BOULDER, Colo.—Whenever Oklahoma State guard James Anderson catches the ball, he hears a voice calling out to him over the crowd noise.
“Shoot it,” coach Travis Ford will yell from the bench.
So Anderson obediently follows the order. The sensational sophomore scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on Wednesday night, lifting Oklahoma State to a 76-55 win over reeling Colorado.
It’s his fifth straight game with at least 20 points, which just so happens to coincide with Ford’s talk with him about shooting more. Ideally, Ford would have Anderson take between 15 and 20 shots a game.
Against Colorado, he was 9-for-16—right in that range.
“I just wasn’t taking enough shots. Now, I am,” Anderson said.
Anderson couldn’t be contained against Colorado, hitting six 3-pointers. The Buffaloes even tried fouling him, but he went 6-of-7 from the line.
Nothing can stop him these days. So, what’s the difference?
“Just playing,” he said with a shrug.
The Cowboys (18-9, 7-6 Big 12) are suddenly surging, winning four straight. They’re a bubble team making some serious noise as the NCAA tournament nears.
This run definitely helps their cause.
“We’ve got to just do whatever we can to make it,” Anderson said.
Byron Eaton finished with five assists, giving him 500 in his career. He’s just the ninth player in Big 12 history to reach that mark.
His milestone assist was just how he envisioned, an alley-oop pass to Anderson for the dunk. They even talked about that precise play just before the game.
“James hasn’t had a dunk in the last four or five games,” Eaton said. “I just threw it up to him. I’m glad we connected and coach didn’t get on me for throwing a bad pass.”
Eaton arrived at Oklahoma State with lofty dreams—one day owning the school’s assist record. Then he saw that former guard Doug Gottlieb had 793 in his career, which caused him to alter his ambitions.
“Once I saw what that number was, I tried to get second place,” he said, grinning.
Keiton Page had 12 points for Oklahoma State, and Terrel Harris chipped in 10.
The Buffaloes (9-18, 1-12) continue their downward spiral, losing for the eighth straight time. It’s their longest losing streak since the 1995-96 season.
This game, though, rankled coach Jeff Bzdelik, who wasn’t pleased with the intensity or effort.
“I know I’m embarrassed,” he said. “I would hope the team is embarrassed. … The lack of passion and effort by a great majority of the team was embarrassing.”
Colorado was led in scoring by Levi Knutson, who finished with a career-high 19 points. Casey Crawford added 14 points.
The Buffaloes were without starting point guard Nate Tomlinson, who was sidelined with a concussion.
“It shouldn’t have mattered,” Bzdelik said. “Everybody has to be collectively engaged.”
No one could engage Anderson, who became the first player to drop 30 on the Buffaloes.
“When Anderson catches the ball, it’s too late. It’s going up and going in,” Knutson said.
That’s very true these days. He’s averaging 27.2 points over his last five games.
“He’s very, very important—no question,” Ford said.
That’s why Ford hollers at Anderson to keep shooting. And Anderson hears the message loud and clear.
“Coach wants me to take more shots,” he said. “I’m taking more shots.”
