Cowboys begin challenging month
Oklahoma State visits No. 7-ranked Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday to begin its daunting second half of conference play.
The past few Februaries have provided a unique challenge to Oklahoma State basketball coach Mike Boynton.
Each year, he adopts a diet of strictly fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans for the entirety of the month. With time, Boynton has adjusted to the monthlong strain, able to dodge the cravings. What could prove harder to stomach is the Cowboys’ daunting Big 12 slate to close out Boynton’s first year at the helm.
Saturday, OSU visits No. 7-ranked Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse to begin the back half of league play. Losers of three straight, the Cowboys are tasked with facing a Jayhawks team in pursuit of its 14th straight conference crown. In the past six seasons, KU has lost only five games at home.
“It’soneofthegreatchallenges of our game, regardless of the stretch you’re in,” Boynton said Thursday. “Even if you’re on a four-game winning streak, it’s a game you’ve really gotta be dialed in. You’ve gotta be focused on the right things, not let yourselves get overwhelmed by the atmosphere.”
OSU enters the contest with an 0-5 road record. But February has been a good month for Boynton in the recent years. During Boynton’s three years as an assistant under Brad Underwood at Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks went 21-1 in February. After Boynton followed Underwood to Stillwater, the Cowboys were 6-2 in the month, including a five-game winning streak that bolstered their NCAA Tournament positioning.
As OSU’s head coach, Boynton is trying to carry over that success.
“It’s a great time of year for me, for a lot of reasons,” Boynton said. “The diet thing is totally not withstanding. I enjoy that challenge, but it’s also a time when, in my profession, you start to have a little bit of separation.”
OSU is trying not to fall too far behind the pack. At 3-5 in the Big 12, the Cowboys will need a string of upsets to keep their fading NCAA Tournament hopes going. OSU’s eight February games also include trips to West Virginia, TCU, Texas and Iowa State, while Baylor, Kansas State and Texas Tech visit GallagherIba Arena. The Cowboys’ regular season ends at home against Kansas on March 3.
The back nine starts Saturday in a game that will undoubtedly challenge OSU. Senior forward Mitchell Solomon said the Cowboys want to avoid making too big of a deal out of facing the Jayhawks.
“I think it’s just another game for us,” Solomon said. “We’re trying not to think about all the stuff that surrounds playing up there. Obviously, it’s a tough place to play, but we’ve played in some tough places already, and we played well. I think we’re just going to go in with the same mindset and try to do as best as we can.”
Solomon and the Cowboys plan to be prepared for whatever February brings them. Taking on Boynton’s diet is another story.
“More power to him,” Solomon said with a laugh. “Not for me, though.”