The Oklahoma Sooners basketball program may never match the prestige of the school’s football program, but they’ve come close at times. Oklahoma has been home to several outstanding coaches and attracted countless star players who went on to great careers in the NBA. Getting cheap Oklahoma basketball tickets isn’t easy because the Sooners have always been good enough to attract big crowds. In fact, Sooners fans should always count themselves lucky whenever they’re able to snag last-minute Oklahoma basketball tickets.

Let’s Get Started

Oklahoma took its first steps toward being a basketball powerhouse in 1980 when Billy Tubbs was hired as head coach. His first season was rough, but he soon began recruiting elite talent like Tisdale, Stacey King, and Mookie Blaylock. Starting in his second season at the helm, Tubbs guided the Sooners to eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. That stretch also included four Big Eight regular-season titles, four visits to the Sweet 16, and national runner-up honors in 1988 with Oklahoma losing a close championship game to longtime rival Kansas.

The Ball Keeps Rolling

Tubbs took Oklahoma from an afterthought to a top-25 program, setting up all of his predecessors for success with the Sooners. Kelvin Sampson took Oklahoma to the NCAA Tournament in nine of his 10 seasons in charge, including a Final Four run in 2002. He was followed by Jeff Capel, who recruited Blake Griffin, the first player in Oklahoma history to win national Player of the Year honors. Despite some struggles late in Capel’s tenure, Lon Kruger got the Sooners back on track, taking them to their fifth Final Four in program history in 2016 and setting the stage for continued success in the future.