Cowboys need a better first half

The Cowboys are working to eliminate habits that surfaced against St. Joe's.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma State wants to avoid another first-half lapse in the Final Four.
The Cowboys' practices since they won the East Rutherford Regional haven't included preparation for Saturday's opponent, Georgia Tech. Instead, coach Eddie Sutton is trying to get his team to play more like the one that took leads in every big game before the NCAA tournament, one against Kansas and three against Texas.
"I just felt our guys got out of sync and did some things in the Saint Joseph's game that were not typical of us," assistant coach Sean Sutton, Eddie's son, said Tuesday. "We took bad shots. We turned the ball over, and we didn't play good defense."
Recent examples
Oklahoma State (31-3) fell behind top-seeded Saint Joseph's 26-17 in the first half Saturday before John Lucas' 3-pointer with six seconds remaining gave the Cowboys a 64-62 victory and a Final Four berth.
In the regional semifinal, the Cowboys trailed Pittsburgh 28-26 at halftime after shooting just 30 percent. But they made 16-of-25 shots in the final 20 minutes against the Panthers' tough man-to-man and used a late 17-5 rally to advance, 63-51.
"They give you 20 minutes in the NCAA tournament," Sean Sutton said. "That's a long time. You can get a lot of things accomplished."
Just because the players are working out kinks doesn't mean the coaching staff isn't busy scouting the Yellow Jackets, who beat the Jayhawks 79-71 in overtime to get to the Final Four.
The team the Cowboys most compare Georgia Tech to is Saint Joseph's, with guards Jarett Jack and B.J. Elder each resembling Jameer Nelson of the Hawks.
"We're going to have to do a good job defensively on the perimeter and not let them get in the middle," assistant coach James Dickey said. "And transition defense is going to have to be good. They've got some guys that can get up and down the floor."
Elder, the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer, hurt his right ankle in the game against Kansas and played only about three minutes. But the Cowboys are counting on him to be on the court Saturday in San Antonio.
"They're a very athletic team," said Lucas. "B.J. Elder is going to be healthy for this game."
Campus buzz
Final Four fever has gripped Stillwater, with impromptu T-shirt stores springing up in vans on parking lots across the small college town. The players have also become even bigger celebrities.
"It's been crazy," center Ivan McFarlin said. "I had three classes today and each class I went to the students stood up and started clapping for me. For a couple of minutes, we stopped class and I talked about how I feel for the Final Four."