The Morning After: Far too early to panic about basketball season

For the first time since January of 2015, Gallagher-Iba Arena hosted a sellout crowd for a men’s basketball game.

The Rowdy came back. But that was about all Oklahoma State had going for them on Friday.

They got boatraced on their home floor in front of 13,000+. A disappointing result could leave fans wondering what truly has changed from last season and the years before.

I saw a lot of negativity on Twitter yesterday, which surprised me. After wins against Wichita State, Georgetown, Connecticut and Tulsa, one would think that there would be some lee-way for losses against top-15 teams at home.

I didn’t see a lot of that yesterday.

Obviously, people react to situations differently and I’m no different. But yesterday was just a flat mismatch, and it left some fans discouraged.

“Will the fans come back to GIA after that?”

“What did Trae Young think about that?”

“The momentum of the program is going to slow down now.”

Allow me, for a second, to quote the great Aaron Rodgers ... “R-E-L-A-X.”

I kept wanting to freak out, too, so I get it. It felt like a movie that we saw far too many times in another fairly recent coaching era at Oklahoma State. But this time is different.

West Virginia is legit. #PressVirginia is a very real thing, and it confused the young freshmen for Oklahoma State. Could you imagine being a true freshman in your first conference game and seeing that pressure? I think the reason OSU turned the ball over 19 times yesterday can be traced to a lack of experience. It’s not every day that you face the best press defense in the country. The Mountaineers force more turnovers than literally anyone else in basketball.

West Virginia also shot a blistering 55 percent from the floor on Friday. There’s not a lot you can do when guys are burying stepback threes in your face.

It was a bad day for Oklahoma State basketball. It was a setback from the first month of basketball season that brought excitement back to a once-heralded program. But it’s not the end of the world.

Sometimes, you just get beaten. Sometimes you get thumped on your home floor. Sometimes a team shoots lights out and can’t do anything wrong. The reality of yesterday’s game is this: OSU is not going to beat West Virginia if they play like that.

But there’s something exciting here too. Not many teams that OSU faces in Big 12 play are going to play like that. There are some good teams in this conference, but you could convince me right now that nobody would beat West Virginia with how they played yesterday.

Don’t hit that panic button just yet.

Oklahoma State falls to 10-3 on the season. Their losses: #4 UNC, #11 West Virginia, and a one-point road loss to 13-1 Maryland.

It will be alright, folks. Keep supporting this team. Keep going to the games and selling that arena out. At some point this season, it will be worth it.

Go Pokes.