5 Thoughts On The Cowboys Overtime Takedown Of The Red Raiders

Cowboys Can Close In Overtime

The Cowboys have found themselves in three overtimes this season, coming out with three overtime wins. All three of them have come against ranked teams, two of them coming againt Texas Tech. The third was against No. 6 Texas. This bodes well for the future as the Cowboys have proven several times they can win big games as well as grind out games when things get tough or intense. 

Recapturing Success On The Floor

The Cowboys started the second half going 0-8 shooting, not scoring for the first 6.5 minutes coming out of halftime. The would then turn it around and go 9/13 shooting in the rest of regulation, adding in 10 point off of free throws. The early half struggles hindered the Cowboys from seperating to any sort of comfortable lead, keeping Tech in for the entire way. If they can sustain that sucess from start to finish in each half, not many teams will be able to hang with the Cowboys. 

Avery Anderson The Heart Of The Cowboys

Everyone knows that Cade Cunningham is the best player on the court at any given time but what Avery Anderson has done this season, especially this game, is nothing short of remarkable. The workhorse guard led the team in minutes played with 39, finishing with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist but his efforts and who he is as a player were all shown in one play at the end of overtime. Only up by 3 with 1:02 left in the game, Isaac Likekele made an errant pass, giving an open lane to Tech’s Avery Benson but Anderson chased him down for a wild block as he attempted a dunk. The ball ended up in the Cowboys hands and they were able to bleed clock, essentially sealing the OT win. 

Kalib Boone A Star No Longer In The Making

I believe it is time that Kalib Boone can just be considered a star player, instead of an up and coming piece for the Cowboys. He is fully ingrained in the teams success, game in and game out. Boone played 33 minutes, logging 18 points and 7 rebounds, including some clutch ones as the game winded down. Another stat which will be taken for granted is that in his 33 minutes, he did get called for a single foul. 

Hot Commodity For The Tourney

Since suffering back-to-back losses in early January, Mike Boynton had led his squad to a 9-4 record, beating 4 ranked teams along the way. Two of the four ranked wins came against Top 10 opponents.  Two of the four losses in that span came againt ranked opponents, one of which was only a three point loss to No. 14 West Virginia.  The Cowboys are scheduled for back-to-back Bedlam matchups against No. 7 ranked Oklahoma. Even if they only win one of them, that is a third top 10 victory in the last several weeks, something that will favor the Cowboys on ‘Selection Sunday’. Every year there are teams that are at their peak heading into the tournament and right now, the Cowboys might be at the top of that list.