JimBob
03-14-2008, 05:58 AM
OSU notebook: Making history
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
3/14/2008
Oklahoma State drew criticism for failing to reach the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. But the current crop of Cowboys at least salvaged a bit of history Thursday.
By beating Texas Tech in a first-round Big 12 Tournament game, OSU clinched a school-record 20th consecutive winning season. Even if the Cowboys lost a quarterfinal game to Texas and a first-round NIT or CBI game, they would still finish a game above .500.
Senior forward Marcus Dove said OSU has bigger goals.
"We like that we accomplished that, but it would make it even sweeter if we won this tournament and got into the NCAA Tournament," he said.
OSU secured 19 consecutive winning records from the 1935-36 season through the 1953-54 season.
Fresh prince: OSU freshman James Anderson participated in his first postseason game since leading Junction City, Ark., to a state title victory over Jessieville, Ark., last year. He said he was not nervous.
"Not really," said Anderson, who scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. "I just took it as another regular game. Come out and play."
Said Obi Muonelo, "That's how James is. James is never really nervous. He's always even keel. The whole year he has been pretty much the same."
Hanging on: OSU beat Texas Tech even though the Red Raiders shot 54.7 percent from the field. That's the highest shooting percentage by an opponent this season in a Cowboy victory.
Terrel Harris said it seemed like Tech was shooting 70 percent.
"We weren't playing any defense," he said.
"We can't do that the next game. We can't do that at all. If we do that, we are going to be in trouble, so we've got to pick up our defensive intensity."
Tech shot 59.3 percent in the second half, but OSU stayed neck-and-neck by shooting 58.3 percent after halftime.
Rookie update: Freshman guard Nick Sidorakis, who swished a critical 3-pointer during the second half, said all the freshmen played well. Freshmen combined for 37 points and 15 rebounds.
Byron Eaton said Sean Sutton told freshmen before the game that they couldn't play like freshmen anymore. Or maybe the rookies don't know what pressure is yet.
"I really don't think they understand what's at stake yet," Harris said. "They are just going out there and playing freely, like they are supposed to. It really showed and they really helped us win this game today."
Texas, again: OSU lost a two-point game to Texas in Stillwater and a five-point game to Texas in Austin. The Cowboys and Longhorns meet again Friday.
"We were in both games and we felt we had a good chance to win both games, but we are 0-2 against them and now we have that revenge factor in our minds," Marcus Dove said.
Texas knocked OSU out of the Big 12 Tournament in the semifinal round last season.
No early exits: OSU has never lost a Thursday game in the Big 12 Tournament. The Cowboys are 6-0 in first-round games. For the third consecutive season, they avenged a regular season defeat in a first-round game.
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
3/14/2008
Oklahoma State drew criticism for failing to reach the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. But the current crop of Cowboys at least salvaged a bit of history Thursday.
By beating Texas Tech in a first-round Big 12 Tournament game, OSU clinched a school-record 20th consecutive winning season. Even if the Cowboys lost a quarterfinal game to Texas and a first-round NIT or CBI game, they would still finish a game above .500.
Senior forward Marcus Dove said OSU has bigger goals.
"We like that we accomplished that, but it would make it even sweeter if we won this tournament and got into the NCAA Tournament," he said.
OSU secured 19 consecutive winning records from the 1935-36 season through the 1953-54 season.
Fresh prince: OSU freshman James Anderson participated in his first postseason game since leading Junction City, Ark., to a state title victory over Jessieville, Ark., last year. He said he was not nervous.
"Not really," said Anderson, who scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. "I just took it as another regular game. Come out and play."
Said Obi Muonelo, "That's how James is. James is never really nervous. He's always even keel. The whole year he has been pretty much the same."
Hanging on: OSU beat Texas Tech even though the Red Raiders shot 54.7 percent from the field. That's the highest shooting percentage by an opponent this season in a Cowboy victory.
Terrel Harris said it seemed like Tech was shooting 70 percent.
"We weren't playing any defense," he said.
"We can't do that the next game. We can't do that at all. If we do that, we are going to be in trouble, so we've got to pick up our defensive intensity."
Tech shot 59.3 percent in the second half, but OSU stayed neck-and-neck by shooting 58.3 percent after halftime.
Rookie update: Freshman guard Nick Sidorakis, who swished a critical 3-pointer during the second half, said all the freshmen played well. Freshmen combined for 37 points and 15 rebounds.
Byron Eaton said Sean Sutton told freshmen before the game that they couldn't play like freshmen anymore. Or maybe the rookies don't know what pressure is yet.
"I really don't think they understand what's at stake yet," Harris said. "They are just going out there and playing freely, like they are supposed to. It really showed and they really helped us win this game today."
Texas, again: OSU lost a two-point game to Texas in Stillwater and a five-point game to Texas in Austin. The Cowboys and Longhorns meet again Friday.
"We were in both games and we felt we had a good chance to win both games, but we are 0-2 against them and now we have that revenge factor in our minds," Marcus Dove said.
Texas knocked OSU out of the Big 12 Tournament in the semifinal round last season.
No early exits: OSU has never lost a Thursday game in the Big 12 Tournament. The Cowboys are 6-0 in first-round games. For the third consecutive season, they avenged a regular season defeat in a first-round game.