AnniePokely
03-18-2008, 08:03 AM
Jacob Longan - NewsPress
If Oklahoma State is going to snap its streak of three straight post-Big 12 Tournament losses, the Cowboys will do it against the last team they defeated after the Big 12s.
OSU (17-15), seeded fifth in the Arizona State bracket, visits No. 4 seed Southern Illinois (17-14) in a first-round National Invitation Tournament game tonight at 8 p.m.
This marks the third straight year the Cowboys are in the NIT after they played in the NCAA Tournament eight straight seasons. OSU reached the Final Four in 2004 and the Sweet 16 in 2005.
To get to the NCAA’s third round in 2005, the Cowboys edged SIU, 85-77, in Oklahoma City’s Ford Center. The Salukis led 46-39 at halftime, but OSU rallied as Ivan McFarlin finished with 31 points.
The Cowboys then lost at Miami, 62-59, in the 2006 NIT opener and then fell to Marist, 67-64, in Gallagher-Iba Arena last year, also in the NIT first round.
Coach Sean Sutton said some of his players didn’t respect Marist or care to even try to win an NIT game last season.
That will not be the case this year, he said, noting SIU — which was in the past six NCAA Tournaments and reached the Sweet 16 in 2002 and ’07 — earned “instant respect” from his team.
He also said it may be a good thing to play outside of GIA.
“I think it’s beneficial to play in another tough environment on the road down the stretch of this season,” Sutton said. “The last three (road) games we won at A&M, we won at Missouri and played Texas very well. It’s another opportunity to go on the road and beat a quality team. Hopefully that will continue to help with the confidence of the young guys if we go on the road and play well.”
It won’t be easy to win in SIU Arena. The Salukis are 91-6 (.938) at home since 2001.
“You’d like to play at home, but I’m not sure that would be the best thing for this team this season,” Sutton said. “I think our players look at it as a positive that they get another road game in a tough environment under their belt and help with the experience of playing on the road.”
SIU is ranked 62 in the final RPI with the 16th strength of schedule and is 12th in scoring defense (59.8 ppg allowed).
The Salukis beat NCAA Tournament participants Mississippi State, St. Mary’s, Western Kentucky and No. 16 Drake. They also lost to No. 12 Butler, Drake, No. 22 Indiana and USC, who are all in the NCAAs.
NIT strength
Teams set their sights on reaching the NCAA Tournament, not the NIT.
Still, getting into the NIT is not as easy for a school like OSU as it used to be.
Consider that Big 12 foes Texas Tech (16-15) and Missouri (16-16) are not in the field.
Sutton said he was “shocked” the committee didn’t choose Tech, whom OSU eliminated, 76-72, in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
“I really felt like they would be in it,” Sutton said. “It’s unfortunate. I feel bad for (new coach) Pat (Knight) and their players. They had a lot of quality wins coming down the stretch. It also says this isn’t an easy deal like it’s been in the past.”
The only Big 12 team to join OSU in the NIT is Nebraska (19-12), which is seeded third in the Virginia Tech regional. NU hosts Charlotte (20-13) on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
As Nebraska and the Cowboys are on opposite sides of the bracket, they could meet for the championship in New York City on April 3.
There are other notables in the field, including teams who have claimed four of the past six NCAA titles.
Ohio State (19-13) is a No. 1 seed and Florida (21-11) is a No. 2 on the opposite side. That pair could meet for the title in a rematch of last year’s NCAA championship game. Florida won titles in 2007 and ’06.
Syracuse (19-13), which eliminated OSU in the NCAA Tournament en route to winning the title in 2003, is another top seed.
Also, Maryland (18-14) is seeded fifth in the Syracuse region. The Terrapins won the 2002 NCAA title.
Storylines
OSU could have some interesting matchups in this tournament if everything fell right.
A win tonight would likely send OSU to Tempe, Ariz., to face No. 1 seed Arizona State (19-12) in the same town where the football team won the Insight Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
A win there could pair the Cowboys with Florida in the quarterfinals. The Gators have Jai Lucas at point guard. He is the younger brother of former Cowboy John Lucas III and was heavily recruited by OSU.
Another quarterfinal possibility is third-seeded Creighton (21-10). That is where Sutton’s father, Eddie, began his Division I coaching career.
The semifinals could include a showdown with Syracuse, whom the Cowboys faced in the regular season in 2006-07 and 2004-05 and in the NCAAs in 2002-03 and 1998-99.
Another possibility is No. 3 seed Florida State (19-14). The Seminoles are coached by Leonard Hamilton — Eddie Sutton’s predecessor at OSU. An assistant coach for the team is Corey Williams, a former Cowboy who played under Hamilton and then with Sean Sutton at OSU. He was also an assistant for Scott Sutton at Oral Roberts before joining the Cowboys’ staff last April. He stayed only two months before leaving for Tallahassee.
What the NIT means
Sean Sutton noted both teams in last year’s NIT title game — West Virginia defeated Clemson — are NCAA qualifiers this year.
“They used that as a start for the next year,” Sutton said. “I hope that’s the way our guys approach it. We’ve talked about it. Clearly it gave both of those teams a lot of momentum coming into this year.”
