STILLWATER – For the second time three games Oklahoma State has a chance to build on a win, to stack wins. The first opportunity after beating West Virginia at home in Gallagher-Iba 70-66, Mike Boynton’s team had to trip to Allen Fieldhouse to face a Kansas team that had just lost on the road at Iowa State. The Jayhawks were in an intense mood and the result was an 83-54 runaway for KU. Now, coming off the 75-72 win in Gallagher-Iba Saturday over Kansas State, the trip is to Houston’s Fertita Center to face the No. 5 Cougars, who themselves just visited Lawrence and got beat by KU 78-65.
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When Sampson preaches the topic is almost always defense.
Anyone willing to bet that Houston is joking around and taking the Cowboys, who are last in the conference at 2-7 and 10-12 overall. Nobody in the Big 12 takes anybody lightly coming off a loss. Houston is one of the very best defensive teams in the country allowing just 60.67 points a game and opponents are shooting 40.2 percent and 31.1 percent from three-point range.
Now, compare that to Oklahoma State that is only averaging 65 points a game anyway and shooting just 40.3 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.
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Sampson greets Coach Sutton in a game at Gallagher-Iba in 2018.
Kelvin Sampson has a long history with Oklahoma State, coached against Eddie Sutton many times back in the day when he was at Oklahoma. Mike Boynton said Sampson has been a mentor, an idol to him.
“He's been a tremendous mentor to me and several other young coaches in the country. I've leaned on him, certainly before he got in the league, for advice on how do you navigate the challenges,” Boynton said last week when asked about Sampson. “The successes are easy, right? You've got to watch that you don't get full of yourself. But it's really the day-to-day management of 15 players, a staff, their families, boosters, alumni, former players. There's a lot that goes into it.”
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Cowboys will need another huge game from Brandon Garrison.
Boynton has handled so much of it, the duties of being a head coach very well. Consistent winning and postseason participation and success not so much. Boynton is on the hot seat and as he tries to get this season turned toward more success and momentum he has to face a team that may be Sampson’s best at Houston, and a coach that has successall the time.
“He's been a tremendous help to me, as I've tried to continue to grow to become as good a coach as he's been over the course his career,” Boynton added. “I think he's one of the all-time greats. Literally. Regardless of sport, regardless of gender, regardless of level -- he's one of the best coaches to ever coach a sport.”
So, in Boynton’s mind, a GOAT, Sampson and his Cougars are a GOAT and the Cowboys are trying to stack a win. If they can come out of the Fertita Center on Tuesday with the 6 p.m. tip on ESPN2 with a win then that will be one of the better short stacks of win lately for Cowboy basketball and potentially winnable games at Oklahoma and BYU at home the next two on the schedule.
I don’t have to tell you or Coach Boynton, first things first in Houston.
