Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 86-72 Victory against Syracuse

BOX SCORE

Mike Boynton and the Cowboys looked right at home in Brooklyn.

Oklahoma State torched Syracuse 86-72 on Wednesday night in the Barclays Center as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Cowboys are 6-0 on the year and will play Ole Miss in the tournament’s championship game on Friday.

Isaac Likekele took over in the second half, scoring 14 of his 26 points. Likekele and fellow sophomore Yor Anei combined for 45 of OSU’s points.

Syracuse finally got out of its patented 2-3 zone late to press the Cowboys a little, and Thomas Dziagwa was able to benefit from that.

OSU started the game on an 11-0 run, but Syracuse answered with a 10-0 run. The Orange were up 21-14 with 9:06 left in the half, and it looked like Syracuse’s zone would dominate the Pokes all night.

However, OSU finished the half on an 11-4 run that included three Chris Harris 3s. That sent the Cowboys into the locker room with a 43-31 lead that the Orange wouldn’t recover from.

Here are five thoughts from the Cowboys’ sixth win of the year.

1. Ice Is a Bad Man

Isaac Likekele is going to play in the NBA some day.

It’s a thought I’ve thought for a while now, but I haven’t jumped all the way on the wagon. I thought, ‘Well maybe his shot isn’t good enough.’ Although that still needs some work, Likekele is plenty good enough. Just ask these three Syracuse defenders trying to stop him on a break.

Fran Fraschilla called Likekele a “little Mack truck masquerading as a point guard.” The one they call Ice had a career-high 26 points to go with five rebounds, eight assists and five steals. He was 8-for-11 from the field and 9-for-10 from the foul line.

Syracuse started trapping as the game got out of hand, and Likekele basically laughed it off as calm as can be. He bullied his way through traps and either drove down the floor, or did something like this:

I wrote a long-form piece on Likekele’s journey to OSU before the Big 12 Tournament last season. For it I talked to one of his AAU coaches. I asked the coach what OSU fans could expect from Likekele for the next four years. The coach paused for a second before giving a respectable answer.

Afterward he told me, “I don’t think he’ll be there for four years.”

2. More Yor

First off, this:

Yor Anei was outstanding again Wednesday night. He had 19 points (one away from a career best), eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Almost as impressive as Likekele, Anei was 6-for-9 from the field and 7-for-8 from the line. Anei was also a team-best plus-26.

He was able to find holes in the zone, and when things did break down and OSU had to heave a shot up, Anei got on the end of a few missed attempts and put them back in.

OSU’s two-man sophomore class is something special.

3. A Game of Runs

There’s a saying that basketball is “a game of runs.” That’s especially true when a zone team like Syracuse playing.

Syracuse is at its best when it’s making shots (duh). But when the Orange missed, OSU pushed the ball down the floor before Syracuse could get set up and scored with ease. But if the Orange make a shot, OSU has to pick the ball out of the net and couldn’t run. Thus, Syracuse gets set up.

It’s a double whammy either way it goes. That’s what led to OSU starting the game on an 11-0 run just for Syracuse to respond with an 18-3 run.

In the second half, Syracuse ripped off a 9-0 run in under two minutes that made it 58-48, but by then OSU had just gotten too far away.

4. What Team Should Be Worried about the Other’s Defense Again?

All the talk going into this game was: “How is OSU going to deal with that stingy zone?”

It should’ve been: “How is Syracuse going to handle all that pressure?”

At one point in the second half, OSU was shooting 51 percent from the field to Syracuse’s 28 percent. The Orange finished just 26 percent from 3-point range, while OSU, who struggled some with the deep ball going in, shot 35 percent from 3.

5. Rotation Questions Answered?

Chris Harris was 1-for-8 from 3 entering Wednesday night, and then he started doing this:

Harris’ 18 minutes were most among OSU bench players. In that time, he had nine points (all 3s), three rebounds, two assists.

Hidde Roessink returned after getting injured in the UMKC game, and he finished seventh in minutes played with 16. Then came Anderson (eight minutes), Kalib Boone (seven minutes), Jonathan Laurent (three minutes) and Keylan Boone (two minutes).

Both of Keylan’s minutes came in the first half. I’m not sure if he picked up a knock or if Boynton was just riding some hot hands in the second. Laurent didn’t check in until there were 4:44 to go.

This is probably an odd game to extrapolate from with Syracuse playing a specific style that OSU won’t see too often. It could also get mixed up a bit if/when Marcus Watson returns from suspension.