Oklahoma State Basketball

When the Cowboys introduced Travis Ford as their new head coach, gone were the days of Henry Iba grind ball. It's not that the Pokes wouldn't play defense, but they would play a new type of D. Instead of staring down half court sets, Coach Ford was going to stick his team on their opponents at full or three-fourths court.

On offense, instead of bleeding the clock to single digits and getting a good set shot, Ford was going to up the number of possessions per game off the fast break created by increased court pressure.The Cowboys still wanted to wear down their foes, just in a different way. If Coach Sutton's goal was to make each possession 35 seconds of pure frustration for the opposing team, Coach Ford had the entire game in mind.

Coach Ford was bringing the good old "40 minutes of Hell" to Stillwater.

Or at least that is how the story went. The Cowboy faithful became well aware of what "Eddie Ball" looked like. They expected Sean Sutton’s teams to look quite similar. But when Travis Ford took the helm last year, they knew that Ford’s team would look different.

The Question on everybody's mind was, "what will Travis Ford ball look like?" Although the crowds at Gallagher-Iba Arena have been given glimpses, the question hasn't been fully answered.

Undoubtedly, the two Cowboy squads that have played for Coach Ford already look different than what immediately preceded them. However, the transformation is still incomplete. The primary reason for this? Coach Ford demonstrates one of the best traits any coach can have—he adapts his system to the talent he has.

Many coaches willingly fall back on the "honeymoon" period of good will at the beginning of their tenure at a new job to recast the program in their own image. The sight can often be quite ugly. Not only are the fans in for a year or two of losses, but it really becomes a sour deal for the previously recruited players.

Unlike the pros, where one can cash a paycheck while waiting for a contract year to shine and attract attention, kids have to decide if playing well on a mediocre-to-awful team is enough to get noticed, or if a year waiting on the bench in order to transfer is worth their time. Even if it is "necessary," it sure is a bum deal for fans and players alike.

In this regard, Coach Ford is a breathe of fresh air. Coach Ford implemented as much as he could of his fast-paced vision. However, he stopped well short of forcing the 2008-09 Cowboys into imitating the 1990s Kentucky Wildcats. He didn't even demand they look like his UMass and Eastern Kentucky teams.

Instead, Coach Ford spent the first part of the season testing the Pokes to see what parts of his vision they could handle, and the rest of the way he adapted his demands to the realities of his current personnel. The result?

A run into the Big Dance, including a win over Tennessee, and a hard fought loss to a Pitt team that over-matched them. Fans were ecstatic after being left out of the tournament for what seemed forever in Stillwater terms, and Byron Eaton was given an honorable senior send off, proving himself to be a leader many thought he would never be after disappointing sophomore and junior years. The 2008-09 season was about as successful as any Poke fan could imagine.

But what last season was not, what it could not be, was a complete look into the future of Cowboy basketball.

First of all, it was obvious that Coach Ford was not in love with the fact that last year's Cowboys depended completely on Eaton's leadership.The offense moved through the senior Point Guard, and if he got into foul trouble, the Cowboys struggled. Beyond the fact that no coach likes the entire offense to hinge on one player, Coach Ford gives further clues that this is not the future the Pokes have in store.

If the John Lucas III floor general model was what Coach Ford had in mind for the future of Cowboy Basketball, there is no way his first recruiting class would have included three point guards.There's no way that it would have included two similar type big men in the 6'10" Shaw and the 6'11" Walker (both listed as forward/centers).

The 2010 recruitment list looks similar, but with the PG position filled up, the class instead boasts a bevy of small forwards and power forwards. Coach Ford does not appear to be looking for a traditional college team. He is not looking for a team composed of the "floor general," the "shooter," the "driver," the "defensive expert", and the "big man" down low.

Ford's recruiting classes evoke a different image. With interchangeable parts, wave after wave of players can be thrown out in different combinations. If this is the case, the hope is not only to confuse offenses, get turnovers, and score off the fast break, the idea is to have enough players to burn the engines at 100 percent capacity the entire game. The idea is to stoke the fires of the "40 minutes of hell" model.

Clearly, this year's Pokes are not quite stoking that fire. Anderson, Paige, and Penn all average 30+ minutes a game, and Moses is right there with 28. These four players play the bulk of available minutes, and Muonelo is not far behind with about 25 minutes per game.

Even the Kansas Jayhawks, who by no means envision themselves as a Pitino-esque team, do not have such a discrepancy. In fact, no one on the Jayhawks currently averages over 30, although Collins is close.

