Late-Game Situations Continue to Stifle Oklahoma State Basketball
Closing games has been a weakness for Oklahoma State this season, and that trend continued Saturday.
The Cowboys lost to Kansas State 70-66 in Manhattan but had their most competitive Big 12 road game. However, it was also their most crushing loss after leading much of the game, including the final minutes.
OSU held a 59-52 lead with seven minutes left after Connor Dow’s 3-pointer but could not hold on to that advantage. Dow made a free throw about a minute later to push the lead back to six before things got out of hand.
The Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to take the lead before the teams began trading buckets. It set the Cowboys up for a situation they had failed in multiple times this season.
Still, with 53 seconds left, Javon Small got inside on a cut for a layup that tied the game at 66. OSU’s defense then stepped up and forced KSU to inbound on the baseline with just 1.2 seconds on the shot clock.
But a lob and shot off the glass by Cam Carter gave the Wildcats the lead back. With 24 seconds to go, the Cowboys had an opportunity to tie or take the lead.
With Quion Williams trying to make a move in the paint, he lost control of the ball out of bounds, and OSU would not score again. OSU suffered a similar fate in the Big 12 opener against Baylor when Bryce Thompson missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in overtime.
Those were OSU’s only close Big 12 games and continued a trend from nonconference play. Saturday’s loss moved OSU to 0-6 in games decided by five points or fewer.
Each of those games included poor late-game execution. Potential game-winning threes did not fall against St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame, while missed opportunities inside against Southern Illinois doomed the Cowboys’ season from the start.
Even in a disappointing 2022-23 season, OSU went 5-5 in those close games. While there are many areas that OSU needs to improve to turn the season around, converting their opportunities in the final moments should be among their top priorities.
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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.