FAYETTEVILLE -- The presence of Hall of Fame Coach Eddie Sutton will be all over the University of Arkansas-Oklahoma State game today at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Sutton led both Arkansas (1978) and Oklahoma State (1995, 2004) to NCAA Final Fours, and by also guiding Creighton and Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament he became the first coach to lead four different programs into the tourney.
"It's two programs he had such impact on," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "Obviously our practice court is named after him now. I think it's two good basketball teams playing each other and to have Coach Sutton's memory be a part of the game I think is really, really appropriate."
Musselman had Sutton and Coach Nolan Richardson, who led the Razorbacks to their lone NCAA title in 1994 and whose name adorns the Walton Arena floor, serve as honorary captains for his first Red-White game prior to the 2019-20 season.
Musselman said he monitored closely Sutton's final coaching stop at the University of San Francisco as a California native and is keenly aware of his influence on the game.
"I think anybody in my age group that was coaching looked up to how hard his teams play and the defensive identity that they always had," Musselman said.
Oklahoma State Coach Mike Boynton has Sutton's youngest son, Scott, on his coaching staff.
"Becoming a head coach at a place where, obviously, he's legendary -- both as a player and a coach, and really as a figure in our whole state -- is something I obviously took a great deal of pride in making sure he was proud of what we were doing," Boynton said.
Eddie Sutton is in elite coaching company with 800-plus career wins. He was selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year, just before his death May 23 at age 84. Sutton is part of the 2021 induction class to the hall because last year's ceremony was postponed.
Both teams will participate in a pre-game tribute to Sutton by wearing black T-shirts depicting Sutton holding cut nets with a cursive "Eddie" as a caption for the pre-game shoot-around. There will also be tributes to Sutton throughout the game.
Sutton led Arkansas to a 260-75 record in 11 seasons (1975-85), including five Southwest Conference titles and nine NCAA Tournament appearances. In 16 seasons at Oklahoma State (1991-06), Sutton went 368-151 with 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. His name is on the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena and a banner honoring him hangs in the Walton Arena rafters.
Devo's a Hog
Arkansas freshman Davonte "Devo" Davis was committed to Oklahoma State for a time before flipping to the Razorbacks.
Earlier in the season, he was asked about drawing the Cowboys in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
"As soon as I saw that on Twitter, I was like, 'Yeah, this is going to be a fun game,' " Davis said. "Of course, I was committed there, but now I'm here. I'm ready to compete."
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman was at Nevada when Davis committed to the Cowboys, but he got on the phone to start recruiting the speedy 6-3 guard when Davis reopened his recruiting.
"I think that -- at least from my initial conversations with Devo -- it seemed like he was really excited to become a Razorback player and that it was really important to him," Musselman said. "When I went and saw him and ... I didn't offer him a scholarship until I did it face to face.
"The excitement in his family, there were people that teared up and I could tell how powerful it was. It was an eye-opening experience for me to offer a scholarship to an in-state player and see family members actually come to tears. It was really powerful for me to see, for sure."
Cowboys Coach Mike Boynton said he has no hard feelings about Davis, who is from Jacksonville, de-committing from Oklahoma State and signing with Arkansas.
"I love Devo Davis," Boynton said. "He's truly one of the kids that I enjoyed recruiting the most, because he's such a humble kid. I don't know if Devo thought he was as good as I thought he was, to be perfectly honest.
"I'm happy if he's happy at the end of the day. We're not going to get every recruit, and we're going to lose some more. But he looks like he's having success over there.
"I don't feel like anything wrong went down. He just made a decision, and I wish him the best."
UNLV fast
Cowboys Coach Mike Boynton talked up the Razorbacks' pace of play.
"They're the fastest team we've seen all year, for sure, other than against ourselves in practice," Boynton said. "And they're faster than that. They remind me of some of the classic fast teams you've seen in college basketball. I'm talking like UNLV Runnin' Rebels-type fast. I mean, they get after it."
Health update
Arkansas forward Justin Smith appeared to get frustrated during Wednesday's win over Ole Miss, possibly due to tweaking the ankle injury he had surgically repaired after taking a fall at Auburn on Dec. 30.
Coach Eric Musselman said Smith did not practice Thursday, so it's likely his status will be determined at the arena.
Arkansas guard Jalen Tate had to see the dentist Thursday to repair a chipped tooth, but he is expected to start for the 18th consecutive game.
Remember the 10
The Cowboys will have a 20th anniversary "Remember The Ten" salute to honor the memories of the 10 members of the Oklahoma State basketball program who died in a plane crash while returning from a game at Colorado on Jan. 27, 2001.
A memorial to the 10 has been erected in Gallagher-Iba Arena, and scholarships are awarded in memory to those who were lost.
UK-Texas canceled
Kentucky canceled its Big 12/SEC Challenge game against No. 5 Texas because of a combination of positive covid-19 tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the UK program, it was announced Friday.
Lots of threes
Arkansas has hit 147 of 425 three-pointers, which Oklahoma State Coach Mike Boynton said is a concern defensively for the Cowboys.
"The one thing that really sticks out to me when I look at their numbers is they have a lot of guys who are capable three-point shooters," Boynton said. "Like, everybody literally on their team who will play has made a three. That's something to be mindful of."
Nine Razorbacks have hit three-pointers.
"We've played a little bit more zone here lately," Boynton said. "We've got to watch and make sure we can get to the numbers of guys that can make threes on their team."
Series update
Oklahoma State holds a 37-15 lead in the series, including a 13-4 mark in games played in Stillwater, Okla.
Arkansas won the last meeting, 66-65, at Walton Arena on Jan. 27, 2018, as Daniel Gafford tipped in a miss from Anton Beard with 15 seconds left for the winning shot.
Ties that bind
Arkansas assistant coach Corey Williams played his entire college career at Oklahoma State (1988-92), including two years for Eddie Sutton.
Williams ranked eighth on the Cowboys' all-time scoring list with 1,320 points at the end of his career. A rare two-sport professional draft pick, Williams was taken in the second round of the 1992 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and and the 12th round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Williams was a member of the Bulls' 1993 NBA championship team.