Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 74-69 Overtime Victory against Texas Tech

BOX SCORE

The Cowboys are 3-0 in overtime.

Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech 74-69 in overtime on Monday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. It’s the second time this season the Cowboys and Red Raiders went to overtime, and this young group of Pokes prevailed both times.

Here are five thoughts from the game.

1. It All Started with Keylan Boone

OSU’s was offensively anemic at the start of the second half, so Mike Boynton turned to an unlikely hero: Keylan Boone.

Boone hadn’t played in two of the Cowboys’ past three games, and in the game he did play in, he played only seven minutes. But with the Cowboys reeling and scoreless for nearly the first seven minutes of the half, Keylan Boone hit a 3.

The Cowboys absolutely stunk from 3 on Monday, finishing just 2-for-12, but Boone, who hadn’t scored since Jan. 9, hit is. It sparked the Cowboys to a 15-0 run and helped them overcome a 9-point Tech lead.

Boone didn’t stop there in terms of clutch. He had an lockdown stuff on Terrence Shannon to protect a 2-point lead.

Then Boone hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play in overtime to give OSU a 3-point lead.

He finished with five points on one shot with four rebounds and the block. His most telling stat of the night, though, was that he was +13 in 13 minutes on the floor, meaning OSU was 13 points better than Tech with Boone playing.

And all that came against a ranked opponent in late February when he hadn’t played in two of his teams past three games.

“It goes back to practice,” Boynton said. “If he hadn’t practiced well, I don’t feel the confidence. This is what people from the outside have a hard time understanding because they only watch the game. Every judgement is based on what happens in the game. I’ve gotta do this every day with these guys. The decisions I make on game day, sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong, but they’re pretty thorough. He’s practiced well.”

2. Anderson Does It All

As good as Boone was, Avery Anderson was the Cowboys’ most important player Monday night.

Not only did Anderson score 16 points, he also guarded Mac McClung, Tech’s leading scorer, for much of the night.

After Boone took the lid off the basket of OSU’s near-seven-minute scoreless start to the second half, Anderson poured in eight straight points. At one point during Anderson’s spree, Chris Beard called a timeout, and Mike Boynton caved in Anderson’s chest with excitement.

McClung, meanwhile, finished with 17 points, but did so on 16 shot attempts. He was 1-for-5 from 3-point range.

In overtime, Tech’s Kevin Benson had a breakaway layup attempt that Anderson chased down. He stayed down on the floor grabbing his ankle, but returned a few minutes later to a roaring ovation from GIA.

“I had to,” Anderson said. “I had to finish the game out.”

3. Is It Time for the Brinks Truck?

Mike Boynton’s price tag is only going up.

At some point, schools are going to come calling about a 39-year-old coach who has already signed a No. 1 player. No, he hasn’t won a Tournament game or even been to the Tournament yet, but Boynton is the lowest-paid coach in the Big 12, according to USAToday.

According to that data, Boynton is the No. 62 coach in the country in terms of salary. He made $1.725 million last year. For reference Steve Prohm, the ninth-highest paid coach in the Big 12, made $2,376,450.

Boynton’s deal goes through the 2023-24 season, but his near-$5 million buyout could soon look enticing to a financially rich institution looking to boost its basketball program.

OSU is in an interesting spot where it paid Travis Ford perhaps too soon and didn’t pay Brad Underwood soon enough.

Money is tight everywhere in the world right now, but I’m not sure OSU can afford to lose a guy with this type of passion.

Had to cool the man down ?#NewEra | #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/FTF5ym5C03

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 23, 2021

“Honestly, that’s why I came here, just that kind of energy that he brings to the team,” Kalib Boone said. “He loves Stillwater. He loves the community.”

4. Cunningham Quietly Drops 20

After fouling out in OSU’s first meeting with Tech, Cade Cunningham again got in foul trouble Monday, but he casually dropped 20 points.

He did so efficiently, too, going 8-for-13 from the field. He also had five rebounds and six turnovers. He started off hot with 13 points in the first half. Then he had five points in the second half and a bucket in overtime.

He had some big buckets, too. He pulled OSU even at 59 with 4:16 to play.

Then he hit a cold-blooded step-back a few possessions later.

Anderson and Boone will get a lot of the pub after this OSU win, and rightly so, but Cunningham’s silent 20 points continue to raise his Big 12-leading point average.

5. Bring on Bedlam

How does OSU get to follow up sweeping ranked Texas Tech? How about consecutive Bedlams with a Top-10 OU team?

This season’s postponements have taken a lot away from the college basketball season, but it did Oklahoma sports fans a solid by putting two Bedlams in the span of three days.

It’s so unusual for two Big 12 teams to get this late in the season before playing each other. Who knows how these squads will match up? OU is the better team on paper, but maybe like with how OSU apparently matches up poorly with TCU, OU could matchup poorly against OSU.

The Cowboys also seem to only be able to play close games. The emotions of Monday’s overtime game will only be a fraction of what it’s like for the fans in the stands Saturday and next Monday.