PREVIEW: Baylor vs. Oklahoma State

After a shocking upset at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, the Cowboys come back home for a weekday tilt with the Baylor Bears. Baylor has been struggling as of late, losing four of their last five contests. This is a perfect opportunity for the Cowboys to continue the momentum of their upset victory against the Jayhawks over the weekend.

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, OK

When: 7 p.m. CT

TV: ESPNU

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network

Last Time

When the Cowboys traveled to Waco on January 15, they struggled and lost 76-60. The starting five only accounted for 20 of the Cowboys 60 points in the game. Cameron McGriff was the leading scorer for Oklahoma State with 16 points. Tavarius Shine also added 14 points off the bench. Jeffrey Carroll had an extremely tough night, only shooting 2-for-12 and did not make a three pointer.

On the other side, the Bears caught fire and it seemed like they could not miss in the second half. Manu Lecomte dropped a career high with 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 7-of-12 from the three-point line. He was the main source of offense, with the next leading scorer only having 12 points.

Keys to the Game

Keep Feeding McGriff

Cameron McGriff has been playing out of his mind recently. It was clear last week that he was the best play on the floor for Oklahoma State. He established himself in the starting lineup as a force on both ends of the floor. If he can continue to be the force that he has tomorrow night, it would mean a ton to Oklahoma State who most likely will be without Tavarius Shine once again.

Don’t Force Perimeter Shots

The Cowboys shot 12-of-27 for three-point range against KU on Saturday. This is one of the best perimeter shooting performances the Cowboys have had this season. However, let’s not forget that the Cowboys are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in college basketball. I hope the performance does not lure the Cowboys into a false sense of security and they take way too many threes. We’ve seen Oklahoma State shoot themselves out of games by forcing outside shots. I would much rather see the Cowboys attack inside and shoot outside when necessary.

Ride the Momemtum

The win against the Jayhawks was a potential program-altering win in the first year of the Mike Boynton era. When Oklahoma State beat the Sooners, it was thought that it would give the team a lot of momentum moving forward in conference play. That turned out to not be the case, and the Cowboys went on the lose three in a row. Hopefully going into Allen Fieldhouse and coming out with a victory will help the Cowboys gain some momentum and help take the season in a new direction. They get as good a shot as any tonight against a down Baylor team.

Prediction

The Cowboys cannot come out flat like they did against TCU. If they do, this could get ugly. This is a winnable game at home, but the Cowboys have to come out like they did against the Jayhawks. If the Cowboys want to continue to heighten their chances of a possible NCAA Tournament bid, you have to win games like this. This team left Waco with a bad taste in their mouth, and they will not come out flat like they did in the second half. If they can contain Manu Lecomte, this should be a convincing win for the Cowboys.

Cowboys 78, Bears 70