1987–88 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team explained

Mode:Basketball
Year:1987-88
Team:Oklahoma Sooners
Conference:Big Eight Conference
Short Conf:Big Eight
Coachrank:3
Aprank:4
Record:35–4
Conf Record:12–2
Hc Year:8th
Asst Coach1:Mike Mims
Ac2 Year:4th
Asst Coach3:Mike Anderson [1]
Stadium:Lloyd Noble Center (Capacity: 10,871)
Bowl Result:
L 79-83 vs. Kansas

The 1987–88 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former Big Eight Conference at that time. The team posted a 35 - 4 overall record and a 12 - 2 conference record to earn the Conference title under head coach Billy Tubbs. This was the third Big Eight Conference Regular Season Championship for Tubbs and his second Big Eight Conference tournament Championship.[2]

The team was led by three future NBA draft first round selections: Harvey Grant, Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock. Grant and King earned All-American recognition that season. The team won its first 14 games before losing back to back contests to unranked and Kansas State. The team then won 12 consecutive games before falling to unranked Missouri in overtime in its penultimate regular season game. The team then ran off 9 more wins taking it to the championship game of the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where it lost to Kansas. The team defeated all five ranked opponents it faced during the season. (In order, #6 Pitt, #12 Iowa State twice, a rematch against #14 Kansas State, and #2 Arizona in the final four).[3]

Mookie Blaylock established the current National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college basketball single-season steals (150) and single-game steals (13) records. Stacey King set the current Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball single-season blocked shots (103) record. Ricky Grace set the single-season assists (280) record.[4] The team holds numerous Sooner records including wins (35), and points per game (102.5).[5]

Schedule

|-! colspan=9 style="background:#960018; color:#FFFDD0;"| Regular Season|-! colspan=9 style="background:#960018; color:#FFFDD0;"| Phillips 66 Big 8 Tournament|-! colspan=9 style="background:#960018; color:#FFFDD0;"| NCAA Tournament

Rankings

See main article: 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked.
Poll Pre Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Final
AP1918161412108311107444444
Coachesn/a17161413108311108444344

NCAA basketball tournament

See main article: 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The following is a summary of the team's performance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament:[6]

Honors

Harvey Grant and Stacey King (1st of 2 times)[7]

Team players drafted into the NBA

The following players were drafted in the 1988 NBA draft:[9] [10]

112Harvey GrantGuardWashington Bullets
367Ricky GraceGuardUtah Jazz

The following players were varsity letter-winners from this team who were drafted in the NBA draft in later years:[9] [11]

Stacey King (1st, 6th, Chicago Bulls), Mookie Blaylock (1st, 12th, New Jersey Nets)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A Team for the Ages. University of Oklahoma. January 22, 2016. February 25, 2008.
  2. Web site: Conference Championships . 2010-07-06 . SoonerStats.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20100623042818/http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/okla-conf-championships.html . 23 June 2010 . dead .
  3. Web site: 1988 Men's Basketball Season. 2010-07-06. SoonerStats.com.
  4. Web site: Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide. 2010-07-05. 126. CBS Interactive. 2012-11-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20121112122651/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf. dead.
  5. Web site: Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide. 2010-07-05. 127. CBS Interactive. 2012-11-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20121112122651/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf. dead.
  6. Web site: 1988 NCAA basketball tournament Bracket. 2010-07-05. databaseSports.com.
  7. Web site: Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide. 164. CBS Interactive. 5 July 2010 . 12 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121112122651/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf. dead.
  8. Web site: Honored Jerseys. 2010-07-05. CBS Interactive. https://web.archive.org/web/20100628220607/http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/okla-retired-jerseys.html. 2010-06-28. dead.
  9. Web site: Sooners in NBA Draft. 2010-07-05. CBS Interactive. https://web.archive.org/web/20100718064107/http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/sooners-in-nba-draft.html. 2010-07-18. dead.
  10. Web site: 1988 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com . 2009-05-05 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100317221203/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1988&lg=N . 2010-03-17 .
  11. Web site: Oklahoma 2009-10 Men's Basketball Guide. 2010-07-05. 168 - 169. CBS Interactive. 2012-11-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20121112122651/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2010_mbb_guide_section7.pdf. dead.