STILLWATER – Oklahoma State is looking to get back into the win column Thursday night as they’re coming off an 85-76 loss to Oklahoma in Bedlam over the weekend.
One of the main problems for the Pokes this season, one that reared its ugly head in Bedlam, came on the defensive end. The Sooners were solid from the field, shooting 44% from the field and 39% from 3-point range. They were also 11-of-16 shooting in the final 11 minutes of the game.
The Pokes weren’t without offensive struggles as well as they missed 11 layups in the second half alone and went 9-of-22 from the floor in the same final 11 minutes as the Sooners.
The Cowboys cut the deficit down to just three with 1:37 left in the game but allowed the Sooners to finish the game on a 6-0 run, which included a dunk and four free throws.
They allowed Grand Canyon back into the game and the games against Nicholls and Northwestern ended up being much closer than they needed to be.
“We’re probably doing more toughness drills,” Lutz said of the toughness of practices this week. “Instead of maybe doing eight drills in a practice, maybe we’re doing 12 drills in a practice, and there’s always winners and losers in everything. But what has happened is any time you get beat off the bounce and allow the ball to get to the middle, or any time you don’t check out, or any time you don’t go rebound, it’s an automatic down and back.”
The first thing head coach Steve Lutz told the media on Tuesday was the film wasn’t any better than what they saw live on Saturday. But that it’s also time to try and figure out exactly where the roster stands going into Big 12 play.
“We’ve always spent a lot of time in the film, but this is now bone on bone, man on man, who’s gonna stop the other person? That’s where we’re at,” said Lutz. “All the schemes and all the vernacular that we use, it doesn’t matter if you don’t guard the basketball. It doesn’t matter if you don’t go box out your opponent and get the dang ball. It doesn’t matter, so we’re back to the basics of the physical, every possession, grind-it-out defense.”
