Oklahoma State Cowboys 71

Oklahoma Sooners 70

RECAP:

OKLAHOMA CITY – Even a clock malfunction couldn’t stop an Oklahoma State win.

James Anderson made two free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining in the game to give Oklahoma State a 71-70 lead. Blake Griffin caught a full-court inbounds pass, drew contact and missed a fadeaway three. Oklahoma missed the putback, but the clock never started.

It didn’t matter. The refs reviewed the tape, and gave the Cowboys a 71-70 upset of No. 2 seed Oklahoma in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday.

While the split-crowd stood in a raucous wonder, half cheering, half confused, referee Curtis Shaw was busy checking a replay with a stop watch in hand. He said Oklahoma rebounded the ball after three seconds had gone by on the clock.

The game’s final 2.3 seconds were just as controversial as its final 10. After a Tony Crocker tip in gave Oklahoma a 70-69 lead, Byron Eaton drove into the lane and missed a layup. Anderson went up for a contested rebound in traffic and was fouled by Blake Griffin, sending him to the line.

“They said I fouled James Anderson,” said an unconvinced Griffin.

When asked if he thought he was fouled on the final shot, his answer was sharp and definite – “Yes.”

Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel echoed Griffin’s sentiment.

“I think it’s physics,” he said. “If you have a 255-pound guy and he happens to run into a guy that is going for the ball, a guy that’s 200 pounds, 205, he is probably going to move a bit.”

Anderson, who battled foul trouble all night, came through when it counted, thanks to some words of confidence whispered to him from Eaton moments before his free throws to seal the game.

“I just told him, ‘This ain’t nothing big for James Anderson, it’s just another walk in the park,’” Eaton said.

A noisy park. The arena was jam packed and loud, split down the middle between noisy Oklahoma State fans and Sooner fans.

“The atmosphere was great,” Caple said. “But I didn’t enjoy how we played tonight.”

Oklahoma State’s Marshall Moses, who scored 18 points Wednesday, didn’t score a basket and fouled out. That left Anthony Brown to guard Griffin. All he did was help hold Griffin to 17 points. Oklahoma employed a strategy that Cowboys’ coach Travis Ford developed at 3 a.m. Thursday after watching tape of their two previous match ups.

Ford said they had been trying to double team Griffin, but he was kicking it out and making plays for other people.

“We made the decision to go ahead and try to full front him as much as possible,” Ford said. “We knew the 3-point percentage, and I said we’re just going to have to hopefully hope they miss a few shots.”

Oklahoma did. They made just 1-of-9 shots from the arc.

Despite all the confusion during the final minutes, Caple was clear his team was beat by Oklahoma State.

Five Cowboys scored in double digits.

“That’s what it is going to take to beat one of the best teams in the country, special plays by everybody,” Ford said. “I think you can look down the list, everybody did that. Everybody stepped up and made a special play at some point.”

QUOTEABLE:

“It was a great atmosphere. I think any Bedlam game is going to be a great atmosphere. Playing here at the Ford Center with the crowd split, that’s the atmosphere everybody wants to play in.” – OSU guard Keiton Page

“The atmosphere was great, but I didn’t enjoy how we played today. I’m sure [OSU coach Travis Ford] enjoyed how his team played. I didn’t enjoy how we played really for the whole game.” – Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Keiton Page, freshman guard, Oklahoma State (15 points)

Page hit four 3-pointers in the game and helped the Cowboys keep pace with the Sooners during the second half. His coach had a talk with him before the game and told him to play more like he did in high school.

“I said, ‘You are playing too much like a role player. I know you are playing with Byron, Terrel and James and you kind of stand over on the side on offense and hope they drive and kick it to you. Don’t be afraid, make things happen. You are a heck of a player,’” Ford said.

WHAT IT MEANS:

No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. winner of No. 11 Texas Tech/No. 3 Missouri, 8:30 p.m. Friday

Oklahoma State played like a team that just needed a win more, and as a result the Cowboys can likely punch an NCAA ticket now. Neither team can spend much time focusing on a great college basketball game and a great atmosphere; they both have work to do. Oklahoma State plays in less than 24 hours, its third game in three days. And the Sooners have to figure out what is going wrong with a team that started the Big 12 season 11-0 but has lost four of six games since.