Notebook: Cowboys Upset No. 19 Florida State

• Color-vs.-color games are the best. Black and turquoise don’t necessarily strike me as aesthetically pleasing, but it seemed to work here. And man, are those black unis pretty.

Instacap: OSU Upsets Unbeaten 19th-Ranked Seminoles 71-70 https://t.co/i9s8iZ2BaT pic.twitter.com/tiMBXEd8Xp

— Kyle Cox (@KyleCoxPFB) December 16, 2017

• Florida State’s pressure-heavy defense gave the Cowboys some serious problems throughout the game. The Cowboys had trouble operating within their half-court offense because the Seminoles denied passes and put pressure on the ball handler. It also physically wore down a lot of OSU players over the course of the game.

• That defense contributed to the Pokes’ 17 turnovers in the game. They better be ready for more teams like this, as they take on Press Virginia at the end of December.

• The Cowboys also played good defense. They forced FSU to commit a season-high 22 turnovers. It appears that the “DEFENSE” practice shorts are paying off.

• Yankuma Sima had a fairly successful first game as a Cowboy. The center showed good touch around the rim and an ability to block out and protect the basket. He will likely take over Lucas N’Guessan’s minutes, who didn’t see the court on Saturday.

• Tavarius Shine has come back from injury as an excellent scoring option for OSU. Shine has had four-straight games with double-digit points, and he went 5/6 today from the field (and made both of his 3-point attempts).

• Jeffrey Carroll started his first game of the season, and the senior looked better than he has in the past. He made some big baskets and finished with 23 points, shooting over 50 percent from 3, going 4-of-7.

• Clip got heated up early in the second capping his own 6-0 run (part of a 10-2) which gave Oklahoma State its first lead of the closing period. It also pushed the senior past 1,000 career points as a Cowboy, just the 41st to ever do so at Oklahoma State.

• Mitchell Solomon might not be the Cowboys’ flashiest player but he’s their most valuable one. He scored the Cowboys’ final two baskets including the game-winner and took the game-sealing charge. His ability to box out, rebound, defend the post and get putbacks is invaluable. It’s funny because when he first got to OSU, many people considered him a bust because he clearly lacked confidence shooting the ball and didn’t exactly stick out on the stat sheet. But it’s the little things that make Solomon great, and this game has made that clear.

• Mike Boynton’s team continues to put an emphasis on drawing charges and it wasn’t just Solomon’s game-saver either. Lindy Waters drew a charge on Angola on two-straight possessions early in the second, giving the sophomore wing his third and fourth personal fouls, sending FSU’s second-leading scorer to the bench. Angola came in averaging 12.7 points on 50 percent shooting and 42.9 percent from 3, but struggled to a 1-of-6 finish and going 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.

• The Cowboys got out-rebounded 23-14 in the first half and the broadcast team quoted Mike Boynton on making rebounding a big focus for the second half. The Cowboys were able to do just that, flipping the script and out-rebounding the Seminoles, 19-16, in the final period.

• This gives Mike Boynton his first signature win as head coach. After watching this game and the adjustments he made on both sides, which we’ll delve into in a coming article, I’m all in on MB. You should be, too.