Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 84-80 Victory Against Davidson in the NIT

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STILLWATER — This game looked unlike any other the Cowboys have played this season, but the show goes on.

Oklahoma State beat Davidson 84-80 in the NIT with the Cowboys down to eight available players. Here are five thoughts on the game.

1. Have a Day, Daniel Guetta

Daniel Guetta played in three Big 12 games this season, but with his team shorthanded in the first round of the NIT, the Israeli guard played hero.

In a season-high 21 minutes, Guetta scored 11 points — more than he had to this point in the season combined.

He was massive for the Pokes down the stretch.

Checking in back in with just under four minutes to play, Guetta instantly got an inbound pass in the corner and hit a 3 to give OSU a 73-71 lead.

Guetta found himself switched on Davidson guard Parker Friedrichsen with just under two minutes to play. After Friedrichsen torched the Cowboys in the first half, they were being extra careful about who guarded him. Defending a 2-point lead, Guetta stripped the former Bixby Spartan and got fouled, going to the line and hitting both shots to put OSU up 77-73. The Cowboys only needed to close it out from there.

Guetta played a dozen minutes in OSU’s blowout loss to Cincinnati on Feb. 28. Aside from that Guetta had played 6:14 in Big 12 play — 1:10 in the Big 12 opener against Texas Tech and 5:04 in OSU’s blowout loss to Arizona on Feb. 7.

So, coming in cold with the season on the line, what a performance.

And all that’s not to mention this anecdote that Guetta is having to deal with back in his home country:

“There’s days where we have to let someone hang on to his phone during a meeting because he’s expecting a call from his family or his brother, who goes into the war and then gets to come home,” Steve Lutz said. “It’s a tough deal for that young man. He’s stronger than I think I could ever be at that age, to be very frank.”

2. Roy, Miller, Isaiah Coleman Suspended, No Firm Timetable on a Return

Steve Lutz was down to eight available bodies for this game.

Anthony Roy, Isaiah Coleman and Vyctorius Miller were all suited up, went through warmups and then sat the bench for the entirety of Tuesday’s game. The trio was suspended for an undisclosed reason. Here’s what Lutz said about whether they’d be back this season:

“I haven’t decided,” Lutz said. “We’re still working through the process. They’ve got to meet the standards and the expectations of the program, and they’re working toward that right now.

“They made a mistake, and as I said, I believe in humankind. I believe they’re good people, but when I was 18 to 22 in college, I made some mistakes, too, guys. But, the fact of the matter is that when you make a mistake you have to be held accountable, and we are doing so.”

Robert Jennings is hurt. Parsa Fallah is hurt. Andrija Vukovic is hurt. Lefteris Mantzoukas isn’t on the team anymore. Those three were out. OSU played this game (and won) with the following eight players:

Kanye Clary
Christian Coleman
Jaylen Curry
Ryan Crotty
Benjamin Ahmed
Daniel Guetta
Kirk Cole (he hit two 3s Tuesday)

All things considered, not too shabby.

“Obviously one of the more satisfying wins of the year,” said Lutz to start his postgame news conference.

3. Curry Stifles Friedrichsen in Second Half

Parker Friedrichsen was once in line to be a Cowboy and play in Gallagher-Iba Arena, but the former OSU commit looked more like a Cowboy killer in the first half.

Friedrichsen, from Bixby, poured in 16 points in the first half, going 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3. But he was held scoreless in the second half, thanks in large part to Jaylen Curry being stuck to him like a bee to honey.

Along with his second half defense, Curry had 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists. He did all this while recovering from the flu, with Lutz saying he didn’t practice Monday.

“You’re down 38 points and 10 rebounds (with the suspensions), and then Curry got the flu,” Lutz said. “Literally, we didn’t know how this was all going to unfold.”

4. Big Performances Elsewhere

As clutch as Guetta was late and as good as the defense Curry played was, the trio of Christian Coleman, Kanye Clary and Benjamin Ahmed also deserve some notoriety for holding the fort down in the absence of their teammates.

That trio combined for 51 points and 22 rebounds Tuesday.

Coleman had his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and brining down 13 boards.

A freshman center, Ahmed led the Cowboys in scoring at the half with nine points and finished with 16, a career high. It’s the fourth time Ahmed has scored in double figures this year, and all of those instances have come within OSU’s past five games.

Clary was the closer. He finished with a team-high 20 with 17 of those points coming in the second half. He was 2-for-3 from 3 in the half and helped ice the game late at the foul line.

If the suspended three aren’t going to play, OSU is going to need these types of performances from these three.

5. The Show Goes On

Well, it wasn’t always super pretty, but the Cowboys picked up win No. 20 and will keep playing.

This marks the fifth time in the past 10 seasons OSU has reached the 20-win mark, and their first since 2022-23.

Obviously winning is good for a program full stop, but between this game and the Big 12 Tournament, you can physically see freshmen centers Ben Ahmed and Mehki Ragland getting better by the outing.

Now the Cowboys will host Wichita State on Sunday.

Steve Lutz’s Postgame News Conference