Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State's 85-50 Loss to Texas Tech
As the first half wore on, things look rather optimistic for Oklahoma State. Cam McGriff appeared to be back to his old self as he dominated in the paint as he scored nine points and hauled in eight rebounds.
The first 30 seconds of the second half was the last time things went well for the Pokes as Texas Tech outscored OSU 49-20 in the second half and went on to win 85-50. The second half also included a 15-0 Red Raider run, and nearly featured a scoreless final four minutes for the Pokes.
We're going to be taking a look at five thoughts on the Cowboys loss to Texas Tech to start Big 12 play.
Isaac Likekele
This was the loss for Oklahoma State with Isaac Likekele in the lineup. The Cowboys started the season 8-0 before Likekele missed nearly a month with an illness, and are still trying to get back to that level as Likekele is still working on getting fully back into game shape.
Likekele played 28 minutes today against Texas Tech, but scored only two points on 1-of-6 shooting from the floor and 0-of-2 from the free throw line. He also posted only two rebounds, two assists and two turnovers.
There's no doubt that Tech's defensive scheme to limit access to the paint played a factor in today's performance, but Likekele's still working to find his way back into game shape.
"He didn't play well today, but we're certainly not going to be make excuses," said coach Boynton on the Cowboy Radio Network. "He's got to play better for us to have success and I have great confidence in him that we'll see a guy a little bit better on Monday."
Second-Half Letdown
The first half for Oklahoma State was a promising one. They entered halftime down just six points, 36-30, and even cut the Tech lead to four right out of the gate in the second half.
Cameron McGriff appeared to be back to his bruiser days down in the post as he posted nine points and eight rebounds in the first half.
But that's about all the Pokes could muster as the wheel fell off in the second half. Texas Tech outscored the Pokes 49-20 in the final 20 minutes of the game, including a 15-0 run. Tech also held the Pokes to just eight points in the first 13 minutes of the game.
While the Pokes didn't shoot a very high percentage from the field in the first half, things got worse in the second half thanks in part to the Tech defense. For the second half, they shot just 28.8 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from 3-point range and 57.1 percent from the free throw line.
"[Texas Tech] was able to have enough resilience that when they weren't making a bunch of shots early and we were kind of holding it, they still played the game the same way on the defensive end," said head coach Mike Boynton on the Cowboy Radio Network. "We missed some shots early and it affected the way that we played on the defensive end."
Out-rebounded
Despite not having a true big on the floor, Texas Tech out-rebounded the Pokes 39-29, with 31 of those rebounds coming on the defensive end.
McGriff led the Pokes in rebounds, but the nine boards he hauled in in the first half was the total he finished with. As for Yor Anei, the tallest player on the court, he finished with just one rebound.
The Big 12 is a big and physical league and for the Pokes to have success, they have to get better performances down low from their two starting big men.
Long Story Short
The Pokes will be facing tough teams like Tech for the rest of the season. It doesn't matter who a Big 12 team loses too, (looking at you Iowa State who lost to Florida A&M), they're still a tough team to play.
For the Pokes to have success, the veterans on this team can't lay an egg like they did today. Waters had a better second half as he scored eight points, but he scored just three in the first half.
Dziagwa finished with just six points on the day, Anei finished with just three points and Likekele, despite coming back from illness, score just two points.
However, this was a solid start to Big 12 play for freshman Avery Anderson who finished with nine points. Anderson shot 3-of-6 from the field, 2-of-2 from the free throw line and had two assists. He will need to tighten it up a big moving forward as he also had three turnovers.
The Sky Isn't Falling
Yes, I'll be the first to admit that this game was a HUGE letdown, especially coming after such a great non-conference schedule. While this Tech team isn't the same team that made it to the national title game a year ago, they're still a very good team. They're a team that has the capabilities of making it deep in the Big Dance this year as well.
The Big 12 across the board is very tough and the Pokes will bounce back. The non-conference proved that they can play at a high level. They're primarily a young team that's still learning how to play at this level. Now, they do have three senior captains and two sophomores that have been at this level and needed to play better, but a silver lining in this game is that the young guys got some great experience against a great team.
But they've got a quick turnaround and will be facing a tough West Virginia team in Stillwater on Monday night.
“It’s a hard league,” coach Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. “The worse thing that can happen is let this affect us tomorrow and the next time. We’ve got a quick turnaround and we have to do as much as we can to move on from this and get ourselves ready for another really good opponent on Monday night.”
That game is a part of ESPN's Big Monday slate and will tip off at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
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