Baylor and Oklahoma State were once top 10 teams that appeared to be on the path to certain NCAA tournament bids.
Now they both need to end the regular season with hot streaks just to secure a place on the tournament bubble.
The Bears and Cowboys find themselves in very similar positions heading into ESPN?s nationally televised ?Big Monday? game at 8 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
Both teams are 16-9 overall and 4-8 in the Big 12, but the Bears have momentum after Wednesday?s 91-58 blowout of TCU in Fort Worth and Saturday night?s 87-73 double-overtime win over Kansas State at the Ferrell Center.
?I know Oklahoma State was cheering for a couple more overtimes,? Baylor coach Scott Drew said. ?But both teams will be a little fatigued. The good thing is that?s why we have depth. And if we can get a good turnout from the crowd to keep us energized and focused and help that homecourt advantage, that?s a huge help.?
While the Bears have begun to pull out of a tailspin, the Cowboys are in the middle of one. After starting Big 12 play with a 4-2 record, they?ve dropped six straight games, including a 77-74 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday in Stillwater.
For the third straight game, the Cowboys will be without star guard Marcus Smart who was suspended by the Big 12 for pushing Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr in the stands near the end of a 65-61 loss to the Red Raiders in Lubbock on Feb. 8. Smart will be allowed to return for Oklahoma State?s next game against Texas Tech on Saturday in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State had already lost four straight games with Smart on the court, and have now dropped the last two without him.
?They?re down ? this is as down of a locker room that I?ve seen,? said Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford after the loss to the Sooners. ?We just need to keep our head up and understand there is a lot of basketball left to be played. It doesn?t get any easier out on the road.?
With Smart suspended and forward Michael Cobbins out for the season with an Achilles injury, the Cowboys are having to rely even more on guards Markel Brown and Phil Forte and forward Le?Bryan Nash to pick up the slack.
Brown scored 26 points against the Sooners while Forte hit 16 and Nash 15. But the Cowboys couldn?t hang on to a five-point lead in the final five minutes as Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield nailed a pair of clutch 3-pointers.
The Bears will try to beat the Cowboys for the second time this season after pulling off a 76-70 win in Stillwater on Feb. 1. With Kenny Chery missing the game with a turf toe injury, Gary Franklin handled most of the point guard duties and finished with five assists and 11 points, including three clutch 3-pointers down the stretch.
Brady Heslip buried six treys while Cory Jefferson contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds and Rico Gathers finished with 14 points and six boards in a rare Baylor win at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Smart had a tough day shooting the ball for the Cowboys as he went 3-for-14 from the field.
With Saturday?s win over the Wildcats, the Bears snapped a four-game Big 12 home losing streak. They overcame a 10-point deficit midway through the second half as Heslip sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
?Coming down the stretch drive, we?ve really tried to focus on each and every play, and not quit no matter what happens,? Drew said. ?I thought the upperclassmen did a great job. The bench was into it. I think guys kept in there and kept competing and kept encouraging each other, and that always helps.?
Chery recorded the sixth triple-double in school history as he finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, while Isaiah Austin collected 18 points and a career-high nine blocked shots. It took a great effort from a lot of Baylor players to beat the Wildcats, who were coming off wins over No. 19 Texas and No. 7 Kansas.
?In the last week, who has played better than Kansas State?? Drew said. ?They beat Texas and Kansas, so it?s a war each and every night. Everybody contributed, it was a great win. Now we?ve just got to build from here.?
Now they both need to end the regular season with hot streaks just to secure a place on the tournament bubble.
The Bears and Cowboys find themselves in very similar positions heading into ESPN?s nationally televised ?Big Monday? game at 8 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
Both teams are 16-9 overall and 4-8 in the Big 12, but the Bears have momentum after Wednesday?s 91-58 blowout of TCU in Fort Worth and Saturday night?s 87-73 double-overtime win over Kansas State at the Ferrell Center.
?I know Oklahoma State was cheering for a couple more overtimes,? Baylor coach Scott Drew said. ?But both teams will be a little fatigued. The good thing is that?s why we have depth. And if we can get a good turnout from the crowd to keep us energized and focused and help that homecourt advantage, that?s a huge help.?
While the Bears have begun to pull out of a tailspin, the Cowboys are in the middle of one. After starting Big 12 play with a 4-2 record, they?ve dropped six straight games, including a 77-74 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday in Stillwater.
For the third straight game, the Cowboys will be without star guard Marcus Smart who was suspended by the Big 12 for pushing Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr in the stands near the end of a 65-61 loss to the Red Raiders in Lubbock on Feb. 8. Smart will be allowed to return for Oklahoma State?s next game against Texas Tech on Saturday in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State had already lost four straight games with Smart on the court, and have now dropped the last two without him.
?They?re down ? this is as down of a locker room that I?ve seen,? said Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford after the loss to the Sooners. ?We just need to keep our head up and understand there is a lot of basketball left to be played. It doesn?t get any easier out on the road.?
With Smart suspended and forward Michael Cobbins out for the season with an Achilles injury, the Cowboys are having to rely even more on guards Markel Brown and Phil Forte and forward Le?Bryan Nash to pick up the slack.
Brown scored 26 points against the Sooners while Forte hit 16 and Nash 15. But the Cowboys couldn?t hang on to a five-point lead in the final five minutes as Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield nailed a pair of clutch 3-pointers.
The Bears will try to beat the Cowboys for the second time this season after pulling off a 76-70 win in Stillwater on Feb. 1. With Kenny Chery missing the game with a turf toe injury, Gary Franklin handled most of the point guard duties and finished with five assists and 11 points, including three clutch 3-pointers down the stretch.
Brady Heslip buried six treys while Cory Jefferson contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds and Rico Gathers finished with 14 points and six boards in a rare Baylor win at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Smart had a tough day shooting the ball for the Cowboys as he went 3-for-14 from the field.
With Saturday?s win over the Wildcats, the Bears snapped a four-game Big 12 home losing streak. They overcame a 10-point deficit midway through the second half as Heslip sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
?Coming down the stretch drive, we?ve really tried to focus on each and every play, and not quit no matter what happens,? Drew said. ?I thought the upperclassmen did a great job. The bench was into it. I think guys kept in there and kept competing and kept encouraging each other, and that always helps.?
Chery recorded the sixth triple-double in school history as he finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, while Isaiah Austin collected 18 points and a career-high nine blocked shots. It took a great effort from a lot of Baylor players to beat the Wildcats, who were coming off wins over No. 19 Texas and No. 7 Kansas.
?In the last week, who has played better than Kansas State?? Drew said. ?They beat Texas and Kansas, so it?s a war each and every night. Everybody contributed, it was a great win. Now we?ve just got to build from here.?
