Sutton Gets Milestone Coaching Victory

Eddie Sutton’s 700th victory came where Oklahoma State hadn’t won in a while.

The 13th-ranked Cowboys beat Texas, 85-80, on Wednesday night, their first win in Austin, Texas, since December 1974. But it was the career milestone that had several players carrying Sutton off the court when the game ended.

“This was huge for us,” Oklahoma State forward Fredrik Jonzen said. “Not just for Coach Sutton, but for the whole team. It’s a lot more fun to get that win down here, then to go home and beat Baylor on Saturday.”

Sutton, the 14th Division I coach to reach the 700-win mark, is 700-275 in his 32 seasons as a head coach at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State.

“He deserves it, it’s his 700th win,” Texas guard T.J. Ford said. “Not many coaches get that many wins at a level like this.”

Sutton tried to downplay his achievement at first.

“It means I’ve been coaching a long time,” he said. “We’ve had a tough time beating the Longhorns. It was a special game and one I’ll always remember.”

Victor Williams had 20 points and seven assists to lead Oklahoma State, 21-6 overall and 8-5 in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys moved into a tie for third place in the conference standings with Texas (17-9, 8-5) and Texas Tech. The Longhorns have lost four of its last five conference games.

No. 2 Maryland 84, Clemson 68--Juan Dixon scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half as the Terrapins overcame a sluggish start at Clemson, S.C., to win their ninth consecutive game.

Maryland (22-3, 12-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) looked early as if it was still savoring Sunday’s 87-73 win over then-No. 1 Duke. But Dixon, the ACC’s second-leading scorer, got hot in the second half and lifted Maryland past Clemson (12-15, 3-11).

Arkansas 67, No. 5 Alabama 59--Charles Tatum scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the first half at Fayetteville, Ark., and the Razorbacks ended a losing streak at three.

The Crimson Tide (22-5, 10-3 in the Southeastern Conference) trailed 33-19 at halftime and made only four of 33 shots from the field in the half.

Arkansas (13-12, 5-8) did not score a field goal over the final 7:40 of the game, but Carl Baker, Alonzo Lane, T.J. Cleveland, and J.J. Sullinger made enough free throws down the stretch for the Razorbacks.

No. 8 Florida 89, Auburn 61--Udonis Haslem had 18 points at Gainesville, Fla., during the Gators’ fifth win in six games.

Matt Bonner had 13 points and eight rebounds for Florida (20-5, 9-4 in the SEC), which reached the 20-win mark for a school-record fourth straight season and sixth overall.

The Gators’ win also moved them within a game of Alabama for the SEC’s best record. Alabama plays host to Florida on Saturday.

Auburn (11-13, 3-10) shot 39.7%, missed nine of 14 free throws and turned the ball over 17 times for 19 Florida points. The Tigers have lost all eight of their road games this season, including seven in the SEC.

No. 16 Illinois 83, Penn State 56--Robert Archibald tied his career-high with 25 points and had 10 rebounds for the Illini in a Big Ten game at Champaign, Ill.

The 6-foot-11 Archibald overpowered the Nittany Lions down low, scoring on an assortment of dunks and layups.

Illinois (20-7, 8-5) started its winning streak after having dropped three in a row. Penn State (7-18, 3-11) has lost nine of 11.

No. 23 Indiana 63, No. 19 Ohio State 57--Jeff Newton scored 16 points to lead the Hoosiers’ balanced offense at Bloomington, Ind.

The win gave Indiana (18-8, 10-3) sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Brian Brown had 23 points for Ohio State (18-6, 9-4)--a loser for the first time at Assembly Hall since 1998.

Indiana held Ohio State scoreless over a 5:25 stretch in the second half, when the Hoosiers used a 13-0 run to take control.

Florida State 66, No. 22 Virginia 59--Monte Cummings scored 21 points, including five free throws over the final 2:13 at Tallahassee, and the Seminoles ended a losing streak at six.

Virginia (16-8, 6-7 in the ACC) lost for the sixth time in eight games.

Cummings, who missed nearly five minutes of the second half after bruising his thigh with 10:48 left, scored 15 points in the first half as Florida State (11-13, 4-9) took a 34-29 lead.

NON-TOP 25 GAMES

Northwestern 61, Purdue 48--Winston Blake scored 18 points and the Wildcats, normally Big Ten doormats, went over the .500 mark in league play at Evanston, Ill.

Northwestern (16-9, 7-6) has won three in a row in the conference for the first time since the 1975-76 season. Purdue (12-16, 4-10) has lost five of six games.

Ohio 86, North Carolina 78--The Bobcats (6-18) got 23 points from Steve Esterkamp and 20 points from Brandon Hunter at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Melvin Scott led North Carolina (7-17) with 17 points.