Oklahoma State Struggling in Second Half of Road Games so far in 2018

As I watched the first half of the Oklahoma State-Baylor game unfold on Monday evening in my living room, I was genuinely excited. A legitimate big man, a fundamentally sound point guard, great bench contributions and a superstar who’s not even playing that well yet, I thought.

Then in the second half, OSU did what it has done so far in the Big 12 Conference on the road: It got smoked. OSU has actually played well in first halves on the road this year, averaging 34.3 points to just 36.3 against its opponents.

The second periods, though. Oh man, they’ve been ugly.

???

Baylor’s 50 was actually the fewest points that have been scored on the Pokes in a second half on the road so far in the Big 12. OU put up 59. Kansas State notched 53.

There are numerous reasons for this, of course, and could include the fact that OSU doesn’t have a second part to the game plan or that they just run out of gas at the end of these games on the road.

Interestingly, the story is somewhat the same overall in Big 12 games, even after OSU outscored Texas 40-32 last Saturday in that thrilling win. Here’s a look at how OSU has performed in both halves in all six Big 12 games so far.

That’s 103 points in first halves at home and 103 points in first halves on the road, if you’re wondering. If OSU wants to get to 8-9 wins and into the NCAA Tournament, this is a trend it is going to have to reverse.

Mike Boynton knows it, too.

“Congrats to Coach Drew and his team for playing really well especially in the second half,” said Boynton. “You could tell his team played with a since of hunger, urgency, backs against the wall. Our team, we have to get better, more consistently on the road and that starts with me. I have to be better for our team.”

? The Cowboys couldn’t hold off Baylor’s second half charge last night in Waco. Here’s what @thacoachmike thought after the game. #letswork #okstate pic.twitter.com/glNYmK663c

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) January 16, 2018

Thanks to Jayson Bosell for prompting this question. I don’t always respond, especially like this, but it piqued my curiosity and turned out to be fairly enlightening.

@pistolsguys cumulative first/second half scores on the road in Big 12 play? Feels ugly in my head.

— Jayson Boswell (@JaysonBoswell) January 16, 2018