Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Thumped in the Phog, Falls to Kansas 96-64

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The Cowboys caught the Jayhawks at the worst possible time, returning home off a historic loss.

Oklahoma State fell to No. 23 Kansas 96-64. The Jayhawks took out two games worth of frustration in their return to the Phog.

OSU was coming off its best offensive performance in year, but Kansas was coming off its worst loss in years, tying the worst in the Bill Self era. The Cowboys walked into a meat grinder.

The Pokes kept it competitive early, but then the Jayhawks caught fire, and it looked like it was pretty much over before halftime.

Here’s what worked for OSU, at least for a bit.

The Cowboys were able to overcome a disparity in shooting, at least early, by playing to their strengths. They looked confident, despite starting 1-for-4 from the field while KU made its first four shots. The Cowboys were getting into passing lanes and scoring in transition. They even hit a few shots.

They stayed within striking distance through the first half of the first half, answering shots with takeaways or a play of their own. OSU stayed within two possessions all the way past the nine minute mark, until a spark off the bench for the Jayhawks ignited an offensive explosion.

Kansas guard David Coit stepped off the bench and hit his first three shots, all 3s, and that was the first sign of trouble. Brandon Newman came off OSU’s bench and made his first three, even answering one of Coit’s 3s with a deep ball.

But things got out of hand quickly thereafter. KU’s Dajuan Harris nailed a 3 to start an 8-0 run that gave Kansas a 31-19 lead with just under eight left in the first. Along with a Bryce Thompson fastbreak layup, that grew into a 13-2 run to put the Jayhawks up 15 with five minutes left in the half. Then, before you could say “Rock Chalk,” the Jayhawks’ had doubled up the Pokes.

From the 8:37 mark of the first to the final minutes, Kansas made 10 of 13 shots and the lead had ballooned to 52-23, which would be the halftime score. The Jayhawks outscored OSU 21-2 over last 6:36 of the first.

It didn’t get much better out of the break. Kansas’ lead ballooned to 36 after a 9-0 run early in the second half. A few minutes into the second half, OSU had fewer made field goals (nine) than Kansas’ made 3s (10).

Thompson led all scorers against his former team, scoring 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting (3-of-4 from 3). He had four rebounds and two assists, but three turnovers. Newman added 11 on six shots and Chi Chi Avery scored 10.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks spread the scoring around while both teams went deep into their benches. Four Jayhawks scored in double figures, all at least 14, lead by Hunter Dickinson’s 16-11 double-double.

The Cowboys’ sandwiched their highest scoring game in seven seasons (104 points) with a 55-point effort and a 64-point effort, both huge blowouts.

OSU shot 37% from the field and 32% from 3 while KU went for 52% and 47%, respectively. The Jayhawks scored 27 points off of 17 turnovers, the most the Pokes had committed since the K-State loss eight games prior.

With a team that talented that had as much to play for as it had all season, in an environment like that, it might not have mattered how well OSU played. KU also outrebounded OSU by 20 and held an 18-11 edge in offensive boards which led to a 21-11 advantage in second-chance points. The Cowboys got bested in pretty much every metric that mattered.

Kansas reserve center Flory Bidunga went for his fourth block of the game on OSU’s Andrija Vukovic jump shot. Budgunda was called for a goal tend which sent the Rock Chalk faithful into a chorus of boos. The crowd was in a frenzy that lasted nearly 30 minutes of gametime.

To add injury to insult, OSU’s Tyler Caron, a first-year transfer from Div-II St. Mary’s went up fighting for a rebound in garbage time and came down awkwardly, injuring his knee. He had to be helped off the court in obvious pain.

With the loss, the Cowboys fall back under .500 at 13-14. They’re 5-11 in Big 12 play. Next up, have a short break before they face another ranked team off a loss. The Cowboys face No. 8 Iowa State at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cyclones fell to No. 5 Houston on the road Saturday.