Carson Cunningham and Colby Powell discuss OSU’s road loss at Florida, Mike Boynton calling out his team and discuss Viktor Hovland’s latest win.

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STILLWATER — When Mike Boynton met with reporters at 9 a.m. Monday in Gallagher-Iba Arena, he said he hadn’t slept in 28 hours.

Boynton’s Cowboys built a 16-point lead against Florida this weekend only to have it crumble into a nine-point loss. Boynton called the Jekyll and Hyde halves a microcosm of what this season can be for Oklahoma State. At their best, the Cowboys beat then-No. 1 Baylor in Waco. At their worst, they’re surrendering double-digit leads in the Sunshine State.

“We had nine assists in the first half and one in the second half,” Boynton said Monday. “The team who had nine assists in the first half, really good, can beat any team in the country. The team that had one assist in the second half can be beat by anybody in the country. Somehow, we happened to have both of them play within a 15-minute break of each other.”

Boynton said it’s his job to build that consistency, saying it’s not rocket science: when guys aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do, they won’t play. Boynton said the team doesn’t have selfish people but the one-assist second half against the Gators is indicative of selfish play.

True to his Brooklyn roots, Boynton compared the selfish play to a pepperoni pizza. Boynton said guys are getting upset that their slice of pizza might not have as many pepperonis on it as someone else’s, rather than just being happy that the team is eating pizza. Every slice of pepperoni pizza isn’t going to have the same amount of pepperonis, and that’s not purposeful. It’s just how it is.

Boynton said the most important thing his student-athletes can do during their time in Stillwater is get a degree, but as it pertains to the team, the most important thing it can do is win. If winning isn’t the most important thing in basketball terms for a player, Boynton said maybe there is somewhere else that is better for him.

“You get to go to K-State [on Wednesday] if you can help us win,” Boynton said. “That doesn’t mean you’re gonna play, but we’ll have shootaround if you’re gonna be somebody that’s there to help us win. But if getting your points and improving your stalk is a part of your thought process, then you don’t get to travel with us to K-State.”

The elephant that has been in every gym this team has been in this season is where it finds to motivation to win with the NCAA Tournament ban. There isn’t a postseason to play for. At 3-5 in league play, a Big 12 regular season championship feels unlikely given the Cowboys are tied for sixth in the league with 10 games to play. But Boynton said his team needs to grow up.

“This is life, and bad sh-t happens,” Boynton said. “You don’t get to pout about it forever and then turn what’s supposed to be a team game into a game about me.

“… When the [NCAA] decision happened, it was a natural reaction to rally together, but they haven’t been able to hold onto that because they’ve been distracted by, ‘Well, if we can’t accomplish these things that we talked about in June, July, August and September, then maybe I should focus my attention more on what do the NBA scouts think about my game.’ When you’re not that kind of player, you look bad trying to do it by yourself, and the numbers speak to guys who aren’t playing team basketball consistently enough. We have every now and then. When we do, we beat the No. 1 team in the country on the road. We beat a Texas team that’s probably gonna be a higher-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament at home. But we’ve also had some head-scratching losses because that selfishness continues to kind of rear its ugly head inside the locker room.”

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It was a tough weekend for Oklahoma State as the Cowboys dropped back-to-back duals with Northern Iowa and Iowa State in Stillwater. Here are my five thoughts on the Cowboys’ first back-to-back home losses in nearly three decades.

1. A Historically bad weekend

I know few fans walked out of either dual this weekend with their heads held high, and there was some reason for that. The last time OSU took consecutive home losses was 1993. That year, OSU was under an NCAA postseason ban and redshirted almost the entire roster. It’s unprecedented and certainly concerning for OSU to lose back-to-back home duals in Gallagher-Iba.

2. Ferrari wouldn’t have changed the result

OSU was without NCAA champion AJ Ferrari due to a car accident last week. Ferrari’s accident was almost certainly a distraction and concern for the team and coaches, but all else equal, his presence probably wouldn’t have flipped either dual in OSU’s favor. Ferrari would’ve likely flipped the individual 197-pound match vs. Iowa State in Oklahoma State’s favor and could’ve reasonably gotten some bonus vs. Northern Iowa. But even with a fall vs. Northern Iowa and win over Iowa State for Ferrari, OSU still would’ve lost both duals. The only change that could’ve occurred is with a major decision vs. Iowa State the dual would have ended in a tie. With a fall or tech fall it would’ve ended in an OSU win. The last time Ferrari wrestled against Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida, he beat him by a regular decision.

