Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 81-69 Victory against Utah

BOXSCORE

The Cowboys needed it, and they got it.

Oklahoma State beat Utah 81-69 on Saturday evening in Salt Lake City. It was a big game for the Pokes, as instead of a 2-6 start the conference play, the Cowboys are a more-manageable 3-5.

Here are five thoughts on the game.

1. If It Wasn’t a Must-Win, It Was At Least a Can’t-Lose

If the Cowboys didn’t win this game, it would’ve been hard to imagine they would find a way to navigate the rest of the schedule to the NCAA Tournament.

The Cowboys’ next two games are home against No. 13 BYU on Wednesday before traveling to No. 1 Arizona next weekend. A loss here might’ve likely seen the Cowboys at 2-8 in conference play. They could certainly still do with a signature win or two, but that would’ve been hard to believe in had the Cowboys lost to the lowest-ranked Big 12 team in terms of the NET.

So for all intents and purposes, this win was much-needed.

2. Steve Lutz’s First Big 12 Road Win

OSU coach Steve Lutz will be glad to put this streak behind him, as Saturday’s win in Salt Lake City was his first conference road win as the Cowboys’ head coach.

That goes to show you just how tough the Big 12 is. Before taking over in Stillwater, Lutz had only ever made the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, and it nearly took until February of his second season to go into an opposing Big 12 building and win.

What makes it all the sweeter is the Cowboys seemingly exorcised some road demons that struck in Fort Worth just a few weeks ago. OSU was up 65-58 with four minutes to go in that game against TCU and didn’t score again, falling 68-65.

OSU had a six-point lead with four minutes to go Saturday and outscored the Utes 15-9 in those final four minutes, with OSU holding Utah to misses on five of its final six shots.

3. Anthony Roy Carried the Load Offensively

Outside of some wonky misses early in the second half, Anthony Roy was dialed in on Saturday evening.

He finished a point shy of tying his season-high, dropping 26 on 15 shots.

He was 5-for-8 from 3-points range and 5-for-6 from the foul line.

There was a point midway through the first half where Roy hit three consecutive 3s, part of an 11-0 run that took the Cowboys from down 16-12 to up 20-16.

from WAY downtown

📺: ESPN2 https://t.co/LLgkMHXqoO pic.twitter.com/NVziocJcn9

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) January 31, 2026

He also had a hustle play lead to a second-chance basket a few minutes later when he had a back tip that led to an offensive rebound before he finished the possession off with a layup.

Roy went on a 5-0 run by himself early in the second half.

On top of all of that, Roy was at team-best +12 in plus-minus.

4. Active Game from Christian Coleman

This marked Christian Coleman’s most active game in Big 12 play.

He finished with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double and also had a pair of steals that both led to OSU buckets.

Even when Coleman wasn’t grabbing a rebound, he was usually at least getting a hand on the ball, causing a little chaos. That helped OSU to a 43-34 advantage on the glass.

.@cc_1era drops the hammer 🔨

📺: ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/ybAgwEHeP7

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 1, 2026

This marked Coleman’s third double-double of the season but his first in Big 12 play. Saturday’s game marked conference-highs for Coleman in points and rebounds.

5. And It Came Under Odd Travel Circumstances

The secret to Lutz’s first road win was arriving in the city the game is played at 1 a.m. the day of the game.

One delay led to some further weather-related delays, and the Cowboys didn’t get into Salt Lake until technically the day of the game.

That’s certainly not the ideal circumstance in a game that felt as big as this one in terms of the Cowboys’ season moving forward. But good on the Pokes for fighting through that bit of adversity and getting the job done.