Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 95-88 Loss to TCU

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Cowboys ran out of steam in KC.

After a strong start, Oklahoma State fell to TCU 95-88 in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament, officially putting an end to the Cowboys’ NCAA Tournament chances.

Here are five thoughts from the game.

1. Second Half Second-Chance Points Bury the Pokes

The Cowboys took a 46-43 lead into the half and had outrebounded the Frogs by four through those first 20 minutes. But the script flipped in the second.

TCU outrebounded OSU 23-15 in the second half. Fourteen of those boards were on the offensive end, and the Horned Frogs turned those into 18 second-chance points.

The two most egregious offensive boards the Cowboys gave up came on missed TCU free throws. Micah Robinson went to the line off a David Punch offensive board with about eight minutes to play. Robinson made the first and missed the second, but Tanner Toolson came away with the ball. TCU closed the possession with a Jayden Pierre layup to cut OSU’s lead to 72-71.

Toolson was at the line with 5:45 to play. He made the first, missed the second, and Xavier Edmonds came away with the board. That possession ended with a Pierre 3 that gave TCU an 81-80 lead, the Horned Frogs’ first lead since about a minute into the second half.

“Ultimately, we shot ourselves in the foot in the inability to box out, be physical and get a rebound,” OSU coach Steve Lutz said. “And give TCU credit for that. There’s a reason they’ve won nine out of the last 10 and six in a row. And we’ve had three games with them where, ultimately, at the end of the day, the game was won in the trenches. And we have not rang the bell to win any of those three games.

“So we’ve got to be able to look in the mirror and take ownership of this, but also not lose sight of the fact that we’ve made strides and we’ve had a good year and we’re continuing to move the program forward.”

Some of TCU’s second-half success on the glass had to do with the fact that freshmen bigs Ben Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland were in foul trouble. Those two have had to shoulder the load at center for the Pokes in Kansas City because big men keep falling. Parsa Fallah tore his ACL, Andrija Vukovic tore his meniscus, Robert Jennings re-injured his hip and has been out most of the season, and Lefteris Mantzoukas is no longer on the team.

2. It Looked So Promising in the First Half

The Cowboys started hot to the point where it looked like some might start believing they could battle back to the bubble.

OSU shot 51% from the field in the first and outrebounded TCU 20-16.

The Cowboys were flying up and down the field and, despite how the second half played out, were fairly dominant in the paint. OSU had 30 paint points in the first half and had seven offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points.

3. Some Solid Offensive Performances

Despite the loss, OSU scored 88 points which means they had some guys lighting up the scoreboard.

Anthony Roy continued his hot streak, finishing with a team-high 25. He also had nine boards.

Usually shining as a catch-and-shoot guy, Roy was a full-blown slasher Wednesday night. Only six of those points came via the long ball. He was getting downhill and to the tin, hitting a pair of tough layups in the first half. He didn’t get much help from the whistles in that half, shooting just two free throws despite his attacking style of play. But he got to the line eight times in the second half, hitting seven of those.

Christian Coleman looked like prime LeBron for a stretch early in the second. He scored nine of his 15 points in about a two-minute span early in the second by getting downhill and laying it in.

Had the Cowboys won and those two played similarly Thursday, they probably would’ve made the all-tournament team given how well they played in KC.

Some of these guys are playing the best they have all season, which makes it a little extra brutal that they couldn’t close this game out.

4. What Sort of Frog Curse Is Over the OSU Basketball Program?

TCU has been a solid program over the past 10 years or so, but it’s not like the Horned Frogs are Kansas or something.

OSU has now lost six straight against the Horned Frogs and have gone 4-14 against TCU since the 2017-18 season. It just doesn’t make any sense.

The Cowboys need to do some frog-related ritual or something.

In two of OSU’s losses to TCU this season, the Cowboys led at the half. The other game went to overtime.

OSU’s last win against TCU away from GIA was on Feb. 15, 2017.

Cursed, I tell you, cursed.

5. What’s Next?

The Cowboys were a few wins away from making the improbable at least a little interesting, but alas, they will miss the NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight year.

But OSU could still continue playing basketball, whether that be in the NIT (again) or in the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. Given the Crown will be an eight-team tournament this year, the NIT is probably more likely based on numbers, but the Crown and Big 12 have a partnership that means the tournament will take at least two of the league’s teams.

There’s also a world where this is it for the 2025-26 Cowboys. Here’s what Lutz said after the game:

“Yeah, I mean I’ve got to talk to the team and we’ve got to see who has interest in us playing,” Lutz said. “I mean obviously the Big 12 has a partnership with the Crown, and then you’re obviously going to have the NIT.

“I would think that the way that these guys are playing and because they’re playing so hard and having fun and playing for one another, I would think that they want to continue on. And if they want to continue on, I want to continue to coach them. Like, I’ve enjoyed coaching them the entire year, but I’ve really enjoyed coaching them these last five games. It’s been fun.”

In talking with the players after the game, they also seem open to the idea.

“Oh, for sure man,” Kanye Clary said. “I love each and every one of these guys, and I love taking the floor with them. Hopefully we can win one of those two tournaments.”

“Most definitely,” Roy said. “If anybody else wants to play, I’m definitely with it.”