Last year’s Missouri Tigers team, a bona-fide "40 minutes of Hell" team if there is one, had two players average 28 and 26 minutes a game. Three others where in the 20s, while 10 players total averaged around double digit minutes. With the constant pressure, last year's Tigers forced 8.4 turnovers a game, while this year's Pokes average 4.6 per contest.  

The Tigers also led the nation last year in assist-to-turnover ratio at a whopping 1.6 to one. The Pokes this year average one assist to each turnover. The Tigers averaged more possessions and points last year (approximately 73 and 81 a game) to this years Cowboys as well (approximately 70 and 77 a game).* At least for the time being, Oklahoma State is not exhibiting the same traits as a high pressure team like Missouri.

Granted, one could ask if any team Ford has coached so far looks like the 2008-09 Mizzou squad. Looking at the stats of Ford's UMass and E. Kentucky teams, one could argue that they look far more like the Cowboys last two campaigns than anything Mike Anderson has pulled off with the Tigers.

Perhaps the hype coming in was a bit misleading? It very well could be, although a few factors could make sense of these stats. First of all, Oklahoma State seems to provide, for the first time, a place where Coach Ford can go find the type of players he wants for his system.

As it was pointed out above, Ford is good about changing his game plan to his talent; perhaps this is the first time he can recruit the talent to fit his vision. If so, it would be understandable that the stats don’t quite match expectations.

Second, the Pitino-style fast pace that Ford played under during his time at Kentucky is not the same as the Arkansas type that Anderson's Tigers bring to mind. Without throwing out all the stats, Pitino's last few Louisville campaigns look more like the 2008-09 Cowboys than the Tigers. So perhaps comparing the Pokes to last years Tigers is a bit of a stretch.

However, a small identity crises still looms over this year's team. While some have made a good case for the problem being a lack of a leader akin to Byron Eaton, one has to wonder if this year's team is more of a transition team than last year's Pokes could afford to be.

Six newly minted freshman sit on the bench, with junior Matt Pilgrim (from Kentucky, of course) rounding out the half of the team that are strictly Coach Ford additions. Every team needs a leader, but not all leaders do their leading in the same fashion. A leader on a team where no one plays over 30 minutes will look much different than Byron Eaton.

Is it simply the case that we have not seen a real “Travis Ford” team yet?

With the way Ford is recruiting, perhaps a more drastic overhaul is taking place, and this year's team is demonstrating the growing pains involved in such a venture. Whatever the case may be, Coach Ford must once again be commended for not pouring the old wine into new wine skins too quickly. Although it is still early in the season, most teams would kill for a transition season to start out 8-1.

*I will point out that last year, Missouri and Oklahoma State were practically tied in possessions per game. I would have lost this bet! In fact, last years Pokes team looked similar to Missouri in points scored (80.9) and steals (7.6), although their assist-to-turnover average was still one to one.

Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford has a team that's 8-1 but has yet to face any real challenge.

That one loss came to in-state rival Tulsa when the Cowboys played without any fire. 

Last season, on a team that made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament, Ford had a player who wanted to win so badly that he brought a sense of urgency to the floor every second he was on it. His name was Byron Eaton. 

Now, Ford must find a floor leader from a group of players who are all unproven in that ability.

His candidates: freshmen Ray Penn or Fred Gulley, sophomore Keiton Page, juniors James Anderson and Marshall Moses, or senior Obi Muonelo.  

Muonelo and Anderson would be the likely choices. However, it doesn't appear to be in their natures.

Anderson plays more of a role like Allan Houston—electric and will provide a spark but not the guy you follow. 

Muonelo, on the other hand, being a senior, just doesn't play leader. His personality is too far from the whole "demanding respect" category. 

Penn and Gulley, though both are extremely talented point guards, do not yet have the respect of their teammates because they are in fact freshmen, though Penn could evolve into that leader down the road. 

All that's left is the undersized Page and the emotional Moses. 

Page, though small (standing at 5'9" if he's lucky), brings high-volume offense to the floor. With range that extends to the parking lot, Page has one thing he has yet to prove: that he can elevate the play of his teammates and make them better. 

Moses, though undersized for a center (standing at 6'6"), has shown over his development these past two years that he can bring energy, urgency, and intensity to the floor. 

Though his offense has yet to become consistent, Moses' rebounding and defensive intensity have never faltered. 

