Three Thoughts on Day 2, Session 1, of the Big 12 Tournament
Here are three thoughts on Day 2, Session 1, of the 2021 Big 12 Tournament, as Oklahoma State defeated West Virginia and Baylor defeated Kansas State.
1. THESE COWBOYS ARE BUILT TO LAST
We know that freshman guard Cade Cunningham is out the door, so enjoy the time he has left in an Oklahoma State uniform. But, in case you haven’t been watching the Cowboys the past few weeks, they’re more than just Cunningham.
While Cunningham poured in 17 points against West Virginia, so did sophomore guard Avery Anderson III. He’s the one that scored 31 points on the Mountaineers last Saturday. Guard Isaac Likekele, who had eight points in his first game back in more than a week, is a junior. Rondel Walker, a freshman, has darted in and out of the starting lineup all season. Like Cunningham, he was a Top 100 national recruit in 2020. Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, another 2020 recruit, started on Thursday and has recorded double-doubles this season. Plus, the emergence of sophomore forward Kalib Boone gives the Cowboys an anchor inside. Finally, if the Cowboys can convince senior guard Bryce Williams to come back for one more year, he can continue to do things like this.
Whether the Cowboys beat Baylor on Friday doesn’t matter (OK, it probably does to OSU). The Cowboys are a NCAA Tournament team and they’re going to be a tough out for anyone they face. They’re more mature than their young roster suggests, and their young head coach, Mike Boynton Jr., is pushing all the right buttons. As our George McCormick suggested last week, it’s time for OSU athletic director Mike Holder to show Boynton the money, the money he and Boynton’s old boss, Brad Underwood, couldn’t agree to that led Boynton to get the job. The Cowboys’ upward trajectory depends on it.
READ MORE: Big 12 Tournament Game 5 Preview: Kansas vs. Oklahoma
READ MORE: Big 12 Tournament Game 6 Preview: Texas vs. Texas Tech
2. DON’T LOOK AT THE BAYLOR SCORE. LOOK AT THE BOX SCORE
Casual fans will look at the box score from the Baylor win over Kansas State and think the Bears struggled. That is NOT what happened in Baylor’s 74-68 win. This was every bit the case of Kansas State playing a great game against the No. 1-seeded bears. But, the Bears prevailed because they played just as good a game, if not a bit better. The Bears shot 53 percent from the floor, 41 percent from the 3-point line, and 92.9 percent from the free throw align. Throw in 24 points from MaCio Teague, 23 points from Davion Mitchell, and 18 points from Jared Butler, and this Baylor team looked like the team we’ve seen play the last week and a half. Don’t get me wrong — Oklahoma State is going to be a very difficult team for the Bears to handle on Friday. It’s going to be a much tighter game than their match-up last week in Waco. But, walking away from Thursday’s game thinking that the Bears aren’t ready for the challenge is folly. Yes, prognosticators thought the Bears were going to blow out the Wildcats. They did not. But that doesn’t mean the Bears aren’t ready for primetime tomorrow night.
READ MORE: Big 12 Tournament Game 7 Preview: Oklahoma State vs. Baylor
3. IS IT TIME TO WORRY ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA?
It might be time to start expressing concern about the Mountaineers. With the loss to Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers have now lost three of their last four games. We should be clear that West Virginia’s three losses are all to ranked teams. But when you’re talking about the game of momentum, the Mountaineers now have to sit and stew for more than a week before starting the NCAA tournament. This stretch could also impact their seeding in the eyes of the selection committee. For most of February and March, WVU has been a No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Could this stretch see the Mountaineers drop to a No. 4 seed when the bracket is released on Sunday? Will have to wait to see. While this is not your father’s West Virginia defense, the offense has the potential to be electrifying and players like Miles McBride are still out to have a big March Madness and get head coach Bob Huggins his 900th career win.
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