When a college basketball coach speaks into a microphone, it’s not too difficult to guess the forthcoming words.

Winning coach: “First off, I’d just like to congratulate Whatsamatta U for a great effort tonight. That is one really well-coached basketball team. He does a terrific job with those kids.”

Losing coach: “We got great shots; we just weren’t knocking them down tonight.”

And then there was the time a college basketball coach took microphone in hand and said what still ranks as about the most surprising and hilarious remarks by a college basketball coach.

In February of 1989, with his Oklahoma team losing to Missouri, 21-8, in Norman, fans became upset with a referee’s call and threw debris on the floor.

Then-Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs told the crowd: “The referees request that regardless of how terrible the officiating is, do not throw stuff on the floor.”

Tubbs, now working as the athletic director at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, received a standing ovation and a technical foul. His team went on to win the game, 112-105.

“I was just doing their jobs for them and they gave me a technical,” Tubbs said by phone. “Nothing else came on the floor after that and we were up by 15 points in about three minutes. You know, I got a lot of technicals, but I’m not sure I ever deserved one.”

That game took place 10 months after Tubbs coached OU into the national title game against Kansas. Tubbs was happy to hear the 1988 national champions had gathered this weekend to celebrate the title they won at the expense of his team.

“Give my regards and my best wishes to them,” Tubbs said. “It was truly an outstanding game for them. I went by their dressing room after the game to congratulate them. There was so much jumping around after the game I didn’t get a chance to say anything to them then.”

Tubbs said he thinks of the game, the first half of which ended in a 50-50 tie, only when asked about it.

“I was surprised they took some shots early in the game that we wanted them to take and unfortunately they went in,” Tubbs said. “Danny (Manning) had a great game, but he pretty much had a great game every time we played them. There were some people who played well we didn’t expect, and we couldn’t live with some of the other guys having the games they had.”

Oklahoma’s pressure defense, keyed by ultra-quick point guard Mookie Blaylock, was a big part of what forced the tempo the Sooners desired in the first half. To counter that, Kansas coach Larry Brown had the 6-foot-10 Manning bring the ball up the court in the second half.

“We couldn’t force the turnover on him to get the game going like we wanted it,” Tubbs said.

He paused, chuckled a little and added: “I should have put Mookie on him because basically we got out of the press once Danny brought the ball up the court. I should have put Mookie on him.”

Kansas won the game 83-79.

“Sometimes you’ll look back on a loss and think, ‘Boy, we just played a terrible game.’ I’ve never thought that about that game,” Tubbs said. “I thought we played well.”

Kansas played four points better.