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Oklahoma State hosted the Wildcats on an afternoon where Kansas State badly needed a win for their NCAA tourney resume.
That’s right...if they could win on the road at GIA against a team that was sub-.500 overall and in conference play it would count as a quad 1 win.
Big 12 hoops is a slaughterhouse.
That being said, the Cowboys survived multiple KState attempts to win the game late in regulation, then dodged a horrendous Big 12 Ref’s whistle that gave the Wildcats three FT attempts that tied the game late in overtime. It did, however, leave time for Avery Anderson to do this...
Put this video in a museum. #NewEra I #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/30CMgjafac
— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 19, 2022
#OKState guard Avery Anderson said he told his teammates late in the game, "If the game comes down to it, I'm making the shot."
— Cody Nagel (@CodyNagel247) February 19, 2022
AA would finish with 20, but his partner in crime, Bryce Thompson, finished with 23, including 4-7 from three, two of those coming in OT.
Wildcat guards Pack and Nowell would each have 16 points, and although they didn’t shoot incredibly from behind the arc, they hit some big ones late in regulation and OT, as well as going 10-12 from the line. Both caused issues defensively for the Cowboys throughout the game. Despite the lead never getting above seven points midway through the first half, Oklahoma State led for the majority of the game with KState briefly taking the lead twice after halftime.
Speaking of free throws, once again the worst team from the line in the Big 12 almost lost a game because of that albatross. OSU would shoot seven more FTs than KState, but only converted one more for the game. As the radio crew alluded to, it felt like Oklahoma State should have easily won in regulation. They shot 51.9% for the game but Kansas State took 16 more shots from the floor mostly due to 16 offensive rebounds. Another issue for the Cowboys was the primary ball-handling. Although they only had 13 turnovers, Anderson and Williams combined for eight of those, several coming in crunch time. Given Likekele’s offensive limitations and the need to utilize other players at the point, those are not good numbers for those players.
Kansas State falls to 14-12, 6-8, and now faces an uphill battle to make the post-season past the Big 12 tournament with a road trip to Lawrence on the horizon this coming Tuesday.
OSU moves to 13-13, 6-8, and continues to play out the string as they attempt to sweep #7 Baylor Monday night in GIA on ESPN at 9pm ET.