Oklahoma State University Athletics
Final Four Appearances
| 2004 Final Four - Overall Record 31-4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After winning the regular season and Big 12 Tournament titles, the Cowboys earned a No. 2 seed in the East Rutherford Regional. In first-round action from Kansas City, Oklahoma State struggled in the first half against the Eastern Washington Eagles, with the game tied, 36-36, at intermission. OSU routed the Eagles in the second half, led by Ivan McFarlin's 20 points and 10 rebounds, and advanced to the second round with a 75-56 victory. The Cowboys didn't take John Calipari's Memphis Tigers quite as lightly. An early 12-1 run gave Oklahoma State a 21-8 lead eight minutes into the game. By halftime, the score was 41-19 OSU. McFarlin picked up his second double-double in as many games with 13 points and 10 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double figures. Joey Graham led all Cowboys with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and OSU defeated Memphis, 70-53, to advance to the Sweet 16. Oklahoma State traveled to East Rutherford, N.J., for the regional semifinals and finals. It was the same arena OSU played in when it advanced to its last Final Four in 1995. In the Sweet 16, the Cowboys met ninth-ranked Pittsburgh and a formidable lineup that included Chevy Troutman, Chris Taft and Julius Page. Oklahoma State trailed by two at halftime, 28-26, but Tony Allen keyed a late 17-5 spurt and finished with 23 points as OSU defeated the Panthers, 63-51. In the regional finals, the Cowboys met up with the national player of the year Jameer Nelson and the Saint Joseph's Hawks. It was a much ballyhooed contest, and was exciting enough to earn a nomination as the game of the year on the ESPYs. St. Joe's led by six at halftime, and the No. 1 seed appeared to be headed for its first Final Four appearance. However, John Lucas' three pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining, and Nelson's near miss at the buzzer, assured the Cowboys of their trip to San Antonio. In the national semifinals, OSU faced an upstart Georgia Tech squad that had won the Preseason NIT, beaten North Carolina twice, and defeated Duke during the season. The Yellowjackets had B.J. Elder, Jarrett Jack and Will Bynum on their squad, but it was the inside play of Luke Schenscher that ended the Cowboys dream season. The Aussie center recorded 19 points and 12 rebounds, and a Bynum layup with 1.5 seconds left gave Tech the victory. All in all, it was an improbable run by Oklahoma State, a run which will lead to bigger and better things for the Cowboy Basketball program.
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| 1995 Final Four - Overall Record 27-10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OSU entered the 1995 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The Cowboys easily disposed of Drexel, 73-49, and Alabama, 66-52, in the first two rounds at Baltimore, Md. Bryant Reeves recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds in the opening game, and added 26 points and seven rebounds in the second-round contest. OSU then faced the third-ranked team in the nation and the top seed in the East in ACC Champion Wake Forest. Reeves battled with WFU standout Tim Duncan as Reeves scored 15 points and added nine rebounds. Randy Rutherford led OSU with 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Cowboys won a narrow 71-66 victory. OSU then defeated Massachusetts 68-54 in the regional final at East Rutherford, N.J. behind 23 points and 10 rebounds from Reeves, as well as 12 points and eight rebounds from Scott Pierce. OSU limited UMass to just 27.6 percent shooting in the game. At Seattle, OSU drew top-ranked UCLA in the first semifinal game. The teams entered the locker room tied at 37. OSU started the second half with a Terry Collins three-pointer to put the Cowboys up 40-37. UCLA then raced out to a 48-40 advantage before OSU regained the lead at 49-48 with 9:33 left in the game. The two teams stayed close until the final 2:30 of the game. Randy Rutherford drained a three-pointer to pull OSU within 62-61 at the 2:44 mark, but those points would be OSU's final of the game. UCLA ran off the game's final 12 points and advanced to the championship contest. Reeves completed his college career with 25 points and nine rebounds against the Bruins in his final game at Oklahoma State.
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| 1951 Final Four - Overall Record 29-6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Two years removed from making the NCAA Championship game, the Aggies were at it again, this time entering the tournament with a 26-5 record. In the new 16-team format, Henry Iba and his Oklahoma A&M squad defeated Montana State, 50-46, in the first round before beating Washington, 61-57, in the regional semifinals. A 68-44 loss to Kansas State in the regional finals sent the Aggies to Minneapolis, Minn., to face Illinois in the national third-place game. The Illini defeated A&M, 61-46, as the Aggies finished the season with a 29-6 record.
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| 1949 National Runner-up - Overall Record 23-5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Henry Iba's team opened the season winning seven of its first eight games, with only two of those contests played at Stillwater. After a home loss to DePaul, A&M proceeded to win eight straight games before closing the regular season with a 20-4 record. A&M then defeated Nebraska 53-35 in NCAA District play before beating Wyoming 40-39 to set up a Final Four matchup with Oregon State. The Aggies defeated the Beavers 55-30 and advanced to the NCAA title game against Kentucky. However Alex Groza and company proved too much for A&M and the Aggies finished the year as the national runner-up.
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| 1946 National Champions - Overall Record 31-2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 1946 Oklahoma A&M basketball team was one for the record books. The Aggies produced the best record in school history, going 31-2. A&M became the first school to win back-to-back NCAA basketball titles. What might have been even more amazing was the fact that all five A&M startes composed the first team of the All-Missouri Valley Conference. The Aggies lost their second game of the year when DePaul upended A&M, 46-42, in Stillwater. The Aggies ran off 15-straight victories, including a 46-38 win at DePaul, before falling to Bowling Green. A&M then closed out the season with 15 straight wins and the national title for the second-straight year. Center Bob Kurland was tabbed the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year.
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| 1945 National Champions - Overall Record 27-4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma A&M's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament proved to be a successful one as the Aggies claimed the national title, defeating Utah and Arkansas en route to the championship victory against New York. It was the first year in the fledgling seven-year history of the event that Oklahoma A&M made the eight-team field. A&M owned a 7-3 record through mid-January, but after back-to-back losses to NATTA Skyjackets and Arkansas, Henry Iba's team finished the year on a 20-1 run, losing only to DePaul in early February. The Aggies entered the NCAA Tournament with a 24-4 record on the season. A&M crushed Utah, 62-37, and Arkansas, 68-41, in the NCAA Regional at Kansas City to advance to the title game against New York. There the Aggies claimed a 49-45 victory for its first of two consecutive national titles. Bob Kurland threw in 22 points while Cecil Hankins added 15 in the championship game. New York's lineup included hall of famer Dolph Schayes, but A&M proved to be too much in gaining the victory.
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