What do Cowboys think about Kansas rematch?
Published: 3/9/2011 6:17 PM
Last Modified: 3/9/2011 6:17 PM
Oklahoma State survived a Big 12 Tournament opener against Nebraska, winning a game decided by one point for the first time in three tries this season.
OSU’s reward for beating the Huskers is a quarterfinal date with top-seeded Kansas. Earlier this season, KU handed Travis Ford the most lopsided loss (92-65) in his three seasons as head coach.
What are Ford and OSU’s players saying about an 11:30 a.m. Thursday rematch?
“It’s an incredible challenge,” Ford said. “If they’re not the best team in America, they’re one of the top two or three. They’re the best offensive team in America, bar none, and they’re playing great defense right now as well, which is what you need to win a national championship. They are finding that mix right now.”
Ford said his team needs to find a way to hang around, then figure out a way to win at the end.
More KU-related questions and answers:
You beat Kansas in Stillwater last season, so is there any benefit to having players with memories of beating the Jayhawks?
Ford: I think they probably remember Lawrence more than anything. I think they’ll remember that more than anything. They handed it to us pretty good.
What’s it going to take to beat Kansas?
Ford: Hopefully they miss a few shots and hopefully we make a few. It boils down to that. That’s kind of the name of the game this time of year.
How do you feel about getting Kansas as a reward for winning?
Marshall Moses: It’s fun to play against teams like Kansas and the Dukes and all the teams that are ranked in the top five of the country. You couldn’t ask for anything better. It’s like a dream.
Matt Pilgrim: That’s beautiful man. That’s the goal I had to keep winning, until you win it all.
Jean-Paul Olukemi: It’s more of a payback game, I think. That’s where everybody’s mind better be. They embarrassed us on national TV and this is an opportunity to show the world that we went down there and didn’t play like ourselves. That’s what that game should represent for us.
Do you realize probably no one expects your team to win?
Moses: We expect to go out there and compete. It doesn’t really matter what anybody thinks. We’re the ones playing and as long as we think we have a chance, that’s all that really matters.
Because Kansas beat you by 27 points, was confidence lost?
Moses: I don’t think confidence was lost. They are a great team. I don’t think any team is 30 points better than us, but they have really good players and a really good team and I don’t think we lost confidence. We just lost the game.
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
