Oklahoma State University Athletics
Resilient Cowboy Squad Ends Season On Winning Streak
March 18, 2020 | Cowboy Basketball
2019-20 Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
Overall Record: 18-14
Big 12 Record: 7-11 (tied for 7th)
Streak: Won last 4 / 8 of last 11 games
Leading Scorer: Cameron McGriff (12.3 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: Cameron McGriff (6.6 rpg)
Assists Leader: Isaac Likekele (4.5 apg)
Steals Leader: Isaac Likekele (1.9 spg)
2019-20 Final Game Notes
• The Basics
The Oklahoma State basketball team showed its resilience by overcoming adversity to finish strong, but unfortunately OSU's 2019-20 season will be defined by a pair of viruses. The first illness struck do-it-all guard Isaac Likekele just days after the Cowboys got off to a 7-0 start that included the NIT Season Tip-Off championship. OSU struggled to a 3-11 record while Likekele recovered and got back up to speed, but the Cowboys returned to form in February. Oklahoma State rattled off wins in eight of their last 11 games before the second virus arrived. COVID-19 caused the cancellation of the Big 12 Championship and ultimately the entire sports world would come to a halt.
• What Could Have Been
The Cowboys won eight of their last 11 games, including four straight victories, and were set to play No. 1 Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship before the season was abruptly called off. Only five power conference teams ended the season with a longer win streak than OSU, which surged to No. 36 in Jeff Sagarin's College Basketball Ratings and No. 53 in KenPom. "The Cowboys are 80 minutes away from every mock bracket suddenly saying, yes, OSU is indeed a bubble team," said ESPN's John Gasaway before OSU's win over Iowa State in the opening round of the Big 12 Championship. Gasaway's sentiment was shared by several national media members who echoed that Oklahoma State was considered a lock to host a game in the NIT, but would have jumped back into the NCAA Tournament picture with a win over the Jayhawks.
• Six-Win Improvement
OSU finished the season at 18-14, which was a six-win improvement over the 12-20 campaign of 2018-19. That tied for the eighth-largest improvement among power conference teams and the 40th largest overall in the country. In program history, this six-game jump is tied for the 12th largest by a Cowboy squad, and the biggest since the eight-game improvement from 2016 to 2017. The excitement around the team caused an attendance jump for a second straight season. Attendance increased to 7,609 fans per game, a jump of 4.3 percent over the previous year.
• All-Big 12 Cowboys
Cowboy standouts Cameron McGriff and Isaac Likekele were named honorable mention selections to the Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Conference team. OSU has had at least two players represented on the All-Big 12 teams (Coaches or AP) every year since the league began in 1996-97, and these represent the fifth and sixth all-conference selections under Mike Boynton. This is the second career All-Big 12 honor for McGriff, who has reached double-figures in scoring in each of the last 13 games. The senior averaged 18.9 points and 54.5 percent shooting over the season's last seven games. Likekele is celebrating his first career postseason award. The sophomore recorded his third double-double of the season at Texas, and is the Big 12's only player averaging 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
• March Is For Mike
Oklahoma State was playing its best basketball at the right time - March. After going 1-7 in January, the Cowboys won eight of their last 11, with the three losses coming at KenPom top-10 squads (No. 3 Baylor, No. 10 West Virginia, No. 1 Kansas). After his third season in Stillwater, Mike Boynton is 9-4 in the month of March, and would have played additional postseason games in 2020 had the season not been cancelled. In 2018, Boynton and the Cowboys won four games in March on their way to the NIT quarterfinals.
• Consistent Cam
Cameron McGriff refined his shot-selection with an emphasis on getting into the paint, and as a result he scored in double-figures in each of the last 13 games and watched his averages soar. The senior made his 78th consecutive start in Kansas City - tied for the ninth longest streak in school history - and over the last seven games averaged 18.9 points on 54.5 percent shooting and a 40.0 percent clip from 3-point. He finished the year ranked 15th in the Big 12 in scoring (12.3), ninth in rebounding (6.6), fifth in free throw percentage (83.2) and 11th in offensive rebounding (2.0). McGriff also leads OSU in charges taken (9) and dunks (24). He recently became just the sixth player in school history with at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 55 blocks.
• Ice On Fire
When Isaac Likekele is playing his best he impacts the game as a scorer, rebounder, assist-man and defender, which is exactly happened in the closing weeks of the season. In the last three games of the season, the sophomore averaged 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 3.0 steals and shot 65.4 percent from the floor. With 253 dimes in just 60 career games, Likekele already ranks 23rd in program history in career assists, and he just became the third player in program history to post 100 assists and 40 steals as both a freshman and a sophomore - joining Marcus Smart (2013-14) and Byron Eaton (2006-07). Likekele is the Big 12's second highest rebounding guard at 5.61 boards per game, and he ranks second in the league overall with 1.93 steals per game and third in assists with 4.54 assists per game. Ice was the key to OSU's 7-0 start, and the Cowboys went 3-11 when he missed a month of play and recovered from a major illness.
