Five Thoughts on OSU’s 85-79 Loss to West Virginia

BOX SCORE

West Virginia upended OSU 85-79 in GIA on Friday evening behind double digits from six (!) different players. The Pokes got 17 from both Tavarius Shine and Jeffrey Carroll, but only one other player (Lindy Waters) finished with double digits.

The Cowboys ran out of steam somewhere in the second half and couldn’t restart the engine fast enough to win their Big 12 opener against the No. 7 team in the country. There were some fluky numbers and highlight-worthy plays along the way.

I had some thoughts. Let’s get into them.

1. Mike Boynton is holding his own and that’s no small feat

The rookie head coach has done well for himself and his team through his first 13 games. He has his team, that was picked to finish last in the Big 12, playing hard and playing with probably the best team in the conference from top to bottom. He had a good game plan and his team executed it pretty well. They came up short, but were by no means out of this one at any time.

Boynton just took his first dip in a baptism by fire that is conference play in this league. In a sport like college basketball where coaching is so important, the Big 12 represents a murderer’s row. Tonight Boytnon matched wits with Bob Huggins, the seventh-winningest coach in Div-I history now with 831 wins. Boynton has 10.

Who knows how far Boynton can lead this team? Coming into this year we pegged him as the small fish in big waters, but he’s quickly shedding that moniker.

2. Bob Huggins showed us what to expect for Jeffrey Carroll

The veteran defensive mind was focused on keeping the ball out of OSU’s best player’s hands and then denying him good looks once he got it. Carroll is going to be facing the same strategy in just about every game this season.

You could see the senior wing forcing the issue a bit late after being denied the ball early. He came up with some big shots but ended just 5 of 12 from the field. It’s an adjustment that Carroll and his coaching staff is going to have to continue to work through. It’s much easier to get quality shots when you’re playing off of a future NBA player like Jawun Evans.

3. Gotta make the free ones

OSU came in ranked third in the nation shooting 81 percent from the charity stripe. The team went 25 of 36 for 69 percent but most of those misses were at inopportune times down the stretch. Most of that fell on Carroll who came in shooting 81 percent from the stripe himself but went 5-of-10.

A lot of that probably came from running away from West Virginia’s best perimeter defenders all night and you could see Boynton resting him on defensive possessions to try and recharge those legs.

4. Tavarius Shined in the first half

Tavarius Shine has been a pleasant surprise this season and came out to make a statement against West Virginia. Shine had 15 first-half points. His career high was 20 earlier this year against Wichita State.

Shine, like Lindy Waters, gives OSU so much in his ability to fill the stat sheet and just make plays. Is he an all-conference talent? No. But he’s turned into a really solid college basketball player and a welcome surprise for Mike Boynton.

5. OSU played “let West Virginia be West Virginia” and it almost worked

The Cowboys turned it over three times in the first minute and ended one shy of a season high with 21 TOs and lost the battle of the offensive boards and in total rebounds. But some hot shooting in the first half nullified the Mountaineers’ extra possessions.

The Cowboys handled Huggins’ patented full-court press pretty well for most of the game and did not settle for a ton of 3-pointers. OSU finished 6-of-17 but a lot of those came late with the Cowboys trying to make a run. Again, it didn’t earn them the desired result but you can’t be too down on this team after a game like this.

6. (Bonus) This team is resilient

The Cowboys looked like they had upset on the mind but went through a seven-minute field goal drought went it needed it least. West Virginia methodically wears teams down like this.

But just when you thought this team might hang its head and turn it in, it pulled out a couple of plays and were one questionable replay review and some missed free throws from pulling off a big-time upset. I don’t expect this team to win every game but I do expect them to be in most of them and I think that starts from the top.

Next up: Bedlam Part 1. The Sooners, in Trae Young’s wake look for a little payback after going 0-2 against the Cowboys last season.