Sooner transformation and KU-Maryland should be great

Each of the Final Four teams has something to prove this season, and that includes the Indiana Hoosiers.

The 2002 Tournament provided a great deal of excitement and the final three games should keep everyone on the edge of their seats.

Oklahoma is a physical team, but that doesn't mean we will see a repeat of Wisconsin-style basketball from the 2000 Final Four.

The Sooners, who defeated Maryland and split with Kansas, hope they can show everyone that marquee teams like Duke, Maryland and Kansas weren't the only ones dominating the college basketball scene this winter.

The Sooner transformation, as I like to call it, took place on the gridiron and then a parallel development took place inside the Lloyd Noble Center. In the 1980's, colorful and sometimes arrogant coaches Barry Switzer and Billy Tubbs were kings in the city of Norman with their wishbones and fast break offenses.

The one theme that connected both Sooner squads was running and not stopping until the whopping was fully applied to Big Eight Foes. Skip over those transformational seasons and the Sooners are once again a powerhouse.

This time, they have a new formula. Bob Stoops' Sooners are defensive minded with the exception of a 63-14 stampede over Texas and a 41-31 victory over Kansas State in their championship season.

With Josh Heupel at the quarterback position, the Sooners excelled at passing but hard nosed defense became the trademark of the "underachieving" 11-2 Cotton Bowl Champions in 2001.

Perhaps Kelvin Sampson allowed his Sooner hoopsters to practice with Rocky Calmus and company. The Sooners don't play finesse basketball but they can knock down key shots.

Sampson has slowly been building the program to fit his tough persona and OU upset the Jayhawks and Longhorns for a Big 12 Championship in 2001. This season, the Sooners reached the Final Four for the first time since 1988.

Most of the experts will say that Kansas vs. Maryland will be the real championship game, but that mistake has been made too many times before.

The battle of the two remaining No. 1 seeds should be outstanding since both teams and coaches are long overdue for an NCAA Championship.

The Jayhawks completed the near-impossible as they finished 16-0 in conference play, but it was the Sooners who brought them back to earth with a decisive 64-55 victory in Kansas City.

The Sooners also have a psychological edge over Maryland, having defeated the Terps by 18 points in December.

These are the two foes Oklahoma wants to see in the tournament. If Duke had miraculously survived that thrilling loss to Indiana, the referees wouldn't allow the Sooners to play aggressive basketball against "the Golden Boys of Basketball" (a.k.a. Duke).

Heck, the refs even tried to call a bunch of fouls against the Sooners when they faced Coach K understudy Quin Snyder's Missouri squad in the west regional final.

Indiana shouldn't be able to find as many open shots with Oklahoma's stifling defense, but don't forget Arizona's surprise run to the national title in 1997 as a four seed.

Both the Hoosiers and Sooners will be worthy opponents for the winner of Saturday's prime time game.

Oklahoma will control the tempo and end IU's surprise run to the Final Four. Maryland will defeat Kansas, largely because of Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox.

Both of these guys will bang people around in the paint and won't let the 'Hawks rebound for get second chance shots like they were able to against the soft Oregon Ducks.

Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich hasn't played his best basketball against Illinois and Oregon, so the 'Hawks will need a stellar game from senior Jeff Boschee and the three fab freshmen, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, and Wayne Simien against the experienced Terrapin backcourt.

The Terps are hungry for a championship after losing an immense lead against Duke one season ago.

Maryland will not let this chance slip away. They will be able to beat Oklahoma at the Sooners' game if in fact OU dictates the tempo.

Also, check out the NIT Tournament with one of its best final fours in years. Syracuse, Memphis, Temple and South Carolina? Aren't these teams supposed to be in the NCAA Field?

Syracuse was a top 10 team earlier in the season before a late season flop. This is the first time in memory that Boeheim or Temple Coach John Cheney weren't invited to the Big Dance.

Memphis Coach John Calipari probably expects his freshman phenom DaJuan Wagner to turn pro after this season and South Carolina, under former Wake Forest Coach Dave Odom, nearly qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse and Temple will play for the NIT championship on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, giving the game a somewhat-local flavor. The Orangemen will bring home an NIT title to the Jim Boeheim Court and the Carrier Dome.