Longhorns continue free fall
Squad misses all shots in OT, drops 3rd in row
Typically, teams that shoot 25 percent from the field don’t live to see overtime. Not unless there’s similar brick-heaving occurring on the other side.
But failing to hit a single shot over not one but two overtime periods, well, that’s not a winning formula no matter how ludicrous the contest has been. And that’s exactly what No. 6 Texas (11-5, 5-4 Big 12) did Saturday afternoon, missing all 12 of its field goal attempts during two bonus periods of a 75-67 loss to Oklahoma State (12-5, 5-5) at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Texas has put together some putrid shooting performances during Shaka Smart’s six seasons on the job. But what happened in Stillwater, Okla., represented a new low. Literally.
The Longhorns’ .253 field-goal percentage is the lowest figure of the Smart era. They missed 30 3-pointers and hit just five. They committed 25 fouls and 21 turnovers. They played their worst basketball of the season at a juncture when contenders are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the field.
“We obviously didn’t play with the level of poise we need to have on offense,” Smart said. “We missed a lot of shots which I think were mostly very good looks. We’d love to have some of those shots back. But the 21 turnovers is way too many.”
Texas shot 5 of 18 during the final 10 minutes of the first half. Bricks were chucked from everywhere — the corner, the top of the key, right at the cylinder. Freshman Greg Brown even suffered the indignity of a rim rejection while attempting a two-handed putback slam.
Oklahoma State only shot 12 of 31 during the first half. But the Cowboys seized on other scoring chances, turning lackadaisical Texas possessions into fastbreaks or extra possessions.
By the time Texas retreated to the visitor’s locker room its 23-14 lead had flipped into a 35-29 deficit.
Texas was able to mount a comeback early in the second half by ramping up its defensive intensity. The reemergence of junior wing Brock Cunningham was vital to the Longhorns’ surge in that regard.
Though he wasn’t the headlining Cunningham today, the 6-foot-5, 204pounder gave Texas life by scrambling around the floor, knocking bodies around and wreaking all sorts of mischief. He finished with three points, 10 rebounds (three offensive), three assists, one block and five steals.
Then Oklahoma State’s presumptive No. 1 overall pick finally started looking the part after dealing with foul trouble all game. Cade Cunningham (19 points, eight rebounds) buried a step-back 3 over Ramey to knot it up at 59-59 with 50 seconds remaining, his first make in almost 18 minutes.
Still, neither team could finish the job in regulation.
Texas struggled against Oklahoma State’s zone. The Cowboys couldn’t capitalize the Longhorns’ errors, whether forced or unforced.
Ramey, Coleman and Andrew Jones combined for 37 points on 10 of 49 shooting (3 of 26 on 3s), five assists, seven turnovers and 10 steals, but it wasn’t enough to mend the Longhorns’ disjointed offensive spirit.
With Cunningham swaggering and sophomore forward Kalib Boone (22 points, 15 rebounds) wearing down Texas’ bigs, the Longhorns faded in the second overtime, missing all nine shot attempts en route to a third straight loss.