Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 83-81 Overtime Bedlam Win

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STILLWATER — Near the end of the Oklahoma State-Oklahoma game on Saturday in GIA, the jumbotron monitor cut to an OSU student who side-eyed the camera during a tight game and gave a look that said, Oh, I’ve seen this movie before in pretty much every sport. He gave a meek pistols firing motion to the figure behind the lens, and I thought that was pretty fitting.

Then Mike Boynton’s squad ransacked our preconceived notions of how Bedlams are supposed to end, and we were served an instant classic (although this time, unlike football, it’s a re-watchable instant classic).

Trae Young delivered so many haymakers and GIA so many counter-punches, I eventually lost count. In the end, the Meek Kid in the crowd found himself swept up in a raucous wave of students and former students who pounded their sneakers on white maple boards in celebration of the present and also the future.

Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma 83-81 in overtime on Saturday (if you somehow have not heard that news yet). Trae Young tied a Big 12 record with 48 points on 39 (!) shots, but nobody else for OU had more than 8. On the Cowboys’ side, Jeffrey Carroll had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Kendall Smith added 20 points, including a clutch 3-pointer at the end of regulation to get to extra time.

The Pokes jumped out to a huge first half lead before slowly submitting to the premier player in the country down the stretch. But a Mitchell Solomon swipe (!) of Young ignited a furious rally at the end, and OSU got five more minutes of No. 11 than it probably wanted before finally putting him (and them) away.

“That’s who Mitch is,” said Smith. “He’s the guy who doesn’t mind doing the dirty work. He doesn’t mind covering for his teammates. With the passion, energy and effort he plays with, as the four other guys on the court with him, you have to step up and match that. Mitch has been terrific for us, and I believe he will continue to do that. And we will continue to follow.”

Five thoughts on a phenomenal day inside the Old Barn.

1. OSU Threw Everything at Trae Young

If I may … that was maybe the least-efficient 48-point game ever. There were stretches that left you whispering sweet Currys, but Oklahoma State threw everything it had at Young, and he *only* shot 36 percent from the field. Yes, he took over the game late, and yes, he could not miss for a stretch deep in the second half. But Everyone Not Named Trae Young only shot 33 percent, and the reason was because nobody but Trae Young had the ball for long stretches.

Young is at his best when he played like he did in Norman against OSU. He has an ability to stretch the floor towards mid-court, but his primary objective is to get his teammates involved. The two go hand in hand, and that’s why OU came into the game No. 4 in the country. On Saturday, he still had 8 assists, but he also had 7 turnovers and wasn’t engaged with Everyone Not Named Trae Young for long periods of time.

Trapping every ball screen was the key to Kansas State's defensive success against Trae Young. I'm surprised Oklahoma State has rarely done the same.

— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) January 20, 2018

The last play of the game was a microcosm of this: OSU had everyone but Trey Reeves and his dad on him as time wound down, and all he was thinking about was which shimmy he was going to do when it fell.

It didn’t fall.

2. Carroll Was Fantastic

Not only did No. 30 have 23 points and 13 boards, but he had about 10 additional tip-outs on missed shots that kept plays alive. He played 43 of a possible 45 minutes (same as Young), and he looked as good as he’s looked in a game against a great time in a while.

Side note here: OU is a real Final Four contender, and OSU took them to the mat. First, over the initial 10 minutes in the game. Eventually, in overtime. That’s no small thing, and Boynton reiterated afterwards that the Pokes can play with anyone in the country.

There was no singular moment that stood out for me with Carroll (although the TO to Young late in overtime followed by the missed free throw was not ideal!). He just seemed incredibly engaged in the game throughout and played (and scored) like a star should.

3. Attacking was … better?

It’s always difficult to parse through the wins and losses and get at the heart of what actually happened in a game. We are so prone to revisionist’s history, and we see everything through the lenses of the outcome. If you give up 50 attempts from 3-point range and win, you’re “smart.” If you do the same and lose, you “played awful defense.”

That preamble leads me into OSU’s effort offensively. I’m not sure if it was great, but it was serviceable. They were at their best early in the game when they were creating turnovers and getting transition buckets. Then OU switched to a zone at the end of the first half, and the Cowboys looked lost.

For reasons unknown to all, Kruger put OU back into man in the second half, and OSU did just enough to get the win.

I asked Boynton about whether he was pleased with their effort from an attacking standpoint, and he tentatively said, “yes.”

“We wound up taking 30 threes,” said Boynton. “I thought we tried to attack the rim. We didn’t get to the free throw line quite as much as I would have liked. I did think most of the threes we took were good threes. We have the right guys taking the right shots, and I felt good about the way we attacked them.”

Since #OKState went ahead 25-6, seven of its 11 FG attempts are from 3-point range, including six of the last seven.

— Mark Cooper (@mark_cooperjr) January 20, 2018

It was certainly a game of runs from a shooting percentage standpoint for OSU.

First 22 shots: 12 buckets (55 percent)
Next 43 shots: 11 buckets (26 percent)
Final 17 shots: 10 buckets (59 percent)

I still thought Smith took too many bombs, but he was also open for a lot of them. At one point, I was internally screaming for OSU to get the ball inside to Solomon and Yankuba Sima, but they started to and it looked awkward.

In the end, I think the OSU offense we saw today sort of is what it’s going to be, both the good and the bad. There will be slight variations of it throughout the rest of the year, but the transition buckets, (at times) stagnated half court game and open 3-point attempts are all part of the deal.

4. Smith Hung In

Smith got benched three games ago for Brandon Averette, and Boynton said after the game that his response to that was to walk in Boynton’s office and say, “How can I get better?”

That’s a big deal.

He actually played more minutes than Averette on Saturday and had 20 points on just 16 shots. He also had no fouls and no turnovers.

“I told the guys here in the locker room when I started recruiting Kendall that a big part of our message to him was not that you could come here and be a pro or we want you be a Jawun Evans,” said Boynton. “But we wanted him to be a part of laying a foundation for a really competitive Big 12 basketball program.

“We knew he had the ability. We knew he thrives in big moments and I had no hesitation with putting him in there and giving him an opportunity to make a play knowing he’s the type of guy who wants the ball in his hands.”

That was clear at the end of regulation.

5. An all-timer in GIA

I don’t know how many games Oklahoma State is going to win this year. I don’t know if the NCAA Tournament is in their future. I don’t know if Mike Boynton is going to be great.

But for one day, GIA was sold out and it shook.

It shook when Smith hit the game-tying 3-pointer. It shook when Young flailed at the very end. It shook when OSU started the game on a 25-6 run. But it mostly shook when Solomon, who has endured so much change and consternation in his tenure at OSU, took Young’s cookies and fed Shine who put an exclamation point on one of Young’s 7 turnovers.

And I don’t mean it shook on a curve. There was no sliding scale. On a day when The 10 were remembered, and Young’s POY campaign was briefly forgotten, GIA shook like it has so many times and for so many people over the years. It wasn’t 2018 loud. It was just all-time loud.

Ultimately, Oklahoma State basketball points to that building. Coaches are there to feed it. Players are there to be fed by it. Fans are there to drink it all in. After those players and these coaches move on and all of us are too old to attend games, that place will stand (presuming they get all that interest paid off).

It’s not going anywhere.

And damn, is it still electrifying.