Retroactive roll-call: 35 years ago, Big 8 title clincher

[NMSooner'80]

It was almost exactly 35 years ago that OU clinched its first Big 8 men's basketball title by beating Kansas State in Norman, 65-52.

I think it was played on Feb. 25, 1979. But, those who were there sure did witness some history. OU hadn't won a league title in over 30 years, until that day.

One thing I remember was that OU scored only six points through about the first 12 minutes of the game, but luckily the defense kept KSU from building much of a lead. Our guys heated up and rolled the Cats the rest of the way.

In light of recent court-rushing incidents (including one involving the "other" school in New Mexico, which I despise), our court-rush at the end was pretty tame. But rush it, we did. OU cut the nets down, and it was a great time to be there.

My younger brother was a high school senior then, and he managed to get himself on TV during the net-cutting. He did enroll at OU a few months later though.

I had a class with Al Beal that semester. Super guy! I think our class gave him an ovation when he showed up the next Monday.

Who else was there, and what do you remember about it?

P.S. - OU also had a great home win over Texas that year, to keep it timely. It was in December, though, but it kind of lit a spark for the rest of that season. OU then crushed the Bevoids in Dallas, in the NCAA tournament, 90-76. It was the best game an OU team of that era played, other than possibly the routs of Kansas that same '78-79 season (at the LNC, and at KC for the league tourney title).

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I was there with my dad. I don't remember details of that particular game, but I fondly remember that team, with John McCullough being the Big-8 player of the year as a senior. Al Beal, Aaron Curry and Terry Stotts were starters as juniors. Cary Carrabine was a senior sharpshooter coming off the bench. Raymond Whitley was a sophomore PG that was a key cog in the team's success.

I don't remember who else came off the bench, but I still remember center Drew Head who graduated the year before.

My seats at that time were in the lower Northwest corner of the LNC.

That was back in the day when the Big-8 had two conference tournaments each season, the first being held between Christmas and New Years (Big-8 Holiday Tournament). I made many trips with my dad to Kansas City for those tournaments, and ate many steak dinners next door to the Kemper Arena at the Golden Ox.

In March of 1979, I was at Kemper to watch OU beat both K-State and Kansas to win the Big-8 post-season tournament. Those were early days for this long term Sooner basketball fan.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

As an additional note, those old Big-8 Holiday Tournaments were paradise for a basketball junkie. Win or lose, each conference team played three games. Over three days, there were four games played each and every day. I doubt if there were ever more than 50 Sooner fans in attendance back at that time in Kansas City

 

[mattham4]

As an additional note, those old Big-8 Holiday Tournaments were paradise for a basketball junkie. Win or lose, each conference team played three games. Over three days, there were four games played each and every day. I doubt if there were ever more than 50 Sooner fans in attendance back at that time in Kansas City

Well, I was one of the 50 more than once! My dad and I used to hit the Big 8 Holiday tournament and then a few weeks later we'd LIVE at the NAIA national tournament for the M-W sessions. First game at 9AM each day, last game tipped off at 1030PM each day...good times, good times.

 

[opsooner]

I was there. My freshman year at OU.

 

[Swans]

My senior year and I was there also. I remember going to my first OU basketball game in Feb. 1976 and how it seemed much more exciting to me than the football games.

 

[NMSooner'80]

My senior year and I was there also. I remember going to my first OU basketball game in Feb. 1976 and how it seemed much more exciting to me than the football games.

I saw the very first OU win at the LNC, which came against OSU in January of '76. That was also my very first live college basketball game. My family lived in Ardmore then, and the folks had no interest in driving to Norman for a basketball game in those days. So I finally decided, as a high school senior who was already 18, that I was going to drive up to see a game with my then-future OU roommate.

But, the second college game I ever saw still amazes me. OU, which had no size and not much more experience (freshman John McCullough was probably the team's best overall player back then), shocked an Elite 8 team from Missouri on a Saturday night. Our guys led wire to wire and won by 11, which was a big spread back then. At that point, I was totally hooked on college hoops, and I still wasn't even a college student yet.

