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Cade Cunningham Suffers Ankle Injury Late in Oklahoma State's Loss to Baylor
March 5, 2021
Thursday's 81-70 loss to Baylor wasn't the only concern for Oklahoma State.
As reporter Adam Zagoria noted, star Cade Cunningham suffered an ankle injury after stepping on Davion Mitchell's foot in the final minute of the game. He appeared to favor the ankle as he limped off the floor, which is surely worrisome for the Cowboys as they turn their attention to the postseason.
"Not much," head coach Mike Boynton said when asked what he knows about the injury, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello. "It happened right in front of me there. I didn’t see anything unusual other than stepping on a guy's foot. We’ll get an evaluation."
Boynton added more:
Jeff Borzello @jeffborzelloMike Boynton said Cade Cunningham was walking under his power back to the locker room. "It didn't seem that way (serious), but I'm no doctor, so I don't want to give information either way ... that's what we have trainers and doctors for. I'll follow their guidance on it."
Cunningham was a bright spot in defeat for Oklahoma State before he exited and finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists while shooting 10 of 19 from the field and 4 of 8 from three-point range.
It was the type of balanced performance as he did a little bit of everything that underscored why he is a Player of the Year candidate and the potential No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NBA draft.
He has scored at least 20 points in four of his last five games, including when he exploded for 40 points, 11 rebounds and three steals during Saturday's victory over rival Oklahoma. He is the type of star player who can carry the Cowboys to great heights in the NCAA men's tournament even if they aren't a top three or four seed in a bracket.
Oklahoma State doesn't get much of a break after losing to the No. 2 team in the country and will finish its regular season at No. 6 West Virginia this coming Saturday.
Whether Cunningham is available for that one will go a long way toward determining the outcome.
The severity of the injury will also be a major factor in the team's postseason ceiling.