Recap: Oklahoma State Falls to Arizona 92-78

The Cowboys looked like a team that could hang with Arizona in the first half, but they succumbed to an otherworldly shooting performance from the visiting Wildcats.

Oklahoma State fell to Arizona 92-78, despite turning in one of the Cowboys’ best shooting performances of the year.

Chi Chi Avery had his best game as a Cowboy, but his big night was overshadowed by a Caleb Love’s slump-breaking game.

Avery scored 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting including a career-high five made 3-pointers. There was a fun chunk of the second half when it looked like neither Avery nor Love could miss a shot.

CHI CHI WITH NO RESPECT FOR THE RIM

📺: ESPNU pic.twitter.com/7wjIZkV7rs

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) January 22, 2025

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Love got the better of the matchup, he had some help in the bucket-getting department, and the Pokes weren’t able to get stops. Love led all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He was 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Both teams came out on fire, combining to go 9-of-13 over the first five minutes. Oklahoma State shot 50% from the field in the first while Arizona shot 56%. But the Cowboys came back to earth slightly in the second while the Wildcats kept rising. OSU shot 42.3% in the second to finish at 46%, but Arizona shot 56.3% in the second half to finish shooting 56%.

Oklahoma State and Arizona came in as the two worst 3-pointing teams in the Big 12, but don’t tell that to anyone who was inside GIA on Tuesday. The Cowboys and Cats shot 43% and 40%, respectively, from deep. It was OSU’s best 3-point shooting performance since the win over Miami back in November.

The Cowboys did go cold toward the end of the first, and that carried over too far into the second. That’s when Avery heated up, but so did Love. The Cowboys were able to stay within shooting distance of the Wildcats for the first 10 minutes of the second half, but then the Cowboys went 1-for-9 down the stretch to allow Arizona to build a 20-point lead. Bryce Thompson drained a couple of 3s just for show in the final 62 seconds.

The Cowboys came in 9-1 on the year when Bryce Thompson scored in double digits, and he looked ready to add to that success based on his first half. At halftime, Thompson had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He finished with 21, but the last six points were too little, too late.

Abou Ousmane added 14 points on eight shots and grabbed six rebounds. Brandon Newman chipped in 12 points and five boards.

With the loss, OSU falls to 10-8 and 2-5 in conference play. Next up, the Cowboys head to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Red Raiders are 14-4 and 5-2 in the Big 12 having won three straight.