How close was Marcus Smart to becoming a Kansas Jayhawk?

Marcus Smart will need to have a huge game for an OSU upset. / (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

By Anthony Slater – Aslater@opubco.com - @anthonyVslater

Talk to any rational college hoops fan or analyst and they won’t give Oklahoma State much of a shot at Kansas on Saturday.

The Jayhawks have won 32 straight at home. The Cowboys have won one of their past 23 Big 12 road games. The odds are clearly stacked against them.

But do-everything point guard Marcus Smart (and his big-game reputation) provides OSU a glimmer of hope.

He’s come up huge against ranked teams, torching #6 NC State for a ridiculous 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals and four blocks in an upset that still remains OSU’s biggest win of this season.

Then he backed that up with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists against #10 Gonzaga, valiantly keeping the Cowboys in a game they were overmatched inside, before dropping a career-high 25 points on #25 Kansas State in Manhattan.

It’s a common trend worth repeating: Marcus Smart gets up for big games.

So his presence splashes a dash of intrigue into Saturday’s one-sided conference matchup in Allen Fieldhouse.

But at one time, that trump card was almost flipped on its head. Instead of battling Jeff Withey, Ben McLemore and the 2nd-ranked Jayhawks, Marcus Smart almost joined them.

“Oh, no doubt,” Smart admitted on Thursday afternoon. “Kansas is a great school, incredible tradition. They were definitely in my top five, top three…I thought about going there at one point in time.”