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Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 80–71 Win Over Iowa State

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6 years ago

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BOX SCORE

Oklahoma State earned its third road win of the season in a place where wins haven’t come easy in a long time. The Cowboys led the game for over 36 minutes and pushed through scoring droughts with effort on defense and on the glass to earn the win.

Here are five thoughts on the night.

1. Cam McGriff might be OSU’s best player next season

With Jeff Carroll, Mitch Solomon and Kendall Smith prepping for their Senior Night on Saturday, there will be a lot to replace in Year 2 of the Mike Boynton era. That’s a bit daunting but there are a couple of guys with potential. At the top of that list, for me, is the Crime Dog himself.

A case could (and should) be made for Tavarius Shine who has looked like OSU’s best player for stretches this season. Or Lindy Waters, whose blood temp is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But McGriff has shown the ability to take over games more than I’ve seen from either of them.

McGriff plays both ways with effort and has had several of those stretches like he did early against Iowa State, when he scored 10 of OSU’s 12 points. He’s got loads of potential and I can’t wait to see how much higher he can push his ceiling.

2. The Cowboys didn’t turn it in

This season has not unfolded the way OSU fans wanted — especially after we started sipping the orange Kool-Aid following wins over OU, Kansas and West Virginia. But this group, for its inconsistency and those second halves that slipped away, has persevered through a lot.

After once again failing to pay off a signature win — and this time with a last-second heart-breaker from Texas — Mike Boynton’s team came out with a fire and played with effort for most of 40 minutes. Credit to the team and credit to the coaching staff.

3. Some cool history was made

Jeffrey Carroll and Mitchell Solomon became the first Cowboys to earn wins at every in-conference arena since the Class of 1954. And they did it in their final regular season road game, on an opposing team’s Senior Night, in a place OSU had not won since 2010.

Is this the type of thing, OSU fans want to have to get excited about? No. Has the Hilton’s magic waned this season? Yes.

But in a rebuilding year, with a rookie head coach and a depleted roster and with some controversy sprinkled in, it’s a great stone to step into Senior Night on. Let’s see if they Cowboys can make some more history on Saturday by sweeping Kansas for the first time since 1982-83 season.

4. Mike Boynton had no pity for the Cyclones

For as depleted as Oklahoma State’s roster has been for stretches this year, Steve Prohm’s group is thinner. After losing Nick Weiler-Babb and Solomon Young for the season to injury and with Iowa State fielding just eight active players, Boynton seemed intent on gassing the Cyclones early, and it worked.

The Cowboys pressed and bothered and ran the Cyclones tired for most of the night. And when the home team looked like it might be able to climb back into it late, its legs failed, with seven-straight shots drawing iron or worse down a crucial stretch of the second half while OSU was able to put it away.

5. There’s still a chance

So here’s where about half of you (the sane ones) roll your eyes. Yes, Oklahoma State is on the outs of the NCAA Tournament according to anyone’s projection you look at. And yes, it would take an absolute miracle finish and probably a win or two in the Big 12 Tournament to make you feel comfortable about its prospects.

But we said weeks ago that OSU needed to his the eight-win mark in conference play to have a shot. It might need more than that at this point but the aforementioned historic sweep of the Big 12 champs and some noise in Kansas City might be enough to bolster the Cowboys’ case.

Other Notes

• Lindy Waters’ shooting stroke reminds me of why I liked basketball movies when I was a kid. That’s something you don’t say publicly when he’s going through a slump but the sophomore is 11 of 14 from beyond the arc in the last three games so it’s back, baby.

#LindyChitwood

• Kendall Smith got fouled on a 3-pointer, missed everything on the first try and split the next two. The “air ball” chants from the City of Ames must have had an effect on the normally-adequate free throw shooter. He ended the night 1 for 6 from the charity stripe.

• I’d like to pretend that this was Boynton’s immediate reaction after the air ball. It wasn’t.

• Update on seeding implications for Kansas City.

• I don’t remember any two players getting confused for each other by various broadcast crews more often than Kendall Smith and Jeffrey Carroll.

• ISU started the final frame 1 of 12 from the field and 0 for 3 in the first seven minutes of the second half. They followed that with 6-of-10 streak and making 5 of 6 3s, but then missed their next seven shots. Streaky.

• Donovan Jackson, who hung 30 on the Pokes in Stillwater, started 2-of-3 from 3, before missing three straight shots. But the senior who was playing his last home game just days after his father’s funeral, caught fire in the second and almost single-handedly shot his team back into the game.

• Jackson addressed the crowd before his final game in Ames. Pretty incredible stuff.

 

 

 

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