Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Defeats Utah 81-72

Steve Lutz has been waiting for his Cowboys to play a complete game, and this one might be as close as they’ve gotten.

Oklahoma State defeated Utah 81-72, breaking a three-game losing streak and moving to 8-2 at home on the year.

It was important for the Cowboys to get off to a fast start, and they did just that, making their first three shots of each half.

The Cowboys got off to a slow start when these two teams met three weeks ago, and they got off to a slow start in their blowout loss to K-State on Wednesday. On Saturday, they made their first three shots to take a quick 6-0, extended it to 9-1 and then 12-3.

Bryce Thompson came out swinging, starting 3-for-5 from the field with all three of those makes coming from beyond the arc.

ANOTHA ONE https://t.co/8Vpi3WSU3q pic.twitter.com/w7e77YyEQb

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 1, 2025

The Utes did come alive, finally, rattling off an 8-0 run into the midway point of the first half. Meanwhile, the Pokes went cold with Thompson on the bench, not hitting a field goal for nearly eight minutes — most of that time with Thompson on the bench — but they were able to maintain a lead thanks to trips to the charity stripe. OSU went 14-of-16 on free throws compared to 7-of-9 for Utah in the opening period. The Cowboys led by as many as 12 in the first half and went into halftime shooting 44% from the field, going 5-for-11 from 3 to take a 41-33 lead.

Utah pulled within five early in the second, but the Cowboys answered, making their first three shots of the half to break off a 6-0 run. The Cowboys led by as many as 15 and held the Utes at bay for most of the second half, but the Utes had some fight in them. They pulled within 10 with seven minutes to go before the Cowboys pulled back. Utah then cut the lead to eight with five minutes left, but Arturo Dean answered with a midrange late-shot clock jumper to push it back to double digits.

Thompson tied his season-high with four made 3 pointers, the fourth of which came late to push OSU’s lead back to 13, but Utah’s Gabe Madsen answered with his own deep ball with 2:20 to go to make it 74-64. Then Thompson answered with a press-breaking layup to push the lead back to a dozen. He then picked up his final two fouls, fouling out with OSU up 10 with 1:20 left.

The Utes pulled withing seven with 58 seconds to go, but the Cowboys were able to answer every blow and held on for their third conference win.

A pair of Cowboys finished in double digits led by Thompson’s game-high 20. After committing 10 turnovers in his previous two outings, Thompson didn’t commit a single turnover. He was 6-for-10 from the field, a perfect 4-for-4 from 3 and grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds.

Chi Chi Avery picked up where he left off on Wednesday, scoring 17 on 10 shots. He went 5-for-6 from the stripe, including a couple of crucial late ones.

Too fast for the camera 😢 pic.twitter.com/4UHpIwogex

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 1, 2025

Oklahoma State shot 49% from the field and held Utah to 41% and 25% from 3. Marshall pointed out that OSU is 8-2 in games they shoot at least 32% from 3 this season, and 2-8 in games in which they shoot less. Make it 9-2 with the Cowboys’ 40% from deep. They committed only 10 turnovers, tying their lowest mark in conference play (also against Utah). The Utes lead the Big 12 in rebounding, but the notably smaller Cowboys hung with them on the glass (again), this time outrebounding Utah 33-30.

With the win, the Cowboys move to 11-10 and 3-7 in conference play. Next up, they’ll hit the road to face No. 6 Houston at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Houston. The Cougars are 9-0 in Big 12 play and 11-0 at home at time of writing. The Cougars host Texas Tech Saturday night.