Overall Record: 18-14
Big 12 Record: 7-11 (tied for 7th)
Streak: Won last 4 / 8 of last 11 games
Leading Scorer: Cameron McGriff (12.3 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: Cameron McGriff (6.6 rpg)
Assists Leader: Isaac Likekele (4.5 apg)
Steals Leader: Isaac Likekele (1.9 spg)
2019-20 Final Game Notes
• The Basics
The Oklahoma State basketball team showed its resilience by overcoming adversity to finish strong, but unfortunately OSU's 2019-20 season will be defined by a pair of viruses. The first illness struck do-it-all guard Isaac Likekele just days after the Cowboys got off to a 7-0 start that included the NIT Season Tip-Off championship. OSU struggled to a 3-11 record while Likekele recovered and got back up to speed, but the Cowboys returned to form in February. Oklahoma State rattled off wins in eight of their last 11 games before the second virus arrived. COVID-19 caused the cancellation of the Big 12 Championship and ultimately the entire sports world would come to a halt.
• What Could Have Been
The Cowboys won eight of their last 11 games, including four straight victories, and were set to play No. 1 Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship before the season was abruptly called off. Only five power conference teams ended the season with a longer win streak than OSU, which surged to No. 36 in Jeff Sagarin's College Basketball Ratings and No. 53 in KenPom. "The Cowboys are 80 minutes away from every mock bracket suddenly saying, yes, OSU is indeed a bubble team," said ESPN's John Gasaway before OSU's win over Iowa State in the opening round of the Big 12 Championship. Gasaway's sentiment was shared by several national media members who echoed that Oklahoma State was considered a lock to host a game in the NIT, but would have jumped back into the NCAA Tournament picture with a win over the Jayhawks.
• Six-Win Improvement
OSU finished the season at 18-14, which was a six-win improvement over the 12-20 campaign of 2018-19. That tied for the eighth-largest improvement among power conference teams and the 40th largest overall in the country. In program history, this six-game jump is tied for the 12th largest by a Cowboy squad, and the biggest since the eight-game improvement from 2016 to 2017. The excitement around the team caused an attendance jump for a second straight season. Attendance increased to 7,609 fans per game, a jump of 4.3 percent over the previous year.
• All-Big 12 Cowboys
Cowboy standouts Cameron McGriff and Isaac Likekele were named honorable mention selections to the Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Conference team. OSU has had at least two players represented on the All-Big 12 teams (Coaches or AP) every year since the league began in 1996-97, and these represent the fifth and sixth all-conference selections under Mike Boynton. This is the second career All-Big 12 honor for McGriff, who has reached double-figures in scoring in each of the last 13 games. The senior averaged 18.9 points and 54.5 percent shooting over the season's last seven games. Likekele is celebrating his first career postseason award. The sophomore recorded his third double-double of the season at Texas, and is the Big 12's only player averaging 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
• March Is For Mike
Oklahoma State was playing its best basketball at the right time - March. After going 1-7 in January, the Cowboys won eight of their last 11, with the three losses coming at KenPom top-10 squads (No. 3 Baylor, No. 10 West Virginia, No. 1 Kansas). After his third season in Stillwater, Mike Boynton is 9-4 in the month of March, and would have played additional postseason games in 2020 had the season not been cancelled. In 2018, Boynton and the Cowboys won four games in March on their way to the NIT quarterfinals.
• Consistent Cam
Cameron McGriff refined his shot-selection with an emphasis on getting into the paint, and as a result he scored in double-figures in each of the last 13 games and watched his averages soar. The senior made his 78th consecutive start in Kansas City - tied for the ninth longest streak in school history - and over the last seven games averaged 18.9 points on 54.5 percent shooting and a 40.0 percent clip from 3-point. He finished the year ranked 15th in the Big 12 in scoring (12.3), ninth in rebounding (6.6), fifth in free throw percentage (83.2) and 11th in offensive rebounding (2.0). McGriff also leads OSU in charges taken (9) and dunks (24). He recently became just the sixth player in school history with at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 55 blocks.
• Ice On Fire
When Isaac Likekele is playing his best he impacts the game as a scorer, rebounder, assist-man and defender, which is exactly happened in the closing weeks of the season. In the last three games of the season, the sophomore averaged 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 3.0 steals and shot 65.4 percent from the floor. With 253 dimes in just 60 career games, Likekele already ranks 23rd in program history in career assists, and he just became the third player in program history to post 100 assists and 40 steals as both a freshman and a sophomore - joining Marcus Smart (2013-14) and Byron Eaton (2006-07). Likekele is the Big 12's second highest rebounding guard at 5.61 boards per game, and he ranks second in the league overall with 1.93 steals per game and third in assists with 4.54 assists per game. Ice was the key to OSU's 7-0 start, and the Cowboys went 3-11 when he missed a month of play and recovered from a major illness.
Players Mentioned
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