 

[sanguinetti]

that was before i started going to games with my dad. but he had season tix in law school. i had the Norman Transcript photos on my wall. i remember.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

I was a freshmen in '78-'79 and remember winning the league. It was a fun time. And winning drove the locals in KC nuts. Even better. :woot

As an additional note, those old Big-8 Holiday Tournaments were paradise for a basketball junkie. Win or lose, each conference team played three games. Over three days, there were four games played each and every day. I doubt if there were ever more than 50 Sooner fans in attendance back at that time in Kansas City

Dad and I would go every year. We started back in the Alvin days. Dad went to school with Denny Price and he would leave us tickets when he was coaching. That tourney was there for KU, KSU, and MU. If you think we get homered now you should have seen it then. Even better for junkies was the NAIA. We would take off school and watch games from early morning to late night.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I was a freshmen in '78-'79 and remember winning the league. It was a fun time. And winning drove the locals in KC nuts. Even better. :woot

...

Dad and I would go every year. We started back in the Alvin days. Dad went to school with Denny Price and he would leave us tickets when he was coaching. That tourney was there for KU, KSU, and MU. If you think we get homered now you should have seen it then.

...

Another memory I have, is that you did not want to get behind Nebraska when Joe Cipriano was their coach. With no shot clock, his teams would take a small lead and grind you down as they patiently worked for lay-ups.

 

[61sooner]

From KC. Went to Big 7 Xmas tourney as a kid. An 8th team was invited, remember Yale 1 year.
An even bigger event back then was the 64 team NAIA in March. Got out of school at 3 and took the streetcar downtown to the arena and watch 2 or 3 games everyday, Millikin, SW Texas State from San Marcos Findley Ohio, Arkie State Wonder Boys etc. Several of those schools became D1 years later. Thinking back there were Afro-American players on some teams in the NAIA before the Big 7 or 8. Tenn State may have competed there as a team.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

From KC. Went to Big 7 Xmas tourney as a kid. An 8th team was invited, remember Yale 1 year.
An even bigger event back then was the 64 team NAIA in March. Got out of school at 3 and took the streetcar downtown to the arena and watch 2 or 3 games everyday, Millikin, SW Texas State from San Marcos Findley Ohio, Arkie State Wonder Boys etc. Several of those schools became D1 years later. Thinking back there were Afro-American players on some teams in the NAIA before the Big 7 or 8. Tenn State may have competed there as a team.

I always remembered Fly Williams bombing them in from in front of the bench.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

Another memory I have, is that you did not want to get behind Nebraska when Joe Cipriano was their coach. With no shot clock, his teams would take a small lead and grind you down as they patiently worked for lay-ups.

We used to call it Ted Owens, Jack Hartman, and Norm Stewart barn ball. They'd get four ahead with five, even ten to play and the four corners would come out. That was another reason those people lost their minds when Billy and Johnny Orr showed up.

 

[BlackwellSooner]

I always hated the Four Corners style of play... very glad to see the shot clock implemented.

 

[NMSooner'80]

I always hated the Four Corners style of play... very glad to see the shot clock implemented.

OU also ran a pretty good four-corners back then, but it was usually just in the final minute of a close game.

I went to Manhattan with some friends for the OU-KSU game in January of 1980. Of course, we were supposed to lose, and I think those guys used it as motivation. I'll never forget a layup scored by Bo Overton, then an OU freshman, to clinch the game (it put OU up by 10 with under a minute to play, and those leads were really safe with no three-pointer). It looked like a slinky, going from almost underneath the rim to spinning up and over the top for a basket.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Another memory from that season long ago.

I remember being at the LNC for the season opening game of the 1978-79 season. Oklahoma City University (OCU) defeated the Sooners 81-75. That same Sooner team was the Big-8 Conference Champion, the Big-8 Tournament Champion, and they also made it to the Sweet-16 in the NCAA Tournament.

The following season (1979-80), OU again lost to OCU, this time 88-78 in Oklahoma City. That ended up being Dave Bliss' last season at OU as he moved on to SMU.

Billy Tubbs then came to Norman. In Billy's first 3 seasons his Sooners played OCU, and OU won all 3 games. The last time OU played OCU was in the 1982-83 season, when OU won 104-58.

OU's all-time record against OCU is 8-4.

