Oklahoma State's Atrocious First Half Sinks Upset Hopes vs. No. 9 Iowa State
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Oklahoma State entered Saturday with hopes of knocking off one of the best teams in the nation, but those hopes quickly faded.
OSU lost 84-71 to No. 9 Iowa State on Saturday afternoon in Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. Despite a snowy day, the Cowboys still had a solid home crowd, and the fans who braved the weather nearly had something to show for their support.
In the closing minutes, OSU tried to put together a furious comeback, cutting the Iowa State lead to 10 with just under two minutes to play.
Of course, it would end up being far too little far too late for the Cowboys. While the second half was well in favor of the Cowboys, which would typically be a great sign for a team at home against a top 10 opponent, the first half was an atrocious showing for OSU.
Coming into this season, OSU expected to have some issues defensively that it could make up for with an explosive offense. While that held true during nonconference play and has been the case for much of Big 12 competition, Saturday’s first half displayed all of the defensive issues and none of the supposed offensive firepower.
The Cyclones nailed nine of their 17 looks from beyond the arc before halftime while shooting 18-of-29 overall. Of course, part of those stats come from Iowa State simply being a national title contender and being better than the Cowboys, but a lot of it also came from the Cowboys’ inability to put together solid defensive possessions.
On the other side, OSU’s offense put together arguably its worst half of the season. The Cowboys finished the first half with eight made shots and 10 turnovers.
Shooting 3-of-16 from deep and having only four assists, the first 20 minutes for OSU were about as embarrassing as they could have been. While this game was still crushing for the Pokes in some respects, the fight Steve Lutz’s team showed in the second half was still somewhat encouraging.
Trailing by 30 when the second half start, OSU easily could’ve crumbled and allowed that lead to snowball into the 40s and beyond. Instead, the Cowboys battled and even carved out a chance at a miracle comeback at the end.
Of course, that isn’t a great strategy for winning games, and it’s not one OSU should try much more. After all, cleaning up the first 20 minutes and playing some solid ball is much more helpful to winning than needing a perfect final two minutes.
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.