JimBob
03-19-2008, 07:35 AM
A third thud
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
3/19/2008
Cowboys drop their third straight first-round NIT game
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The next time the NIT calls, maybe Oklahoma State shouldn't answer the phone.
For the third consecutive season, OSU didn't answer the bell in the NIT. The Cowboys lost a first-round game again, this time falling to shorthanded Southern Illinois 69-53 Tuesday night in front of an ESPN2 audience and a crowd of 5,353 at 9,345-seat SIU Arena.
Despite all the pregame vows that this NIT experience would be different than first-round losses to Miami, Fla., and Marist the previous two seasons, OSU never led and tied the score just twice, at 3-3 early and at 29-29 three minutes into the second half.
The Cowboys ended their season at 17-16. After the game, coach Sean Sutton said last season's team "ran out of gas" at the end of the season. He indi cated that he feels differently about the current team because the Pokes got their act together at the end of the season and salvaged a postseason invitation.
But OSU didn't play well enough or shoot well enough to beat the last team it beat in a postseason game. The Cowboys are 0-for-3 in postseason games since the 2005 season when it defeated SIU in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.
SIU ranks 12th nationally in scoring defense, holding oppo nents to 59.8 points per game. The Salukis limited the Cowboys to their second-lowest point total of the season. OSU shot 35.3 percent from the field and 16 percent from 3-point range.
"We knew they were a terrific defensive team and tonight they played extremely well at the offensive end," Sutton said.
SIU, which advances to a second-round game Thursday, shot 51.2 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from 3-point range. The Salukis improved to 18-14 and got a collective 36 points and 18 rebounds from senior forwards Matt Shaw and Randal Falker.
"You would expect seniors to step up," Sutton said. "I thought both of those guys really played outstanding for them. They are a good basketball team and they are certainly difficult to beat at home."
SIU, playing without injured starting point guard Bryan Mullins, improved to 92-6 at home since the 2001-02 season.
Mullins, the Missouri Valley Conference's defensive player of the year and a second-team all-league selection, played hurt the last month of the season, but it was announced before the NIT game that he would not play due to a stress fracture in his left tibia. SIU committed 18 turnovers, but played well enough in other facets to offset the loss of its floor leader, outrebounding OSU 39-21.
SIU held OSU to 19 first-half points. It matched the fewest points by a Saluki opponent in a half this season and it was the Cowboys' second-fewest points in a half this season, ranking just ahead of a 17-point first half in a Nov. 21 loss to Illinois.
OSU, which missed its first 12 shots from 3-point range, ended the drought when James Anderson's 3-pointer tied the score with 17:06 left.
But Shaw immediately answered with a 3-pointer and Falker scored back-to-back baskets inside for a 7-0 run that allowed the Salukis to regain control. SIU scored on 11 straight possessions in the second half and led by 20 heading into the final minute.
Sutton said OSU was ready to play, but said it missed open shots and spent the game playing catch-up.
"When that happens, the team ahead always plays a little bit looser and shots are more likely to go down. We could just never get ahead of them and put any pressure on them. I thought their team played with poise and confidence and that's what good teams do."
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Cowboy, Saluki NIT history
Oklahoma State, playing in the NIT three consecutive years for the first time in school history, fell to 6-11 all-time in NIT games. The Cowboys haven’t won an NIT game since beating Tulane in a 1997 first-round game and haven’t won an NIT game staged outside of Stillwater since beating Canisius in New York in 1944.
SIU was making its ninth NIT appearance and first since 2000, when the Salukis beat Colorado in the first round and lost to BYU in the next round. SIU, riding future NBA stars Walt Frazier and Dick Garrett, won the NIT in 1967, when the tournament was considered to be closer in quality to the NCAA Tournament.
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
3/19/2008
Cowboys drop their third straight first-round NIT game
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The next time the NIT calls, maybe Oklahoma State shouldn't answer the phone.
For the third consecutive season, OSU didn't answer the bell in the NIT. The Cowboys lost a first-round game again, this time falling to shorthanded Southern Illinois 69-53 Tuesday night in front of an ESPN2 audience and a crowd of 5,353 at 9,345-seat SIU Arena.
Despite all the pregame vows that this NIT experience would be different than first-round losses to Miami, Fla., and Marist the previous two seasons, OSU never led and tied the score just twice, at 3-3 early and at 29-29 three minutes into the second half.
The Cowboys ended their season at 17-16. After the game, coach Sean Sutton said last season's team "ran out of gas" at the end of the season. He indi cated that he feels differently about the current team because the Pokes got their act together at the end of the season and salvaged a postseason invitation.
But OSU didn't play well enough or shoot well enough to beat the last team it beat in a postseason game. The Cowboys are 0-for-3 in postseason games since the 2005 season when it defeated SIU in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.
SIU ranks 12th nationally in scoring defense, holding oppo nents to 59.8 points per game. The Salukis limited the Cowboys to their second-lowest point total of the season. OSU shot 35.3 percent from the field and 16 percent from 3-point range.
"We knew they were a terrific defensive team and tonight they played extremely well at the offensive end," Sutton said.
SIU, which advances to a second-round game Thursday, shot 51.2 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from 3-point range. The Salukis improved to 18-14 and got a collective 36 points and 18 rebounds from senior forwards Matt Shaw and Randal Falker.
"You would expect seniors to step up," Sutton said. "I thought both of those guys really played outstanding for them. They are a good basketball team and they are certainly difficult to beat at home."
SIU, playing without injured starting point guard Bryan Mullins, improved to 92-6 at home since the 2001-02 season.
Mullins, the Missouri Valley Conference's defensive player of the year and a second-team all-league selection, played hurt the last month of the season, but it was announced before the NIT game that he would not play due to a stress fracture in his left tibia. SIU committed 18 turnovers, but played well enough in other facets to offset the loss of its floor leader, outrebounding OSU 39-21.
SIU held OSU to 19 first-half points. It matched the fewest points by a Saluki opponent in a half this season and it was the Cowboys' second-fewest points in a half this season, ranking just ahead of a 17-point first half in a Nov. 21 loss to Illinois.
OSU, which missed its first 12 shots from 3-point range, ended the drought when James Anderson's 3-pointer tied the score with 17:06 left.
But Shaw immediately answered with a 3-pointer and Falker scored back-to-back baskets inside for a 7-0 run that allowed the Salukis to regain control. SIU scored on 11 straight possessions in the second half and led by 20 heading into the final minute.
Sutton said OSU was ready to play, but said it missed open shots and spent the game playing catch-up.
"When that happens, the team ahead always plays a little bit looser and shots are more likely to go down. We could just never get ahead of them and put any pressure on them. I thought their team played with poise and confidence and that's what good teams do."
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Cowboy, Saluki NIT history
Oklahoma State, playing in the NIT three consecutive years for the first time in school history, fell to 6-11 all-time in NIT games. The Cowboys haven’t won an NIT game since beating Tulane in a 1997 first-round game and haven’t won an NIT game staged outside of Stillwater since beating Canisius in New York in 1944.
SIU was making its ninth NIT appearance and first since 2000, when the Salukis beat Colorado in the first round and lost to BYU in the next round. SIU, riding future NBA stars Walt Frazier and Dick Garrett, won the NIT in 1967, when the tournament was considered to be closer in quality to the NCAA Tournament.