Stringtown's Tyrus McGee, Verdigris' Rotnei Clarke lead locals in NCAA Tournament

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

Last night, I blogged about the Oklahoma high school alums that were playing in the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

There aren’t as many for the men–primarily because Tulsa and ORU aren’t in this field. But the state still has plenty of representation.

The headliners of the group are Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee of Stringtown and Butler’s Rotnei Clarke of Veridigris.

McGee is the Cyclone’s sixth man, averaging 13.2 poitns and more than an assist per game. Clarke, the leading scorer in state history, is averaging 16.7 points and is shooting 41.2 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Here’s a look at all of the players from the state who are playing in the tournament:

Butler: Rotnei Clarke (Verdigris) vs. Bucknell, 11:40 a.m. Thursday (truTV)

Oklahoma State: Alex Budke (Stillwater) vs. Oregon, 3:40 p.m. Thursday (TNT)

South Dakota State: Jake Bittle (Bixby) vs. Michigan, 6:15 p.m. Thursday (CBS)

Missouri: Tony Criswell (Douglass) vs. Colorado State, 8:20 p.m. Thursday (TNT)

Oklahoma: Tyler Neal (Putnam City West), C.J. Cole (Sperry)*, Ryan Spangler (Bridge Creek)* vs. San Diego State, 8:20 p.m. Friday (TBS)

Iowa State: Tyrus McGee (Stringtown) vs. Notre Dame, 8:45 p.m. Friday (CBS)

Western Kentucky: Brandon Harris (Northwest) vs. Kansas, 8:50 p.m. Friday (TNT)