Cowboys soak in excitement of upset victory over Kansas

By Matt Tait     Mar 1, 2014

KEEGAN RATINGS

Nick Krug
Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart celebrates before the Kansas bench as the Cowboys close out the game on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Embiid’s double-double good enough for top spot

OKLAHOMA STATE 72, KANSAS 65

Box Score

? After thousands of his new closest friends stormed the floor at Gallagher-Iba Arena to celebrate Oklahoma State’s 72-65 victory over No. 5 Kansas on Saturday night, OSU senior Markel Brown found himself crowd surfing above the jubilant crowd.

Turns out, it wasn’t the only time he’s done that.

Two years ago, Brown found himself soaring above the sea of orange after an upset victory over Missouri. In that one, Brown had to make like a fan and rush the court himself because he spent the game’s final seven minutes in the locker room after being ejected.

“I was nervous in the locker room the whole time,” said Brown, recalling his first hang-ten moment. “I snuck back out there and celebrated with my team and the fans. No sneaking this time…. I think this time was better. It’s my second to last game, the house was packed…. It’s always great beating Kansas.”

It also almost didn’t happen. After trailing 26-25 after a scrappy and sloppy first half, the Cowboys (19-10 overall, 7-9 Big 12) found themselves trailing by 10 points — 52-42 — midway through the second half. From that point on, OSU’s leaders stepped up and either scored or assisted on the Cowboys’ final 30 points to pull out the victory.

“It’s just our offense,” said Le’Bryan Nash, who scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. “Our offense goes through us three. We’re all big-time scorers and we like making plays.”

Brown and Marcus Smart added 21 points apiece and, in doing so, made the kind of statement OSU needed to bolster its case for inclusion in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. KU coach Bill Self said there’s no question that the Cowboys are tournament-worthy given the amount of talent they have. Brown said he thought Saturday’s win over such a highly ranked team was enough to prove it.

“Tonight was a big win for this team,” Brown said. “Our heads were high in the locker room…. That’s what we’re capable of doing every night.”

Brown, Smart and Nash were so excited to meet with the media following Saturday’s victory that they jumped the gun on Self.

With KU players Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden having just talked about what led to their breakdown, the OSU trio that lit up Kansas for 58 points on 15-of-30 shooting stepped to the podium prematurely with wide smiles and the giddiness of high school boys at a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photo shoot. With the help of some OSU athletic department officials, they quickly realized their mistake and gave way to Self. The extra wait did nothing to stem their excitement about a signature victory for a team that recently suffered through a seven-game losing streak.

Clearly pleased with the fight and toughness his team showed all night, OSU coach Travis Ford said the post-game happiness and court storming were a joy to watch. Ford added that the celebration was a credit to Kansas and all the program stands for. It wasn’t the last time he complimented the Jayhawks before leaving his post-game press conference.

“(We just beat) a really, really good basketball team,” Ford said. “A great team. A team that I predict could win it all and probably would be my pick.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.