Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart learning to control the pressure

STILLWATER, Okla. — Aside from Marcus Smart's 16 points, 10 assists and 6 steals Saturday against Texas Tech, the most encouraging sight for Oklahoma State fans could be seen on the sophomore's face.

He smiled.

Smart's season has been defined by frustration, pressure and persistent doses of adversity, some of it self-inflicted. He said Saturday that the trying season has both humbled him and robbed him of the joy for the game that he showed throughout a splendid freshman season in Stillwater.

But that enthusiasm was back in Smart's return from a three-game suspension for shoving a Texas Tech fan Feb. 8. In leading Oklahoma State to an 84-62 victory over the Red Raiders, which snapped the Cowboys' seven-game losing streak, Smart said he had fun playing a game of basketball for the first time since Nov. 19, when Oklahoma State routed Memphis.

"I have put a lot of pressure on myself," Smart told USA TODAY Sports in the hallway of Gallagher-Iba Arena after the game. "That's kind of been my weakness and biggest problem. I have always done that, but now more than ever. It is something I have to learn to control more. I kind of lost the control-ness of it. I've always done it, but more this year than ever. It is a lot more that I put on myself than I ever have."

If anyone wants to see how an ultra-competitive, prideful 19-year-old combats significant pressure, follow Smart's next three weeks before Selection Sunday on March 16.

After harboring realistic Final Four hopes in the fall, Oklahoma State may now be fortunate to wind up in the NCAA tournament's "First Four" in Dayton. Even coach Travis Ford acknowledged that he doesn't completely disagree with the label of thus far being the most underachieving team in the nation.

And after being the only unanimous first-team preseason Associated Press All-American, Smart has not even played like the best point guard in the Big 12 this season.

Smart's shoving incident threatened to stain his reputation as one of the sport's most composed and poised on-court leaders. But how he handles the next three weeks, the stretch run of his final college season, will also shine a light on his character.

His behavior, demeanor and attitude are under heightened scrutiny. His outside shot still needs refinement. And his leadership is needed more than ever to steward a team that had been reeling as much as any NCAA tournament hopeful in the nation.

"It's hard," said Smart, who received some criticism for postponing an NBA career for a year by deciding to return to school. "With all the pressure that's been on me, it's a lot for one person to handle. It definitely can get to you. You have to find some way to manage it, to relieve that pressure."

Billy Donovan has likened Smart's unique season to Joakim Noah's junior year at Florida during the 2006-07 season. The pressure that Noah felt he carried on his shoulders, Donovan told reporters recently, was out of control. And Donovan told Noah, who led the Gators to a second straight national title, not to allow outsiders to rob him of his enjoyment of playing the game.

"I think in some ways Marcus has allowed some happiness to be robbed from him a little bit in this whole process of coming back, not going, maybe not playing like they want to," Donovan said.

When told of Donovan's observation, Smart agreed Saturday. He said the game lost its enjoyment for much of this season. Frustrations simmered. Losses mounted. Self-imposed pressures intensified.

"With those losses, I would just go home, wouldn't want to talk to anybody," Smart said. "I cut my phone off and just would wake up the next day and hit the gym. I was just alone …

"It wasn't just me. You could see our body language, our facial expressions. We just weren't having fun out there. The old saying, once you stop having fun with something, it's time to be done. And I wasn't planning on being done with this for a long time. And I know this team wasn't."

Smart said his three-game absence "felt like years for me" and that he "felt lost" when his team went on road trips to Texas and Baylor without him. His team was winless in his absence.

Smart scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half, with the defining sequence occurring in the final eight seconds of the half. After Smart sank a short jumper, the 6-foot-4 guard stole ball and, one second later, converted a layup. Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith called it vintage Smart craftiness and defensive deception that "made us look pretty dumb."

The crowd of 11,539 gave Smart a rousing ovation when he exited the game in the final moments. Of the joy he played with throughout, Smart said, "It is an indescribable feeling."

Ford said adversity – desperation, really – has a funny way of uniting teams and eliminating individual agendas that Ford was fighting with his team in recent weeks. And Smart's energy in his return was contagious.

"You're not going to have fun if your team comes disjointed," Ford said. "Guys start looking out for themselves. That can always mess up a team. No one has fun doing that. When your back is against the wall, and the only way out is that you had better come together, there is no choice. Amazing things can happen."

It's too soon to draw any broad conclusions from Oklahoma State's victory. It faces another must-win scenario Monday at TCU. Its predicament, Ford said, remains "fragile" as the Cowboys continue to tread water in pursuit of an NCAA tournament berth. But there's reason for cautious optimism, and it is found on the face of their leader.

"Good to see him smile, it is good to see him smile," Ford said of Smart. "Have not seen him smile in a while."

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Eric Prisbell, a national college basketball reporter for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @EricPrisbell.