OSU basketball notebook: Then vs. now
BY KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Sunday, February 17, 2013
2/17/13 at 6:39 AM
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Asked what has sparked Oklahoma State to seven wins in a row, guard Markel Brown pointed to the first Bedlam meeting as a turning point.
"We knew we were better than that, so we just took another approach," he said. "We were going to be an aggressive team and a very hard-working team and we needed to use that to our ability. We worked on some different things and it's coming together for us."
Said coach Travis Ford: "We were not happy with ourselves (after the loss to OU). It's as down as I've been on our basketball team, after that game. It's not because we lost, because I thought we got beat by a good team that day.
"But I thought we did not perform the way we needed to perform. We were not happy. We tried to change the mentality a little bit."
What followed was 6 a.m. practices and two-a-days to regain his team's attention.
"They responded well," Ford said.
Honoring Budke: For a second straight year, Ford wore an orange blazer for the OU game in Stillwater. It was a nod to the late Kurt Budke, who donned an orange blazer for big games like Bedlam as head coach of the Cowgirls.
"I like it," Brown said. "I think since he's been wearing it, we've been winning.
"It represents a very respectable man here in coach Budke, and I wish I could wear it out there on the court."
Stat check: The Cowboys committed five turnovers Saturday, the fewest this season. The previous low was eight, on three occasions.
Phil Forte played 33 minutes without a turnover. Over the last eight games, he has turned the ball over only twice in 189 minutes.
Of the 17 Bedlam games that have gone into overtime, OU has an 11-6 edge, but OSU is 3-1 in the past four.
This season, the Cowboys are 3-0 in overtime and are 8-2 in overtime games under Ford.
Marcus Smart's 28 points matched the most by an OSU player this season and also were a career best. His 14 free-throw attempts were the most by a Cowboy this year, and he hit 11 of them.
Saturday marked the second time in five games that two OSU players scored 20 or more points (Smart 28, Nash 26). Against Kansas, Brown had 28 and Smart 25.
Up next: OSU hosts No. 14 Kansas at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
"We're going to be ready," Ford said. "And make no mistake, Kansas is going to be ready.
"They're going to show video of us winning at their place and everything, but when it's all said and done, when that ball is thrown up, both teams have to play."
Associated Images:
Oklahoma State forward Michael Cobbins (left) jumps to block a shot by Oklahoma forward Cameron Clark in Oklahoma State's 84-79 overtime win over Oklahoma in the Bedlam Series at Gallagher Iba Arena in Stillwater. KT KING / For the Tulsa World
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