Oklahoma State Gets Much-Needed Dominant Win Before Big 12 Opener
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Oklahoma State secured another win, but the road only gets tougher from here.
On Monday night, OSU closed out its nonconference slate with a 103-77 win over Bethune-Cookman. While giving up 77 points to a team that has only three wins isn’t what the Cowboys wanted to see, that 103-point outing would be a welcome sight in conference play if they can continue to play offense at such a high level.
Anthony Roy looked like the player OSU was hoping to get in the transfer portal, dropping a game-high 27 points. Meanwhile, Parsa Fallah manned the middle as one of OSU’s most important players yet again, finishing the night with 12 points and 10 boards.
While those two might be the first to catch your eye on the box score, the Cowboys had six players finish in double figures, showing that their balanced attack won’t be going away any time soon. Although getting consistent production like that from so many guys will be tough when conference play begins, it at least delivers a clear formula for Cowboy success.
After a rough couple of weeks against nonconference competition coming into this matchup, OSU got back on track and can go into its Big 12 opener with a bit more confidence than it otherwise might have. While the transition to Big 12 competition will be tough, the Cowboys at least are playing some of their best ball.
On Saturday, OSU will be in Lubbock to take on Texas Tech to begin the Big 12 slate. While the Cowboys have had NCAA Tournament aspirations in recent years, none of those teams have seemed as close to making it as this one.
With a 12-1 mark going into Big 12 play, the Cowboys are hoping to finally end their drought of NCAA Tournament appearances and begin a new streak in just Steve Lutz’s second year at the helm. Of course, no one will care much about OSU’s solid nonconference stretch if it doesn’t amount to a solid couple of months against conference opponents.
While it’s hard to go from playing some bad competition to a top 15 team, these battles against the best in the country will be the new normal for the Pokes beginning in January. Last season, the Cowboys did solid against Big 12 foes at home, but they will absolutely have to improve on their winless record in conference road games to have any real case to make the NCAA Tournament.
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.