Without the sense of urgency a leader brings to the floor, the Cowboys will continue to play lackadaisically—and when a real test arrives and the Cowboys have a chance to make a statement, they won't be able to. They'll fall flat on their faces.

The Cowboys need someone to step up from the crowd of young men in that locker room; they need someone to follow.

The conference schedule moves closer every day. Time is running out for a team that wishes to continue its run in March.   

You probably forgot about it.

The most "important" game the '04 Final Four Cowboys played was NOT St. Joseph's. It wasn't the grindfest against Pitt. It wasn't one of the three times we beat Texas that year.

It wasn't the bedlam sweep or the victory over Kansas. It wasn't even a win. The most important game of that season, the game that made all the following victories possible, was an ugly, ugly loss on the road, only five games in to the young season.

BYU 76, OSU 71.

Rafeal Araujo lit the Cowboy defense up for 32 points. In a game that remained close for its entire duration, the then ranked #25 Cowboys let the Brazilian center hit six free throws in the final minute of the game. He grabbed 17 boards...17 glass-dominating boards, as the Cougars racked up a 44-18 rebounding advantage.

No one could guard the big man down low. The Cowboy offense couldn't stay consistent either: although they shot 52% for the night, they brought down only one offensive board, and went almost four minutes without scoring toward the end of the game. The Cowboys were embarrassed, plain and simple.

The Eddie scowl probably showed up on the Richter scale, he was so profoundly disappointed. They would soon be knocked out of the top 25, and Cowboy fans would remain puzzled as to what could be expected of this team of mostly new faces. As the players later reported, the trip back home was no fun.

We all know what happened after that. Practice in football pads that the national media just loved to show. A run through the Big 12 like we had never seen before. A team that became the epitome of toughness, both on defense and on the glass, despite Ivan McFarland being their tallest starter.

We were more physical than Texas, we were grittier than Pitt, and were so clutch to the point that John Lucas III had no problem icing the game against St. Joseph’s with a three-pointer we will all remember. But it all started with the loss to BYU, and the motivation it planted deep in the heart of the '04 Cowboy team.

Flash forward to the current season. Through six games, a Cowboy team with quite a few new faces is rolling along quite well, winning all their games by double digits. Coach Travis Ford warns everyone that his young team is not quite ready to be minted as a contender, that they have a ways to go. Prophetically, he steps up these comments before the Tulsa game.

Tulsa 86, OSU 65.

The game was terrible. Outrebounded 39 to 22, the Cowboys let another big man, Jerome Jordan, block six of their shots, grab nine boards and 11 points. Granted, this was not quite the Brazilian nightmare of the BYU game, but in every category where you could be physical and tough, the Cowboys failed in a drastic manner.

Afterward, the players expressed their embarrassment. Coach Ford publicly expressed in interviews his disappointment in the upper classmen, especially in non-basketball manners such as attending class. The collective face of Cowboy Basketball was dour.

My thought is that we shouldn’t worry. In fact, I think we can be cautiously optimistic about the results of the butt-kicking by Tulsa. The team obviously has talent. It even has similarities to the '04 Final Four team beyond the BYU-Tulsa comparison: James Anderson reminds one of Tony Allen (although not as good a defender, but he sure can get to the basket like Tony).

Marshall Moses reminds one of another tough guy, plays-bigger-than-my-height Ivan McFarland (although he may be even shorter than Ivan). Even Ray Penn reminds me somewhat of a John Lucas III.

Granted, all of the '04 guys were older and had more time under their belts. Additionally, we play an entirely different style of ball. Please do not hear me saying I expect a Final Four out of these guys! However, we didn't expect one out of the '04 guys either.

Can Coach Ford use Tulsa the same way Coach Sutton used BYU? Will the players use it for motivation the same way? Sometimes it better to lose early. Sometimes, its even better when you get your butts handed to you early, especially when you are young. Let's just hope the drive back from Tulsa was long enough to get under this young team's skin the same way the trip home from Utah did with the '04 Cowboys. 

As one of the most anticipated seasons in Oklahoma State's football history heads toward a close, another one begins.

After making the NCAA for the first time in three years, second-year head coach Travis Ford looks to continue the reemergence of Cowboy basketball. After the Cowboys fell to No. 1 seed Pittsburgh last season, Ford had a lot of rebuilding to do.

The hardest part h will be the key to the Cowboy's season.

Replacing the likes of point guard Byron Eaton, who did close to everything for Ford last season. Also swing man Terrel Harris and forward Anthony Brown.

