Oklahoma State basketball season has been disappointing but 'how you finish is important'

STILLWATER — Only a miracle will keep Oklahoma State’s basketball season alive a week from now.

If all goes as expected, maybe the Cowboys win a game or two, between their regular-season finale at BYU at 8 p.m. Saturday, or the upcoming Big 12 Tournament, set to begin Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri.

One way or another, the season likely ends in the middle of next week.

But it hasn’t ended yet, and that’s why coach Mike Boynton isn’t coaching like it’s over.

“How you finish is important. In life. In everything you do,” Boynton said after the Pokes’ Senior Night disappointment against Texas Tech.

Boynton sees the life lessons he’s teaching through the game of basketball, and the importance of those lessons aren’t lost on him.

More: Senior Night a sendoff for unique group of Oklahoma State basketball players

“In many ways, sports is a microcosm of life,” Boynton said. “It kind of gets lost, because competition’s real, there’s a lot of emotions in people’s investment in cheering for a team, financial commitment to support a university or team or athletes or whatever. But there’s still an element of real life in helping these young people be in a position to be prepared for what’s coming next.

“For some of them, it seems like a long time from now, but I’ve been there. It happens faster than they think.”

And until the season is over, one of Boynton’s primary messages will be about the value of finishing strong.

“It’s always great to learn how to be a strong finisher, no matter what you’re doing in life,” he said. “This team’s gonna have an opportunity to do that, Saturday for the regular season and then next week in the conference tournament. We’re still gonna preach positivity. Still gonna try to prepare to win as many games as we’re capable of playing.

“Obviously, we know we have a really tall task if we wanna continue beyond next week. But crazier things have happened.”

For the Cowboys to play beyond next week, they’d have to make a run from the 13th or 14th seed with five straight wins against the best conference in college basketball.

But finishing strong doesn’t always mean finishing victoriously.

More: How Indiana roots turned Oklahoma State's Javon Small into a 'very cerebral' point guard

The Cowboys have looked sluggish in recent games, potentially suffering from an emotional letdown after the last-second Bedlam loss a couple weeks back.

And that’s the type of reaction Boynton is fighting against. He knows the pain his players are feeling, but he knows it will feel worse and last longer if they go out with a whimper in their final games.

“There’s a pain of discipline and there’s a pain of regret,” he said. “You don’t wanna deal with the pain of regret. Ever. Because you have to take that to the grave.”

Whether his team can deliver on his message will be determined on the court, but his words are being heard.

“It’s being discussed every day,” freshman guard Jamyron Keller said. “Obviously, with the season coming to an end, that’s a big emphasis in the locker room. The importance of it is extreme. It’s taken a lot of maturity to have a season like this and come back and still give effort and do the right things.

“We’ve got a saying, ‘Hold the rope.’ I think that’s the biggest life lesson I’ve taken from this whole thing. Ride the ups, ride the downs, stay the course. Figure out a way through adversity.”

More: Oklahoma State women's basketball falls to TCU in Big 12 Tournament to likely end season

Added freshman Connor Dow: “It’s definitely tough. There’s days when you wake up and you don’t wanna do anything. But there’s a discipline that keeps you going, that gets you up, that makes you keep working and keep grinding at it.”

Boynton hears the outside noise, the fans unhappy with his performance who would like to see a new coach in his role next year. And he knows that decision is out of his control. But it hasn’t stopped him from staying true to his principles of building better men in his program.

“The way I’ve always approached everything that I’ve done is focus on the next task,” he said, “and if you’re able to have a say in how you finish, then take as much control of that as you possibly can.”

OSU at No. 20 BYU

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Saturday at Marriott Center in Provo, Utah (ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State basketball seeks BYU upset before Big 12 Tournament