Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 84-71 Loss to Iowa State

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RECAP
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STILLWATER — The Cowboys played so poorly in the first half of Saturday’s game that it didn’t matter how well they played in the second.

Oklahoma State fell to Iowa State 84-71 on Saturday afternoon in Gallagher-Iba Arena in front of a group of fans who braved the snowstorm to get to OSU’s annual Remember the Ten game.

Here are five thoughts on the contest.

1. Another Slow Start

Slow starts have become a bit of a trend for the Cowboys in Big 12 play.

Through the first four minutes of their seven Big 12 games, the Cowboys have been outscored a combined 74-46. In the past two games, the Cowboys have been outscored 25-8 through four minutes.

OSU spotted TCU nine points in Fort Worth to start that game Tuesday and ended up losing by three.

The Cowboys were down 11-2 early in Saturday’s game and lost by 13. Might’ve been a different ball game late had the Cowboys been able to mitigate that early damage even slightly.

“As a competitor, you have to come out when the jump ball goes up, and you have to get yourself ready to play,” Lutz said. “As a unit, you have to be ready to play. It can’t be two of the five that start, or three of the five, or four of the five — it has to be five of the five. So we’ve gotta be better about making sure that we’re ready to play.

“We can’t use the snow or the bad weather as an excuse. We just have to be locked in and ready to play.”

2. OSU Made Things Slightly Interesting Late

The Cowboys outscored Iowa State by 17 points in the second half and still lost by double digits, which shows you how poorly the first half went for the Pokes.

Kanye Clary scored all 19 of his points in the second frame, while Jaylen Curry poured in 12 in the half to join his fellow point guard at 19 for the game.

And it wasn’t just that the Cyclones pulled their guys when they were up so much at the half. Joshua Jefferson was limited in the second half with foul trouble, but Tamin Lipsey played 18 second-half minutes and Milan Momcilovic played 19.

Clary pulled up and hit a 3 with 1:41 to ply that cut the Cyclones’ lead down to 10 points — as close as the Cowboys would get. From that point, OSU needed some free-throw luck, but Iowa State sunk seven foul shots in the final 1:37 to keep the Pokes at arm’s length.

The real difference in halves was how the Pokes defended. After ISU shot 62% from the field in the first, OSU held the Cyclones to 36% shooting in the second. OSU also forced a dozen second-half turnovers which they turned into 18 points.

Here are first-half numbers compared to second-half numbers:

“The team showed in the second half what we can be, but it’s a 40-minute game,” Lutz said. “So you’ve gotta be able to do that from the opening tip.”

3. Shades of the Baylor Game

OSU’s game against Baylor earlier this year isn’t one the Cowboys would’ve wanted to replicate, but they sort of did Saturday.

The Cowboys were down 16-9 to Baylor at the first media timeout of their game on Jan. 13. Baylor led OSU 57-39 at the half of that game and went on to win 94-79.

The Cowboys entered the locker room Saturday down 30, trailing 51-21. Momcilovic had 19 points by himself in the first half, meaning he was only trailing the Cowboys by a layup.

Like against Baylor, the Cowboys rallied and outscored their opponent in the second half, but the first half was so poor it really didn’t matter all the much.

4. In Search of Answers, Lutz Turned to Some Freshmen

Freshmen Ryan Crotty and Benjamin Ahmed combined to play 15 minutes in the first half of Saturday’s game after it was clear Lutz wasn’t getting what he needed from his regular contributors.

That comes after Crotty played 2:21 in OSU’s past five games combined and Ahmed played 1:47 across the Cowboys’ past three contests.

Crotty finished having played 22 minutes — a season-high for the freshman. He had nine points all via 3s, where he was 3-for-6. He was also +1 for the game, meaning when he was on the floor, OSU actually outscored Iowa State by a point.

Ahmed played just five minutes (most of which came in the first half), scoring two points.

“I thought both gave us good minutes,” Lutz said. “I thought that the rest of the team did a good job in finding Ryan so that he could get some open shots. I thought Ben did a good job. He played hard. I thought both of those guys played with a high level of care, a high level of competitiveness. We’ve gotta have that throughout the entire program moving forward — every single night.”

If you’re ready to pronounce OSU’s tournament chances dead (which I’d advise against for at least a few more weeks), I think there’s some hope to be placed in how Lutz and his staff have recruited the high school ranks.

You can see the vision for guys like Crotty and Ahmed, and this next class features a two-way power forward (Latrell Allmond), one of the better high school basketball players the state of Oklahoma has seen (Jalen Montonati) and a Swiss Army knife guard (Parker Robinson).

5. A Week Off

OSU doesn’t have a midweek game this upcoming week. It’s probably a good time for this break to come given the Cowboys are coming off a blown lead against TCU and an uncompetitive half against the Cyclones.

The Pokes will next be in action next Saturday against Utah in Salt Lake City. It’s probably still too early to consider this a must-win game (because in the Big 12, if you rattle off wins at any point, your season can turn around), but Utah is the worst team in the league by a bit of a margin, according to the NET.

Entering Saturday, OSU was at No. 73 in the NET while Utah sits at No. 116. The closest Big 12 team to Utah is Arizona State at No. 93.

“We’ve gotta get better,” Lutz said. “This league is such a grind, and if you’re struggling mentally or you’re struggling physically, obviously we’ll use this week to get better there. But we’ve gotta get better just in terms of our overall team direction.

“We’ve gotta have a focus on it doesn’t matter if I score points, or it doesn’t matter if I get rebounds, it matters that I’m gonna give you my best every single possession, and my teammates are gonna give the best. And then collectively, we can be great together.”

Steve Lutz’s Postgame News Conference

Up Next

Opponent: Utah
When: 5 p.m. (CT) Saturay
Where: Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City
Watch: ESPN2