Oklahoma State Remains Winless on Road with Blowout Loss at No. 5 Houston
Oklahoma State's small early deficit quickly turned into a large one.
OSU lost to Houston 79-63 at the Fertitta Center on Tuesday, extending its road losing streak to six. OSU committed 17 turnovers and had one of its worst offensive games.
The Cougars dominated throughout, with Jamal Shead scoring 23 points to lead their offensive attack. Even with a big lead, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson was ejected midway through the second half.
In OSU’s first game since Bryce Thompson suffered a right shoulder injury, it beat Kansas State at home and scored 75 points, its highest output in Big 12 play. OSU’s offense came out on the other end of that spectrum in Houston, scoring only 21 in the first half.
Javon Small and John-Michael Wright, OSU’s starting backcourt, were the team’s leading scorers. Combining for 31, including a 12-of-14 performance from the foul line for Small, the guards made up most of OSU’s offense.
Shead led the Cougars’ offense in the first half, scoring 17 points. His outburst to begin the game helped the Cougars take a 19-point lead into halftime, their largest up to that point.
As the Cowboys have in most games this season, they played a close game through the first several minutes. But an offensive drought killed any momentum they had in the opening minutes.
Javon Small’s free throws gave OSU a 7-6 lead about five minutes into the game. It was the last lead of the night for OSU.
Houston went on a 16-1 run to take control midway through the first half. Part of Houston’s success in that stretch was holding OSU without a field goal for seven minutes.
OSU had eight turnovers in its first 14 possessions. With Houston ranking in the top 10 in D-1 in forcing turnovers and scoring off turnovers, OSU’s offense struggled to get going.
OSU will try to get its first road win again on Saturday in the first Bedlam matchup of the season in Norman.
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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.