Instant Recap: Cowboys Drop Conference Opener to No. 14 Cougars 60-47

The Cowboys got outgunned and outrun-ed by the best defense in the country. That might not be a shocker, but there was a little more to it than that.

Oklahoma State dropped its Big 12 opener to No. 14 Houston 60-47, turning in season lows in both scoring and shooting. The Cowboys fall to 8-4 and 0-1 in conference play.

Things looked promising early, but then the Cowboys turned in a season-low 18 in the first half.

The Cowboys were able to hang around early, even taking a 17-11 lead midway through the first half after Brandon Newman rattled off his own 7-0 run.

Brandon Newmannnnnnn for threeeeeeeee👌 pic.twitter.com/JKED2He0p2

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) December 31, 2024

But the Cougars battled back, capitalizing off of OSU turnovers and some head-scratching misses.

The Cowboys finished the first half with nine turnovers — eight of those in just eight and a half minutes whilst Houston went on a 17-1 run to end the half and take a 28-18 lead into the break. OSU didn’t make a field goal for the final 10 and a half minutes of the opening period. In fact, Newman was the only Cowboy to make multiple field goals in the first half.

To start the second, the Cowboys needed something from someone, and they got a little something from Arturo Dean. He made a tough layup and then a rare 3-pointer to at least remind the score keeper what side of the board they used. Others pitched in, but scoring was sparse through the final 30 minutes of game play.

Well hello, @Ballout_chii https://t.co/ag8Sb8aOmF pic.twitter.com/polXNs70l5

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) December 31, 2024

OSU showed a little more life in the second half than for much of the first, and pulled within 10 three times, but never could break single digits. Then Houston put its foot down. One final Cougar run blew the game open.

A pair of Cowboys scored in double digits. Newman led the Cowboys with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting to go with four rebounds. Robert Jennings scored 10 on six shots and had five boards. Dean chipped in nine points.

Oklahoma State’s previous season low in scoring was 65 in its loss to Oklahoma. Its season low in shooting was a 34.2% showing from the field in the loss to FAU. The Cowboys managed just 45 on 26% on Monday. Houston came in leading the nation in both opponent field-goal percentage, opponent effective field-goal percentage and opponent scoring, but there were also plenty of bunnies that fell dead off the rim for the Cowboys.

But more than just getting shut down by a top tier defense, the Cowboys (a square peg) got taken shoved into a round hole. The Cowboys came in ranked 27th in the nation in adjusted tempo ,according to KenPom, with Houston ranked just 361st. The Cougars controlled the pace of the game and the Pokes couldn’t get out and run it. OSU lost the turnover battle 14-12 and the competition for points off TOs 16-7. The Pokes, whose calling card is normally getting out on the run, had zero fastbreak points at halftime and lost that lost in that category 14-9.

Next up, the Cowboys head to Morgantown for a Saturday morning tipoff against West Virginia. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network at 11 a.m. CST.