Watch: Mike Boynton Emotionally Addresses Team After Second-Round Loss

STILLWATER – It was a disappointing night in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse for No. 4 seed Oklahoma State as their magical season came to an end with an 80-70 loss to No. 12 seed Oregon State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Mike Boynton came to the postgame Zoom fighting back tears after addressing his team in the locker room following the game. The basketball Twitter account posted that encounter this morning.

“The thing I’m most obviously disappointed in has nothing to do with the game, nothing – I really just wanted to coach you guys again, to be honest,” said coach Boynton.

Next year’s team will obviously have a different look to it. That was the last time we’ll get to watch Cade Cunningham in an Oklahoma State uniform. No one’s sure if either Bryce Williams or Ferron Flavors Jr. will be back next season and there’s always transfers and newcomers after a season. This was a special team to watch overcome adversity all season long and get hot at the right time, so it’s understandable why coach Boynton was emotional after the game.

"I'll remember this team as a team that raised the bar for me and our program,” coach Boynton said in the postgame press conference. “In my mind as we move forward, this is where the rest of the teams that I get to coach, they've got to live up to. My job is to make sure we continue to recruit guys, then develop them once they get here, to be in a position where we're playing meaningful basketball in this tournament for many years to come. I'm thankful for – sent out a message the other day thanking the first group of seniors I coached, and last year's seniors. This team is going to be special because in many ways they overcame a lot. They could have kind of went their own way back in the summer, but they all came together to try to get to this point. We wanted to go further. But they really sent a message about what Oklahoma State basketball can be and what our expectations of it should be moving forward."

No one expected the Pokes to even be in the tournament, much less a No. 4 seed as the NCAA handed Mike Boynton and Co. a one-year postseason ban as a result of the investigation into former assistant coach Lamont Evans. The Cowboys also ended the regular season ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 and fell just short of a Big 12 tournament championship as they lost to Texas in the finals.

One of the main reasons was because of the Big 12 Freshman and Player of the Year, Cade Cunningham. He also picked up multiple First-Team All-America honors after the season, and no question there’s more awards coming.

“I'm not sure I really have words, to be honest,” coach Boynton said on coaching Cade Cunningham. “He's a special dude. He's going to be a really good player at the next level, whoever gets him. I certainly look forward to cheering him on and watching him on TV a lot because I know he's going to be a guy that has a long career. But he's made me better. He allowed me to coach him. He allowed me to hold him accountable. Because of that experience, I've had a chance to have a special season. We just came up a little short of our ultimate goals, but we did a lot of really good things, and a lot of it was because of his presence and his willingness to be one of the guys.”

However, the way guys rose to the occasion and got better as the season went along, Avery Anderson III, Kalib Boone, Rondel Walker, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, along with the leadership of Isaac Likekele, next year’s team has the potential of being just as special.