Oklahoma State

COLLEGE PARK -- It was nothing fancy or complicated, just hardnosed, aggressive defense.There were no 1-2-2, 3-2, box-and-one or triangle-and-two defenses. Just a simple man-to-man.That's all it took for Oklahoma State to douse Fire and turn up the heat on Ice, North Carolina State's backcourt of Chris Corchiani (Fire) and Rodney Monroe (Ice), while winning, 73-64, in a National Collegiate Athletic Association East Regional second-round game yesterday at Cole Field House.Oklahoma State (23-7)

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For almost four minutes yesterday, Oklahoma State seemed like a team that might fall into the traps that had befallen Indiana. Pepperdine's athletic players were flying around and creating all kinds of havoc for the Cowboys' ball-handlers and threatening to claim another upset victim. But third-seeded Oklahoma State adjusted deftly, slowed the game to a more moderate tempo and went on to dominate the upstart Waves, 75-67, to reach the Sweet 16 round this week in nearby Syracuse, N.Y. Although the Cowboys (26-6)

Oklahoma State was far from scintillating last night, but the Cowboys had too much "Big Country" (Bryant Reeves) inside, too many athletes on the wings, and an opponent in Drexel that failed miserably shooting the ball.The Cowboys struggled through an ugly first half, but after regrouping to take a nine-point lead at the break, they quickly established their dominance early in the second half, then flattened the smaller, slower Dragons, 73-49, in a first-round East Regional game at the Baltimore Arena.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Oklahoma State showed Memphis to Graceland, all right. Making music on offense and defense, with basketball elegance and downright grit, Oklahoma State yesterday demonstrated the virtues required to proceed far into the NCAA tournament with a resounding 70-53 second-round victory. "They were physical, mature, set unbelievable screens, fought through screens on the other end, rebounded like crazy," Memphis coach John Calipari said. And he didn't event mention that the Cowboys shot 68 percent from the field in the first half and 59.6 for the game.

OKLAHOMA CITY - It hardly seemed fair. In the stands, the seats were 90 percent full of screaming, orange-clad Oklahoma State fans. On the Cowboys bench sat Eddie Sutton and his 26 NCAA tournaments' worth of coaching experience. On the court were Oklahoma State's four senior starters, who last year made it to the Final Four. Under the circumstances, it seemed No. 15 seed Southeastern Louisiana had little chance in yesterday's first-round Chicago Regional game at the Ford Center. But the Lions made a game of it, trailing by three with 7:05 remaining and by four with 4:07 left.

They are coached by a man whose career was once tainted by scandal. They are led by a point guard whose life was sidetracked last summer by one tragedy, and they are part of a program that overcame another tragedy three years ago. They are the Oklahoma State Cowboys, college basketball's second-chance team. As Oklahoma State weaved its way to this year's Final Four in San Antonio, the buzz was about this collective comeback. It is a story of restored reputations, renewed faith and revived success.

When Scott Pohlman showed up one afternoon for a pickup game with Auburn basketball players for the first time as a freshman, Bryant Smith figured that the scrawny kid who looked like he was about 12 was "a manager or something."Pohlman wasn't a manager.But he is something.Now a sophomore, the 6-foot-2, 160-pound shooting guard saved the top-seeded Tigers from elimination last weekend in the NCAA tournament's South Regional in Indianapolis.Against ninth-seeded Oklahoma State, Pohlman scored a career-high 28 points in an 81-74 victory that put Auburn (29-3)

UCLA (31-2)Opponent .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..ScoreFlorida International .. .. .. .. .92-56Missouri .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .75-74Mississippi State .. .. .. .. .. ..86-67Connecticut .. .. .. .. .. .. ....102-96Oklahoma State .. .. .. .. .. .. ..74-61Arkansas .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..89-78

Oklahoma State's Bryant Reeves and Alabama's Antonio McDyess commanded top billing yesterday, but by the time Alabama exited the East Regional, the glare of the spotlight had shifted.The Crimson Tide's backcourt was found wanting in a 66-52 loss to Oklahoma State.While Reeves outscored a limping McDyess, 26-22, Alabama's guards shot a collective 4-for-21 for 10 points. That was in stark contrast to Oklahoma State's guards, who scored 34 points on 14-for-31 shooting."We've got some very quick guards," said Cowboys point man Andre Owens, who dealt out 10 assists with only one turnover yesterday.

Houston Bowl Colorado (7-5) vs. Texas-El Paso (8-3) Where: Reliant Stadium, Houston Time, TV: 4:30 p.m., ESPN Key stats: Colorado is 101st in the nation in total defense (426.6 ypg). UTEP is eighth in scoring offense (36.5 ppg). About Colorado: If you look at the stats (94th in total offense, 101st in total defense), you wonder how the Buffaloes have a winning record. But a late three-game winning streak in which Colorado scored 94 points propelled it to seven wins. About UTEP: The Miners were one of the nation's biggest surprises under new coach Mike Price.