Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 71-60 Win over Oklahoma

Oklahoma State never trailed against Oklahoma on Wednesday in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, downing the rival Sooners in a convincing 71-60 win to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

The Cowboys dominated the boards, shot the leather off the ball from deep, and rode the springy legs of Cameron McGriff to a win that sets up a quarterfinal game vs. No. 1 Kansas on Thursday.

Let’s get to five thoughts.

1. OSU dominated the boards

I’m not sure I’ve ever been alive to see such a rebounding disparity in a single game.

Oklahoma State brought down 53 to Oklahoma’s 27 rebounds on Wednesday evening, leading to a lopsided 19-2 advantage in favor of the Cowboys in second chance points.

Jeffrey Carroll was a big part of that. He had eight first half rebounds and finished with a team-high 13; Cam McGriff and Mitch Solomon added nine rebounds of their own, while Kendall Smith and Lindy Waters combined for 11. It is the biggest rebounding advantage OSU has had in a game all season.

2. Unloading the long ball

Oklahoma State — like any team, really — is nearly unbeatable when it is knocking down 3-pointers at a good clip. The stats obviously back that, but the numbers are pretty staggering.

According to OSU Athletics, OSU is now 16-2 this season when it makes nine or more 3-pointers in a game, and 3-11 when it hits eight or loss. After knocking down an efficient 11 of 26 from beyond the arc on Wednesday, you can expect more of the same on Thursday when they face No. 1 seed Kansas.

3. Trae Young’s inefficient play

OU’s all-everything needed to be elite, and that he was not. He finished with 22 points, sure, but did so on 7 of 21 shooting, a team-high four turnovers, and several, “wait, what?” shots — like this forced airball midway through the second half.

pic.twitter.com/IRJVN682Rm

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) March 8, 2018

4. HELLOOOOO, CAM MCGRIFF!

Yo, so check this: Trae Young, a likely top 3 finisher for national player of the year, was far and away the second best player on the floor.

The Crime Dog, Cam McGriff, was numero uno.

McGriff had 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting, hit 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, and came up one rebound shy of a double-double.

The numbers don’t even do it justice. McGriff was the epitome of a hustle guy who single handedly lifted the team when it was going through a lull. His energy, bounce and efficiency on both ends of the floor was a game-changer.

Cam slam. pic.twitter.com/pHiseYQ2fE

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) March 8, 2018

5. Tournament hopes?

Entering Wednesday, I thought Bedlam Round 3 was a play-in game for the Pokes. But as is the case every year, the cut line is a bit of a moving target, and early returns from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi suggest the Pokes need a win Thursday over Kansas to seal their fate.

However, consider this.

OSU’s win over OU was its sixth Quadrant 1 win of the season and its fourth Quadrant 1 win away from GIA. As of Wednesday evening, zero of the teams listed in Lunardi’s last four in, first four out or next four out have more Quadrant 1 wins than OSU.

Lunardi himself basically gave a big ol’ shrug after seeing OSU annihilate the hapless Sooners.

Joe Lunardi on what OSU has to do to get into the NCAAT. pic.twitter.com/JuBCOx4SAP

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) March 8, 2018

• Typically you can tell if Jeffrey Carroll is going to have a vintage Jeffrey Carroll game early, and tonight was no exception. Was super active in first half, had 9 points, 8 rebounds (!!) and a few deflections on D.

• OSU out-rebounded OU 31-15 in the first half. 31-15!

• Quality tweet.

Will Joe Lunardi count this as a real win or no?

— Dave Hudson (@okc_dave) March 8, 2018

• Brady Manek is king of the wide open shot that looks so good but ends so poorly.

• Brady Manek is going to be one heckuva player.

• This stat is nuts. Smith finished with 11, which I think just proves just how well McGriff played. Carroll had 13 but they were the only three who finished in double digits.

Wild stat from #OKState's Big 12 schedule: OSU went 6-1 when Kendall Smith scored 20+ points and 2-9 when he was held below 20. He is OSU's key player tonight.

— Mark Cooper (@mark_cooperjr) March 7, 2018

• Trae Young in the NIT is something I’d subscribe to. Hard!

• Shots fired!

#OKState coach Mike Boynton responds to Joe Lunardi’s “didn’t give themselves enough chances to lose” comments: “What were we supposed to do? Play in the Big Ten tournament last week?”

— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) March 8, 2018

• That was OSU’s first B12T win in four years?!

• Two months ago, I was in the Averette > Kendall Smith camp. But against OU, it was painfully obvious which option was better; Smith’s plus/minus (OSU’s performance with him on the floor versus with him on the bench) was +12 on the game, tied for second on the team (behind Mitch Solomon!) Averette finished with +0.