Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 86-74 Victory against Oral Roberts

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STILLWATER — The Cowboys were just too big for Oral Roberts.

Oklahoma State beat the Golden Eagles 86-74 on Sunday afternoon in Gallagher-Iba Arena, thanks in no small part to OSU beating ORU 44-20 on the glass.

ORU kept it interesting early, but the Pokes closed the first half on a 10-2 run and didn’t look back much after that.

OSU finishes its nonconference schedule at 8-3 and will host Houston to open league play on Dec. 30. Here are five thoughts from Sunday’s game.

1. Dean’s Defense Provides Juice Going into the Half

There was some sloppy basketball happening in the first half with the most glaring example being a four possession stretch in which each team turned the ball over twice (it included back-to-back travels).

In the sloppiness, the Golden Eagles were hanging around. That was until Arturo Dean turned the tide with some defense. The Cowboys led 31-29 late in the first half when Dean recorded his second steal of the game and promptly flew down the floor and scored a contested layup. It was OSU’s first field goal in about four and a half minutes. That play then sparked Abou Ousmane to get a block at one end and an and-one on the other before Dean got another steal and made another contested layup.

All of a sudden, OSU’s lead was up to 38-29, and the Pokes had a 10-0 run going. Dean did, though, foul a 3-point shooter late in the half — which is not ideal — but those few steals seemed to spark the Pokes going into the locker room after a half that was overall a little sloppy.

Dean finished with just four points, but his impact was felt with his three assists and four steals.

“We changed a little bit of our defensive ball-screen coverage, but really he came in and he gave us great energy and he moved the basketball,” OSU coach Steve Lutz said. “And he turned their mistakes into our baskets. Any time you can have live-ball turnovers, and you can convert those for baskets, man, you’re in really good shape.”

2. Cowboys Bully Golden Eagles Inside

The game was won on the glass, and because it was, the Pokes also had a healthy advantage from the foul line.

OSU outrebounded ORU 44-20, which included a 17-8 advantage on the offensive boards. The Cowboys outscored ORU 42-22 in the paint.

The Pokes beat Tulsa earlier this month despite shooting only eight 3-point attempts for the entire game. Although it wasn’t that extreme Sunday, the Cowboys were still being selective with the 3s they took while seemingly emphasizing getting the ball into the paint. OSU took 14 3s against ORU compared to 39 free-thr0w attempts, which is extra good considering the Pokes shot 80% from the stripe and 21% from 3.

OSU did somewhat manage to bust my stat from Wednesday about OSU being 6-0 in games it shot 30% or better from 3 and 1-3 in games where OSU shot below 30%. The Cowboys were 3-for-14 from deep Sunday and still won. But they won because of that work in the paint.

3. Ousmane Takes Over Again

Whether the Cowboys were dominating on the glass because ORU was in foul trouble or ORU was in foul trouble because OSU was dominating on the glass, the result was the same — it was another big day for Abou Ousmane.

The Cowboy center finished with a team-high 19 points while going 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Ousmane brought down seven rebounds, blocked two shots and had a steal.

Now averaging 12.2 points a game this season, Ousmane has shown an ability to take over games. There was a stretch midway through the second half Sunday where he scored 10 of 17 OSU points. When Ousmane gets on the offensive glass, it’s been particularly hard for defenses to stop him, as two of his buckets during that stretch came after Ousmane grabbed an offensive board.

“We don’t throw him the basketball enough,” Lutz said. “To his credit, he runs in transition, he seals for the most part darn near every time. Our guards have to do a better job as they come across halfcourt of getting their head up and reading where the big is and can we get him the basketball? That’s going to be our quickest and best opportunity to score. We’ve gotta focus on continuing to throw the ball inside to him.”

Serbian freshman Andrija Vukovic should get some credit on putting the Golden Eagles in foul trouble, too. Playing in just his third game this season, Vukovic drew five fouls and finished with six points, all of which came from the foul line.

4. Turnovers Trending Up

Through OSU’s first five games, the Pokes were averaging just 9.5 turnovers while turning their opponents over 15.2 times a game. In the five games since, OSU has turned the ball over 14.8 times a game while turning opponents over 15.2 times a game.

OSU turned the ball over 15 times Sunday — the second-most the Cowboys have recorded in a game this season behind only Wednesday’s 18 against Tarleton State. It’s not as if it’s a one-guy issue. No Cowboy had more than two turnovers Sunday. It was a team effort. OSU did force 16 ORU turnovers, but it’s not as flashy when the Pokes are also turning the ball over at a high rate.

“We’re selfish,” Lutz said. “When we turn the ball over, it’s usually been because it’s a selfish play. What I mean by that is you have an opportunity to get an advantage on the defense and instead of you trying to go make a play all the time, man as soon as you have an advantage, you should pass the ball to your teammate and now you’ve got them in rotation. And now you’re attacking from there or you’re shooting from there. Those, what you’ll term as, good shots become great shots.

“I really think that we’ve gotta become better in that area. I understand that certain guys are wired to score, but we’ve gotta continue to share the basketball.”

5. Big 12 Play Is Up Next

So, the Cowboys are 8-3 through their nonconference slate with the always daunting Big 12 schedule ahead.

OSU opens with No. 15 Houston on Dec. 30 before traveling to Morganton on Jan. 4. If you’re a big believer in analytical rankings, the Pokes are considered either the worst or second-worst team in the Big 12, with KenPom listing the Cowboys last and the NET having OSU ahead of Kansas State. With that said, this team is tough. It’ll be a night-in, night-out grind, but early returns suggest that the Cowboys’ in-your-face style won’t be fun for opponents to match up against, and on nights the Cowboys are hitting from 3, well, who knows.

“I’m fired up,” Lutz said. “This is why I’m here. You want to play against the best. I think our guys are ready to play against the best. With that being said, we’ve gotta get better if we expect to win a good amount of games in the Big 12. We’re either in the best league or the second-best league in the country. There’s no room for error on any given night. The teams across the board are all good.”

Steve Lutz’s Postgame News Conference