OSU hoops: Four-game skid, 10 questions
Published: 2/22/2011 3:12 PM
Last Modified: 2/22/2011 3:17 PM
Ten questions about Oklahoma State in the wake of a four-game losing streak, longest since a six-game skid during the 2007-08 season:
1, Why is this team so inconsistent?
Because the parts are inconsistent. Every player on the roster has had at least one scoreless game. Has that ever happened before in the program’s history?
2, Who is OSU’s most valuable player?
Maybe it was Darrell Williams. The Cowboys are 0-4 since the junior forward was benched due to legal issues. He pleaded not guilty to charges of rape by instrumentation and sexual battery. His preliminary hearing is March 7.
3, Is this the worst OSU team since Eddie Sutton put the program back on the national map?
Before rendering that verdict, consider that three opponents during the current four-game skid were ranked in the top 21 nationally. So, wait and see.
The Cowboys have never finished worse than 6-10 in Big 12 play. They must win two of their final three regular season games (home against Texas Tech and Baylor, at Oklahoma) in order to get to 6-10.
From an overall record standpoint, OSU has won at least 17 games every year since the 1988-89 season. The Cowboys need one more win to keep that streak intact.
4, Why has Jean-Paul Olukemi slumped?
The sophomore guard averaged 15.4 points in his first nine Big 12 games. He scored a total of 21 points in the last four games and didn’t leave the bench in the second half of a loss to Kansas.
Best guess No. 1: Big 12 coaches scout each other into oblivion and now they have a whole season’s worth of film to study. Maybe they’ve got Olukemi figured out and it’s up to him to evolve. A big part of his game is drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. He averaged 8.8 free throw attempts in Big 12 play prior to the four-game losing streak and he averaged 3.5 free throw attempts during the skid.
Best guess No. 2: The quality of defenses got better. OSU’s opponents during Olukemi’s slump were Nebraska (fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense), Texas (second nationally in field goal percentage defense), Texas A&M (24th nationally in scoring defense) and Kansas (15th nationally in field goal percentage defense).
5, Is OSU underachieving?
The Cowboys were picked eighth in the Big 12 preseason poll and have lost two starters (Fred Gulley and Williams) since. They stand alone in 11th place, but could move to the middle of the pack if they display enough resolve to finish the season on a hot streak.
6, Is the number of lopsided defeats a bigger concern than the total number of losses?
OSU has absorbed 11 losses, including seven by double-digit margins and six by margins of 15 or more points. It’s easier for fans to tolerate losing if convinced the Cowboys are playing hard enough to be competitive.
But fans also have short memories if they think double-digit defeats are a new trend. OSU also lost seven games by double-digit margins during the 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons. The last time the Cowboys lost more games by double-digit margins came during the 1996-97 season, when they dropped eight by double-digit margins.
7, What’s more damaging than lopsided losses?
How about close defeats. OSU would still be in position to pursue a .500 record in league play and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if the Cowboys had capitalized on legit chances to win against Colorado (squandered a second-half lead and lost by four), Texas Tech (lost in overtime) and Texas A&M (lost by one point at home). The Cowboys also lost a four-point game early in the season to Virginia Tech. Every game is an opportunity. Teams which fail to capitalize on opportunities are turned away by Bracketville’s doorman.
8, What are OSU’s glaring flaws?
Every non-elite squad is going to do some things poorly, but OSU ranks among the worst teams in the country when it comes to its sore spots. The NCAA tracks statistics for 336 Division I basketball teams. The Cowboys are 317th in 3-point field goals per game, 320th in assists per game and 305th in fouls per game.
9, Any chance OSU could get its act together and secure an NCAA Tournament invitation by winning four consecutive games in the Big 12 Tournament?
No Big 12 team has ever won four consecutive games in the league tournament and nothing in recent performances would indicate the Cowboys are capable of being pioneers. Different question: OSU has never lost a pre-quarterfinal game in the Big 12 Tournament. Will that streak remain intact?
10, What’s at stake the rest of the season?
Of course OSU will continue to try to sneak into the NCAA Tournament. If that mission fails, the Cowboys need to win enough games to merit a high seed in the NIT. Top four seeds get first-round games. Lower seeds go on the road for first-round games and that wouldn’t be ideal for OSU, which hasn’t won a game on an enemy campus this season.
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
