Seth Fowler graduated from Texas in 1998. Since 2004, he has been helping home buyers and sellers in the DFW Metroplex. Whether new construction, existing homes, investment property, or land, he is your Real Estate Sherpa - guiding you through the process, making it an enjoyable experience. Based in Tarrant County, however, he will help connect you with a quality Realtor anywhere in Texas, the United States, or in the world. When looking to purchase or sell real estate in this new market, call Seth at 817.980.6636.
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1st Half.
Both halves were exceedingly rough to watch. Whether it was bad offense or good defense, or a combination thereof, is up for debate. After giving up 58 points in both the first half and second half against Kansas State, something clearly kicked the team's defense into gear, as they held Oklahoma State to 24 points in the first. There were plenty of scoring droughts throughout the game for both teams, and the Cowboys had one drought without a made FG that lasted from 7:36 of the first half to 16:14 of second half. Kalib Boone stood out as the best player on the Cowboys in this one, making his presence known in the first half with eight points, five rebounds, and three blocks. After a real rock fight of a half, Texas took a 32-24 lead into the break.
2nd Half.
The second half was more of the same from a scoring standpoint. The Longhorns scored 24 to Oklahoma State's 22 in what was one of the most difficult-to-watch games halves of college basketball that I've ever seen. No one was hitting any kind of shots, there was no off-ball movement, no creativity, no energy, and no sense of urgency on the offensive end. It was a return to normalcy for both teams, who like to grind it out some, but this game resembled last year's Texas team more than this year's. Marcus Carr was once again the leading scorer for the 'Horns with 12, while Timmy Allen contributed 11.. Kalib Boone was an absolute force, but it wasn't enough to overcome Carr, Allen, and clutch situational shooting from Brock Cunningham.
Highlight of the Game.
What can I say? I'm a big fan of the head fake, at which Sir'Jabari Rice excels. Watch the move here by "Mr. Ball Fake," as he was dubbed in this game. In transition, he makes the defender pay by pumping for the three before putting it on the deck and scoring in the paint. This is one of his biggest weapons, and he uses it to perfection every game.
Player of the Game (Texas).
There are three guys I could consider for POTG. Carr, Allen, and Brock Cunningham. Here's the case for each.
Marcus Carr – Carr was the leading scorer today with 12 points, which doesn't sound like a lot, but in a game where baskets are at a premium, 12 points out of a team's 56 is quite a bit. He had a substantial impact on the game, and his confidence is infectious, bleeding over to other players. Seven of these points came in the second half.
Timmy Allen – Allen finished with 11 points versus Oklahoma State, shooting 40% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line in the second half. He also had six total rebounds and three steals, many of which were at crucial junctures in the game. Though his stats don't pop off the page, he was key to this victory for UT, and for that reason, is a candidate for POTG.
Brock Cunningham – Cunningham was a major factor in the game today, scoring eight total points but six in the second half on two critical threes that helped extend a Texas lead when they were struggling to score any kind of baskets at all. Not only did he hit those two threes, he also grabbed four rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end. Combined with his defense, Cunningham was essential to Texas' second conference win of the year.
Player of the Game (Oklahoma State).
This one was a lot more obvious to answer, as Kalib Boone had the best game of anyone on the floor today for either team. His 16-point, 10-rebound, six-block performance kept the Cowboys in the game for the first 36 minutes before Texas pulled away a bit at the end. Without Moussa Cisse, the Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the year in 2021-22, Boone stepped up and did as good a job defending the paint as could have been asked for a guy that's usually asked to play power forward instead of the five. He scored efficiently as well: 6/9 from the field and 4/4 from the free-throw line. He was the best player on the floor for these 40 minutes.
Defensive Performance.
After getting absolutely shredded by Kansas State for 116 points, it was obvious that this Texas team took the loss to heart and came out bloodthirsty on the defensive end. They were doing everything they were supposed to be doing all season: icing ball screens, playing denial inside, not letting bigs get good positioning, closing out on threes, preventing dribble penetration. Part of the lacking score by Oklahoma State was just bad shooting, but Texas' defense was really good in this one, and they deserve credit after being skewered for their performance earlier this week. They held the Pokes to just 30% shooting total and 29% beyond the arc, as well as turning them over 18 times and scoring 11 points off of those turnovers. It was a real clinic on how to switch defensively, as they didn't allow too many mismatches throughout the game.
Overall.
On the whole, this game was about as ugly as it gets, but that should be expected in this conference full of grind-it-out teams and players. Winning by 10 in a game that was so close going into the last four minutes is impressive, no matter what Oklahoma State's record is. Texas has struggled mightily against the Pokes in Stillwater, so this win shouldn't be brushed under the rug. It was impressive despite how unsexy the entire showing was. Texas didn't have one guy take over – they spread it out across the roster. Carr hit a couple of extremely difficult shots in the back half of period two to keep Texas afloat when the offense wasn't working. Oklahoma State is known for their awesome defense this year, so going on the road and beating a solid team is important. JWB: just win, baby.
