Oklahoma State tops Texas Tech in first step of 'long, uphill battle' to make NCAA Tournament
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Step one is complete.
In Oklahoma State’s last-ditch effort to find its way into March Madness, the Cowboys took care of business in exactly the right time.
The NCAA Tournament hopes live, however slim they are entering next week’s Big 12 Tournament. OSU remained on the edge of the bubble Saturday, even after the win.
“We talk about it daily,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “We don’t shy away from it. We don’t pay attention to what people talk about with our program. But we know that this league gives you an opportunity.
“We’ll head up to Kansas City with a long, uphill battle to get there. But I’m sure over the next couple of days our staff will do whatever it takes to get there.”
The Cowboys (17-14, 8-10) will face Bedlam rival OU for a third time when the conference tournament opens Wednesday in Kansas City, Missouri. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m.
OSU swept the regular season series with the Sooners.
“It’s always hard to beat a team three times,” OSU guard Caleb Asberry said on postgame radio. “We know that we’re going to have to be prepared.”
Asberry was the catalyst for the Cowboys in Lubbock.
The Texas State transfer scored 24 points and had six rebounds. He made four of his seven 3-pointers in the second half, including the go-ahead shot with 1:54 left 22 seconds after OSU lost a 13-point advantage.
Bryce Thompson also scored 19 and Tyreek Smith — who began his career with the Red Raiders — scored 11 and grabbed five rebounds.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
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Cowboys change things up
With a short bench and an opponent back to full strength inside, Boynton opted to go primarily big.
That meant making some starting lineup changes.
Kalib Boone — who had started every game — and Woody Newton opened on the bench. Moussa Cisse and Tyreek Smith started.
The duo led the way.
Cisse looked like his old self before suffering an ankle injury two months ago.
He scored just six points, but his defensive and rebounding presence was massive. He had nine rebounds and four blocks in 35 minutes.
“It was like the old Moussa was back in terms of his energy, his presence around the rim defensively and then he rebounded the ball at a high level,” Boynton said.
Smith was a strong force, especially on the offensive glass.
Two of his five boards were offensive, none bigger than his grab with one minute remaining off a Thompson 3-point miss to keep possession with a two-point lead.
The Cowboys out-rebounded Texas Tech 37-33 and limited big men Fardaws Aimaq and Kevin Obanor to just a combined 14 points and 15 rebounds.
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Caleb Asberry has career day
Asberry focused on game speed the past few days.
Each time he fired a shot in practice, it was at the speed he hoped to play against Texas Tech. He rarely practices that way.
It paid off.
Asberry hit a career-high seven 3-pointers, often showing a quick release he’s hardly shown throughout his time at OSU.
“I haven’t been shooting gamespeed before,” Asberry said. “Now, getting more game-speed shots is helping me.”
Asberry, who moved to the starting lineup after Avery Anderson III suffered a wrist injury that required surgery, has scored in double figures in six of his past seven games.
But this was different.
Asberry was the guy.
“It was a great time to see Caleb Asberry have one of the games that you hoped you would have more throughout the season in a game where we really needed him,” Boynton said.
The Cowboys were also without freshman guard Quion Williams, who was away from the team for a family funeral.
That left OSU with one reserve guard on scholarship — Chris Harris Jr — and an eight-man rotation. The Cowboys somehow committed just 11 fouls, too.
Asberry, John-Michael Wright and Thompson each played 32 minutes or more.
And it was Asberry who hit a foul shot with 3.1 seconds remaining to help seal the win.
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Hot starts put Cowboys in strong position
OSU spent a good part of the week aiming to find a way to open the game better.
It doesn’t get much better than the opening of each half Saturday.
The Cowboys made seven of their first nine shots to begin the game. They built a 12-point lead. They did not allow Texas Tech to make a field goal until 15:03 remained in the half.
Thompson was on fire, too.
He scored 15 points in the half. Asberry added 11.
But Texas Tech was able to rally to get back in the game.
Then the Cowboys responded with another fast start in the second half to take a 13-point lead. Texas Tech again rallied, even taking the lead this time.
But the Cowboys were in a better position to respond.
Their confidence was back when it mattered.
After Asberry’s go-ahead 3, Cisse had two dunks and Wright made a free throw in the final minute to help answer the Red Raiders.
OSU also held Texas Tech to just 38% shooting overall and forced 10 turnovers.
“I thought defensively we were really locked in, which gave us a real confidence that we would have a good chance to win,” Boynton said.
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Big 12 Tournament schedule
at T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo.
Wednesday, March 8
No. 8 seed West Virginia vs. No. 9 seed Texas Tech, 6 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
No. 7 seed Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 seed Oklahoma, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2/U)
Thursday, March 9
No. 4 seed Baylor vs. No. 5 seed TCU, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN/2)
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 8/9 winner, 2 p.m. (ESPN/2)
No. 2 seed Texas vs. No. 7/10 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPN/2)
No. 3 seed Kansas State vs. No. 6 seed Iowa State, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN/2)
Friday, March 10
Semifinal 1, 6 p.m.
Semifinal 2, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 11
Championship, 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State beats Texas Tech in Big 12 men's basketball finale
