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Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 94-89 Victory Against Cal State-Fullerton

OSU builds a big lead, nearly blows it but hangs on for a win.

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5 months ago

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[Devin Wilber/PFB]

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STILLWATER — The Cowboys played with their food again on Sunday, but they’ll head into the Christmas break at 11-1.

Oklahoma State beat Cal State-Fullerton 94-89 in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Pokes built an 18-point lead that got cut down to two points with 20 seconds to play, but the Cowboys held on.

Here are five thoughts from the game.

1. More Defensive Questions

At halftime, it looked like the Cowboys might cruise to a win rather comfortably, but OSU suffered more defensive lapses in the second half, meaning this thing wasn’t over until a Cal State-Fullerton player went full Chris Webber and called a late timeout that the Titans didn’t have.

The Titans scored on 59% of their shot attempts in the second half and went 9-for-13 (69%) from 3 in the final 20 minutes.

Cal State-Fullerton was down 16 at half time and pulled to within a point on a few occasions late but couldn’t quite get over the hump.

Like the Cowboys, the Titans are known for their tempo. They came into the day ranked fourth nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo — four spots ahead of OSU.

Cal State-Fullerton’s second half was sparked by 20 fastbreak points after the Titans secured just 10 of such points in the first half.

2. Assists Also Tell the Story

Assists might seem like an offensive stat (because they are), but OSU’s assist numbers also tell the story of this game.

The first half of basketball saw the Cowboys assist 13 times on 19 made baskets — on 68% of makes.

The second half saw OSU assist three times on 14 made baskets — on 21% of makes.

Lutz says the poor defensive stretches coincide with the Cowboys not playing team basketball on the offensive end.

“When you’re not passing the ball and moving the ball offensively, you create no energy,” Lutz said. “You create no offensive energy, and you take unpredictable shots. And when you take unpredictable shots, you don’t get back and get set in transition defense.

“Now, I can’t blame all of our lack of transition defense on unpredictable shots, but I can certainly blame it on lack of effort, lack of communication and lack of willingness to get back and do your job. It all ties in together. When you’re selfish on offense, then you’re gonna be selfish on defense. As a team, when you’re playing well and you’re having energy on the offensive end, you’re gonna be connected on the defensive end. And the same, if you’re connected on the defensive end, you’re gonna provide yourself better opportunities on the offensive end because you’re turning defense into offense.”

3. But the Cowboys Were Again Shorthanded

On one hand, OSU building an 18-point lead on a team and then winning by five is frustrating.

On the other, the Cowboys got another win despite being without starting point guard Kanye Clary, starting power forward Lefteris Mantzoukas and starting center Parsa Fallah.

Those three were out Sunday, as was Robert Jennings II who announced on Friday that he’ll medically redshirt this season.

Fallah looked close to being able to go. He went through some of the Cowboys’ warmups and was dressed, but never entered the game.

After a scary moment against Kansas City on Thursday, Clary was dressed in street clothes for Sunday’s contest but wasn’t on crutches or anything, so it looks like he avoided the worst-case scenario.

“We’re playing some really different lineups because we’re without three starters,” Lutz said. “As Coach Knight said years ago, man, the best cure for selfishness and not playing hard and not doing your job is the bench. But we’ve gotta have bodies to be able to sub.”

4. 3s Were Falling Early

OSU attempted a season-high 30 3s on Sunday and hit 14 of those (47%).

Anthony Roy and Vyctorius Miller were just about going shot for shot with each other in the early portions of the game.

Six minutes into the contest, OSU held a 25-8 lead. Anthony Roy had made four 3s and Miller had hit three. There was a stretch where the Cowboys hit five 3s in a row as a team, with each coming from either Miller or Roy.

OSU attempted only six triples in the second half after going 12-for-24 from deep in the first.

Roy, Miller, Christian Coleman, Ryan Crotty and Kirk Cole all made a 3 for the Cowboys.

5. Isaiah Coleman Got Going Late

Isaiah Coleman had his best (official) scoring day as a Cowboy on Sunday, something that felt like it was only a matter of time.

Coleman scored 28 in the Auburn exhibition, but had gotten into double figures just twice going into Sunday.

He poured in 16 against the Titans. Fourteen of those coming in the second half, a frame that saw Coleman go 6-for-8 from the field. He also chipped in elsewhere, with the 6-foot-5 guard finishing with five rebounds, a block and a pair of steals.

He averaged 15.6 points a game at Seton Hall last year, showing he’s capable of filling it up. He’s also probably the most athletic player on the Cowboys’ roster, so him stepping into his own seems like only a good thing for the Pokes going forward.

Steve Lutz’s Postgame News Conference

Up Next

Opponent: Bethune Cookman
Time: 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena
Watch: ESPN+

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