3. OSU has been awful on bottom

Concerns regarding OSU’s ability to get off bottom were evident in the 133 pound NCAA final last year when Daton Fix was ridden for a full period by Roman Bravo Young. There’s been a lot of that this year, even in wins for the Cowboys. Up and down the lineup, OSU has struggled to get out from the bottom against good riders. It’s an area they really need to see some improvement in. John Smith talks about it here and believes it’s an issue with “attitude.”

4. Kaden Gfeller has been a bright spot

At 149, Kaden Gfeller returned to the starting role this season and has looked better than expected. After a loss in the opening dual of the season with Stanford, Gfeller has won 10 straight including two wins over ranked opponents this weekend. He’s starting to position himself in a spot to potentially be the No. 1 seed at the Big 12 tournament with a real chance to make some noise in March.

5. Should John Smith’s seat be warm?

I saw this question raised on Twitter and thought I’d address it. No, John Smith’s seat shouldn’t be warm. If you think John should be getting fired, you really don’t understand the landscape of wrestling.

That said, this was bad, and OSU hasn’t looked great. So there does need to be some evaluation and adjustments made here, because they did just lose two duals that they really shouldn’t have.

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The state of Oklahoma is stacked with basketball talent in 2023, with three composite four-star recruits playing within the state’s borders.

Bixby sharpshooter Parker Friedrichsen is one of those guys. A 6-foot-4 guard for the Spartans, Friedrichsen has spent a lot of time in Stillwater as of late. He has been to three games this season, including the Cowboys’ loss to Iowa State last week.

Friedrichsen spoke with PFB Sunday evening about his recruitment and OSU coach Mike Boynton.

PFB: How was Wednesday’s visit?

Parker Friedrichsen: “It was good. I’ve been to a few games now and just to get over there again, it was good to watch them play. Obviously they didn’t win, but it was still a good game.”

PFB: What do you like about Oklahoma State so far in your recruiting process?

PF: “Obviously for me, Oklahoma State is close to home. That’s always a bonus for anything. Coach Mike, being able to build a good relationship with him, it’s been really good, and Keiton [Page], I’ve been talking to him a lot. Just building a good relationship with them and being able to see them play a lot just because I’m close.”

PFB: Everyone talks about Mike being such a good recruiter, as someone with some inside knowledge on that, what stands out about Mike to you?

PF: “I mean, Boynton, he’s awesome. Like, he’s super personable. And the thing about him is he’s just so easy to like. He’s always around. I think he’s been to two or three of my games this year. He came to see me just when the evaluation period was open, so he’s always checking up on me. He just talks to me a lot. Just building a relationship with him, that trust is there. He got Cade Cunningham. He didn’t get him for no reason. He’s just a guy that people want play for.”

The rest of this interview can be seen on our forum with a PFB+ subscription here.

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Oklahoma State added to its 2022 class Monday with the addition of in-state offensive lineman Davis Dotson, but the Cowboys might not be done.

Three-star wide receiver Stephon Johnson is set to pick between Oklahoma State and SMU on Wednesday, according to his father. Wednesday is the first day of the signing period.

Out of DeSoto, Texas, Johnson was once an Oregon commit, pledging to the Ducks in June. However, Mario Cristobal then left Oregon for Miami, and Johnson reopened his recruitment. Johnson visited Oklahoma State two weekends ago and recently finished a visit at SMU, setting up Wednesday’s decision.

Listed at 6-foot, 175 pounds, Johnson is the No. 531 player in the 2022 class. If he were to pick the Pokes, he’d be OSU’s ninth-highest rated commitment in the cycle. He is the No. 71 player in the class out of the state of Texas. He has offers from all around the country, including to USC, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Arizona State.

It would be quite the signing day steal for the Cowboys, and two analysts from 247Sports have predicted that Johnson will end up in Stillwater.

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Oklahoma State added a big name to its nearly completed 2022 recruiting class on Monday, as three-star offensive line prospect Davis Dotson, a top-20 player in the state of Oklahoma who is coming off a breakout senior season at Berryhill High School, announced his commitment to the Cowboys.

Dotson, a 6-foot-6 tackle who is pushing almost 300 pounds, joins OSU’s class that was nearly completely accounted for, giving OSU a strong addition late in the recruiting period. He will be a part of the class that will arrive later this year on campus.

