Tulsa World: OSU meets Gonzaga

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OSU meets Gonzaga

By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Published: 11/27/2008 2:31 AM
Last Modified: 11/27/2008 3:43 AM

New Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford said earlier this season that revenge should never be a motive because it gets in the way of execution.

That's likely a good stance because the Cowboys, losers of 45 games the past three seasons, would otherwise play nothing but revenge games.

Loss No. 3 in the careers of seniors Terrel Harris and Byron Eaton was a Dec. 10, 2005, Battle in Seattle. OSU lost to Gonzaga when Adam Morrison, held in check by Marcus Dove most of the game, banked in a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left.

"I'm not mad about that," Harris said. "I forgot all about that. That was a long time ago. It was my freshman year."

OSU and Gonzaga will meet for the first time since in a first-round game at the Old Spice Classic, an Orlando-area tournament which begins on Thanksgiving.

The Cowboys are more concerned about being ready for prime time than they are about settling an old score. OSU is 4-0 and will play a top-25 team (the Zags are ranked ninth) for the first time under Ford. The next opponent will be fifth-ranked Michigan State or Maryland.

"The competition is changing," Ford said. "Whether we are ready or not, I don't know. I don't know if you are every ready four games into the season with a new system and this is a tough tournament

"But we're not going to make excuses. We expect to go down there and compete and win, but with the understanding once we leave there that we are going to be a better basketball team and we will understand what we need to do to get better."

Loaded field: Also in the Old Spice Classic are 12th-ranked Tennessee, 21st-ranked Georgetown, Siena and Wichita State. Tournament participants entered Thanksgiving week with a combined record of 19-1.

"A couple of teams are going to go home 1-2 (in the tourney) and they are going to be really good teams," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Avoiding a repeat: OSU played in a similar tournament last season, when performances at the Maui Invitational left fans wondering if the season was going to tough.

"We got blown out twice (by Marquette and Illinois) after we beat LSU," Harris said. "We've just got to make sure we don't do that this year."

Harris said the Cowboys have "a little bit more competitiveness" this season. Will that be enough against Gonzaga, a school that is 2-0 against OSU since 2004? Ford said Gonzaga could be a Final Four team.

Jimmie Tramel 581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer

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