JimBob
02-19-2008, 08:04 AM
A late spur makes season less of a blur
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
2/19/2008
OKLAHOMA STATE'S victory at Texas A&M won't push the Cowboys into the NCAA Tournament.
But there are plenty of positives from OSU's first true road victory in two years.
The Cowboys pulled off one of the most rare accomplishments in college basketball -- a road victory over a Top 25 team.
Winning on the road against anyone is a big deal.
Beating a team headed toward a high seed in the NCAA Tournament is a whole different thing.
The Aggies had won 47 of their last 51 games at College Station.
The last time A&M lost at home it took five overtimes.
So, winning at Reed Arena, where a record crowd of 13,584 was silenced, is a significant way to break OSU's road woes.
It may quiet some of OSU coach Sean Sutton's critics, but it could become even more important if the Cowboys can build something from this victory.
Oklahoma State, left for dead on the road to the Final Four about a month ago, suddenly has found life near the end of the trip.
OSU has won three of its last four.
The Cowboys have a whole new outlook for the remainder of the season. They get three of their last five games in Stillwater.
Even Sutton's most harsh critics will have to admit that no one saw this coming -- except maybe OSU coaches and players.
Suddenly, O-State is not one of the Big 12's guaranteed victories.
Last week, OSU beat two teams that appear headed for the NCAA Tournament -- Baylor and A&M.
Now the level of play will rise.
No one knows if the Cowboys can crank it up another notch, but they'll need to be even better down the stretch.
OSU has Kansas, perhaps the nation's best team, coming to Stillwater on Saturday. It still has Nebraska and Oklahoma at home.
It has road games at Missouri and Texas.
There has been no secret.
Sutton said nothing much has changed in the weekly routine.
"I've just stayed positive with them," Sutton said. "We've stayed upbeat."
That probably hasn't been easy, considering the amount of unrest among OSU basketball fans.
Sutton's father spoiled the OSU faithful.
They came to believe the NCAA Tournament was just something that happened for them every March.
The Cowboys weren't just NCAA participants.
OSU became a national power under Sutton's father.
They went to two Final Fours in 10 years.
It all came crashing down about three years ago.
Sean Sutton took over a mess near the end of he 2006 season when his father was involved in a drunk-driving incident.
Then, after an offseason of change, he took over a program in transition.
Many had hoped the hand off from Eddie Sutton to Sean Sutton would help maintain the high level of OSU basketball.
The way it happened has put OSU in a tailspin.
This is just Sean Sutton's second full season.
A strong finish could help make sure he gets a third year to prove he can coach at the Big 12 level.
There's reasons to believe that is possible.
OSU's awful start in the Big 12 can't be erased.
However, the series of close losses have apparently served as a lesson for the Cowboys.
The games they couldn't close out earlier this year have turned into victories in recent weeks.
Now, there are reasons to once again pay attention to what is happening at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
OSU may actually get some attention the rest of this winter for something other than wrestling and women's basketball.
"We can do what we want, which is win the rest of these games leading up to the Big 12 Tournament," Sutton said.
That may be asking too much.
OSU may be playing better, but playing up to the level of the Jayhawks is another thing entirely.
But, with the emergence of Byron Eaton, OSU is far more than an automatic win for Big 12 contenders.
Eaton, the Big 12's player of the week, has turned into the star many envisioned and that has made the Cowboys lethal once again.
Eaton was the biggest reason for victories over Baylor and A&M last week.
"He's had total control of the game at both ends of the court," Sutton said.
"He has dictated the tempo of the game.
"He played the way we envisioned when we recruited him."
Eaton's newfound confidence has done the same for Oklahoma State.
"He still has time to prove he's a big-time player," Sutton said.
And, that's giving OSU a chance to return to big-time college basketball.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
2/19/2008
OKLAHOMA STATE'S victory at Texas A&M won't push the Cowboys into the NCAA Tournament.
But there are plenty of positives from OSU's first true road victory in two years.
The Cowboys pulled off one of the most rare accomplishments in college basketball -- a road victory over a Top 25 team.
Winning on the road against anyone is a big deal.
Beating a team headed toward a high seed in the NCAA Tournament is a whole different thing.
The Aggies had won 47 of their last 51 games at College Station.
The last time A&M lost at home it took five overtimes.
So, winning at Reed Arena, where a record crowd of 13,584 was silenced, is a significant way to break OSU's road woes.
It may quiet some of OSU coach Sean Sutton's critics, but it could become even more important if the Cowboys can build something from this victory.
Oklahoma State, left for dead on the road to the Final Four about a month ago, suddenly has found life near the end of the trip.
OSU has won three of its last four.
The Cowboys have a whole new outlook for the remainder of the season. They get three of their last five games in Stillwater.
Even Sutton's most harsh critics will have to admit that no one saw this coming -- except maybe OSU coaches and players.
Suddenly, O-State is not one of the Big 12's guaranteed victories.
Last week, OSU beat two teams that appear headed for the NCAA Tournament -- Baylor and A&M.
Now the level of play will rise.
No one knows if the Cowboys can crank it up another notch, but they'll need to be even better down the stretch.
OSU has Kansas, perhaps the nation's best team, coming to Stillwater on Saturday. It still has Nebraska and Oklahoma at home.
It has road games at Missouri and Texas.
There has been no secret.
Sutton said nothing much has changed in the weekly routine.
"I've just stayed positive with them," Sutton said. "We've stayed upbeat."
That probably hasn't been easy, considering the amount of unrest among OSU basketball fans.
Sutton's father spoiled the OSU faithful.
They came to believe the NCAA Tournament was just something that happened for them every March.
The Cowboys weren't just NCAA participants.
OSU became a national power under Sutton's father.
They went to two Final Fours in 10 years.
It all came crashing down about three years ago.
Sean Sutton took over a mess near the end of he 2006 season when his father was involved in a drunk-driving incident.
Then, after an offseason of change, he took over a program in transition.
Many had hoped the hand off from Eddie Sutton to Sean Sutton would help maintain the high level of OSU basketball.
The way it happened has put OSU in a tailspin.
This is just Sean Sutton's second full season.
A strong finish could help make sure he gets a third year to prove he can coach at the Big 12 level.
There's reasons to believe that is possible.
OSU's awful start in the Big 12 can't be erased.
However, the series of close losses have apparently served as a lesson for the Cowboys.
The games they couldn't close out earlier this year have turned into victories in recent weeks.
Now, there are reasons to once again pay attention to what is happening at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
OSU may actually get some attention the rest of this winter for something other than wrestling and women's basketball.
"We can do what we want, which is win the rest of these games leading up to the Big 12 Tournament," Sutton said.
That may be asking too much.
OSU may be playing better, but playing up to the level of the Jayhawks is another thing entirely.
But, with the emergence of Byron Eaton, OSU is far more than an automatic win for Big 12 contenders.
Eaton, the Big 12's player of the week, has turned into the star many envisioned and that has made the Cowboys lethal once again.
Eaton was the biggest reason for victories over Baylor and A&M last week.
"He's had total control of the game at both ends of the court," Sutton said.
"He has dictated the tempo of the game.
"He played the way we envisioned when we recruited him."
Eaton's newfound confidence has done the same for Oklahoma State.
"He still has time to prove he's a big-time player," Sutton said.
And, that's giving OSU a chance to return to big-time college basketball.