If Oklahoma State is going to snap its streak of three straight post-Big 12 Tournament losses, the Cowboys will do it against the last team they defeated after the Big 12s.
OSU (17-15), seeded fifth in the Arizona State bracket, visits No. 4 seed Southern Illinois (17-14) in a first-round National Invitation Tournament game tonight at 8 p.m.
This marks the third straight year the Cowboys are in the NIT after they played in the NCAA Tournament eight straight seasons. OSU reached the Final Four in 2004 and the Sweet 16 in 2005.
To get to the NCAA’s third round in 2005, the Cowboys edged SIU, 85-77, in Oklahoma City’s Ford Center. The Salukis led 46-39 at halftime, but OSU rallied as Ivan McFarlin finished with 31 points.
The Cowboys then lost at Miami, 62-59, in the 2006 NIT opener and then fell to Marist, 67-64, in Gallagher-Iba Arena last year, also in the NIT first round.
Coach Sean Sutton said some of his players didn’t respect Marist or care to even try to win an NIT game last season.
That will not be the case this year, he said, noting SIU — which was in the past six NCAA Tournaments and reached the Sweet 16 in 2002 and ’07 — earned “instant respect” from his team.
He also said it may be a good thing to play outside of GIA.
“I think it’s beneficial to play in another tough environment on the road down the stretch of this season,” Sutton said. “The last three (road) games we won at A&M, we won at Missouri and played Texas very well. It’s another opportunity to go on the road and beat a quality team. Hopefully that will continue to help with the confidence of the young guys if we go on the road and play well.”
It won’t be easy to win in SIU Arena. The Salukis are 91-6 (.938) at home since 2001.
“You’d like to play at home, but I’m not sure that would be the best thing for this team this season,” Sutton said. “I think our players look at it as a positive that they get another road game in a tough environment under their belt and help with the experience of playing on the road.”
SIU is ranked 62 in the final RPI with the 16th strength of schedule and is 12th in scoring defense (59.8 ppg allowed).
The Salukis beat NCAA Tournament participants Mississippi State, St. Mary’s, Western Kentucky and No. 16 Drake. They also lost to No. 12 Butler, Drake, No. 22 Indiana and USC, who are all in the NCAAs.
NIT strength
Teams set their sights on reaching the NCAA Tournament, not the NIT.
Still, getting into the NIT is not as easy for a school like OSU as it used to be.
Consider that Big 12 foes Texas Tech (16-15) and Missouri (16-16) are not in the field.
Sutton said he was “shocked” the committee didn’t choose Tech, whom OSU eliminated, 76-72, in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
“I really felt like they would be in it,” Sutton said. “It’s unfortunate. I feel bad for (new coach) Pat (Knight) and their players. They had a lot of quality wins coming down the stretch. It also says this isn’t an easy deal like it’s been in the past.”
The only Big 12 team to join OSU in the NIT is Nebraska (19-12), which is seeded third in the Virginia Tech regional. NU hosts Charlotte (20-13) on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
As Nebraska and the Cowboys are on opposite sides of the bracket, they could meet for the championship in New York City on April 3.
There are other notables in the field, including teams who have claimed four of the past six NCAA titles.
Ohio State (19-13) is a No. 1 seed and Florida (21-11) is a No. 2 on the opposite side. That pair could meet for the title in a rematch of last year’s NCAA championship game. Florida won titles in 2007 and ’06.
Syracuse (19-13), which eliminated OSU in the NCAA Tournament en route to winning the title in 2003, is another top seed.
Also, Maryland (18-14) is seeded fifth in the Syracuse region. The Terrapins won the 2002 NCAA title.
Storylines
OSU could have some interesting matchups in this tournament if everything fell right.
A win tonight would likely send OSU to Tempe, Ariz., to face No. 1 seed Arizona State (19-12) in the same town where the football team won the Insight Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
A win there could pair the Cowboys with Florida in the quarterfinals. The Gators have Jai Lucas at point guard. He is the younger brother of former Cowboy John Lucas III and was heavily recruited by OSU.
Another quarterfinal possibility is third-seeded Creighton (21-10). That is where Sutton’s father, Eddie, began his Division I coaching career.
The semifinals could include a showdown with Syracuse, whom the Cowboys faced in the regular season in 2006-07 and 2004-05 and in the NCAAs in 2002-03 and 1998-99.
Another possibility is No. 3 seed Florida State (19-14). The Seminoles are coached by Leonard Hamilton — Eddie Sutton’s predecessor at OSU. An assistant coach for the team is Corey Williams, a former Cowboy who played under Hamilton and then with Sean Sutton at OSU. He was also an assistant for Scott Sutton at Oral Roberts before joining the Cowboys’ staff last April. He stayed only two months before leaving for Tallahassee.
What the NIT means
Sean Sutton noted both teams in last year’s NIT title game — West Virginia defeated Clemson — are NCAA qualifiers this year.
“They used that as a start for the next year,” Sutton said. “I hope that’s the way our guys approach it. We’ve talked about it. Clearly it gave both of those teams a lot of momentum coming into this year.”