Oklahoma's Tony Crocker, left, reacts after making a basket after OSU's Byron Eaton fouled out during the Sooners' Bedlam victory at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater on Wednesday. by BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Oklahoma State's Marcus Dove walks off the court after OSU's 68-56 loss in the Bedlam game at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater on Wednesday. by BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
STILLWATER — Finally, after ups and downs and twists and turns, after writing off and bringing back both of these basketball teams time after time this wacky winter, we have resolution concerning the NCAA Tournament fate of our state's two Big 12 schools.
The Oklahoma Sooners are, without question, worthy of inclusion in the madness of March.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys, without question, are not.
Those truths became evident with the stunning verdict Wednesday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Blake Griffin-less Sooners waxed the high-riding Cowboys, 68-56.
In a season that until the last three weeks had been one massive disappointment after another, this ranks as the most discouraging OSU defeat.
Coach Sean Sutton called it "puzzling.” Senior Marcus Dove called it "embarrassing.”
The stage was set for State. Home floor. Arch-rival. A five-game winning streak that relieved the heat off the beleaguered Sutton and promised to make this an interesting month for Cowboy hoops. And no Griffin, the primo OU freshman who had minor knee surgery Sunday and without whom the Sooners surely were in peril.
Seemed like a script for a blowout, and darned if it didn't happen. The other way.
OSU's defense evaporated late in the first half, and the Sooners seized this game. From a 30-29 deficit in the final seconds of the first half, OU zoomed to a 55-42 lead with eight minutes to go.
"Wasn't the same team I've been watching,” Sutton said. "I don't know why that was. We just didn't have the same energy level we had been playing with.”
By the time OSU remembered to play desperate defense, which had been the lynchpin of its winning streak, it was too late.
All of which means an end to the Cowboy dream of winning at Texas, doing a little damage in the Big 12 Tournament and convincing the NCAA committee to take a flier on a 13-loss team.
"This could have been one step closer to getting into the (NCAA) Tournament,” OSU point guard Byron Eaton said. "Now it's one step back.”
Now, short of an unlikely run through Kansas City, OSU's attention turns to Sutton. Did the Cowboys do enough down the stretch to make their coach's return automatic? Probably. But you never know.
This game certainly sets off the same alarms that rang through December and January, when the Cowboys tumbled to the virtual bottom of the Big 12.
"They just came in with a tougher mindset and beat us,” said Dove, one of the few Cowboys to play well. "For us to come in here and play like this is unexplainable.”
Eaton and Sutton explained it by saying the Cowboys relaxed with the Sooners void of Griffin. But OU barely felt the loss of its oxen rookie. The Sooners still shoved the ball inside, mainly to Longar Longar, who took shots on six of OU's first seven possessions. OSU stringbean Ibrahima Thomas was no match for Longar's NBA-like backing in, and Longar had 10 points the first 11 minutes.
Later, it was OU wing man Tony Crocker whom the Cowboys failed to corral. Crocker scored 11 points in the final four minutes of the first half and finished with 25 points.
OU shot 47.7 percent from the field, and it would have been an even 50 percent had not Crocker missed a wide-open dunk in the final seconds. These Sooners are not in the habit of sniffing 50 percent shooting. Yet they were coolly efficient Wednesday night.
"Defensively, we weren't playing the way we have been lately,” Eaton said.
OU coach Jeff Capel outfoxed Sutton.The Sooners' ever-changing defense — usually a zone; OU had no hope of containing Eaton — kept OSU's offense stagnant.
Against a zone, Eaton was not the star he had been during the winning streak. He still produced decent numbers (13 points, 3-of-7 shooting, six assists), but OSU's huge advantage at the position was negated by the zones.
You can slice up a zone with salty outside shooting, but Terrel Harris and James Anderson opened cold and stayed that way. They combined to make 2-of-15 shots, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range.
By the final minutes, OSU didn't even have the option of fouling, trying to extend the game. The Cowboy fans, who came expecting a Bedlam victory that at the least would be a balm for much of this season, scurried for the exits.
Despite the flurry of recent weeks, the same can be said for this OSU season.
