It is that time of season and we have finally reached the State Tournament and congratulations, You have made it to the big house! This is the last year at the big house before the new arena is open so let’s make this the best one yet! Follow along as I preview the State Tournament matchups and hear from the coaches as they give their thoughts.
Booker T. Washington vs Midwest City
Monday at 5:30pm
Last appearance: Booker T. Washington (Third consecutive) Midwest City (Second consecutive)
Booker T. Washington’s road to the gold ball started with wins over Pryor 85-32 and Collinsville 65-39 in regionals and East Central 52-50 in the Area Tournament to advance to the State Tournament. Midwest City’s road to the gold ball started with a win over Noble 100-47, Fell to El Reno 83-72 in the regional championship but bounced back with back to back wins over Lawton MacArthur 51-35 and Carl Albert 76-68 to advance to the State Tournament.
Del City vs Collinsville
Monday at 6:00pm
Last appearance: Del City (Ninth consecutive ) Collinsville (Second consecutive)
Del City’s road to the gold ball started with wins over Guymon 87-43 and Lawton MacArthur 66-49 in regionals and El Reno 51-44 in the Area Tournament. Collinsville’s road to the gold ball started with a win over McAlester 68-43 but fell to Booker T. Washington 63-39 in the regional championship but got back to back wins over Will Rogers 39-38 and Edison Prep 51-50 in the Area Tournament to advance to the State Tournament.
COLLINSVILLE COACHES Todd Anderson/Nate West
Before our season began one of our goals was to host a Home Regional by playoff time. We had a challenging district schedule, and even though we did not reach that goal, we Learned through adversity how we needed to strengthen our team. By playoff time, we knew who we were and what we were capable of accomplishing. We won our 1st round Regional Tournament matchup against a tough Mcalester Team, and then scratched and clawed and found a way to win against Tulsa Rogers and Edison in the Area Tournament. Both of those teams pushed us to dig deep and compete well. We have alot of respect for both of those coaching staffs and collection of players. We face a tough and competitive Team/Program in Del City for our State Tournament Quarterfinal Game. They are well coached, with skilled, tough competitors up and down their lineup. And they are in State Tournament every year. We try to play the game unselfishly, with toughness and competitiveness. Collinsville Basketball has now been to three out of the last four 5A State Tournaments, and we are honored once again to be among the best this year!
Lawton vs East Central
Monday at 7:30pm
Last appearance: Lawton (First since 2009) East Central (First since 2016)
Lawton’s road to the gold ball started with wins over Santa Fe South 76-22 and Elgin 100-39 in regionals and Carl Albert 58-54 in the Area Tournament to advance to the State Tournament. East Central’s road to the gold ball started with wins over Durant 73-64 and Will Rogers 59-44 in regionals, Fell to Booker T. Washington 52-50 but bounced back against Bishop Kelley 54-32 in the Area Tournament to advance to the State Tournament.
EAST CENTRAL head coach Michael Parrish
We are excited to join the long history of The Big House! Our team has loved every minute of our journey to the state tournament. We have grown up as young men and become a very good basketball team along the way. We have great guard play, size, speed, and a deep bench. Don’t be surprised if Cinderella is wearing red and black to the dance.
Best memory of The Big House
I played at NSU vs OCU in the playoffs in 1992 vs Eric Manuel. I did well but we lost. This will be my first time coaching there. I’m very excited to return to the floor.
Tulsa Memorial vs El Reno
Monday at 9:00pm
Last appearance: Tulsa Memorial (12th consecutive) El Reno (First since 2023)
Tulsa Memorial’s road to the gold ball started with wins over Guthrie 82-35 and Shawnee 53-48 in regionals and Edison Prep 52-42 in the Area Tournament. El Reno’s road to the gold ball started with wins over Altus 95-40 and Midwest City 73-82 in regionals, Fell to Del City 51-44 but bounced back against John Marshall 100-36 in the Area Tournament to advance to the State Tournament.
EL RENO head coach Rodney Haydon
It’s been a grind like all seasons and with district play we had to be hooked up and focused every night to play well. The road to the last dance at the big house was a big goal for us but we need there would be some really good teams in 5A on the west that don’t get to make the trip and we didn’t want to be one of them. Winning a regional championship was huge for us but losing to Del city was tough on us but we really responded well against a really good and well coached team that we had battled with earlier in the year. Obviously the excitement in the locker room after punching our ticket was at an all time high. This team knows we still have more to accomplish.
Best memory of the big house
Well being in 5A my entire career I have never been in this floor but as a kid in 8th grade I grew up in Calumet. My high school coach at that time brought me to the big house. Richard Folsom. And we watched games and I dreamed of playing on this floor. Calumet was not very good at that time back in 1991. So I had no chance of doing that. I transferred to El Reno in 92 and the rest is history. I never even thought about playing at the big house because we were always at OU or ORU. But this hits home and means more just because we had one shot to be here like all the large schools. When you watch games here with your kid and then get to love it out. It’s special and our team understands that coming from Canadian county.
The OKPreps Rundown 
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