Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 83-66 Victory against Oklahoma

BOX SCORE

STILLWATER — After starting the conference season 0-8, the Cowboys are tied for eighth in the Big 12 standings.

Oklahoma State pummeled Oklahoma 83-66 on Saturday afternoon in Gallagher-Iba Arena, marking the Cowboys’ first Bedlam win since beating the Trae Young-led Sooners in the Big 12 Tournament in 2018. Here are five thoughts from the contest.

1. Cam a Killer in Final Bedlam

Cam McGriff had played in eight Bedlam games entering Saturday, and he saved his best for last (unless they meet in Kansas City).

McGriff tied a career-high of 28 points and added seven boards all while spending a good chunk of the time guarding Sooner sharpshooter Brady Manek.

McGriff obviously isn’t a lifelong Oklahoman, coming to OSU from the DFW area, but in spending four years in Stillwater, he jokes that he has gained his citizenship, bragging he knows how to say Miami (my-am-uh).

“It’s a huge game for our fans and this university,” McGriff said. “Being a kid from Grand Prairie, Texas, I really didn’t know how much it meant to the state of Oklahoma until I actually got here. It’s definitely a moment I’ll cherish for a pretty long time, all my life.”

Usually when the phrase “inside out” is uttered in basketball it is in reference to a drive and kick or a post player catching the ball inside and finding an open man on the perimeter, but McGriff played his own game of inside out Saturday.

McGriff had 16 first-half points, just three of which came from behind the arch. Instead, he was punishing OU, a team that lacks size, on the inside.

In the second half, Manek was essentially daring McGriff to shoot from the perimeter, sagging a few feet off of him, and shoot McGriff did.

After a few of those, McGriff had his confidence about him, and it was far too late for OU with shots like this dagger going in.

McGriff finished 11-for-17 (65 percent) from the field and 4-for-6 (67 percent) from 3. It was the eighth straight game he has scored in double figures as he winds down his collegiate career.

“Cam, for the better part of a month, has been our most consistent player quite honestly,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “Even in the games we haven’t won, he’s played the right way and the way that we need more guys to play like. It actually started the week heading into the last Bedlam matchup. He got pretty emotional in practice a couple times and let the guys know that he was going to lay it all on the line. He’s done that, and I’m glad for him that his shot fell today. It started with his defense on Brady Manek; that was his assignment. I’m just really proud of him.”

2. Manek Silenced

Brady Manek set torch to the Cowboys in Norman earlier this month, scoring 30 points, 21 of which came from 3-point range.

Against OSU on Saturday, Manek scored just two points, going 1-for-8 from the field.

“They use him a lot, so making him play both ends of the court,” McGriff said. “We pushed the ball into Kalib (Boone) when he was guarding him. Over time, it might’ve wore him down just a little bit. Also, knowing where he is on the court when he’s on offense. Over time, it’s hard to play as many minutes as he does at a high, high level.”

Manek played 30 minutes Saturday but was a game-worst minus-20.

3. Boone’s Big First Half

At 6-foot-9, Manek is the tallest player in OU’s starting lineup, and he’s viewed more as a perimeter player than a post player.

The Cowboys hammered the Sooners’ lacking post play early and freshman (and Tulsa native) Kalib Boone got to do the hammering. Boone scored 12 points in the first half, missing only one of his six shots. It started early. In his first four minutes on the floor, Boone had eight points.

He finished the game with 14 points. It was the fifth time in his freshman season he reached double figures and the third in the Cowboys’ past five games.

“It was just crazy because when I first committed here, I came here two years ago, and I saw them play OU when they had Trae Young,” Boone said. “I just saw the atmosphere, and I was like, ‘This is the game I want to play in. I can’t wait to play in it.’ Getting to play them this year, my freshman year and we come out with the win, it felt amazing.”

4. Ice Great While Being Average

A lot is said about this OSU team being at its best when Isaac Likekele is at his best.

A stroll through Saturday’s box score might put that into question, but despite having just two points on 1-for-8 shooting, OSU’s sophomore point guard still had his fingerprints on this game.

What he might have lacked on the offensive end, Likekele made up for it on the other end of the floor. He had three steals. He also had a team-best four assists. Oh, and his plus-26 was nine points better than the next highest player, McGriff.

5. Orange Blazer Boynton

At some point of every OSU pregame warm-up in GIA, Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement” will blare on the arena speakers as Brooklyn native Mike Boynton walks out of the locker room.

Boynton’s emergence is always met with cheers, but it nearly broke into pandemonium Saturday as Boynton was donning an orange sport coat.

It’s a Kurt Budke classic to wear the orange blazer and something many coaches on the men’s and women’s side have imitated.

OSU’s players apparently didn’t get the memo of Boynton’s outfit decisions until they also saw him emerge during warm ups.

“When we saw, I was like, ‘That’s hard. That’s tough,'” Boone said. “I was like, ‘That’s tough.'”

Boynton’s blazers don’t usually last long. It’s somewhat of a running joke when he gets so into the action on the floor that he takes it off, but he said it was important that this one stayed on the whole game and even into his postgame presser.

“I’ve talked time and time again on what it means for me to be the coach here,” Boynton said. “I have a deep understanding of the history and tradition of this program. This is Mr. (Henry) Iba’s program, Coach (Eddie) Sutton’s basketball program. Obviously Coach Budke was a big part of our women’s program. I stand on those guys’ shoulders all the time and am thankful for the opportunity to do so.

“It’s also about our fans. Bedlam is a big deal. I’ve never shied away from that. For our fans to understand how committed we are as a whole group, this is just a small token of what it means to play in this game and have an opportunity to represent Oklahoma State in it. It’s really, really important. I hope it looked good because I don’t like coaching with a jacket on. It’s pretty hot, but it was important today.”