Showtime Cowboys: OSU puts on a performance in win over Sooners

Muonelo seemed to look into the crowd while firing a pass to Anderson for another dunk. Nick Sidorakis lofted a pass that was headed for Olathe; Anderson corralled it with one hand and tried to dunk it, sailing the ball into the front row.

Said Pilgrim, "That would have been ridiculous.” By then, the score (38-15 Cowboys) already was. Ridiculous and was irrelevant.

Oklahoma State’s basketball team wasn’t so much campaigning for a better NCAA Tournament seed, it was commandeering all 10 spots on ESPN’s plays of the day.

Bedlam went bonkers for OSU, which routed Oklahoma 81-67 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. And never have you seen a ballgame so clearly showcase the status of its two teams.

Cruising Cowboys. Sunken Sooners.

The most miserable OU basketball season in almost 30 years came to a merciful end. The Sooners finished with almost as many losses (18) as they had first-half points (23) at the Sprint Center.

"This season, it was different from our past years,” said stoic Sooner senior Tony Crocker, who last March was scoring 28 points on Syracuse in the Sweet 16. "It was sad that it ended the way it did.”

And the last bit of medicine was to watch the Cowboys go all circus act at their expense.

"We were having fun,” Muonelo said. "Coach said this time of year, we’ve already worked hard ... it’s just time to have fun.”

Hard to imagine a basketball team enjoying itself more. Zipping toward the NCAAs on a high note, with a rousing beatdown of an arch rival.

"It’s post-season play; you’re supposed to have fun,” Pilgrim said.

The Cowboy carnival included all kinds of amazing wonders. Four dunks. Freshman Fred Gulley, who hadn’t made a 3-pointer since his Arkansas high school days, was one of six Pokes to nail a trey. Five-foot-nothing Keiton Page scored 13 points in the first 8:39 of the game, which is believable, and even blocked a shot, which is not. Most remarkable of all, OSU did such damage despite an off night from all-American James Anderson, who had more turnovers (five) than field goals (four).

"This time of year, so many teams tighten up, tense up,” said State coach Travis Ford. "We want the opposite approach. There’s no reason not to go out and have fun.”

The damage was 9-0 three minutes into the game, 20-2 less than seven minutes in, 28-5 after 9 1/2 minutes and 45-23 at halftime.

But give the Sooners credit. They didn’t quit. OU pulled within 47-37 with 13 minutes left in the game.

That’s when Muonelo took over. A three-point play. A feed to Pilgrim for a dunk. A 3-pointer. A jumper. Another assist to Pilgrim, for a layup that made it 65-47. In a span of 4:22, Muonelo had 10 points and two assists.

"Offense was looking really dry,” Muonelo said of the withdrawals from the first-half high. "I wanted to get something going.”

Something going is exactly what the Cowboys have. They’ve won six of eight, all in impressive fashion, which bodes well for their quarterfinal showdown against ninth-ranked Kansas State tonight and whoever awaits in the NCAA bracket.

Meanwhile, nothing goes on for these Sooners. Their season is going, going, gone.

Berry Tramel: 405-760-8080; Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.

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