11:09 PM CST on Wednesday, March 8, 2006
If they haven't already, someone in the Sutton family should make a beeline for a bakery – in Tulsa, Stillwater or Dallas. They can go ahead and order two celebratory cakes for Selection Sunday. Three, if they're feeling lucky. Sunday is the 70th birthday of patriarch Eddie Sutton, who until recently probably didn't feel festive. But after a Feb. 10 drunken driving accident, taking a leave of absence and undergoing surgery to relieve back and hip pain, he no doubt got a needed dose of adrenaline Tuesday night. That is when his youngest son, Scott, led Oral Roberts to its first NCAA Tournament bid in 22 years, beating Chicago State in the Mid-Continent tournament final. It was redemption for the Golden Eagles, who were last year's regular-season champ- ions but got upset in the tournament final. It also was a big night for South Garland product Ken Tutt, who missed 10 games this season with a broken foot but scored 25 points in the title game. Why might the Suttons need a third cake Sunday? That is the afternoon of the Big 12 tourna- ment final in Dallas. That is where Sean Sutton leads OSU, in place of Eddie, into tonight's first round against Iowa State. Of course, if Sean and the Cowboys are still around Sunday, it will mean they got past Iowa State, Kansas and a semifinal opponent, which technically would be Eddie's 800th career victory. Come to think of it, that scenario would be all icing. E-mail btownsend@dallasnews.com