WACO, Texas — "Who is that guy?” a loud member of the Baylor student section asked another as Terrel Harris knocked down a pair of free throws in the first half.
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"I don't know, but he's killing us,” he responded.
Harris had 23 points for Oklahoma State, but so did Baylor's Henry Dugat, as the Bears handed OSU yet another road loss — beating the Cowboys 79-71 on Tuesday.
Dugat matched up with Harris defensively, forcing eight turnovers.
"He seems to always play well against us,” OSU coach Sean Sutton said of the Baylor guard. "We had a hard time slowing him down. He got them off to a great start in the second half.”
In a back-and-forth game where nobody seemed able to grab a substantial lead, Dugat scored impressively on two consecutive Baylor possessions to put the Bears up 58-51 with about 8 ½ minutes to play. He had the rebound on OSU's next miss and a pass to Aaron Bruce, who hit a 3-pointer that gave Baylor a 10-point lead, the biggest lead of the game to that point.
"(Guarding Dugat) was a tough task,” said Harris, who shouldered blame, saying his turnovers were major factors in the loss. "He was just moving a lot and really making it hard. He made it hard for me to guard him and not get that 5th foul.”
The last 12 minutes OSU also played without leading scorer James Anderson, who left the game with an ankle injury. Between his absence and Harris's foul trouble, OSU wore down on defense at the end. The Cowboys stayed in the game, but never got closer than four points in the last five minutes.
The loss was OSU's 15th straight on the road. The streak is the fourth-longest road losing streak in school history, behind a 21-game streak in the late 1920s, a 19-game streak in the late ‘70s into 1980, and an 18-game streak from 1970-73.
Unlike a number of road losses last year where OSU seemed to lack intensity, the Cowboys were competitive until the final minute.
"I was really proud of our effort,” Sutton said. "We competed hard enough to win the game…(but) you can't turn it over 22 times and you can't miss 15 free throws and expect to beat a good team.”
OSU had its best rebounding performance of the season, grabbing 39 rebounds to Baylor's 31, but its most missed free throws.
The Cowboys were shooting a Big 12-best 79 percent from the line heading into Tuesday's game but made just 17-of-32.
OSU has only turned the ball over more times once this season, in its win over Texas-San Antonio.
"The effort was there, we competed,” OSU senior Marcus Dove said. "Turnovers killed us and free throws killed us. We gotta play a lot smarter.”
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As much as I would like us to get Self, I have to agree with Scott. It's just not going to happen. We all love our alma mater and OSU has a solid basketball tradition. But let's face it, it's not Kansas. Kansas is easily one of the top 3-4 college basketball jobs in the country. I'm sure OSU could come up with the money with a little help from Pickens, but it won't be the money, it will be the tradition and the program he has there. Sure Roy Williams left Kansas, but he left for North Carolina.
You guys are killing me with the Bill Self talk. No amount of money would draw him away from the all-pro teams he has every year one state north of here.
But something needs to be done with the coaching situation barring a miraculous turnaround with this team. Sean is winless in road games. Zero wins. I don't know if he had any road wins in 2006 either even though those aren't on his record.
First, Terrel had a good scoring night and that was about it. He had 8 really bad turnovers, most of which were just awful passes that a JV kid wouldn't make. The problem with the team is that every time we start to gain a little confidence during a game, we throw the ball away and give the momentum right back to the opposition. It seems like we choose to make our mistakes at the very worst possible times. How many times did we steal the ball or block a shot just to turn the ball back over on our posession? We can't do that and expect to win away games.
This team is getting better and more disciplined. Intensity has picked up because they are beginning to settle into their starting line up, sixth man and roles for the others. Team chemistry is beginning to click. The more support from the fan base the better you will see this team play. Do you think the play of the cowgirls improved when they knew how full and loud GIA was going to be? These Cowboys need the same support!
