Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 85-76 Loss to Arizona State

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Arizona is one of the more beautiful state’s in the union, but the Cowboys played some ugly basketball on their trip to the desert.

Oklahoma State lost to Arizona State 85-76 on Tuesday in a game that was, in its own ways, a similar level of gross to the Cowboys’ 84-47 loss to No. 1 Arizona this past Saturday.

Here are five thoughts on OSU’s loss to the Sun Devils.

1. Arizona State Wanted It More

The Sun Devils came into Tuesday night getting outrebounded by an average of 3.3 boards a game. They clobbered the Cowboys on the glass to the tune of a 45-34 advantage. That included 19 offensive rebounds and 24 second-chance points for ASU.

There were signs of life throughout — like a 12-0 run for the Pokes in the latter part of the first half — but the glass numbers were fairly consistent all night.

ASU had more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds in the first half, turning 13 offensive boards into 16 second-chance points.

One of the more egregious examples of OSU not being locked in on the glass came at the end of the first half when 6-foot-2 Moe Odom got an offensive rebound off a missed free throw while standing between 6-foot-10 Parsa Fallah and 6-foot-5 Vyctorius Miller. The rebound led to a pair of free throws with two seconds to go in the half.

OSU put up a little more fight on the glass in the second, but the Sun Devils still grabbed 20 boards to OSU’s 15.

The advantage on the glass is further emphasized by the fact that OSU had just four second-chance points.

2. And the Turnovers …

It wasn’t just that the Cowboys got bullied on the glass whilst trying to navigate the bubble, but they also picked an awful time to have one of their worst performances in terms of taking care of the basketball.

OSU turned the ball over 17 times, which is tied for the second-most the Pokes have coughed it up this season. It’s the most the Cowboys have turned it over in Big 12 play.

Those giveaways led to 26 points off turnovers for the Sun Devils.

There were some Yakety Sax-type turnovers, as well. Christian Coleman took a ball off the face on a fastbreak that careened out of bounds. Late in the game the Cowboys had a back-court violation shortly before Coleman and Anthony Roy couldn’t connect on a pass despite being about three feet from each other.

It was a disappointing performance given the gravity of all of the Cowboys’ games from here on out.

3. Officials Made the Game Even Uglier

With its inability to grab a rebound and knack for turning the ball over, OSU deserved to lose this game. But it did turn into a bit of a ref show.

Roy and Miller each fouled out. Fallah and Jaylen Curry finished with four fouls apiece. And two ASU players finished with four fouls.

In total, 43 personal fouls were called and 62 free throws were attempted. Some of that was because OSU was trying to extend the game late, but it had gone off the rails before that.

There was also an odd instance where ASU forward Santiago Trouet was called for what was initially deemed his fourth foul with about 15.5 minutes to play, but the officials went to the monitor and moved one of his fouls. That last foul was picked up when Trouet was in the midst of scoring 10 points in a row for the Sun Devils, and he finished with a 16-points, 10-rebound double-double.

Again, not the refs’ fault the Cowboys lost that game, but the constant whistles made it all the more agonizing for enjoyers of free-flowing basketball.

4. Defense Was Honestly Alright … Aside from Rebounding

The Sun Devils finished shooting 40% from the field and 24% from 3 … and still won the basketball game.

There were stretches of some of the better defensive rotations the Cowboys have put together of late, but they just could not finish a defensive possession with a rebound.

5. A Resume Blow

Well, OSU is now 4-7 in Big 12 play with the following games to go:

vs. TCU (Feb. 14)
vs. Kansas (Feb. 18)
at Colorado (Feb. 21)
vs. West Virginia (Feb. 24)
at Cincinnati (Feb. 28)
at UCF (March 3)
vs. Houston (March 7)

You probably would prefer to get to .500 in the league, which would mean going 5-2 through this upcoming stretch. Given the performance we just watched, that seems unlikely.

There is still a path, however. Games you’d love to win that could make a big impact are at Colorado and at UCF. Both, as of writing, would be considered Quad 1 games. OSU has already beaten UCF in Stillwater, and while Colorado is technically Quad 1, it’s right on the fringe, so that at least seems more winnable than a game against Houston, for instance. If you can’t get to 9-9, two more Quad 1 wins would at least look good.

The path of dreams for the Cowboys would be wins against everyone but Kansas and Houston. That gives you two more Quad 1 wins and a .500 conference record.

Then there’s also the possibility of making up some ground at the Big 12 Tournament, but the room for error is tightening.