Committed!! @CowboyFB @CoachGundy @Coach_Dickey @kasey_dunn #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/I6S87KWuPj

— Davis Dotson (@DavisDotson15) January 31, 2022

Dotson was on the radar nationally as a recruit dating back to last year when Iowa State, Arizona State, Texas Tech and Syracuse, among others, made him scholarship offers. But OSU was able to make a late push with an offer last week and an in-person visit culminated with his commitment Monday.

The 2022 signing class for OSU was already a strong one at the offensive line spot with Charlie Dickey adding a potential day-one contributor in junior college talent Tyrone Webber to go with high school recruits Austin Kawecki and Calvin Harvey. Dotson should help solidify the class with another long-term development player who has the size to lock down a spot at tackle in the future.

Dotson becomes the ninth in-state player OSU has landed in the 2022 class, joining:

Talyn Shettron (Edmond Santa Fe)
CJ Brown (Beggs)
Braylin Presley (Bixby)
DeSean Brown (Choctaw)
Mason Gilkey (Pawhuska)
Jaleel Johnson (Putnam City North)
Gabe Brown (Stillwater)
Tabry Shettron (Edmond Santa Fe)

The regular signing period opens on Wednesday. As things stand, Dotson is the only unsigned recruit in the Cowboys’ 2022 class.

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Scores

Wrestling: Pokes 20, Iowa State 12
Men’s Tennis: Columbia 4, Pokes 3 

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OSU Bullets

• Viktor Hovland is off to an incredible start – won three tournaments already (including yesterday) and climbed into the top-five in the world

That’s 3 wins in 5 starts for now World No. 3 Viktor Hovland.

Here’s what he had in the bag for his @DPWorldTour win in Dubai: #G425 LST (9º) driver, #i210 irons (4-PW), #GlideForgedPro wedges (50/SS, 56/SS), PING PLD DS 72 putter. #PlayYourBest pic.twitter.com/mVBvki2YL8

— PING GOLF (@PingTour) January 30, 2022

• Congrats to former Cowboy Zac Robinson (Rams assistant) and Tre Flowers (Bengals defensive back) for making the Super Bowl

• Cowboy Wrestling had their roughest weekend at GIA since ’93 – dropped first back-to-back duals (regardless of location) since 2013

• Here’s where OSU’s signees for the 2022 football class wound up in 247’s final rankings – the Pokes added another preferred walk–on Sunday as well

• Cox had some great updates in the Bullets yesterday on all the Pokes in the college senior bowls yesterday

Former #OKState safety Kolby Harvell-Peel doing his thing at the #NFLPABOWL on Saturday.

Harvell-Peel will be a playmaker on Sunday’s soon. pic.twitter.com/F5M8p4Bkt0

— Cody Nagel (@CodyNagel247) January 30, 2022

• Cade is really figuring out this NBA stuff:

Cade Cunningham, held scoreless in the first half, now has a triple-double and is erupting in the 4th spearheading a 20-2 comeback run to victory. pic.twitter.com/Jug70CXdYA

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 31, 2022

• The Pokes are in on this monster defensive end who would be a late add for the 2022 class:

Announcement soon… #GoPokes #WEARE pic.twitter.com/AcSSYjxYzH

— Samuel Siafa (@Sam_Siafa) January 28, 2022

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Non-OSU Bullets

• This interview with Daniel Pink on regret was great
• Not an Ohio guy but it’s fun to see Cincinnati have such a great year and see Cleveland playing well (without LeBron)
• Encouraged by this piece about how God is at work when things seem still (faith-based0

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STILLWATER — The Cowboys have lost back-to-back duals for the first time since they shared a gym with Marcus Smart.

Oklahoma State fell to Iowa State 20-12 on Sunday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. After also losing to Northern Iowa on Saturday night, this is the first time the Cowboys have dropped consecutive duals since the 2013-14 season.

“We just need to be battle-ready a little bit more,” OSU coach John Smith said. “The weekend showed us some things, how easy it is to get distracted. It can just throw you off. Feel like there’s been a lot of distractions this week. Not to make any excuses, but just really, when you have multiple distractions, it doesn’t take a whole lot to throw you off. You go from being a pretty good team to being average real quickly. And we’re definitely average right now.”

