OSU Basketball: Cowboys With Two Final Opportunities to Finish Season Strong
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are in a crucial stretch of basketball games as Mike Boynton is coaching for more than just this season. They're currently 12-17 and coming off their third straight loss.
The Cowboys are No. 13 in the Big 12 as things stand now, but there is a glaring opportunity for Oklahoma State to finish the season strong and build on some momentum ahead of the next basketball season.
Cowboys blown out in third straight loss
On Saturday, the Cowboys were defeated by the Texas Longhorns 81-65 in a blowout loss. Oklahoma State was outrebounded by Texas 39-28 while they also had a poor shooting outing. They lost the first half 45-36 before losing the second outing 36-29.
John-Michael Wright had himself a game as his college basketball career is slowly winding down, scoring 18 points and knocking down four 3-pointers in the loss.
The loss drops the Cowboys to 4-12 in conference play, too.
Boynton looking to recapture late-season momentum
Oklahoma State will be playing a first-round game in the Big 12 tournament, and if the season ended right now, they'd be playing No. 12 UCF, who they recently lost to. After two straight wins, the Cowboys took a close loss in the final seconds of Bedlam. Since then, the Cowboys have dropped three straight.
For a little bit, it seemed as if Boynton was going to, once again, save his job late in the season on a hot streak. The team has since cooled off, but the flashes of potential are there.
Playing Texas Tech and BYU to close out their regular season schedule, Oklahoma State is playing two tough games. If they can figure out a way to upset both of those teams, the young Cowboys will be riding momentum into the tournament. Getting hot at the right time can be big for a conference tournament -- Oklahoma State's only path to the NCAA Tournament.
Still, with a young, young program, Oklahoma State finishing the season strong is still important, even if nothing comes from it in the conference tournament.
Future Outlook
As mentioned, the Cowboys are a young team, and that's by design. Evidently, Boynton needs another year of developing his roster before anyone can tell what this team's true ceiling is. The flashes and potential are there, but another season to truly put it together might just be what this team needs.
There are two games left and a Big 12 tournament for Boynton and the team to prove themselves, and it's understandable for fans to want change in the coaching staff if those two games don't go too well and nothing comes from the tournament.
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