KANSAS CITY, Mo. — That’s all she wrote.
Oklahoma State’s March Madness dream is seemingly out of the picture after a 95-88 loss to TCU on Wednesday in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. Now the Cowboys will see what awaits them for the postseason.
Conventional wisdom says it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season, but TCU swept the Cowboys this season and ended a campaign filled with ups and downs.
Toughest team won
It’s hard to win a game when you allow your opponent to get 14 offensive rebounds, 18 second-chance points and 27 free-throw attempts.
“We shot ourselves in the foot in the inability to box out, be physical, and get out-rebounded,” OSU coach Steve Lutz said. “And give TCU credit for that… They did the best that they could, and ultimately, it wasn’t enough to win the game.”
After Parsa Fallah suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury in late February, the Cowboys’ frontcourt depth vanished. In the five games without Fallah, OSU’s defense and rebounding became a bigger concern on top of existing weaknesses.
Cowboys opponents averaged 92.8 points per game in those five games. The Cowboys allowed 82.5 points per game for the season, ranking at the bottom of the conference.
Perfect start, frustrating finish
Excitement around the Cowboy program peaked after a preseason exhibition win against Auburn and a stellar 12-1 start to the season, including an 87-63 win over Texas A&M.
OSU later built more momentum with an upset win over BYU in early February and returned to the bubble conversation, but then lost five straight games and ended its realistic tournament hopes.
And on Wednesday, the Cowboys led by as many as 10 points with about 13 minutes left. The Horned Frogs dominated the rest of the way, though, outscoring the Cowboys 38-21.
The Cowboys went cold offensively at the worst time, missing their last five shots and failing to score a field goal in the final 3:21.
“They should all look in the mirror and be proud of their fight tonight,” Lutz said. “They did the best they could with the hand they were dealt. Life’s not fair, and the Big 12 is not forgiving. Those two things make it really hard.”
Offense not an issue
On the surface, 88 points should be enough to win, but the Cowboys’ offensive success did not always translate to victories.
OSU ranked third in the Big 12 and 28th nationally in scoring (84.2 points per game), but its defense could not hold up. KenPom ranked the Cowboys 46th in offense and 136th in defense, which contributed to their late-season struggles.
Although the season did not end as Cowboys fans hoped, the program under Lutz has improved its win totals in each of his two seasons on the job.
Lutz said postgame he believes the program is trending upward.
“I really believe that the future is bright at Oklahoma State,” Lutz said. “I think that we’re going to be a good basketball team depending upon how things go with retention and the portal and all those sorts of things, but everything is moving forward and moving in the right direction.”