Sutton Finally Gets No. 600

It took two weeks, but Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton finally got his 600th major-college victory as the Cowboys defeated Texas A&M;, 94-62, in a Big 12 Conference game at Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday.

Sutton is the 20th coach to win 600 games in Division I. He has a 600-237 record in 28 seasons in which he also coached at Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky.

As the clock ran down in Saturday’s game, Sutton’s players donned T-shirts commemorating No. 600. Sutton’s 599th victory came on Jan. 10 against Texas Tech, but Oklahoma State lost its next two games against Missouri and Baylor.

The third time was a charm for Sutton, however, as Oklahoma State, 13-3 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12, outscored Texas A&M; 41-14 in the final 14 minutes of a first half that ended with Joe Adkins making a half-court shot at the buzzer.

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Top 25 teams seem to bring out the best in Missouri.

The Tigers’ 11-7 record includes a school-record 56-point loss to Kansas State on Jan. 3, but four of the victories have come against ranked teams, with the latest being an 80-79 victory over No. 10 Iowa in overtime on Saturday at Columbia, Mo.

Missouri defeated Maryland and Oklahoma State when those teams were in the Top 25, and knocked off No. 3 Kansas on Monday--the third year in a row the Tigers have won at home over the Jayhawks.

The Tigers, 1-9 against ranked teams last season, battled back from a 14-point second-half deficit against Iowa.

“I guess we just get up for these games,” said point-guard Brian Grawer said. “This is bigger than the Kansas win. I mean, coming back, it’s big.”

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Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski coached his 700th major-college game in the Blue Devils’ 72-65 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Virginia at Charlottesville, Va. Krzyzewski has a 491-209 career record, 417-150 at Duke. . . . Fresno State president John Welty announced before the Bulldogs’ 90-82 nonconference victory over Texas that Pepsi-Cola and regional grocer SaveMart will be the major corporate sponsors for a 15,000- 18,000-seat multi-event arena being planned on campus. It is expected to be completed in 2001. . . . Mateen Cleaves scored 25 points as Michigan State (13-4, 6-1) gained sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with a 71-59 victory over Penn State at East Lansing, Mich. . . . Freshman Larry Hughes had 40 points to lead Saint Louis (13-6, 5-2) to a 71-62 Conference USA victory over Marquette at Milwaukee.