Oklahoma State Throttled by Kansas State in Largest Loss of Season
Oklahoma State suffered another embarrassing loss in the midst of an embarrassing season.
OSU lost to Kansas State 85-57 on Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan. The 28-point loss easily surpassed a 21-point defeat at Utah for the Cowboys’ largest loss of the season as they dropped to .500 for the first time.
The Cowboys have competed and kept contests close against some of the Big 12’s more intimidating teams this season, as shown in their 10-point loss at Texas Tech just three days earlier. While they will take those losses in a rebuilding season and simply move on to the next game, Wednesday’s loss was a new low for the Cowboys.
Not only is Kansas State one of the worst teams in the Big 12 this season, but OSU already beat the Wildcats in their meeting in Stillwater earlier this month. On Jan. 7, the Cowboys handily defeated Kansas State 79-66 to earn their first Big 12 win.
OSU’s offensive struggles have been on display throughout conference play, and Wednesday was no different. OSU shot 39.6% from the field, 31.6% from 3-point range and 60% from the foul line. Those poor shooting splits also went with a season-high 21 turnovers, with Bryce Thompson’s five giveaways leading the team.
Marchelus Avery was seemingly the only source of offense for the Cowboys, dropping 22 of OSU’s 57 points and shooting 7-of-8 from the floor with only one turnover. While a team full of Averys might be enough to solve OSU’s problems, it is simply stuck with one of him and a whole lot of everybody else.
Kansas State’s layup just over a minute into the game gave it a 2-0 lead that would never waver as OSU never led. Already down 10-0 less than three minutes into the game, OSU trailed by double figures for almost the entire game.
The Wildcats’ 85 points tied BYU for the second-most scored by an OSU opponent in Big 12 play. Getting that offense was far from difficult for the Wildcats, getting 28 points off turnovers and shooting 52.6% from the floor.
There isn’t much the Cowboys can take away from this performance aside from accepting this is a lost season. While they don’t have much to play for, they will look to avoid falling below .500 for the first time this season when they host Utah on Saturday.
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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.