Instant Recap: Cowboys Blown Out in Houston, Fall 79-63

BOX SCORE

The Cowboys went on the road to the top defensive team in the country, and it might’ve gone worse than even expected.

Houston beat Oklahoma State 79-63 on Tuesday night in the Fertitta Center. The Cougars entered the game forcing teams into 16.5 turnovers a contest and forced the Pokes into 17. Those turnovers led to 24 Houston points.

The loss drops the Pokes to 10-13 on the year and 2-8 in Big 12 play.

The Cowboys boasted a 7-6 lead about five minutes into the game where OSU was controlling the pace, but then this runaway bull got away from the Cowboys. Emanuel Sharp hit a 3 before John-Michael Wright got fouled on a 3-point attempt. Usually one of OSU’s more solid free-throw shooters, Wright made just one of his three attempts before the Cougars rattled off a 13-0 run that included a quintet of Cowboy turnovers. So all a sudden Houston had a 22-8 lead, and the Cowboys never really got back into it.

Free throws were an issue for the Cowboys in the first half, where OSU was 7-for-15 from the stripe. It got better in the second, where OSU was 17-for-22, but the Pokes still left 13 points on the table. The Cowboys got to the line a season-high 37 times (previous season-high was 26) and still lost by double digits.

The Cougars went into the half with a 40-21 lead after forcing the Cowboys into 11 first-half turnovers.

The most interesting thing that happened in the second half was Houston coach Kelvin Sampson storming the length of the floor to get ejected with his team up 20 points. Sampson was arguing a no call on Brandon Garrison, as Garrison muscled his way to a post-up layup. Sampson went from his bench to nearly the baseline on the opposite end of the floor and got a pair of technical fouls.

Kelvin Sampson is ready for March
pic.twitter.com/DAxIzPh6TG

— Collin Wilson (@_Collin1) February 7, 2024

That seemed to spark the already raging fire that was Houston basketball, as after the technical free throws the Cougars went on a 13-2 run.

Overall, OSU was much better in the second half, outscoring Houston 42-39, but with how bad things were in the first half, it didn’t matter in the slightest.

Javon Small led the Cowboys with 18 points, getting 12 of those from the line. He also had five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers. Wright joined Small in double figures, scoring and inefficient 13. Brandon Garrison had a had nine points and seven rebounds.

Up Next

Opponent: Oklahoma
Time: 6 p.m. Saturday
Location: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman
Watch: ESPN+