Star breaks down NCAA’s Final Four
March 30, 2004
How ’bout them Cowboys? Oklahoma State is the most athletic team in the Final Four, and it will cut down the nets in San Antonio on Monday.
College basketball and the NCAA tournament rely on good guard play, and Tony Allen and John Lucas III are two of the best in the NCAA. Lucas got the Cowboys to San Antonio by nailing a clutch three-point basket with 6.9 seconds left to defeat Saint Joseph’s 64-62.
Georgia Tech is next for the Cowboys, and the matchup to watch will be Lucas and the Yellow Jackets’ Jarrett Jack running their respective teams. Both teams like to get out and run, but OK State showed it can turn on its transition game whenever it wants – even against a good defensive team like Pittsburgh, which it beat 63-51 in the Sweet 16.
The Yellow Jackets will be a formidable opponent, but the Cowboys will survive. The championship game will pair the Cowboys with either Duke or UConn, which will be too beat-up just getting past each other to handle the athleticism that OK presents.