Stat of the Week: The Key to Back-to-Back Big 12 Sweeps for OSU

Oklahoma State ran a depleted Iowa State team ragged inside Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday night. There were several things to point to that facilitated the win but the biggest stat that jumps off of the page is the difference in second-chance points.

The Cowboys bested the Cyclones 24-4 in that category and it’s one that signifies a combination of effort and effectiveness.

We often laud a team for earning offensive rebounds, sometimes a little bit falsely. Defensive rebounds are supposed to be yours and offensive boards are a bonus. But offensive boards mean you missed the shot. Therefore, teams that shoot a lower field goal percentage will have more of an opportunity to pad that stat.

On Tuesday night in Ames, it was more than that. The Cowboys bullied the Cyclones in the paint with guys like Mitchell Solomon, Jeffrey Carroll and Cam McGriff getting the best of their matchups and grabbing 11 of the Cowboys 14 offensive boards. But it was their ability to pay it off with a 20-point differential in second-chance scoring that made the difference.

Though the last-placed 4-13 Cyclones share little in common with the first-placed 13-4 Jayhawks, the recipe to beat both in back-to-back games (and conference sweeps) is pretty much the same.

When the Cowboys upset the Rock Chalk faction in Lawrence, they won the battle of the offensive glass 16-10 but also held another lopsided advantage (26-7) in second-chance points over KU.

Oklahoma State is ranked 41st in offensive rebound percentage. Iowa State is 143rd and Kansas ranks 173rd in the nation in that metric. As mentioned above, missed shots feed offensive boards and both teams have a higher field goal percentage than Oklahoma State;s 43.8 percent on the season. Iowa State is slightly better at 43.9 percent, but Kansas’ is much higher at 49.7 percent.

But when the Cowboys won in Lawrence, they missed two less field goals than the Jayhawks and earned those second-chance points. If OSU can earn those extra shots and pay them off in front of what should be a lively crowd in GIA, it will vastly increase its odds of pulling off an historic sweep and boosting any fleeting hopes it has at an NCAA berth.