Oklahoma State Basketball: Initial reactions at halftime in Bedlam

The Oklahoma State basketball team trails the Oklahoma Sooners by one point entering the second half of play at the Lloyd Noble Center.

It’s Bedlam time in Norman, OK, and the Oklahoma State basketball team and Oklahoma Sooners are both delivering strong performances for an entertaining game on Big Monday on ESPN. OK State and OU have been going in different directions of late, but Bedlam always seems to bring the best out of both basketball programs.

The Sooners are enjoying a much better effort than they had against the Florida Gators in their 84-52 loss in their last contest. Meanwhile, OK State struggled to get anything going consistently on either end of the floor. OU carried a 36-35 lead into halftime after the Pokes failed to convert on two straight offensive possessions to finish the half.

Now let’s take a look at the initial reactions at halftime between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Oklahoma Sooners.

Cowboys struggling offensively

The only Cowboy to generate any sort of consistent offense in the first half was sophomore point guard Jawun Evans. However, he still shot worse than 40 percent from the field. OK State shot 32.3 percent from the field in the first half, while the Sooners shot 50 percent. Senior shooting guard Phil Forte only scored six points in the first half on 2-6 shooting and junior forward Jeffrey Carroll did not hit a single shot from the field and only posted four points.

Keep rebounding

Senior forward Mitchell Solomon struggled mightily in the first half to close out players in the paint and rebound. However, he did pull down two rebounds. Senior forward Leyton Hammonds, sophomore guard Davon Dillard, and Carroll pulled down 13 boards combined. The effort on the glass is there for the Cowboys, they just need to make it happen on the offensive end of the floor.

Give Lucas N’Guessan more playing time

Freshman center Lucas N’Guessan played some quality minutes on the floor in the first half. In limited playing time, N’Guessan registered four points, one rebound, and one block. He faired much better in the paint than Solomon in the first half. Head coach Brad Underwood could be looking to make halftime adjustments to get some more points in the paint on offense in the second half.