15 missed free throws. Make 5 of those, and you probably have a victory, since there wouldnt have been a need to foul down the stretch. Losing Anderson didn't help. Remember, this is a VASTLY improved Baylor team, at home nonetheless. The nail in the coffin was when Eaton drove the lane, OSU down three with a few minutes to go, and was called for a charge when it was clear his defender was moving. That killed them. I don't feel bad about this loss at all, we'll see how the ISU game goes.
They did fight a lot harder last night. I really kind of expected them to fold when Anderson got hurt, but they hung until the last minute or so. Let's just hope Anderson is not seriously hurt. I thought another positive sign was Terrel Harris' game, at both end of the court. Maybe he's rediscovered his shooting touch. We have to have his scoring. I think Sean's aggravation was more a reaction to the whole night's poor foul shooting, not just to Obi. Granted, this bunch just doesn't seem to play the kind of hard-nosed Cowboy baskeball we were used to with Eddie, but if you compare this team to say the 2004 Final Four team, we don't have anywhere near the overall talent or athleticism. There were 2-3 disasterous recruiting years in there. Way too many mistakes, either not the player they thought, academics, character issues, or whatever. We do have some young guys with potential. We'll just have to see if Sean can bring them around.
I agree with Stephen. The effort appeared to be there last night, but it looked like we just didn't know how to step up and win the game at the end. There was an evident lack of poise at crunch time last night. While Eaton did have some turnovers, I have to admit that he played very well for a point guard - he drove the lane and dished quite a bit. He has slimmed down, too, and you could tell it helped him on the defensive end. I saw a lot of 'high fives' last night from the guys, meaning everyone was in the game, trying hard. I was disappointed when Sean showed his aggravation when Obi missed a free throw...not cool. But, all in all, I like the improvement. I don't however, see any post-season play for this year's squad.
That's what OSU basketball was built on. The problem with this current era of Cowboy basketball is they have no discipline on offense and take bad shot after bad shot. Eddie knew what he was doing and it's not wise to stray from that path to success.
This Cowboy team is young and will continue to make lots of mistakes as the season goes on. What I was looking for that was missing in many earlier games was intensity. For the last two games, I've begun to see a team that plays hard (not for the whole game yet, but certainly for long stretches) and one that can be competitive. I still expect this team to finish near the bottom of the Big 12, but I'm beginning to see hope for the future.
Go Pokes!
Scott, I have to agree that this loss was less of a disaster than the sleepwalks taken in Maui. But intensity does not equal success. It was still a loss and still caused by the same lack offensive discipline, lazy defense and poor fee throw shooting we have had to stomach for the past few years. Is it a coaching thing? I guess the buck has to stop there. The difference between prior years and this year is that there is no "go to guy" in the group when you need that spark to turn a game around.
The intensity was there unlike those ugly losses in Maui where absolutely no defense was played. turnovers and missed free throws can be corrected. I've complained about Eaton as much or more than anyone but without him on the floor, we don't have anyone who can bring the ball up the floor. Nick panicks when they press and they seem to press every time he's in. But still - Eaton had ONE assist and FIVE turnovers. Dove kept getting the ball down low and instead of going up immediately - he'd dribble and step on the base line. If they play with that level of intensity at Iowa State they'll snap that road-loss streak. And Ibrahima Thomas is looking better and better every game while Martavius Adams is a turnover waiting to happen.
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OSU's Terrel Harris, right, looks to drive past Baylor's Tweety Carter on Tuesday in Waco, Texas. Associated press
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But something needs to be done with the coaching situation barring a miraculous turnaround with this team. Sean is winless in road games. Zero wins. I don't know if he had any road wins in 2006 either even though those aren't on his record.
Dedication
Defense
That's what OSU basketball was built on. The problem with this current era of Cowboy basketball is they have no discipline on offense and take bad shot after bad shot. Eddie knew what he was doing and it's not wise to stray from that path to success.
Go Pokes!