Wildcats take down Cowboys
Jeffrey Carroll led Oklahoma State with 24 points, but the Cowboys fell to Kansas State, 96-88, in Big 12 conference action at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Wednesday night.
STILLWATER — Through much of this early Big 12 Conference schedule, Oklahoma State faded late on the defensive end in losses.
Wednesday night against Kansas State, the Cowboys didn’t even wait to wilt, allowing the Wildcats all they wanted at and around the rim, taking a recent theme to extremes in a 96-88 loss inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
K-State attacked from the outset, shot 56.3 percent from the floor and scored 48 points in the paint to hand OSU yet another league defeat.
On a night set up for something special – Brad Underwood coaching against his alma mater for the first time, in the 1,000th game at GIA – the Cowboys instead fell to 0-6 in the Big 12 and lost their 12th straight in the conference dating back to last season.
“Same song, sixth verse?” Underwood said afterward. “We are struggling to guard the ball. We haven’t fought very hard to do it. It’s a trend. It’s a bad one for us.”
The Cowboys were good enough on offense, especially in the first half, when they connected on nine 3-pointers, the key element in a 54-51 lead at the break.
But halftime leads have been common for OSU. And just like three times previously in the Big 12 – at Texas, at Baylor and at Kansas – the Cowboys couldn’t keep up.
Their own shooting cooled, falling off to 40 percent in the second half. And K-State kept attacking. And scoring.
“I would have never dreamed we could get 90 on them at their place,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “But other teams have done it.”
Even when the Wildcats slumped a bit, scoring but two points during a 4 ½-minute stretch of the second half, the Cowboys slumped with them, managing just four points, leaving K-State clinging to a 78-74 lead.
Then, almost on cue, OSU failed at the finish.
Over the final five minutes – the most telling time in the Cowboys’ last five losses – Kansas State surged to a 90-79 lead, before OSU managed a mild rally late.
“It’s very tough,” said Cowboys point guard Jawun Evans. “Nobody likes losing. But we’re playing great teams. We’ve just got to have that dog in us.”
Opponents have discovered the Cowboys’ fatal flaws: post defense and an inability to close. And they’re taking advantage.
Weber reminded his team of OSU’s late fading trend in crunch time Saturday night, referring to a Cowboys loss a week ago, telling his squad, “Iowa State made the push and pulled it out late.”
So did the Wildcats. And Jayhawks. And Bears. And Longhorns…
“We play defense in practice pretty hard every day,” said the Cowboys’ Jeffrey Carroll, who scored a game-high 24 points. “We’ve got to carry it over to the game, play hard, play tough.
“Move on to the next one. Buy in, and guard. Guard, guard, guard.”
The Cowboys, once 10-2, now stand 10-8. And Kansas State was supposed to kick off a softer stretch in the schedule.
The teams combined for 105 points of offense in the first half, via very different approaches.
Oklahoma State led 54-51 at the break on the strength of its perimeter game, hitting 9-of-14 shots from the arc. The 54 points were the most scored in the opening half against K-State all season.
For the Cowboys, it was their most first-half 3-pointers since Nov. of 2013, when they pumped in 10 against Utah Valley.
Carroll and forward Leyton Hammonds each fired in three 3s, with Carroll leading all scorers with 15 points. Evans added 14 for the Cowboys.
Kansas State attacked the rim, time and again, scoring 28 of its points in the paint. The Wildcats’ aggressiveness also resulted in trips to the foul line, where they added 13 points.
Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes attacked the most, combining for 21 points. D.J. Johnson added 10, all in the paint, scoring frequently on layups and follow shots.
The Cowboys shot 52.9 percent from the floor, while the Wildcats were at 50 percent, indicative of a torrid first half.
The game was in drastic contrast to last season’s game in Stillwater, where Oklahoma State won 58-55 in overtime.