However, Ford did just that, bringing in a recruit class filled with a number of talented prospects. Six freshman and one junior were the projects that Ford signed with confidence.

All eyes will fall upon Fords chosen freshman point guards. Starting with Ray Penn, Fred Gulley, and Reger Dowell. Plus, Kentucky transfer Matt Pilgrim will be looked to for toughness and energy.

Ford also has a solid core of veterans to work with. Among them are sophomore Keiton Page, lone senior Obi Muonelo, and juniors Marshall Moses, Nick Sidorakis, and James Anderson.

Anderson is by far the most talented prospect of Ford's veterans and will likely be heading toward the NBA after the season.

Muonelo and Moses also bring a large amount of energy to the floor, while Page and Sidorakis will spread the floor with their perimeter shooting.

For has a brought in a lot of talent to work with his now savvy veterans in his uptempo offense, but if the Cowboys wish to make another appearance in the NCAA Tournament all eyes will fall upon Penn and Gulley.

High octane offense, explosive athletes, rowdy fan base, and one of the loudest arena's in the country? What more can Cowboy nation ask for as basketball season begins?

Easy—consistency.

It’s never easy to go on the road in college basketball. This is a top 25 breakdown of some of the toughest and most intimidating venues in college basketball.

Venue: Gallagher-Iba Arena

School Name: Oklahoma State

Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma

Capacity: 13,611

They will do it to you every single year. It does not matter if it is considered a down year for Oklahoma State. Nor does it matter if a top-five team comes to Stillwater. Call it what you want, but big wins at home are just some of the reasons why Oklahoma State fans love their basketball.

Just last March, the Cowboys made their first NCAA Tournament since 2005. Although, there were a couple disappointing years in between, fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena continued to show their support.

No matter what their record is, each season they will catch at least one team in Stillwater. With over 13,000 screaming fans, there is nothing better than upsetting a ranked Big 12 rival on their home court. And the Cowboys continue to make it happen.

A few years ago, led by the nation’s top player in Kevin Durant, the Texas Longhorns came into Stillwater as a favorite to win. But, led by a roaring crowd and an offensive show, Oklahoma State’s Mario Boggan nailed a three with 3.2 seconds remaining in triple overtime to send Gallagher-Iba into an absolute frenzy and give the Cowboys the upset victory.

It was only last year when Oklahoma State nipped Texas again in a home game; Texas was No. 25 in the nation at the time.

Texas will be back in Stillwater again this season, along with visits from Oklahoma and what potentially could be the biggest match-up of the season when Kansas comes to town. Looked at as a top-three team going into this season, the Jayhawks have had some off-the-court issues and some are not too sure if their heads are completely focused. Hopefully the Jayhawks are focused when the time comes to visit Oklahoma State, because if not Gallagher-Iba Arena and its fans will be the first to remind them.

It has been dubbed as the “Madison Square Garden of the Plains” and the rich tradition of basketball is something Oklahoma State fans are very passionate about. Eddie Sutton is one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history and although he has retired, the excitement still sits inside Gallagher-Iba Arena each season. As one of the more intimidating venues in the country, it is well known that visiting opponents should never tread lightly in Stillwater. They will provide one of the best atmospheres in college basketball and with another season approaching quickly, Cowboys fans could not be happier.

As the rumor mill heats up on who the next head basketball coach at Kentucky will be, names like John Calipari, Tom Izzo, Jaime Dixon and even Slick Rick Pitino have repeatedly bobbed to the surface.

Calipari, called Calamari by his critics, has NCAA baggage from his days at UMASS. It's hard to imagine Dick Vitale's darling kissing up to the bluebloods as a condition of his employment.

Tom Izzo is rumored to be restless at Michigan State, but he is in his home state, and quite well compensated one would assume.

Jaime Dixon's Pittsburgh teams play a sort of WWF, half-court brand of basketball unlikely to find favor in the bluegrass state.

I wouldn't completely rule out Pitino, but the been-there-done-that factor can not be ignored along with Slick Rick's wife; who reportedly had about as much use for Lexington as an AIG executive has for flying coach.

So, that leaves the fallback candidates like John Pelphrey of Arkansas, and Travis Ford of Oklahoma State.

Pelphrey was 2-15 vs SEC competition in 2009...Next.

That leaves Travis Ford, formerly of Eastern Kentucky and UMASS. More importantly, a former Kentucky Wildcat point guard. After one good year at T. Boone Pickens, I mean Oklahoma State, could Ford be a better idea to land at UK?

