Cowboys must trim turnovers for a March run
Cade Cunningham had just taken an alleyoop pass from Rondel Walker for a highlight-reel dunk that became a 3-point play. OSU had a 25-14 lead early on Kansas State.
But on the Cowboys' next possession, Cunningham hurried the ball upcourt, lost control of his dribble and the Wildcats came up with a steal.
And that's part of the Cowboy conundrum. OSU does many things well and seems headed for its first NCAA Tournament since 2017 and potentially its first March Madness victory since 2009.
But OSU has a couple of major weaknesses that could loom large as this basketball season hits the homestretch. The Cowboys are not big and often get overpowered in the paint. Good teams can survive that.
Can OSU survive that and a rash of turnovers?
The Cowboys had 17 turnovers in their 67-60 victory over K-State on Saturday. That's after 18 turnovers in a loss at Kansas last Monday. And 22 turnovers in a win
over Texas the previous Saturday.
OSU has averaged 17.3 turnovers the last nine games.
“We gotta do a better job of taking care of the ball,” said OSU guard Ferron Flavors Jr. “Lot of the turnovers, they lead to easy baskets for the other team.
“Especially (since) this is such a good conference. Granted, Kansas State is at the bottom of the conference right now, but they're a really good team, coached by a really good coach (Bruce Weber). They're not going to stop playing. If anything, us turning over the ball, that gives the other team life, especially when we're on the brink of putting those teams away. The better job we do taking care of the ball, the less that happens with those second-half runs teams go on.”
In conference play, OSU is tied for third-worst in turnovers per game, 14.4. But that's after the Cowboys opened Big 12 play averaging just 12.75 turnovers their first four games.
Since then, the turnovers have risen.
“The number's definitely too high,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “I'll need to go back to the film and figure out where they're coming from. We want to be in the 12-13 range, so we're not in the 20s like we have been. We still want to get that number down closer to single digits.”
With a guard-heavy lineup, the Cowboys like to play uptempo, which they should, being outsized. Cunningham, Avery Anderson, Isaac Likekele, Rondel Walker. All are good in the open court.
But Anderson and Cunningham have had some ghastly turnover totals lately. Anderson had seven turnovers vs. Texas, five vs. Baylor and Iowa State, four vs. Kansas. Cunningham has averaged 5.0 turnovers his past six games, including seven vs. Kansas and six vs. Texas.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.