Saturday’s Victory Puts Cowboys in Exclusive Club With Two Ranked Road Wins in 2018

By now, Oklahoma State basketball fans know to expect the unexpected. This season has been as unpredictable as the weather in Oklahoma. Just when it seems the Cowboys have found their stride, they’ve found a way to disappoint. Conversely, when it seemed like the season was all but over, they take out the defibrillator and throttle their season back to life.

That’s what happened Saturday in Morgantown. The 88-85 victory gives Mike Boynton and co. two road victories against ranked teams (and three if you count December’s neutral-site victory against Florida State).

OSU has beaten No. 7 Kansas, No, 19 WVU and No. 19 Florida State away from GIA This year. They joined OU, Kansas, Florida and Texas A&M as the only teams to accomplish this feat during the 2017-18 season.

.@OSUMBB is 1 of 5 teams this season to defeat 2 ranked teams on the road, joining Oklahoma, Kansas, Florida, and Texas A&M.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 10, 2018

What’s more impressive is they’ve knocked off ranked opponents on the road in back-to-back weekends to join up with that FSU win in December.

Each of the three road or neutral-site victories this season has been by five points or fewer. The Cowboys blew a late lead in Lubbock on Jan. 23 against a ranked Texas Tech team, and it seems losses like that have helped them compose themselves in hostile environments deep in games.

They have now won back-to-back road games over ranked opponents for the first time since winning at No. 25 Texas and No. 16 Baylor in February 2015.

Kendall Smith and Cam McGriff have been instrumental in the past two instances. McGriff started in both of the recent upsets, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine boards in each.

Smith was incredibly clutch against KU, and he has averaged 22 points, four rebounds and four assists in the pair of games against the Jayhawks and Mountaineers.

???#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/pIhefLPSxM

— Boone Pickens State (@BP_State) February 10, 2018

Regardless of where the Cowboys are when the season ends, they’ve gained valuable experience and learned how to handle adverse situations. That’ll come in handy if OSU is able to squeeze into March’s dance.