Iowa State won two of the first three matches of the dual and did so without scoring a takedown. Kysen Terukina beat Trevor Mastrogiovanni 2-1 at 125 after riding Mastrogiovanni the entire second period and scoring an escape in the third. At 141, Iowa State’s Ian Parker scored two first-period back points on Carter Young but didn’t secure a takedown. Parker scored an escape in the second period and rode the entire third period to win 4-0.

Of the six matches the Cyclones won, five came with a riding time point.

“When you’re losing matches with riding time, that’s just attitude,” Smith said. “It’s got something to do with skill, trust me. Skill is important, but it’s really just attitude. Just a matter of just wanting to get out.”

The Cyclones’ first takedown of the dual came at 149, a match Iowa State lost. That was probably the match of the day, as No. 14 Kaden Gfeller defeated No. 21 Jarrett Degen 6-4 in sudden victory. A review took a Gfeller takedown off the board in the first period. There was another review in the third that confirmed a Degen takedown. So, the match went into OT tied at 4 after Gfeller came out on the unfavorable end of a pair of reviews, but Gfeller got his takedown to secure the win in sudden victory.

Dakota Geer had this second Top 10 matchup in as many days, but Sunday’s result was the same as Saturday’s. No. 9 Geer fell to No. 8 Marcus Coleman 8-3.

The last two teams to beat OSU in consecutive duals were Oklahoma and Minnesota, both of which were ranked in the Top 5. Northern Iowa is unranked. Iowa State is No. 7. If there is any silver lining in this for the Cowboys, it’s that the Pokes started four underclassmen in their 10-man lineup this weekend. That’s usually five with a healthy Ferrari.

“We need some experience,” Smith said. “We need to be embarrassed a little bit. We grow from these two matches and we move forward. I believe that’ll probably happen for us. It’s not given. It’s gonna take some work.”

Results

Weight	Result
125	No. 19 Terukina (ISU) dec. No. 6 Mastrogiovanni (OSU), 2-1
133	No. 2 Fix (OSU) dec. No. 33 Attasauov (ISU), 5-1
141	No. 11 Parker (ISU) dec. No. 21 Young (OSU), 4-0
149	No. 14 Gfeller (OSU) SV-1 No. 21 Degen (ISU), 6-4
157	No. 1 Carr (ISU) MD No. 13 Sheets (OSU), 12-3
165	No. 6 Wittlake (OSU) dec. Judge (ISU), 5-1
174	No. 8 Plott (OSU) dec. No. 18 Devine (ISU), 6-1
184	No. 8 Coleman (ISU) dec. No. 9 Geer (OSU), 8-3
197	No. 16 Bastida (ISU) MD Stika (OSU), 18-6
HWT	No. 21 Schuyler (ISU) dec. No. 29 Surber (OSU), 4-2

Up Next

The Cowboys will have another shot at getting dual win No. 500 in GIA on Friday, as they take on South Dakota State at 7 p.m.

John Smith Post Dual

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It’s not very often that I post a list of scores this long and OSU comes up on the short end of each. Let’s commiscerate together.

Scores

Hoops: Cowboys 72, Gators 81
Hoops: Cowgirls 54, Jayhawks 68
Tennis: Cowboys 0, Ducks 4
Tennis: Cowgirls 1, Buckeyes 4
Wrestling: Cowboys 15, Panthers 19

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OSU Bullets

• Check out Marshall’s Five Thoughts on the tough hoops loss. [PFB]

• It was a Tale of Two Halves for the Cowboys. [The Oklahoman]

“But to come out in the second half and not have that same edge, that same competitive mindset is really, really disappointing.”

• Marshall also was in GIA to take in OSU vs. Northern Iowa. Unfortunately, things didn’t do well for the Pokes there either. [PFB]

• Tay Martin showed out in his first day at the Shrine Bowl.

Great release here from #OklahomaState WR Tay Martin. Had a great first day at the #ShrineBowl pic.twitter.com/4PI0vuQHTu

— Mike Spencer Hrynyshyn (@MikeH_Draft) January 29, 2022

Tay Martin puts the DB in the gulag #ShrineBowl #OklahomaState #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/4QnaR5DQIx

— Mike Spencer Hrynyshyn (@MikeH_Draft) January 29, 2022

• And Kolby Harvell-Peel was also making plays at the NFLPA Bowl.

