Instacap: Cowboys Down Sooners 71-60 to Advance in Big 12 Tourney

The 8-seeded Cowboys took down the 9 seed Sooners 71-60 on Wednesday evening to earn the first Big 12 Tournament win of Mike Boynton’s (and his entire roster’s) career.

The rims were not kind or soft early. The Cowboys started 3 of 5 from the field but that percentage rapidly dropped. The Sooners started out 1 of 8 from the field (and 1 of 4 from the free throw line).

The Cowboys kept the Sooners at forearm’s length through most of the first half and pushed their lead as high as 14 and took a 39-28 lead into the break behind 9 first-half points each from Kendall Smith and Jeffrey Carroll (3 of 5 from 3).

Cam McGriff set fire to the second half with activities like this.

Cam slam. pic.twitter.com/pHiseYQ2fE

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) March 8, 2018

Kendall Smith subbed out after picking up his third foul with 14:31 left and the Cowboys up 16. Over the next four minutes, the Cowboys’ lead evaporated as the Sooners, led by Trae Young, surged to a 12-2 run to pull within 6.

But the Cowboys held on and Trae Young and the Sooners never got closer than 4. Jeffrey Carroll and Tavarius Shine combined for the Cowboys’ final five made field goals and 11 points to put it away.

When it was over

After pulling to with 56-51 with eight minutes left, the Sooners ran out of steam. While the Pokes heated up down the stretch, the Sooners grew cold. Oklahoma State went on a 7-0 run to push the lead out of OU’s reach and the Sooners went 1 of 10 from the field from the nine minute mark to less than three minutes remaining.

Player of the game

Cam McGriff was the Cowboys’ offense for most of the second half. Through the first half of the final frame, OSU scoring distribution looked like this — Cam McGriff 11 points, Brandon Averette 2 points, the rest of the team, zero.

McGriff finished with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting (4 of 5 from 3) and grabbed nine boards. G.A.M.!

Stat you should know

The Cowboys owned the Sooners on the boards, out-rebounding OU 53-27 (practically double) and beat them on the offensive glass 18-5 earning a 19-2 advantage in second-change points. It was a difference in effort, plain and simple.

What’s next

The Cowboys will face No. 1 seed Kansas at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow for a chance to go 3-0 against the Big 12 champs and further boost their NCAA resume.