It’s been 31 years this week since Scott Pierce lost a capped tooth, Oklahoma State beat UMass, and earned a spot in the Final Four for the first time in over 45 years — is there an odd coincidence here?
The first and second round of the NCAA Tournament is currently taking place this weekend.
Though the Oklahoma State men’s basketball team is not “dancing” this year, that won’t stop me from watching all of the Madness. Instead, the Oklahoma State men’s basketball team will face Wichita State, inside the confines of Gallagher Iba Arena in the second round of the NIT, on Sunday evening.
As I was marking and redlining my bracket last night (Went 28-4 overall in the first round), I was off and on paying attention to the No. 7 UCLA Vs. No. 10 UCF game playing in the background.
UCF hadn’t been playing that hot as of recent so I had taken UCLA in the bracket challenge. UCF battled the Bruins for really the entire game and didn’t go silently.
The game ended in a four point victory for UCLA, 75-71.
Though the tight victory isn’t what caught my attention. Late in the second half, as the game was winding down and UCF was trying get an edge, UCLA guard Skyy Clark and UCF guard Themus Fulks collided on the floor as both were diving for a loose ball.
In that collision, Fulks’ elbow connects with Clark’s mouth…and out flies a tooth!
UCLA walk-on Jack Seidler (who didn’t play) sprang into action after teammates yelled “Somebody’s got to get it!” He spotted and scooped up Clark’s tooth fragment near the three-point line, earning tooth fairy hero status and social media fame for his hustle.
And despite Clark’s impromptu extraction (or chip, whatever), he stayed on the court and hit a clutch free throw with 2.3 seconds left to help seal the victory for UCLA.
The clip and post game picture of Clark’s new grin reminded me of someone — let’s swap gears here for a moment
March 26, 1995 — East Rutherford, New Jersey — NCAA Elite Eight:
The No. 4 seed Oklahoma State Cowboys, coached by Eddie Sutton, face up against the No. 2 seed UMass Minutemen, who boasted future NBA star Marcus Camby.
In the game prior, the Cowboys saw Bryant “Big Country” Reeves out play future five time NBA champion, greatest power forward of all time and NBA Hall-of-Famer, Tim Duncan, as the Pokes downed the Demon Deacons 71-66 in the Sweet 16. The Cowboys also faced future NBA players in Malik Rose (Drexel) and Antonio McDyess (Alabama) — (coincidentally all San Antonio Spurs at some point in their NBA careers) — on their way to face UMass.
Again, against UMass, Bryant Reeves dominated, ending with a game high 24 points, leading Oklahoma State to a 68-54 victory over the Minutemen. It was a win that would send Oklahoma State to its first Final Four in over 45 years!
However, that’s not my story here.
Early in the first half of that Elite Eight game, OSU forward Scott Pierce was setting up to take a charge in the paint when UMass point guard Derek Kellogg’s elbow caught him flush in the face, knocking the cap off his left front tooth (a remnant of an earlier childhood injury).
Pierce got a bloody nose and briefly needed attention but shrugged it off with no real pain and played 33 minutes, finishing with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Pierce’s on court dentist appointment was forever dubbed “Toothless In Seattle” — enshrined by an all time classic Eskimo Joes shirt that would probably fetch a couple hundred for resale.
The Cowboys then went on to lose in the Final Four Semis against who? The UCLA Bruins.
And how long has it been since Scotty got his tooth knocked out before the Seattle Final Four? 31 years this week.
Who was number 31 for the UCLA Bruins in the ‘94-‘95 season the year they won the championship? Ed O’Bannon Jr. — 1995 National Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Award Winner, and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Hmm.
O’Bannon Jr’s collegiate jersey was retired by UCLA and now hangs in the rafters of the same building the Oklahoma State Cowgirls will play in tonight, as they face Princeton in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament.
If Hoyt and the Cowgirls defeat Princeton tonight, they’ll play who in the second round? You guessed it, UCLA.
Now I’m not saying UCLA is going to make the Final Four this year — they still have to get by UCONN tomorrow to make the Sweet 16.
I did, however, have to highlight the obvious coincidence there. (For fun: my high school’s mascot? A Bruin. My college’s mascot? A Cowboy — bet the house on UCLA)