We'll see.

Many UK fans, including my wife, a native of Mt. Sterling, KY, believe Travis Ford to be the next coach at Kentucky. Ford would certainly understand the off the court obligations of the job better than any of the other candidates, except Pitino of course.

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy's cab driver pal would understand those duties better than the last UK coach, Billy Clyde Gillispie.

Speaking of Billy Gillispie, where does Billy Clyde wind up when the coaching carousal, excuse me carousel, comes to a stop?

If Travis Ford is indeed hired at UK, why Oklahoma State, of course.

Meaning that Travis Ford/Kentucky and Billy Gillispie/Oklahoma State will have traded jobs, and coaches.

It all makes sense.

The only previous coach fired at UK, at least in the post-Rupp era, Eddie Sutton, resurfaced at OSU almost immediately. Party-hearty coach goes from UK to OSU, deja vu.

Billy Gillispie is still highly regarded in the Big 12 from his days at Texas A&M. Gillispie's mentor, Bill Self, a former Sutton assistant, is an OSU alum. Gillispie would know the recruitiing territory from his days at Tulsa with Self. Billy Clyde is a native of talent rich Texas.

Houston, near A&M, is a hotbed of basketball talent.

BCG has indirect ties to Eddie Sutton through Self. The coach that Gillispie's style has always reminded me of the most is Eddie Sutton. Gillispie's best friend reportedly is Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, another Sutton disciple.

Mark it down.

If Travis Ford lands in Lexington, as many believe he will, Gillispie, like Eddie Sutton almost 20 years earlier, will resurface in Stillwater, OK.

For the first time in their careers, Selection Sunday brought good news to seniors Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris of Oklahoma State. Mar. 15 is a day they will always remember as the Cowboys, 23-12 (9-7), were selected as an eight seed for the NCAA Tournament. 

Slated to play the ninth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, Eaton and Harris were in a situation they weren't necessarily prepared for. A burden many wondered if either of them could handle—carrying a team that starts two sophomores, Marshall Moses and James Anderson and one freshman, Keiton Page.

Tennessee, however, seemed to be a little more prepared. Volunteer head coach Bruce Pearl was experienced in the tournament and had players that were better prepared.

Junior forward Tyler Smith was the unsung star of this inconsistent Volunteer team and, along with junior Wayne Chism and senior J.P. Prince, was one of the only players with significant experience. 

Both teams played a very similar style, using a fast-paced system to put up points and rotating defenses to cause turnovers. However, Coach Pearl had something Cowboy head coach Travis Ford did not—size. 

Every starter for Tennessee was taller than Oklahoma State's.

The largest difference was in the matchups for 5'8" Page, who guarded 6'2" junior Bobby Maze, and 5'11" Eaton, who guarded 6'7" freshman Scotty Hopson. Anderson was the only player who sized up well with his matchup with 6'7" Smith. 

But when it came down to the wire, Tennessee's size didn't make a difference.

The 6'6" center, Moses, played one of his best games of the season. Scoring 16 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds, Moses proved that you don't have to be the tallest post player on the floor to be dominant. 

Harris had a solid performance as well, scoring 15 points. But the difference in the game was not what anyone expected. Tennessee was missing one thing the Cowboys had—Byron Eaton. 

Eaton dropped 20 points including a game-deciding three-point play with 7.2 seconds left that gave Oklahoma State a 77-75 lead. 

The next challenge was attempting to get by Pittsburgh, who is absolutely loaded with interior fire power.

Led by behemoth center DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, and steady-handed point guard Levance Fields, Pitt had already been ranked No. 1 once this season and was a favorite to win it all.

The Cowboys came prepared, knocking down 10 threes in the first half and virtually shutting down Blair who didn't have a field goal until the second half. But they focused too much on Blair, as Young lit up the Cowboys in the first half keeping Pitt in the game with 23 points and finished with 32. 

The score was knotted up at halftime 49-49, after Fields hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half. The Cowboys were proving to be a more difficult obstacle than many teams had expected. 

Unfortunately, the Pokes went cold, only hitting two threes in the second half, while claiming an NCAA Tournament record for threes made in a game with 12. 

The Cowboys, however, would not die, as Moses tied the game at 74 with a bucket in the lane. But after that, it was all Pittsburgh as they went on a 10-2 run to finish the game and move to the Sweet 16 with an 84-76 win. 

