Oklahoma State basketball awaits NCAA fate after loss to Texas in Big 12 quarterfinal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kalib Boone made a layup and a small applause broke out that had largely been absent.
With 13:41 remaining in the game, Oklahoma State had its first bucket of the second half.
That’s no typo.
“It was super frustrating,” OSU guard Caleb Asberry said.
OSU star guard Bryce Thompson said: “It was rough.”
On a night the Cowboys needed a win to secure comfort for an NCAA Tournament bid, their offense went splat in a dreadful 61-47 loss to second-seeded Texas late Thursday in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Center.
Firmly on the bubble, OSU (18-15, 8-10) now awaits its postseason fate, which will be determined by the NCAA Tournament selection committee on Sunday.
And this was not an ideal impression to leave.
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The Cowboys shot a season-low 27%. They made just seven field goals in each half. They had more turnovers — 20 — than field goals made by either team.
“Obviously we didn't play very well, and that goes without saying,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said to open his postgame news conference. “Obviously, we played poorly on a day where we really, you know, needed to play much better.”
Down to an eight-man rotation and no true guard available off the bench, the trio of John-Michael Wright, Caleb Asberry and Bryce Thompson ran out of steam.
It was all a terrible mixture.
“Tough day but I'm incredibly proud of these kids,” Boynton said. “They fought their butt off through a lot of adversity this year, whether be injury or illness or guys having to be away from the team for different reasons.
“They continued to stick with each other and our staff, and I'm excited that we have more basketball ahead of us.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
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Did OSU do enough to make March Madness?
The Cowboys believe they should hear their name called Sunday for the NCAA Tournament.
“With all due respect, because there's really good basketball around the country, but to get eight wins in this conference, three in a row, three sweeps, to play the schedule we played overall is a testament to the character of these guys,” Boynton said. “I think we certainly deserve inclusion into the event.”
But will the committee see it that way?
There is a human element to the selection process, and the Cowboys’ failed the eye test Thursday.
They began the day ranked No. 41 in NCAA NET. They also began the day in the “Last Four In” projection by ESPN, and that did not change with the 7 p.m. update at halftime.
CBS, however, did not have OSU projected to make the field.
“I feel like we’ve got more left to show,” Asberry said.
But several metrics favor the Cowboys.
They’ll just need help as they wait and watch other teams on the bubble.
The Cowboys got a boost with fellow bubble team North Carolina losing. But Rutgers beat Michigan in a battle of bubble teams.
Penn State beating Illinois, an at-large bid team, did not help OSU, though.
And other games late Thursday could factor into the decision.
Buckle up.
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Another offensive dud for OSU
It had been nearly four months since OSU’s offense sputtered to this magnitude.
And that game — an overtime loss to UCF in which the Cowboys shot 29% — was a disaster that still haunts OSU’s NCAA Tournament resume.
The Cowboys also shot just 30.4% against the Longhorns during a 56-46 loss to Texas in early January.
This game was eerily similar.
Like then, OSU made just 14 field goals. In January, OSU had 18 turnovers. Thursday, it had two more.
The Cowboys had a Texas problem this season.
“I wouldn’t say a bad matchup,” Asberry said. “I would just say execution level was really low when we played against them. They don’t get enough credit for their defense.”
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OSU also dealt with fatigue.
It was the second game in 24 hours with a very short rotation available.
Avery Anderson III missed his 11th straight game. Reserve guard Chris Harris Jr. missed the game after suffering a knee injury in Wednesday’s win over OU.
That left four scholarship players on the bench, including little-used center Bernard Kouma. True freshman Quion Williams and Woody Newton were the lone perimeter options.
A night after playing 34 minutes, Thompson played 36. Asberry also played 34 and 35 minutes. Wright played 26 minutes Thursday after 33 on Wednesday.
There was not enough relief.
“It plays a lot (of a factor),” Asberry said. “We lost another guard and we just played a tough game yesterday. It’s a lot but then again we put ourselves in this position, if you think about it.”
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Kalib Boone shows signs of breaking out of funk?
Boone hasn’t been himself the past few weeks.
Too passive with the basketball. Not involved enough all around.
But he had a conversation with his father, Michael, on Thursday. His dad told him he liked Boone’s aggressiveness defensively against OU. Now, it was time to ramp it up offensively.
After a poor first half, Boone got the message.
It was just too late.
“I haven't really been a consistent version of myself for my teammates,” Boone said. “So I made a decision at halftime, and it was kind of too late, that I was just going to be more assertive. I was trying to demand the ball and trying to be aggressive on the glass and just do something for my teammates, and that's what my mindset was.”
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Boone had 11 points, all in the second half. That was more points than he had scored in the previous three games combined.
He even made a 3-pointer.
“That one was literally when I just touched the ball it was going up,” Boone said. “I just had to do a 3-point celebration.”
If there is a positive out of the night, perhaps it was the final half for Boone.
Wherever the Cowboys land next week, he could be moving in the right direction for a postseason run.
Boone scored just three points over the last two games, missing shots he routinely made during his hot streak a month ago.
That mostly continued against the Longhorns early.
But he came alive in the second half, starting with the layup. He also started playing from the perimiter more.
Boone made a 3-pointer and then later had a big dunk.
Jacob Unruh covers college sports for The Oklahoman. You can send your story ideas to him at junruh@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State loses to Texas in Big 12 men's basketball quarterfinal
