By Joe Kay
The Associated Press

Banished from their locker room. Berated by former players. Branded underachievers by their dwindling fan base. Things had gotten so bad for Cincinnati that their season was tottering before February was halfway done.

Playing with more grit and determination than they'd shown all season, the Bearcats beat No. 11 Oklahoma State 61-50 on Sunday before their loudest crowd of the season.

Instead of going into infamy as coach Bob Huggins' first team to lose four in a row, the Bearcats (14-6) played their best all-around game of the season - an indication they might yet make something out of themselves.

"Don't count us out yet," point guard Taron Barker said. "We've got Bob Huggins in the locker room screaming at us. He brings out the best in us."

The Bearcats brought out the worst in Oklahoma State (18-3), which shot a season-low 34 percent from the field. The Cowboys shot only 38.6 percent in a 63-55 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night, and were totally out of sync again Sunday against one of the nation's top defensive teams.

"We've regressed," coach Eddie Sutton said. "I told them in the locker room: You aren't playing as well as you were two or three weeks ago."

Oklahoma State won 15 in a row, matching the fifth-longest streak in school history, by relying on tight man-to-man defense and a balanced offense. The Cowboys have lost two of their last three because the offense has bogged down.

"Our offense is real stagnant," said forward Andre Williams, who fouled out with only two points. "Our defense is good enough to beat most teams. We've got to get more production from our offense. It starts with the big men."

Cincinnati has struggled because it has gotten next to nothing out of its big men. On Sunday, they dominated for the first time all season.

Power forward Jason Maxiell scored a career-high 24 points, and the Bearcats outrebounded the Cowboys 38-29, a pronounced change from a front line that's gotten pushed around.

"We've been on them a lot in practice," Barker said. "We'll tell them, 'Y'all are like nothing, man. You can't get a rebound?"'

It had gotten so bad that Huggins banished the players from their posh locker room, forcing them to change in a more austere room. Former players called Huggins and suggested the banishment.

"I got eight to 10 calls from guys saying they don't deserve what they've got," Huggins said. "Those guys have to understand that you have to earn what you get.

"It's not about losing games. It's about playing hard. It's about competing hard."

No Cincinnati team has lost four in a row during Huggins' 14 seasons, and this one didn't want the infamy of being first.

"Everywhere you went, people were telling us we can't lose four in a row," said Leonard Stokes, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bearcats have sold out only four of their 11 games at the Shoemaker Center, an indication that fans were giving up hope. The capacity crowd of 13,176 on Sunday was the loudest of the season.

"At one point, it was so loud that my ears were ringing for a 10-second stretch," Stokes said. "Coach Huggins was waving his arms to make them get louder. We fed off of it."