Oklahoma State Falls to Texas 61-47 in Big 12 Quarterfinals

(Editor’s note: The Big 12 sent out note following the game to say the score had been changed to 61-47 following the final buzzer. Our article now shows that change.)

It was a poor shooting night for Oklahoma State for nearly 40 minutes as the Pokes fell to Texas in the Big 12 quarterfinals, 61-47.

With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 18-15 overall.

Caleb Asberry led the way in scoring for the Pokes with 16 points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field, just 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He did, however, go 9-of-11 from the free throw line.

Kalib Boone was the only other Cowboy who finished with double figures, 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. He also finished with a quite 11 rebounds, giving him his second double-double of the season.

The Cowboys finished the game shooting just 27% from the field on 14-of-52 shooting and 14% from 3-point range and 64% from the free throw line.

It wasn’t too much better for Texas, who shot just 37% from the field and 31% from 3-point range.

The Cowboys did, however, outrebound the Longhorns 45-33, a 30-27 clip on the defensive end. But they turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 22 points on the other end.

As they did in the opening round game against Oklahoma, the Cowboys struggled mightily from the field in the first 10 minutes of the game against Texas. The Pokes went more than three minutes without scoring, as well as more than seven minutes without a field goal. They also shot just 16% from the field and went 0-for-4 from 3-point range.

However, they went nearly 88% from the free throw line, with Caleb Asberry going 6-for-6 to tie the game up at 11.

They also held the Longhorns to 28% shooting on the other end and a scoring drought of more than four minutes. The Cowboys also took their first lead since the 18-minute with two free throws from Moussa Cisse at exactly the 10-minute mark.

The Cowboys’ shooting struggles continued into the second 10 minutes of the first half as they went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal before Bryce Thompson knocked down a field goal in the paint at the 8:09 mark to tie the game up at 15.

The Longhorns went on a 10-2 run over a four-minute stretch to take their largest lead of the first half, 30-19. But the Longhorns eclipsed that lead when they went up 35-23 with :58 left in the first half.

Asberry hit the Pokes’ first 3-pointer of the first half with :45 left in the half, making it a nine-point game, 35-26.

By the break, the Cowboys had turned the ball over 11 times, leading to 15 points on the other end for the Longhorns. They also shot just 33% from the field and 16% from 3-point range.

The start of the second half was worse than the start of the first half as the Pokes shot just 6% from the field in the first nine minutes of the second half on 1-of-15 shooting. They were also 0-for-9 from 3-point range.

John-Michael Wright gave the Pokes their first three ball of the second half near the 10-minute mark, making it a 15-point game, 48-33.

The Cowboys showed some life just under four minutes left in the game with three-straight field goals, including a dunk by Kalib Boone, which was followed by a steal by Boone leading to a dunk by Asberry, making it a 10-point game, 52-42, with 3:47 left.

Cisse recorded a steal with less than a minute left in the game with the Pokes down nine, 56-47, but Boone promptly turned the ball over and called for a foul at the other end, leading to two made free throws by Rice.

The Cowboys now have to wait until Selection Sunday to find out if they’re going dancing this year.