Mike Boynton After WVU Loss: ‘I Think We Have a Pretty Good Team’

Oklahoma State fell in its Big 12 opener on Friday against West Virginia 85-79 despite rolling with the No. 7 team in the nation for most of the game. The rhythm of the game, a far cry from OSU’s 2016-17 Big 12 opener in which it got thumped 92-70, elicited several tweets from national writers about both the Big 12 and OSU.

I can't see Oklahoma State getting worse instead of better. If this is the worst team in the Big 12, good damn luck doing this 18 times everybody.

— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) December 30, 2017

Oklahoma State was picked to finish LAST in the Big 12? That's as good of a 10th place team as I've seen. This conference. This league. Here. We. Go.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 30, 2017

And head coach Mike Boynton addressed questions about how the Pokes were able to hang with Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers.

“I’m biased, I think the team is a lot better than everybody else does,” said Boynton. “I think everybody’s surprised that we don’t look horrible. I think that’s kind of like, what everybody’s waiting, like, why does this team not suck? I don’t buy into that.

“I think we’re pretty good. I think we have a pretty good team. I’m proud of the effort, but in this league you can’t just play hard, you have to play well. Even when you play well, it doesn’t guarantee anything.”

Always appreciate Mike Boynton’s candor. No different tonight. “I think everybody’s surprised that we don’t look horrible. I think that’s kind of like, what everybody’s waiting, like, why does this team not suck? I don’t buy into that. I think we’re pretty good.” #okstate pic.twitter.com/pcvcIRGk15

— Mark Cooper (@mark_cooperjr) December 30, 2017

I love this from Boynton. Equal parts self-deprecation and swagger. That’s a thin line to walk, and neither of OSU’s last two coaches did it all that well. Travis Ford had the swagger but no self-deprecation. Brad Underwood had the opposite. Boynton seems to have both, but will results (and recruits) follow?

“I told him he’s doing a heck of a job,” said Huggins of Boynton. “I watch them on tape and they’re good. We can’t make the ball for our guys. Our job is to put them in positions where they can be successful and I think he does that.

“They’re the same team I think. Their guys have really stepped up. (Lindy) Waters is really good. Those guys that were freshmen are good now. Hopefully like ours, they grow up. Man, this is a hard league. People don’t understand how hard this league is. I’ve been in a bunch of them and this is the hardest league I’ve ever coached in.”

This season will be a lot of things. Interesting, exciting and excruciating among them. But with Boynton’s swag and a team intent on proving itself in the nasty Big 12, I’m far more optimistic right now than I was, say, two months ago.