Instacap: Cowboys Drop Third Straight After 79-66 Loss to TCU

The Cowboys came up short at home for just the third time this season, but dropped their third-straight overall to the Horned Frogs 79-66.

TCU earns its first win inside Gallagher-Iba Arena ever! The Frogs are now 2-9 in Stillwater with their only other win coming all the way back in 1925, 13 years prior to the opening of the Old Barn.

It was a messy affair early with both teams committing 10 first-half turnovers apiece, and most of those were unforced or at least careless. The Horned Frogs got the best of OSU on those mistakes, holding a 12-7 advantage in points off of turnovers at the break.

Tavarius Shine was still out with a wrist injury but the Cowboys did benefit from the return of Kendall Smith who missed the Arkansas game with the flu. Smith started 4 of 5 from the field and finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and dishing three assists.

Three other Cowboys scored in double digits, led by Jeffrey Carroll with 18 (5 of 14, 4 of 6 from 3) and five rebounds. Cam McGriff and Lindy Waters chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.

In the absence of Tavarius Shine, McGriff obviously had the green light but he was off the mark, starting 1 of 6 from the field. But he rebounded in the second half with two huge dunks (more on that below), a couple of huge blocks and six rebounds.

After a going 11 of 25 and 5 of 7 from 3, the Cowboys finished the final 2:30 of the first half going 0 of 4 from the field and allowing the Frogs to take a 5-point lead into the break.

It was a balanced attack from TCU with all eight players scoring in the opening frame. For the game, five Horned Frogs reached double digits, led by Kenrich Williams with 13 points on 12 shots and Alex Robinson who continued to fill in nicely at the point after Jaylen Fisher was lost for the season with injury. Robinson scored 13 on just eight shots and four assists, but did commit seven turnovers.

The Cowboys began the second half much like it the ended the first. OSU started 1 of 3 from the field, committed two turnovers and saw Mitchell Solomon pick up his third foul in the less than two minutes. The Pokes quickly fell behind by double digits 46-35.

With Solomon in foul trouble the Cowboys went super small with McGriff playing the 5 and essential four guards in Averette, Smith, Waters and Carroll on the court. Boynton was trying to generate some offense but you can only do that for limited stretches.

When the Cowboys tried to extend their pressure on defense, they gave up open layup after open layup, allowing TCU to build a 15-point lead midway through the second half.

After falling down by 16, Jeffrey Carroll completed the 4-point play that roused a sleepy GIA after getting fouled on a 3-point shot. A couple of plays later, Cam McGriff jump-started that crowd further with an emphatic jam.

OK then Cam McGriff. ? pic.twitter.com/w2ttWqKDqI

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) January 31, 2018

The hits just kept coming with a Mitch Solo deflection leading to another impressive dunk by McGriff to the pull the Cowboys to within 6 with six minutes remaining.

McDUNK pic.twitter.com/jQxrPqueSD

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) January 31, 2018

The Pokes would allow a 5-0 TCU run that etched the writing onto the wall. Playing catch up does not suit this team if it cannot get into transition. TCU pushed its lead back to 13 with just over three minutes remaining.

The Cowboys ended the game 2 of 10 from the field and missing their last four shots. This was probably a must win to keep any hopes of a Tournament bid alive. Oklahoma State moves to 13-9 and 3-6 in the Big 12.

Next up, the Cowboys head to Lawrence to face KU on Saturday at 11 a.m.