Mid-January '87 - what a week of OU hoops!

[NMSooner'80]

Anyone who was alive then and followed OU men's basketball seriously will remember a couple of games from that week, which were also back-to-back games. The first was a two-point win over the hated KU Beakers in the LNC in mid-week, and the second was the one-point win over No. 1 UNLV. :billy

The KU game was fun because of (A) the fact that OU won on a tie-breaking basket by Tim McCalister with about seven seconds left, and (B) much-despired Mark "Sturgeon" Turgeon had his potential game-winning three blocked by Ricky Grace at the horn. Fittingly, Turgeon stomped his foot like a five-year-old when the ball hit the court and the clock hit 0:00.

That was also example of how OU fans don't forget a slight, even if it occurred three years earlier. Turgeon, as a freshman, ran his mouth after the '84 Big 8 title game, about how, "we were going to cut down the nets but we didn't want to sink to their (OU) level." I got there early - it was an ESPN game, and someone yelled out, "Hey Turgeon, you SUCK!" when KU game out for the first shoot-around.

The Vegas game was the first time that OU had ever beaten a No. 1-ranked team in school history. It was 89-88. Darryl Kennedy scored the go-ahead basket with about 10 seconds left in the game. But, Vegas got two good looks at the game-winner. Armon Gilliam (RIP) had a wide-open foul-line jumper with three seconds left, but he missed. Then Jarvis Basnight had a chance to tip the ball in cleanly at the horn, but he tried to jam it. The ball hit the back iron instead, and the place went bonkers.

A big key to that day was how so many folks got there despite the horrific weather. It was very snowy and slick outside, and it was worse the next morning in the OKC area. But people showed up and made a ton of noise.

People also tend to forget that there was Monday evening game at the Myriad, during the same week. OU beat LSU by eight (I believe), and that was a really exciting game as well. OU had some great dunkers on that team, but LSU's Jose Vargas dunked like a college version of Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins. I do think, however, that he tried a power-slam and hammered it off the back iron instead.

Who else remembers that week, and what do you remember about it?

 

[mattham4]

I was at both games and being from KC, I particularly enjoyed the KU game. Heck, I might have been the guy who yelled at Turgeon!

The UNLV game was amazing and I remember that I rounded up more friends than usual when they announced that all tickets were something like $1 and all seating was Gen Admission. We sat across from the student section behind the OU bench and rushed the court after the final buzzer. My buddy was on TV pounding the hell out of Tubbs' back on his way off of the court!

Good times, good times....

 

[NMSooner'80]

I think it was Turgeon's fault that pretty much every White point guard in the Big 8 back then got booed in Norman. He definitely earned it when he was a freshman.

Final on that game was 76-74. I really expected OU to beat them worse. But it was also fun to beat the Birdies in gut-wrenching fashion.

The aftermath of that OU-UNLV game (still the best game played at the LNC, in my book) was kind of frustrating when it seemed like CBS tried to get the outcome reversed. There was some sort of controversy right before halftime about a horn going off in the stands that caused the zebras to blow the whistle just before a Rebel player hit a three from the corner. Musberger was with CBS then, and he seemed to care more about that than he did the incredible finish.

 

[jaymOU]

I was on a reporter press row for that game - actually both games, but remember the UNLV game better. The halftime controversy was a 3-point field goal that was ruled a two-pointer. The refs said UNLV player was on the line, but the replays showed he was behind the line. The game - actually should have gone to OT, but glad it did not.

The crowd was crazy loud, but two things I remember most.

1) Larry Johnson was a man-child, dude's eyelids had muscles. He was the biggest physical specimen I had ever seen - bigger and badder than any football player. I stood right next to him and was a little scared.

2) UNLV had a multitude of smoking hot cheerleaders, but one in particular kept looking at me - at least that's what I thought. Hard to focus on the game the entire time with her halfway across the court.

Great postgame interviews too. Tark and Tubby. Some great stuff.

 

[usedtobe1]

I remember the games but watched them from my living room. No excuse because I lived in Oklahoma then (Ponca City). I don't remember the bad weather but I probably wouldn't have gone anyway (125 miles away).

 

[NMSooner'80]

I remember the games but watched them from my living room. No excuse because I lived in Oklahoma then (Ponca City). I don't remember the bad weather but I probably wouldn't have gone anyway (125 miles away).

It was heinous. I lived out by Quail Springs Mall back then. My brother and I tried to get up there to eat at one of the restaurants on Memorial Road. It looked like a narrow snow trail, not a four-lane road.

The Big 8 was still fighting an image battle with, guess who - ESPN and its bias toward the Big East. The following week someone asked the late Johnny Orr if he was surprised at what happened in Norman. He said, "Yes, I thought Oklahoma would beat them by at least 10 points," or something like that.