OSU preparing for ‘second crack’ from OU, Sherfield

Braden Bush Assistant Sports Editor

Mike Boynton said beating an opponent, especially a rival such as OU, gives a team confidence it can do it again. He also said there’s just one problem with that in the Big 12.

“Everyone knows they get a second crack at you.”

That’s where OSU finds itself when it travels to Norman on Wednesday for round two of Bedlam – a game in which the Cowboys turned a halftime deficit into a runaway victory. As Big 12 play reaches the midway point and both teams are in the postseason hunt, the second edition is a big one.

And OU has been thinking about it. \

“We didn’t play well in the second half,” OU coach Porter Moser said. “We were up at half, and then in the second half they just took it to us. And that’s in our stomach.”

Two weeks ago, the Cowboys held Grant Sherfield, who averages 17 points a game, scoreless in the second half. And they did so without Moussa Cisse at the post.

Again, OSU showed it could do it once, but Boynton said doing it again is another challenge.

“There’s very little that’s just going to carry over from that matchup to this one,” Boynton said. “You know who’s most aware that they didn’t score in the second half?

“Grant Sherfield.”

Starting in the second half of Bedlam, Sherfield, who scored in double digits in 17 of his first 18 games, scored just 13 points in his next five halves of basketball. But he woke back up against No. 2 Alabama, scoring a season-high 30 in the upset win.

Boynton said the Cowboys’ job is to not let that confidence carry over and give him any easy shots. Forwards Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill, who combined for 12 points in the first Bedlam, also had big games against Alabama.

“Going into the game, we want to start the game being tough, physical and just locking up and doing what we do best on the defensive end,” guard John-Michael Wright said. “And then the offense will take care of itself like it did in the previous game.”

The Cowboys enter with a 2-5 road record and neither win came in conference. OU is 1-3 in home conference games. As OSU sits seventh in the conference and is on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, this is an opportu- nity for a quality road win. sports.ed@ocolly.com

“I don’t put as much stock into the bubble talk at this point as much as I do it’s a really important road game for us – one that certainly wouldn’t hurt as we move toward having those types of conversations,” Boynton said.