Oklahoma State Suffers 85-67 Blowout at West Virginia

Oklahoma State’s woes continued on Monday evening as the Cowboys got blown out by West Virginia in Morgantown, 85-67.

With the loss, the Cowboys move to 16-12 on the season and drop below .500 in Big 12 play, 7-8. This marks the third loss for the Cowboys in as many games, with them giving up 272 points in those three losses.

“The stat sheet doesn’t always tell the whole story from the game but looking at the stats tonight and watching the game, it’s pretty clear West Virginia’s physicality certainly wore on us over the course of the,” Mike Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. “We didn’t get a ton of great looks at the basket and obviously shot a pretty poor percentage; you can’t shoot poorly and turn it over at a high rate and get outrebounded and think you’re going to have a chance, certainly not on the road.”

For the game, the Cowboys shot nearly 39% from the field on 20-of-52 shooting. However, they had one of their worst performances from 3-point range as they shot just 10.5% from beyond the arc, just 2-of-19 falling. They were outrebounded by the Mountaineers 39-37, while also outscored in the paint 38-30, as well as on second-chance points 21-11.

 However, it was turnovers which proved to be most costly. The Pokes turned the ball over 18 times, while forcing just nine turnovers on the other end. But it was the 28 points scored by the Mountaineers off the turnovers that made all the difference.

It was Caleb Asberry who led the way for the Pokes with 15 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Bryce Thompson was also in double figures with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Both made 3-pointers came from Asberry and Thompson, who went 1-of-4 and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, respectively.

It was definitely a more evenly-matched second half between the two teams, with the Pokes outscoring the Mountaineers 46-45, but it wasn’t even close in the first half.

The Cowboys struggled to both put points on the board and slow the Mountaineers down. In fact, they put together one of the worst stretches we’ve seen from them this season, with the Cowboys going on a 6:21 scoring drought, which included six turnovers. To make things worse, the Mountaineers went on a 16-0 run on the other end.

Kalib Boone’s woes continued as he played just six minutes, scoring just four points and fouling out after picking up a common foul and a technical during a tussle for a loose ball with WVU’s Tre Mitchell. While he didn’t get involved in the scrum, Woody Newton was ejected for leaving the bench.

The Cowboys will try and get back into the win column this coming Saturday as they play host to Kansas State (20-7 overall, 8-6 Big 12 play). Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU.