LUBBOCK, Texas — Around 2:45 a.m. Thursday, amid a sleepless night following a sixth straight loss to start Big 12 play, Brad Underwood came to grips with some old advice from his mentor Bob Huggins.
“Never let your ego get in the way of success.”
So Underwood, while sincerely committed to his version of pressure defense, considered those words and put in play adjustments for Saturday that would lead to Oklahoma State's 83-64 win at Texas Tech.
The Cowboys defended better from the outset, jumped to a big early lead behind Phil Forte and Jeffrey Carroll, shrugged off their late-game struggles and a final Tech push, and halted a series of unwanted streaks.