5 Thoughts: Oklahoma State 76, Iowa State 58

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State’s first half performance against Iowa State was one of its best performances in the half this season. They jumped out to a 15-point lead multiple times during the first half and went into the break leading 42-30. They also limited first half turnovers and freshman Cade Cunningham had one of his best first halves this year.

Here’s 5 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 76-58 win over Iowa State in Stillwater, presented by The Bank NA.

Cade Cunningham Had an Electric First Half

A knock on Cade this season has been his ability to heat up from the field in the first half. He’s always been stellar in the second half, but struggled from the floor early, but not against Iowa State. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, with four rebounds and four assists.

He’d finish the game with 21 points, five rebounds and got close to a season-high in assists with seven.

Turnovers were still a bit of an issue for him at the start as he had three TOs in the first half, but he had only one in the second.

It’s something we’d been needing to see for a while now and there’s no question Cade’s hot start helped propel the Pokes to the win. It kept the Cyclones off balance and out of rhythm to start the game and made it to where ISU never took the lead.

Turnovers Weren’t an Issue in the First Half

That’s a sentence I haven’t had the pleasure of writing to often this season. The Cowboys combined for just five first half turnovers this afternoon against the Cyclones, with three coming from Cunningham, an offensive foul turnover on Avery Anderson and one from Kouma.

Limited turnovers helped the Pokes go on multiple runs and allowed them to jump out to and keep a double-digit lead most of the first half. On the other end, the Pokes turned the Cyclones over seven times and scored 14 points off of those TOs. Limited turnovers also helped lead to 14 fastbreak points, a specialty of this run and gun Cowboy team.

However, the Cowboys would finish the game with 13 turnovers; a number that they’d like to get down, but certainly lower than it has been this season.

Kalib Boone and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe Dominated Down Low

Iowa State’s Solomon Young is no slouch in the paint, but Kalib Boone and MA Moncrieffe made it look easy tonight against the Cyclone big man. The duo combined for 34 points, with 30 of those points coming in the paint. In fact, Boone was 7-of-8 from the floor with six of his shots coming as dunks.

They’d also combine for 13 rebounds and only turned the ball over a combined two times, a number that hasn’t been that low in quite some time.

On the other end, they held Young to just six points and two rebounds.

For the Cowboys to have continued success this season, especially getting into one of the tougher stretches of the season, they’re going to need continued play like this from KB and MA.

Latter Portion of the Second Half Continues To Be a Problem

Despite finishing the game on a 9-0 run the final five minutes of the game, the Cowboys went through another cold spurt in the second half against Iowa State. The Cyclones were able to cut the Pokes’ lead down to as close as six with just under 12 minutes left in the game and were able to cut it back down to single digits a few times down the stretch.

It sounds a little knit-picky as the Pokes pulled away late, but most of their turnovers came during the latter portion of the second half, which allowed the Cyclones to get closer than they needed to.

Look Out if OSU Strings Together Two Solid Halves

I think everyone can agree the Cowboys’ first half against Iowa State today was one of the best halves they’ve played all season long. While there were some frustrating moments and avoidable turnovers in the second half, the Pokes played a pretty solid game. If they’re able to string together two really solid halves in a game, especially in the stretch of games coming up to end the season, watch out because they’ll be one of the best teams in the conference.