Eaton finished his career with a double-double, scoring 15 points and dishing out 10 assists as well as having five steals.

Harris dropped 17 points as well making five of six from three-point land.

Eaton's career ended as the career leader in steals in Oklahoma States history. 

For Eaton, Harris, and senior center Anthony Brown, who was the hero of the third Bedlam game in the Big-12 Tournament, their respective rides have ended.

Eaton, Harris, and Brown have no reason to leave this program sulking. They helped revive Cowboy basketball, not only by sending them to the Big Dance but by integrating a "never die" attitude as well.

After being part of three coaching changes, three NIT first-round losses, and 23 different scholarship teammates, Eaton and Harris, despite everything, have something to be proud of.

Once known as the best recruiting class in basketball, Eaton and Harris were the only ones left standing above the rest. 

Oklahoma State came out firing.

They drained three after three after three, shooting 63 percent from the field in the first half. 

The Cowboys hit 10 of 16 threes in the first half as Oklahoma State put up an astounding 49 points, which is the highest first-half total yielded by the Panthers this season.

Oklahoma State held DeJuan Blair to one point and three rebounds in the first half. The entire Pitt team, excluding Sam Young, was held to only 26 points in the first half, and 52 points for the game.

The Cowboys were perfect from the free-throw line, and only committed eight turnovers on the day. Oklahoma State had five players score in double-figures, with four of them scoring 15 points or more.

Everything points to a dominating Cowboys win.

Not so fast.

The Panthers would not be denied what is seemingly turning into their destiny.

Pitt overpowered the Cowboys to reach a familiar place, the Sweet 16, for the fifth time in eight years.

The Panthers’ resident poet, Sam Young, registered 32 points, eight rebounds and did not commit a personal foul on what will go down as one of the best individual performances of the tournament.

Pitt is known for their tough and physical style, but it was Young who resembled a Shakespearean Sonnet in leading the Panthers to victory.

Young was 12-20 from the field, 4-10 from beyond the arc, in leading the No.1 seeded Panthers to an 84-76 win over Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon.

For every three that the Cowboys registered in the first half, Young had an answer. He scored 23 points in the first half to keep the Panthers from being run out of the building.

Blair struggled early in recording yet another double-double, 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Levance Fields was the only other Panther in double-figures with 10 points and nine assists.

Blair came on strong at the end, pulling in offensive rebounds and getting to the free-throw line, as Pitt out-rebounded Oklahoma State 39-21.

Young had a smooth stroke for most of the afternoon, showing why he will likely be an NBA pick in next season’s draft.

Oklahoma State used a strategy similar to the one they used three times against Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin. The Cowboys collapsed on Blair, who didn’t score his first field goal until 13:34 of the second half, and frustrated him for most of the game.

The sharp-shooting Cowboys went cold after halftime. They missed 10 from three-point land, and shot well under 40 percent from the field in the second half.

The mental collapse started in the closing seconds of the first half. 

Fields went to the line to shoot a one-and-one. His first attempt clanked around the rim and fell to the floor. Everyone, except for Fields, stood still thinking it was a two-shot foul.

Fields gathered up the ball and called a time-out. He then hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 49 with two seconds left in the half.

Pitt came out strong, and Oklahoma State fell flat. The Panthers showed the poise of a champion as they held off a late rally by the Cowboys, who tied the game at 74, with 2:41 remaining in regulation.

Fatigue certainly set in for the Cowboys, who used a six-man rotation. Oklahoma State had five of those six players record over 31 minutes of playing time.

The Panthers, on the other hand, used their deep bench to their advantage. Pitt had eight players record over 16 minutes of playing time, with only their three-headed monster of Fields, Blair and Young recording over 30 minutes of play.

That deep bench may be what catapults Pitt to Detroit.

Xavier, the region’s No.4 seed, awaits the Panthers in the round of 16. The Musketeers defeated a feisty Wisconsin team 60-49.

For Pitt to finally break their Sweet 16 curse they will need Blair to continue banging the boards, Fields to continue finding the open man, and Young to continue being poetry in motion.

Congratulations go out to Jaime Dixon who set an NCAA record for the best six-year start by a coach in Division I history. Dixon recorded career-win 162, as his father was watching from behind the bench.

Game note: Despite the huge scare when Blair and Eaton collided with 8:41 left in the first half, both players returned to finish the game strong. It was great to see that neither player appeared seriously injured.

