was sidelined with a concussion during the first half of the OU-Texas game on February 21, 2009. The Sooners went on to lose consecutive games for the first time all season, to Texas by 5 in Austin and Kansas by 9 in Norman. Without their star player, the Sooners fell short. Griffin returned to the lineup on February 28, 2009, and the Sooners returned to their winning ways defeating Texas Tech by 15 in Lubbock on 2/28/09, before losing on the road to Missouri, who was undefeated at home, and finishing the regular season by sweeping in-state rival Oklahoma State, who had won 7 of their previous 8 games. Capel's Sooners were granted a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament, and easily beat No. However, after hitting nine three-pointers during the previous game with Syracuse, the Sooner guards went 0/15 from beyond the arc during the first 35 minutes of their Elite 8 game against North Carolina, before finishing 2-19 in the game. This ultimately led to their demise by the Tar Heels on March 29, losing 60-72. Unanimous All-American Forward and Player of the Year Blake Griffin finished the tournament with 114 points and 60 rebounds, becoming the first player to accomplish such a feat in over 40 years. Griffin, who gave up his final two years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft, and was the #1 pick.

Disappointing Seasons and Departure

The Sooners finished Capel's third season at 34-2, the school's first 30+ win season since 2002, and 2th overall. Even with the loss of starters Austin Johnson, Taylor Griffin, and Blake Griffin, the Sooners had two incoming McDonald's All-American recruits in point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin and center Keith "Tiny" Gallon. Paired with returning McDonald's All-American guard Willie Warren, guard Tony Crocker, and former reserve forward Ryan Wright, the Sooners had a chance to post yet another successful season and were poised make another deep run into the NCAA tournament. Despite high hopes and a preseason ranking of No. 16, Jeff Capel and his Sooners proved to be one of the most overrated teams in the 2009-2010 season. After a mediocre 13-9 start, their season slipped away as they lost their last nine games of the season, including a first-round loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament, leaving them with a 13-18 record to cap off the season. 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. Capel finished with a 14-18 record and a loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 Tournament.

Lon Kruger: A Return to Consistent Success

Lon Kruger was hired by OU to replace Jeff Capel as head coach prior to the 2011-12 season. Kruger had previously coached at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV. The 2012-13 season yielded a surprising 20-12 (11-7 Big 12, 4th) finish and resulted in the program's first NCAA tournament bid since Blake Griffin led the school to the Elite 8 in 2009. The 2013-14 season continued this trend of improvement, as the Sooners finished 23-10 overall (12-6 Big 12, 2nd). 4 of the 5 starters from the 2013-14 team returned for the 2014-15 season. Guard Buddy Hield was Big 12 player of the year as OU made it to the Big 12 tournament semifinals before Iowa State bounced them out. 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, also a number two seed who upset Big 12 rival and number one seed Kansas to reach the Final Four. Lon Kruger is the first coach in history to take 5 different schools to the Sweet Sixteen.

NCAA Tournament History

The Sooners have appeared in the NCAA tournament 34 times. Their combined record is 42-33. The Sooners have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) eight times.

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