Ford and Cowboy Nation together again

Travis Ford has recaptured the magic and rekindled the love.

Earlier this season, the honeymoon was over between the Oklahoma State coach and the Cowboy Nation. No one ever sensed an annulment was coming. Still, with the team struggling and the TV cameras catching profanities, Ford had all but emptied the well of good will that all coaches receive when they take a new job.

But credit Ford — he has endeared himself to the OSU faithful once again.

The reasons are simple: his antics have cooled off and his team has heated up.

The Cowboys enter the Big 12 Tournament this week as the winners of six of their last seven games. That was a streak that seemed almost impossible less than a month ago. When OSU went to Texas and got blitzed by 20-plus, it was difficult to see the Cowboys winning many of their remaining games. Didn’t matter that the schedule got easier. Didn’t matter that they had winnable games. They just didn’t look like a team capable of winning many games the rest of the way.

Then, Ford juggled the lineup, making Obi Muonelo a reserve and stressing the importance of defense. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, the Cowboys became an NCAA Tournament team.

Ford transformed them. Obviously, the players have gone out and played the games, Byron Eaton and James Anderson and Marshall Moses all coming up big along the way.