What happens when a sports fan takes in every minute of Friday’s NCAA first-round action with not one, but two full-size televisions in his living room? The answer is Mega March Madness Marathon 2009, a Bleacher Report series that will be published approximately every hour by columnist Tim Cary. The action continues in hour number two.

1:00        Uh-oh, things are going south up north. Kansas has jumped out on top of North Dakota State, my Cinderella pick, by seven. The Bison have hung around early, but they need to make sure this one doesn’t get away before halftime.

1:03        In other action, Utah State now finds itself down 14. Let’s go, um—Aggies, that’s it.  Let’s go Aggies.

1:04        Thanks Mr. Play-by-Play Man. I should have known it was “Aggies.” Hopefully no one noticed.

1:04        Utah State won 30 games this year. I only need them to win one today. That should be doable.

1:04        Except for the karma of picking a team without knowing their mascot’s name, of course. There’s that.

1:06        DirecTV didn’t do as much research for their program titles this year. Utah State is not Utah. Of course, North Dakota State might very well be North Dakota—but I doubt it.

1:08        Speaking of North Dakota State, looks like they’re not going away quite yet.

1:11        Bison have cut it to 38-34. My attention is diverted to Dayton for a moment. The half is almost over, and the Cowboys have gotten out to a four-point lead. The way this back-and-forth game has gone, that’s like being up 30.

1:13        Back in Minneapolis, Ben Woodside has passed Sherron Collins in the scoring column. It’s 16-15. The big problem for Ben and company is that Kansas is deeper than just Collins. NDSU looks a lot more like a one-man show.

1:15        Marquette is still up 10, but it looks like their point guard just limped off with an injury. Will the Aggies capitalize?

1:16        Two of the four games are at halftime. Syracuse leads 38-22, while Oklahoma State held on to the four-point margin against Tennessee. That gives me a little more time to check out the Eagles and Aggies in Boise.

1:17        That’s three games at halftime now. Kansas finished the half on a 16-7 run to put some distance between themselves and my Bison. The underdogs are down nine at the break.

1:18        Utah State is holding for the last shot.

1:18        “Bob, they can cut this thing to six. If they hit a three, it’s five.” Announcers always seem like they want to show off their math and counting knowledge, don’t they?

1:18        And we’ve reached a few precious moments of boredom after a solid hour of basketball overload. All four games are at halftime. Translation: Time for a refill.

1:21        Well, let me summarize. I picked Tennessee to win. They’re down four. I picked Utah State; they’re behind by eight. I’ve got North Dakota State; they’re down nine. Explain to me why you’re listening to anything I say about this tournament?

1:22        Because it can all change in the second half, right? Right?

1:23        At least Syracuse is winning. Like I said earlier, I have them making the Elite Eight, so I was hoping they didn’t get “lumberjacked” in the first round.

1:24        Not a lot of margin for error. I’ve already lost my first Sweet 16 team (Clemson). That’s what I get for picking against a Big Ten team.

1:24        Jim Spanarkel: “Would you give him an assist on that one?”

1:24        Ian Eagle: “I think I would. It looked like a shot, but...”

1:25        Wow.

1:25        Syracuse looks like they’re running a lay-up line in Miami. Orange with back-to-back dunks, and Jim Boeheim’s club is doubling up Stephen F. Austin, 44-22.

1:27        Jonny Flynn just abused a poor SFA defender with a nasty crossover. Flynn literally bought himself seven feet of space with the fake drive and step-back.

1:28        Never mind. CBS just showed the replay. It was eight feet.

1:28        That’s the third different GEICO commercial I’ve seen so far today. That’s one busy lizard.

1:30        I wonder who gets paid more, the caveman or the gecko?

1:31        My least-favorite part of March Madness. All the games are at commercial/halftime, which means my two-screen setup is only good for watching the same commercial on a two-second delay between my right eye and left eye.

1:31        CBS just reported that Jim Calhoun will be at UConn’s practice today. Good news for the Huskies.

1:32        Of course, Connecticut won by 56 yesterday, so if things get closer tomorrow, fans can blame Calhoun. That’s how sports talk works, right?

1:33        Stephen F. Austin has someone that can dunk. Cue surprised facial expressions. Did they find him at halftime?

1:34        Interesting play where the Lumberjack player saved a ball all the way into the backcourt. If he controlled that enough to make the pass, shouldn’t it be “over-and-back”?

1:34        Or maybe there’s some NCAA rule that says not to make questionable calls against teams down 22, especially teams down 22 who are named after famous people like Stephen F. Austin.