 

[WaymanFan]

I was a sophomore in high school when OU won the Big 8 title for the first time in 32 years, and then proceeded to beat #4 seed Texas (we were a #5) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The tourney run came to a screeching halt when we had to go up against Indiana State and that "one-hit-wonder" Larry Bird in the round of 16.

The following season was the most disappointing OU team I can remember until the 2010 squad. A team with some terrific seniors led by Terry Stotts, Al Beal and Aaron Curry couldn't even make the NIT. Of course, it didn't help that Dave Bliss basically stopped recruiting and coaching. His last two classes produced one player that was good enough to help usher in the Billy Tubbs era (Chucky Barnett).

 

[NMSooner'80]

One thing that still bugs me, comparing that era to now, is that more students showed up back then. If you were at the 1977 OU-Missouri game, you remember that you had to get there at 6 p.m. to get a decent seat for the 7:30 p.m. tipoff. And that was also when you didn't have access to the LNC from Chautauqua, unless you cut across a field and avoided a gully that was out there.

Our student fan base didn't have any real traditions, like clapping until we scored. But we made plenty of noise. I think before that OU-MU game in '77, we almost scared our own team. They came out for the very-early shoot-around, and the whole west side of the LNC was full, and gave them a standing ovation. Of course, we gave those bad guys in black-and-gold an earful of boos.

I sure don't understand at all why students don't show up. I guess they also lost some tickets when the donor program went into effect in the fall of '84. But that's still not a good enough of a reason.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

One thing that still bugs me, comparing that era to now, is that more students showed up back then. If you were at the 1977 OU-Missouri game, you remember that you had to get there at 6 p.m. to get a decent seat for the 7:30 p.m. tipoff. And that was also when you didn't have access to the LNC from Chautauqua, unless you cut across a field and avoided a gully that was out there.

Our student fan base didn't have any real traditions, like clapping until we scored. But we made plenty of noise. I think before that OU-MU game in '77, we almost scared our own team. They came out for the very-early shoot-around, and the whole west side of the LNC was full, and gave them a standing ovation. Of course, we gave those bad guys in black-and-gold an earful of boos.

I sure don't understand at all why students don't show up. I guess they also lost some tickets when the donor program went into effect in the fall of '84. But that's still not a good enough of a reason.

I'm sure many would say that there's so much more for them to do now then back in the Stone Age when you and I were there. I wish we were like KU. The students line up and are let in early - before the others. You'll see there's two sections crammed with kids and the rest of the place is empty. The pep band is there and sometimes the cheerleaders and it's rockin' more than some arenas are during the actual game.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I was a sophomore in high school when OU won the Big 8 title for the first time in 32 years, and then proceeded to beat #4 seed Texas (we were a #5) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The tourney run came to a screeching halt when we had to go up against Indiana State and that "one-hit-wonder" Larry Bird in the round of 16.

The following season was the most disappointing OU team I can remember until the 2010 squad. A team with some terrific seniors led by Terry Stotts, Al Beal and Aaron Curry couldn't even make the NIT. Of course, it didn't help that Dave Bliss basically stopped recruiting and coaching. His last two classes produced one player that was good enough to help usher in the Billy Tubbs era (Chucky Barnett).

I would agree with this.

I was 8 when we won the first Big 8 title in forever in 79. My family had season tickets so we went to every game and sat in the donor padded seats (my dad had those for 4-5 years but we kept getting shoved closer to the top of the arena so he cancelled them ). We used to leave every game with 5 minutes left because getting out of the LNC parking lot, well, you know... .

I used to love watching McCullough play.

Tubbs first team would have been much better if The Juice (Whitley) weren't injured. He was destined for star status until the injury. He had a huge day vs Texas in that 79 NCAA tournament game.

That 79/80 team lost a few games at the buzzer that at least one was a horrible call. At CU, Curry hit's a halfcourt shot to win and the refs said it was no good, and then at Nebraska I can't remember who hit that one, maybe Overton(?) same outcome. Back in those days, it was near impossible to win a road game in the conference. I remember a game at Mizzou around that time the refs couldn't get to the game so they had some guys come out of the stands and officiate or something like this. It was crazy.