Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 78-67 Senior Day Win against Cincinnati

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The Cowboys ended their regular season on a high note, and now they’ll wait to see who they play in Kansas City.

Oklahoma State defeated Cincinnati 78-67 on Senior Day thanks to some big performances from a couple of outgoing seniors.

Everything was clicking for the Cowboys early. They led by as many as 18 in the first half before the Bearcats clawed their way back. Cincy ended the first half on a 16-4 run, all in the last 3:56, to pull within 44-36 at the break.

The Bearcats weren’t going anywhere. Each time the Cowboys would push their lead to double digits, Cincy would answer with a small run. They pulled within two with just over six minutes to go, then to within one at the 4:31 mark on a Simas Lukosius corner 3. But that was the last points the Bearcats would score save for a garbage-time jumper with five seconds to go.

OSU followed that make with a 10-0 run, including eight straight makes from the free throw line by Abou Ousmane, the game’s leading scorer, Brandon Newman and then Bryce Thompson to put OSU up 11 with 38 seconds remaining to ice it.

Here are Five Thoughts on the Cowboys’ Senior Day win.

1. Bryce Thompson Got Things Going

Thompson hit the ground running in his final game at GIA.

He was the offense for OSU early, scoring the Cowboys’ first 10 points like this: 3-pointer, 3-pointer, layup, midrange jumper.

Thompson started 5-for-7 from the field and scored 12 in the first half. He finished with 16 on 6-of-15 shooting (was a perfect 2-for-2 from 3) and grabbed three boards in 33 minutes. That’s a nice bounce-back from his four-point outing at UCF, the only game in his last six to not reach double digits.

Never get tired of BT threes https://t.co/yiktGkkzH1 pic.twitter.com/XNIZAravvo

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) March 8, 2025

He had some big shoes to fill trying to fill coming in after Cade Cunningham’s single season at OSU, and some big expectations to live up to given his pedigree as a recruit, but Thompson was a consummate Cowboy in four years in Stillwater. Regardless of what happens in the conference tournament, he goes out on the best season of his career and got to leave Eddie Sutton Court for the last time to a standing ovation.

2. Abou Ousmane Was Impressive (Again)

The other half of that ovation went to the game’s leading scorer, and he looked unstoppable in his GIA finale.

The last time he played at home, Abou Ousmane scored 25 points and led the Cowboys to a Top 10 win over Iowa State. On Saturday, to lock the old gym up in style, he poured in 24 and grabbed eight rebounds and a timely block late that stymied a Cincy transition bucket.

Spin and slam 🫨 pic.twitter.com/Rs0DtDqasJ

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) March 8, 2025

It’s a shame to see him go. His offensive game improved so much over the course of the season, and when the Cowboys were able to run their offense through him, they were a different basketball team.

3.  Tale of Two Halves (But OSU Survived Both)

The Cowboys looked unstoppable for stretches in the first half, but came back to earth in the second. Still, even when Cincy cut the lead to a single possession, it never felt like OSU had lost control.

After shooting 51% in the first half, the Cowboys cooled from the field in the second before a late-game surge sealed the win and rose their percentage about of the 40% mark for the period. The Cowboys did go 7-for-9 from 3 but were just 1-for-2 in the second.

The Bearcats came in as a bubble team. Before their last two losses, there was a clear path for them to get into field come dance time. It was Senior Day and the Cowboys were running on a some extra emotion, but this was a good win all around.

4. Dean Provides Reason for Optimism

Aside from the upcoming conference tournament, which we’ll get to, there are some reasons for hope for the future.

There will be plenty of time to contextualize Steve Lutz’s first year at the helm, but the Cowboys did show some improvement over the course of the season. Arturo Dean was a big part of that.

It wasn’t the 104-point explosion fans were treated to against UCF a couple weeks prior, but the Cowboys operated well in the halfcourt, even when the shots weren’t falling in the second half. OSU had 17 assists to just 12 turnovers. Dean had eight to just one. He scored eight points on seven shots, grabbed three steals and was the Cowboys’ floor captain. With as much as he improved over his junior season, next year looks to be even brighter for Dean, which is a boon for a rebuilding season in Year 2 under Lutz.

5. Cowboys Play First in KC

With the win, the Cowboys finish their regular season 15-16 and 7-13 in the Big 12. At the time of writing, UCF is down big to West Virginia at halftime. Should that hold, it would mean OSU leapfrogs the Knights and earns the 12 seed. If UCF pulls the comeback, the Cowboys would be 13th when they arrive in Kansas City. But either way, those two teams play first in the 12-13 matchup when the Big 12 Tournament commences on Tuesday.

The Cowboys and Knights tip off at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday for a chance to play the 5 seed, currently Iowa State, on Wednesday. The Cowboys split their two games with UCF and defeated Iowa State in the two teams’ only meeting in Stillwater on Feb. 25.