1:35        Or maybe the referee, like me, had never seen a play like that before. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

1:35        The Lumberjacks are 0-15 from three. I don’t think that’s how they wanted their first tourney appearance to go.

1:36        Gus Johnson and Len Elmore are ready for the second half in Minneapolis. Hopefully Ben Woodside is too. 

1:36        If I have any hope for an NDSU upset, it’s predicated mostly on Woodside’s shooting and the huge home crowd. The Metrodome is overwhelmingly clad in Bison gold, and if the underdog makes a run, almost everyone in that building will be going crazy.

1:37        Technically, everyone in the building will be going crazy, come to think of it. Kansas fans will be going crazy for one reason, and the rest of the crowd will be going crazy for a completely different reason.

1:38        “They could put the Bison away. That’s easier said than done.”—Len Elmore. Sorry, I just had to laugh at the mental picture. Imagine stuffing a bison in your closet or attic. I would agree, Len. Putting the Bison away is easier said than done.

1:39        Kansas gets a run-out and dunk. The lead has finally reached double figures at 47-36. Danger time for the boys from Fargo.

1:40        Since they’re playing just down the road in Minneapolis, does that mean the boys from Fargo didn’t have Far to g...oh? Never mind. That was bad.

1:40        Bison have gone cold from outside. Bad timing

1:41        Bison knock down a shot from outside. Good timing.

1:41        Utah State-Marquette is back underway, and the Aggies are making a run. The lead is down to six.

1:42        CBS just showed a graphic on Woodside’s 60-point game for NDSU earlier this year. He made 30 free throws. That’s just insane.

1:42        I watched Kobe’s 81-point game a couple seasons ago, and he didn’t even make 30 free throws.

1:43        Look out Jayhawks. The Bison are within four and closing! My bracket may yet be saved!

1:43        I said a few minutes ago that the first one to 40 between Collins and Woodside would win. Out in Boise, it looks like the first team to 40, period, will win. Utah State and Marquette are in a 29-25 battle in the second half.

1:44        This is more like the Madness we were expecting. After bigger halftime margins, NDSU is within four, Utah State within one, and Tennessee within one. The fact that I picked all those teams has me even more ecstatic.

1:45        Could Ben Woodside be this year’s Stephen Curry? Here’s hoping.

1:46        SportsCenter could do a top 10 on tonight’s show with just Kansas dunks from this game. The Bison are too short to stop the dunk-fest. Of course, they’ll trade three for two anytime.

1:47        Volunteers and Cowboys are tied in Dayton. Ten lead changes in this game already.

1:48        Oklahoma State with the three-pointer, the steal, and then the offensive foul. Crazy sequence, and Tennessee’s luck to only be down three instead of six after the charge.

1:49        Make that tied. Again. Volunteers knock down the perimeter J and it’s 49-all.

1:49        No stinking way. Two million miles on a truck? That’s a cool commercial. “If it could tell stories, it would.” I believe that. After two million miles, it probably has plenty of stories to tell.

1:51        Bison within three, but Jayhawks knock down a huge triple to double the lead. Kansas 3-8 from deep, while North Dakota State is 8-17.

1:52        This is one of those games where it looks like the Bison have to extend so much energy just to stay close that they may never quite get over the hump. Down three, then down 11. Back to four, then down 10. Can they actually get it all even?

1:53        Did you like that reverse psychology? Maybe I sparked the Bison to greatness.

1:53        Or maybe the Madness is getting to me.

1:53        I’ve decided it’s not really March until I get to hear Gus Johnson say “shake and bake.”

1:54        It’s now March.

1:55        Woodside splits the defense, gets to the basket, scores, and draws a foul for NDSU. Wesley gets position underneath, gets to the basket, scores, and draws a foul for Utah State. Why did I ever doubt my bracket? Of course I knew what I was doing.

1:56        McNeal splits the defense, gets to the basket, scores, and draws a foul for Marquette. I might as well tear up my bracket. I had no idea what I was doing.

1:57        Tennessee back on top in Dayton by thre...I mean one. That game is destined to be a one-possession nail-biter until the final horn, let me tell you

1:58        Woodside attacks the rim again...almost got another three-point play. If I tell my wife we should name our next kid Benjamin, do you think she’d get suspicious?

1:59        Especially after we have a Christian, Bryce, and Carmelo? Nah, she probably wouldn’t notice anything peculiar.

For hour number three of MMMM, click here.