Instant Recap: Cowboys Drop Big 12 Tournament Opener to Cincinnati

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KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Just a few days ago, the Cowboys got the better of Cincinnati in Stillwater, but Tuesday was an entirely different story.

Oklahoma State lost to the Bearcats 87-68 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center. After OSU opened the game with a three-point lead, the Bearcats answered with a 9-0 run and never really looked back. Cincinnati led for 36:10, ballooning the advantage as high as 22.

There was a stretch in the second half where it looked as if the Pokes had a little life, but the closest they got in the final 20 minutes was a dozen points.

There weren’t many stats the Cowboys were better than the Bearcats in.

OSU forced the Bearcats into a season-high 16 turnovers, which is good … but the Cowboys had a season-high 24 turnovers. The Bearcats netted 26 points off those turnovers — including a barrage of fastbreak alley-oops in the second half.

All those turnovers meant Cincy finished the game with 13 more field-goal attempts than OSU. On top of that, Cincy outshot the Pokes 48% to 45%.

The Bearcats outrebounded OSU 40-36, with a 16-13 advantage an offensive boards and a 16-14 lead in second-chance points. That’s an area the Cowboys were better in during the second half but was rough for the Pokes in the first.

Cincinnati got much of its first-half scoring from an unlikely source. Josh Reed entered Tuesday’s contest averaging 4.2 points a game and scored just four in Saturday’s game. He had a career-high (for a whole game) 15 at the break Tuesday, going 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range. He finished with 19. Day Day Thomas was the game’s leading scorer with 21. Dillon Mitchell added 18.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ leading scorers were relatively quiet throughout the day. Abou Ousmane, Bryce Thompson and Chi Chi Avery came in combining to average 36.5 points a game. That trio had just 16 in Kansas City. After putting 24 on the Bearcats in Stillwater, Ousmane had four Tuesday, playing just nine minutes. He picked up his fourth foul with 14:12 to play and shortly there after argued with an official long enough to pick up another technical to foul him out of the game. Thompson and Avery had six apiece.

Connor Dow gave the Cowboys a fun spark off the bench. After not playing at all in the first half, Dow became the Cowboys’ leading scorer in his first six minutes on the floor when he hit his first three 3-point attempts. He finished with a team-high 12 — all coming on 3-point makes. He was the only Cowboy in double figures.

Jamyron Keller poured in nine, hitting a pair of 3s. It was honestly one of the Cowboys’ better 3-point shooting days, going 8-for-18 (44%) from long range. Cincy shot 26% but that didn’t matter much with all the turnovers.

OSU falls to 15-17. The could be the end of Year 1 of the Steve Lutz era, but the Cowboys still have a shot at receiving an NIT bid.