Ticket punched

James Anderson has a reputation for putting his team on his back in big games.

But it’s even more impressive when that same injured back almost keeps him from playing in the first place.

Anderson fought through back spasms Saturday and led the Cowboys to an 85-77 win against No. 1 Kansas on Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

It was the third time OSU has beaten the nation’s top-ranked team, and the first since knocking off Oklahoma in 1989.

Anderson scored 27 points and had eight rebounds despite the fact that coach Travis Ford said as of Friday night he didn’t think there was even a chance Anderson would play.

“We went through our shootaround (Saturday) morning and he really couldn’t even go through that,” Ford said. “Between that and game time he just kept working on it.

“I thought the adrenaline and with everything going on with the game that he would have a chance, but at game time I didn’t know if he was going to be able to play and definitely didn’t know how much.”

Anderson played 36 minutes and shot 4-for-6 from the 3-point line. His team shot 53 percent from beyond the arc and 60 percent overall.

Despite the pain and Ford’s worries, Anderson said he was determined to fight through it the best he could.

“I had been working on it all morning and the trainer did a good job of getting me ready for the game,” he said. “I was gonna play regardless. I could’ve been out there with a broken leg and I was gonna drag it all the way down the court.”

Anderson did have some help – four Cowboys scored 15 or more and OSU outrebounded the Jayhawks by 10.

Forwards Matt Pilgrim and Marshall Moses shot a combined 12-of-12 and had 13 boards between them. Obi Muonelo had 17 and Keiton Page had 15.

But in the end, Ford said there is no doubt who his go-to guy in critical situations is.

“(Anderson) rebounds, he scores, he handles the ball,” he said. “You saw what we did. We were trying to get him the ball every single time down the court, especially the last five minutes of the game, let the ball be in his hands, play off him.”

Kansas coach Bill Self, who recruited Anderson heavily three years ago, said he is still impressed with the junior guard.

“He makes shots that we don’t even let our guys shoot,” Self said. “He is that talented.”

If anyone had questions as to whether Oklahoma State is a legitimate tournament team, Saturday’s game likely answered those questions.

OSU has two regular season games left, followed by the Big 12 tournament, but will now be playing for seeding rather than a berth.

Regardless of where the Cowboys end up, Muonelo said they will be confident with “Big Game” James leading them.

“He has had, for a teammate, the best year I’ve seen somebody have,” he said.