It was unfair and sad that the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame selected Eddie Sutton for induction just weeks before his death last year.
On Saturday, Sutton’s two favorite schools played each other on the Eddie Sutton Court at Oklahoma State University after the Arkansas Razorbacks prepared for the game on the practice court named for Sutton in Fayetteville.
There were special T-shirts, and probably no one was more moved or proud than Sutton’s youngest son, Scott, who is the top assistant for the Cowboys.
Just before the game, the younger Sutton helped remove tape from below the sign on the floor that says “Eddie Sutton Court” on it. Naismith Hall of Fame had been added to it.
Scott Sutton played for his dad there and still holds the school record for assist-to-turnover ratio, fueled by a senior season when he had 119 assists compared to 21 turnovers.
Sutton built the foundation for basketball at Arkansas, where Nolan Richardson added a championship wing in 1994. Sutton later would take his alma mater — it was Oklahoma A&M before becoming Oklahoma State — to two Final Fours.
About the time the Cowboys were breaking a 75-75 tie Saturday, odds-on favorite Frank’s Rockette was winning the American Beauty Stakes at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.
Frank’s Rockette is owned by North Little Rock businessman Frank Fletcher.
Back to basketball, it had been a thumbs-up week in the Natural State with the Arkansas women’s team knocking off powerhouse Connecticut and the men handling Ole Miss. That was before the Razorbacks fell 81-77 to the Cowboys.
But Eddie Sutton, who was 260-75 at Arkansas and 368-151 at OSU, would have enjoyed the intensity of Saturday’s game.
OSU didn’t miss a shot in the first half until 12:05 remained but only led 15-13 because the Hogs were attacking the rim and making high-percentage shots, and the Cowboys were sloppy with their ball handling.
Oklahoma State would take a 38-34 lead into intermission after hitting a layup at the buzzer.
The Razorbacks came out hotter than a Tijuana Fourth of July, hitting their first five shots and taking a 45-43 lead, but they couldn’t put the Cowboys away.
Oklahoma State went to a zone defense, and it caught the Razorbacks flat-footed at times with no one able to go one-on-one and break down a defender.
With 6:28 to play, Connor Vanover hit a three, and after a Cowboys’ miss, Justin Smith hit a layup to give the Razorbacks a 69-64 lead with 5:58 to play.
Then Cade Cunningham, who was roommates with Moses Moody at Montverde (Fla.) Academy, scored five unanswered points.
Considered by experts to be the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, the 6-8 Cunningham scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, including the Cowboys’ final six points in the final 1:38.
The Razorbacks started the game slow despite the help of the Cowboys’ turnovers. They had 15 in the first half, but the Hogs cashed them in for just 13 points. The Cowboys turned the ball over just four times in the second half.
It was a game that was winnable, but a team gains too much confidence on too many open looks when it starts 7 of 7 from the field like Oklahoma State.
Still, it would have been a game that would have made Eddie Sutton smile. Both teams played hard and at times seemed as focused on defense as offense.
It was his two favorite teams playing, and Sutton would have liked that because he couldn’t lose.