Texas is now 13-2 on the season, with losses to Illinois in OT and Kansas State earlier this week. This matchup against OSU should prepare them for some of the tougher upcoming conference games. We'll see how they adapt moving forward.
***
1st Half.
Both halves were exceedingly rough to watch. Whether it was bad offense or good defense, or a combination thereof, is up for debate. After giving up 58 points in both the first half and second half against Kansas State, something clearly kicked the team's defense into gear, as they held Oklahoma State to 24 points in the first. There were plenty of scoring droughts throughout the game for both teams, and the Cowboys had one drought without a made FG that lasted from 7:36 of the first half to 16:14 of second half. Kalib Boone stood out as the best player on the Cowboys in this one, making his presence known in the first half with eight points, five rebounds, and three blocks. After a real rock fight of a half, Texas took a 32-24 lead into the break.
2nd Half.
The second half was more of the same from a scoring standpoint. The Longhorns scored 24 to Oklahoma State's 22 in what was one of the most difficult-to-watch games halves of college basketball that I've ever seen. No one was hitting any kind of shots, there was no off-ball movement, no creativity, no energy, and no sense of urgency on the offensive end. It was a return to normalcy for both teams, who like to grind it out some, but this game resembled last year's Texas team more than this year's. Marcus Carr was once again the leading scorer for the 'Horns with 12, while Timmy Allen contributed 11.. Kalib Boone was an absolute force, but it wasn't enough to overcome Carr, Allen, and clutch situational shooting from Brock Cunningham.
Highlight of the Game.
What can I say? I'm a big fan of the head fake, at which Sir'Jabari Rice excels. Watch the move here by "Mr. Ball Fake," as he was dubbed in this game. In transition, he makes the defender pay by pumping for the three before putting it on the deck and scoring in the paint. This is one of his biggest weapons, and he uses it to perfection every game.
Player of the Game (Texas).
There are three guys I could consider for POTG. Carr, Allen, and Brock Cunningham. Here's the case for each.
Marcus Carr – Carr was the leading scorer today with 12 points, which doesn't sound like a lot, but in a game where baskets are at a premium, 12 points out of a team's 56 is quite a bit. He had a substantial impact on the game, and his confidence is infectious, bleeding over to other players. Seven of these points came in the second half.
Timmy Allen – Allen finished with 11 points versus Oklahoma State, shooting 40% from the field and 75% from the free-throw line in the second half. He also had six total rebounds and three steals, many of which were at crucial junctures in the game. Though his stats don't pop off the page, he was key to this victory for UT, and for that reason, is a candidate for POTG.
Brock Cunningham – Cunningham was a major factor in the game today, scoring eight total points but six in the second half on two critical threes that helped extend a Texas lead when they were struggling to score any kind of baskets at all. Not only did he hit those two threes, he also grabbed four rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end. Combined with his defense, Cunningham was essential to Texas' second conference win of the year.
Player of the Game (Oklahoma State).
This one was a lot more obvious to answer, as Kalib Boone had the best game of anyone on the floor today for either team. His 16-point, 10-rebound, six-block performance kept the Cowboys in the game for the first 36 minutes before Texas pulled away a bit at the end. Without Moussa Cisse, the Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the year in 2021-22, Boone stepped up and did as good a job defending the paint as could have been asked for a guy that's usually asked to play power forward instead of the five. He scored efficiently as well: 6/9 from the field and 4/4 from the free-throw line. He was the best player on the floor for these 40 minutes.
Defensive Performance.
After getting absolutely shredded by Kansas State for 116 points, it was obvious that this Texas team took the loss to heart and came out bloodthirsty on the defensive end. They were doing everything they were supposed to be doing all season: icing ball screens, playing denial inside, not letting bigs get good positioning, closing out on threes, preventing dribble penetration. Part of the lacking score by Oklahoma State was just bad shooting, but Texas' defense was really good in this one, and they deserve credit after being skewered for their performance earlier this week. They held the Pokes to just 30% shooting total and 29% beyond the arc, as well as turning them over 18 times and scoring 11 points off of those turnovers. It was a real clinic on how to switch defensively, as they didn't allow too many mismatches throughout the game.
Overall.
On the whole, this game was about as ugly as it gets, but that should be expected in this conference full of grind-it-out teams and players. Winning by 10 in a game that was so close going into the last four minutes is impressive, no matter what Oklahoma State's record is. Texas has struggled mightily against the Pokes in Stillwater, so this win shouldn't be brushed under the rug. It was impressive despite how unsexy the entire showing was. Texas didn't have one guy take over – they spread it out across the roster. Carr hit a couple of extremely difficult shots in the back half of period two to keep Texas afloat when the offense wasn't working. Oklahoma State is known for their awesome defense this year, so going on the road and beating a solid team is important. JWB: just win, baby.
Texas is now 13-2 on the season, with losses to Illinois in OT and Kansas State earlier this week. This matchup against OSU should prepare them for some of the tougher upcoming conference games. We'll see how they adapt moving forward.
