Oklahoma State’s season came to an abrupt ending on Saturday, but not in the way it normally would.
In college hoops, you know your last game is a possibility going in, but 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds are driven by the wild hope that it won’t be tonight. Pull off that comeback and you might live to fight another day. Hit that go-ahead 3 and you get to stay alive. That’s the fuel and fun of college hoops.
But in a lot of ways — and in one big way — that fuel and fun was taken away from Oklahoma State’s players, its program and fans before the season even started.