Oklahoma State's Struggles vs. Tarleton State Leave Little Room for Optimism
Oklahoma State secured another nonconference win, but it won in a less-than-desirable fashion.
On Wednesday, the Cowboys hosted Tarleton State in their first home game in over a month. Being back in Gallagher-Iba Arena and facing one of the worst teams in the nation should have made for a fun evening, but it was just the opposite.
After entering the game as a 21.5-point favorite, the Cowboys escaped with only a 66-61 win. The five-point margin marked the closest of OSU’s seven victories this season and was also the ugliest.
After taking an 11-8 lead in the opening minutes, Tarleton State controlled the rest of the first half. The Texans opened a lead as large as 12 points before a quick run by the Cowboys got the lead down to six at halftime.
OSU looked much better in the second half, but turnovers continued to cost the Cowboys. OSU had 12 second-half turnovers, making its 57.7% shooting nearly irrelevant.
Still, OSU had just enough to get over the hump after Tarleton State missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer. While getting another mark in the win column means that OSU accomplished its ultimate goal on Wednesday, there is nothing about the matchup that should leave OSU feeling good about itself moving forward.
The Cowboys turned it over 18 times against the Texans, a season-high that is also part of a troubling trend. After winning the turnover battle in the first seven games, the Cowboys have had more turnovers than they’ve forced in three straight contests.
Considering how Steve Lutz wants his team to get out in transition, that is something that needs to be fixed ahead of Big 12 play. With only one nonconference game remaining and a slew of issues still unaddressed, OSU could be in for a rude awakening in its conference opener against Houston.
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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.