Throwback Thursday: OSU Takes On Fab Five From Michigan

This week was an easy Throwback Thursday. Oklahoma State and Michigan played in the 1992 Sweet 16, and it was a gem. That game from 25 years ago featured Michigan’s Fab Five as well as a murderer’s row for the Cowboys — a team that went to back-to-back Sweet 16s in Eddie Sutton’s first two years as coach.

OSU trotted out Byron Houston, Corey Williams, Sean Sutton, Bryant Reeves and Darwyn Alexander. Michigan countered with Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson and Juwan Howard.

Heavyweights!

Here is the lede by Robert Markus for the Chicago Tribune after the game.

They’re looking at the world through Rose-colored glasses and everything is rosy now. But for anxious moments here Friday night, it looked as if the world would be looking at Michigan’s Wolverines for the last time this season. With three of Michigan’s Fab 5 freshmen in deep foul trouble, it appeared that savvy Oklahoma State would be meeting Ohio State in Sunday’s NCAA Southeast Regional final.

In what ended up being Michigan’s closest game of the tournament the best player from each team — Byron Houston for OSU and Chris Webber for UM — was pretty much a non-factor.

“They did a great defensive job on Byron,” Sutton told the Chicago Tribune. “Four points is probably the lowest he has ever scored in his career. Every time he was getting the ball in the pivot, they had hands all over him.”

“We knew we couldn’t stop him one-on-one,” said Michigan coach Steve Fisher, “so we double-teamed him, or tried to, every time he touched the ball. He missed some shots he ordinarily makes, but they were under pressure.”

But Webber was in foul trouble and got No. 4 at the beginning of the second half? The result of that? Jalen Rose played all 40 minutes and finished with 25-10-1.

“I knew I needed to get him out of there,” said Fisher. “But I’m also smart enough to know I couldn’t take him out. He has no fear. He’s playing like he’s playing on the playground, and he’s as smart a player as you’re going to find. It all starts with Jalen.”

“Jalen said to me, ‘We’re going to win it, so relax,'” said Webber.

Mark Cooper wrote about this game this week as well, and he included these great quotes from Sutton and Williams.

“Jalen Rose, at that time, I thought he might be the all-time best trash talker,” Sean told the Tulsa World. “One of the things he said, he said, ‘I’m killing y’all,’” Williams said. “I said, ‘You better look up at that scoreboard.’ I had just as many points as he had.”

This was peak Fab 5. Their freshman year. They were still the newest, hottest thing in college hoops. They went on to beat Ohio State in the regional final and Cincinnati in the Final Four before Duke thumped them by 20 in the title game.

That OSU team was a great one. They won 18 in a row to start the year and were No. 3 or No. 2 for two straight months. They even had a chance to rise to No. 1 in February but dropped their 19th game to Nebraska.

They went on to finish the season 26-8, losing to Kansas in the Big 8 title game and this Michigan team in the Sweet 16. To the nation, though, they are a footnote to the Fab 5. Hopefully, 25 years later, revenge will finally come on Friday in Indianapolis.