Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 86-78 Loss to FAU

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The Cowboys’ opening game in the Charleston Classic turned into a free-throw shooting exhibition, and it wasn’t all that fun to watch.

Oklahoma State fell to FAU 86-78 on Thursday. The first loss of OSU’s Steve Lutz era came in a game where 81 total free throws were shot and 56 fouls were called.

The first half was fairly free flowing, but the second half was free throwing. FAU took 34 fouls shots in the second half, where the Owls scored 28 of their 52 second-half points. OSU attempted 23 free throws in the second half, hitting 16.

The Cowboys got off to a slow start, giving up a 7-0 run to start the game before Chi Chi Avery got OSU’s scoring started with a dunk. It was a struggle to get the ball in the basket for much of the first half. The Cowboys shot just 33% in the opening half but still managed a 39-34 lead despite the Owls shooting 48% from the field. How is such a thing possible? Well OSU had 42 field-goal attempts in the first half to FAU’s 23. That happened because the Pokes forced 11 turnovers and ripped down 12 offensive boards. The Cowboys had eight second-chance points and seven points off turnovers in the first half. Those shooting woes for the Pokes continued after the break.

With the the loss, OSU will play Miami in the consolation side of the Charleston Classic bracket at 1 p.m. (Central) on Friday. Here are five thoughts from the game.

1. A Ridiculous Amount of Fouls Called

It was evident fairly early on that the officials were going to play a role in this game when they called the Owls for two technical fouls in the first half, but the second is where things really ramped up.

The second half — which is 20 minutes long — featured 38 total fouls and 56 free throw shots. Breaking that down, a foul was called about every 32 seconds that went off the clock, and a free throw was shot for about every 21 seconds that ticked off.

College basketball is suffering because games can devolve into such unwatchableness (made up word), but Thursday’s contest was an extreme example of such debauchery. OSU’s first three games of the year averaged 33.7 fouls called and 36.3 free-throw attempts. The second half alone was enough to beat both of those numbers. The most fouls OSU had committed in a game before Thursday was 17 against Green Bay; the Cowboys were called for 33 fouls against FAU.

Bryce Thompson, Abou Ousmane and Chi Chi Avery all fouled out — Ousmane doing so in just 12 minutes on the floor. Khalil Brantley, Robert Jennings II and Arturo Dean each finished with four fouls.

It was called tight on both ends, so the fouls weren’t a direct reason the Cowboys lost this game. It just made the game not resemble basketball, which could be a reason OSU lost, and all the whistles incredibly tough to watch.

2. A Rough Day for the OSU Offense

Thus far this season, OSU’s offense has been predicated on running the floor, which is tough to do with the stop-start nature of Thursday’s game, but when the Pokes were able to get a shot up, not many were falling.

OSU finished having shot just 34% from the field. OSU didn’t shoot below 42% from the field in its opening three games. In fact, it wasn’t a great shooting day from anywhere for the Cowboys, as Thursday’s game featured a season-low in field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage.

There was a point midway through the second half where OSU went 5:31 without making a field goal. After busting that slump, the Pokes turned around and went another 5:07 between made shots. So, that’s a 10:38 stretch with one make (and a handful of free throws). Not good.

Tough to get into a flow in a game like that, but some sort of scoring has to be there when a game turns into a whistle fest.

3. Robert Jennings II Had a Career Day

With Ousmane in foul trouble, Avery in foul trouble and Patrick Suemnick suffering some sort of leg injury in the first half, Robert Jennings II was Lutz’s only option in the paint for much of Thursday’s game, and Jennings played well despite the L.

Jennings finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds — the first double-double of his career. He also tied a career-high in points.

Steal ➡️ slam

📺: ESPNU | @RJGetBuckets pic.twitter.com/nCOkLDgO3v

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) November 21, 2024

Jennings was plus-13 in the first half, meaning OSU was 13 points better than FAU while he was on the floor. Despite the Cowboys losing the game by eight, Jennings still finished positive in plus-minus at plus-3. He also showed he has a little range to him, hitting his lone 3-point attempt in a day where the Cowboys were 6-for-26 from deep as a team.

4. Khalil Brantley Momentarily Took Over

La Salle transfer Khalil Brantley is a bona fide scorer, having a dozen 20-point games on his resume, and he showed a little bit of that in the mess that was that second half.

He finished with 16 points Thursday. A dozen of those came in the second half. There was a 2:35 stretch where Brantley made four layups. He has an immense amount of wiggle to him, and whichever Owl was guarding him just could not stay in front of him. He basically just kept willing his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame to the basket and found a way to get the ball in the hoop. It wasn’t overly flashy jump shots, just the most efficient means of ball in basket.

5. Jamyron Keller’s Best Half of the Season

Aside from Brantley tallying five of OSU’s 11 second-half makes, it was hard for anyone to stand out in the second half because it was so ugly, but Jamyron Keller looked like his best self in the first half.

Swimming in a pool of experienced guards, Keller hadn’t popped much this season, but the sophomore looked more like the freshman who put up 22 against BYU last season than he had to any point this season.

He scored seven points in the first half, but that only told part of the story. He was pushing the issue, looking comfortable for the first time in Lutz’s tempo style. It feels like style that can really suit him because Keller is built like a brick house, and when he’s running the floor and opposing bigs haven’t gotten back yet, there aren’t many guards out there who will be able to muscle him away from the basket.

All of that hustle was paid off with a big 3 toward the end of the first half that put the Cowboys up 10 points.

Some nifty passing going on here 😮‍💨

📺: ESPNU pic.twitter.com/PVuVBI0fbn

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) November 21, 2024

Charleston Classic Bracket