BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The NIT Season Tip-Off saw four teams headed to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, all with a shot at capturing the title. The final analysis saw Oklahoma State emerging as the undisputed class of the group. The Cowboys upended Syracuse in the semifinal before rolling to a one-sided victory over Ole Miss in the championship. Notes and quotes from the tournament follow.
Scores:
Oklahoma State 86, Syracuse 72
Ole Miss 74, Penn State 72
Consolation:
Penn State 85, Syracuse 64
Championship:
Oklahoma State 78, Ole Miss 37
All-Tournament:
Yor Anei, Oklahoma State (MVP)
Isaac Likekele, Oklahoma State
KJ Buffen, Ole Miss
Breein Tyree, Oklahoma State
Mike Watkins, Penn State
Coming out of Brooklyn with an 0-2 record, there were several concerns for Syracuse. The priority: rebounding. As coach Jim Boeheim noted following the loss to Penn State. “You get out-rebounded by 29 rebounds, you’re not going to…really, I’m surprised we were in the game.” Boeheim pointed out that at one point, Syracuse battled back from a 15-point deficit to tie the game early in the second half. And at that point the Orange were looking at a -24 rebounding deficit. “You can’t play like that,” Boeheim said. “We have to get more (rebounds).”
Penn State’s win over Syracuse was a testament to resiliency. Two nights earlier, the Nittany Lions blew a 21-point lead against Ole Miss. On the day between the semis and consolation/final, which happened to be Thanksgiving, coach Pat Chambers had a meeting with his team. “We challenged them to bounce back and respond if they got into that position again.” As previously noted, Penn State faced the identical situation against Syracuse. A 15-point first half lead vanished by early in the second half. With the game tied they hit two quick three-pointers. The Nittany Lions never looked back, exiting Brooklyn on a positive note.
The second half of Oklahoma State-Ole Miss was reminiscent of a lopsided AAU game. The Cowboys dominated to the point of securing a defensive rebound and running the floor to do as they please. Take it to the rim or pull up for a three-pointer.
“Our guys played with a great sense of purpose and determination,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton noted. “They played together, enjoyed the opportunity, and I think we beat a pretty good team.”
On the opposite bench, Kermit Davis was not about to take anything away from Oklahoma State’s performance. He did mention, on a few occasions during post game interviews, how disappointed he was in his team’s performance. A few samples: Ole Miss shot 1 of 20 (that’s 5 percent) from three-point land. In addition, the Rebels did not have a single double figure scorer while the Cowboys had four.
“Credit Oklahoma State, but I don’t think we prepared well, we didn’t have one guy play well and were completely embarrassed,” Davis said. “But that’s on me, I take the responsibility for our showing.”
Despite leaving on a sour note, the Rebels could take solace in posting an impressive victory in the semis. Ole Miss rallied from twenty one points down to stun Penn State.
“You have to learn from every experience,” Davis said. “We learned from a great experience on Wednesday and a really embarrassing loss on Friday. We played two teams that will be in the NCAA tournament in March. All we can do is watch film on Sunday and try to get better.”
Watkins of Penn State was a beast on the boards. The Penn State senior forward scored 15 points while adding a game-high 15 boards (ten offensive) against Syracuse. In the semifinal Watkins scored 18 while adding 12 rebounds. “He,” said Chambers of Watkins, “has been a double-double machine.”
Last note on the final: tempo free numbers also bore out the disparity. In a racehorse 75 possession game, Oklahoma State held a 104-49 advantage in offensive efficiency. Even on some of their worst nights, teams will reach 70 in OE, but 49? Davis was right. It was embarrassing.
MVP Yor Anei was a force inside. His final game numbers: 14 points, nine rebounds, four blocks in 21 minutes. Cameron McGriff, a senior forward, paced the Cowboys and all scorers with 15 points.
Ole Miss’ Breein Tyree, a New Jersey native, scored 18 and was instrumental in the comeback win over Penn State, and was good enough for an All-Tournament choice. In the final, he scored seven but was tied with Antavion Collum for the team scoring lead.
Beyond rebounding, Syracuse has point guard issues. At times Elijah Hughes, a 19-point scorer on the night, and a 6’6” forward was pressed into bringing the ball upcourt to start the offense. For Syracuse faithful it will take time, and patience, this season.