Former #OkState star safety Kolby Harvell-Peel making big plays in the NFLPA Bowl with this fumble recovery

Josh Sills and Malcolm Rodriguez also playing in the game.pic.twitter.com/ma3rIs6PRU

— Marshall Levenson (@MarshallLevy14) January 29, 2022

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Non-OSU Bullets

• Tom Brady. Is he retiring? Is he not? I won’t try to cover that story here because this is a scheduled post and anything I add will be outdated before I finish typing.

So I’ll leave you with this:

I would pat Brady on the back for retiring, but I fear the refs would flag it as roughing the passer.

— Jimmie Tramel (@JimmieTramel) January 29, 2022

• Also, WTH and LOL.

Did you lose a bet or something @CoachBrianKelly ?? This can’t be real. Photoshopped? Account hacked?? I mean …. https://t.co/HvhOo2AcIZ

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 29, 2022

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STILLWATER — Saturday night was supposed to be one of celebration for the Cowboys, but instead it became the first night Oklahoma State has lost a wrestling dual to an unranked opponent since 1993.

Oklahoma State lost to Northern Iowa 19-15 on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. This was the Cowboys’ first shot at getting to win No. 500 in GIA, but that celebration will have to wait. Northern Iowa entered the dual 3-5 on the season, becoming the first unranked team to beat OSU since Illinois beat the Pokes 22-17 on Feb. 21, 1993. OSU is now 499-43-6 in GIA.

The Cowboys jumped out to a 12-0 lead after four ranked vs. ranked wins at the lower weights. That spree’s highlight was the bout at 141 pounds between No. 21 Carter Young and No. 23 Cael Happel. Young scored three first-period takedowns, but the match went into the third period tied at 6. Young started the period with an escape before scoring a takedown that sent GIA into an uproar. With riding time, Young won the match 10-3.

But things started to go wrong for the Cowboys at 157. Wyatt Sheets’ 3-2 loss started a four-match losing streak for the Pokes. The last two of those losses came with bonus points when No. 21 Lance Runyon picked up a second-period fall over No. 8 Dustin Plott, Plott’s first loss of the season. Then came a battle of All-Americans at 184 where No. 4 Parker Keckeisen scored a 12-3 major decision over No. 9 Dakota Geer. After Geer’s loss, OSU’s 12-0 lead turned into a 16-12 lead for UNI.

“It’s a little surprising,” OSU coach John Smith said. “Seemed like we didn’t have any punching power, just somebody that needed to step out and turn some things around. We lost at 57, 65, 74 and 84. Little disappointing, just the fact that somebody didn’t come out of there showing us how to win. Bad loss.”

Gavin Stika filled in for AJ Ferrari, who was injured in a car crash earlier in the week, and Stika almost played hero. He picked up a 4-1 win over John Gunderson to cut Northern Iowa’s lead to 16-15 going into the heavyweight match. Stika’s second period takedown was the loudest GIA got all night.

Luke Surber and Tyrell Gordon were scoreless heading into the third period of the heavyweight bout after Gordon picked up a full two minutes of riding time against Surber in the second. Gordon picked up an early escape in the third period and fended off Surber’s late takedown attempts to put a bow on the upset.

Results

Weight	Result
125	No. 6 Mastrogiovanni (OSU) SV-1 No. 13 Teske (UNI), 7-5 SV
133	No. 2 Fix (OSU) dec. No. 24 Biscoglia (UNI), 5-1
141	No. 21 Young (OSU) dec. No. 23 Happel (UNI), 10-6
149	No. 14 Gfeller (OSU) dec. No. 33 Realbuto (UNI), 3-2
157	Derek Holschlag (UNI) dec. No. 13 Wyatt Sheets (OSU), 3-2
165	No. 18 Austin Yant (UNI) dec. No. 6 Travis Wittlake (OSU), 2-0
174	No. 21 Lance Runyon (UNI) fall No. 8 Dustin Plott, 4:59
184	No. 4 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) MD No. 9 Dakota Geer (OSU), 12-3
197	Gavin Stika (OSU) dec. John Gunderson (UNI), 4-1
HWT	Tyrell Gordon (UNI) dec. No. 30 Luke Surber (OSU), 2-0

Up Next

The No. 3 Cowboys host No. 7 Iowa State at 2 p.m. Sunday.

“We need a quick turnaround,” Smith said. “We need to wrestle. It was a poor effort on our part. Even some of the matches we did win, felt like it wasn’t enough for sure.”

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