Texas gives Cowboys first home loss in almost a year

Texas' defense is very good.  Oklahoma State's offense is not.  UT's defense held the Cowboys to their lowest point total of the season - on the Pokes home floor, no less - and beat them 61-46 on the 10-year anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of The 10.


Texas players honor Oklahoma State on a special night in Stillwater


It was an obviously very emotional night, as former head coach Eddie Sutton spoke, and was joined on the floor by teammates of The 10, including Desmond Mason, Andre Williams, and ESPN's Doug Gottlieb (a longtime fan favorite of mine).  Special commemorative t-shirts were worn by OSU during pre-game warmups and while on the bench during the game, and an in extremely classy move, by the Texas squad as well. After the game, Texas guard Dogus Balbay said, "It's tough for both sides. The fans are going to come and they're going to be emotional. The Oklahoma State team is going to be emotional as well. For us, too, it's really tough, it's really sad. But the only way we could honor those people was coming here and playing hard."  I applaud the Texas players and staff on a classy move and for understanding that the tragedy is more than just about OSU.

Back on the court, Texas may be the hottest team in college basketball right now.  Back-to-back wins at Phog Allen Fieldhouse and Gallagher-Iba Arena?  How many teams have done that in the past 5 years?  One, that's how many; the 2010-2011 Texas Longhorns. Texas is in the gauntlet of their conference schedule, and so far have passed the test with flying colors.  They play Saturday at home against Missouri and then Monday night at Texas A&M, and should they win those next 2 games as well will no doubt climb into the top 3-4 in the rankings.

Owning one of the top defenses in college basketball, the Longhorns continued their dominant defensive play against the Cowboys, holding them to 36% shooting from the floor in the first half and 1-6 from downtown. The second half wasn't any better for the home team, as the Pokes finished the night shooting 32% and only 1-11 (9%!) from 3-point land.  The fact of the matter is that OSU doesn't have anyone capable of scoring the ball by themselves.  Marshall Moses had a good game, with 14 points and 11 boards, but even he shot under 50% from the floor (which is not good for a post player) and did not attempt 1 free throw the entire game (a lack of aggressiveness). JP Olukemi looked like a star against Kansas State and Colorado, but has disappeared the last 2 games against Baylor and Texas.  He shot 27% from the floor and more than half of his points were at the free-throw line.  Keiton Page?  0-5 from 3, 0-7 from the floor, 0 points.

Last Saturday in Baylor, OSU seemingly was fouling the opponent every trip down the floor.  29 fouls in a collegiate game is absurd.  Against Texas, however, the Pokes played much more under control, they just simply got beat by a much better team.  The rebounding edge went to Texas but only by 1 rebound, and the Cowboys had more offensive rebounds than the Horns did.  Steals were even.  Blocks were even. Oklahoma State only turned the ball over 9 times, which considering how strong Texas plays defense, is impressive.  Reviewing those stats, one would think the game ended up being a 2-3 point win for the Horns.  But add in the horrible shooting for Oklahoma State, and compare it to the 61% Texas shot in the first half (and 4-5 from 3) and 7-0 run to start the second half, and the opportunity for a marquee win quickly slipped away from the Cowboys.

CTF has to find a playmaker, and he has to find one in a hurry.  Olukemi, for one reason or another, is not the player he was 2 weeks ago.  Keiton Page still cannot hit from downtown. Moses can put together a nice game, if he can stay on the floor. Ray Penn is not a scoring point guard. Where is the offense going to come from?  46 points on your home floor is not good at all.  Without a win against a good opponent (still have games against Missouri, Texas, A&M, Kansas, and Baylor), and probably a win in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, the Pokes won't get an invitation to this year's Dance.

The perfect cure for what ails any Big 12 team is a game against Texas Tech, and thankfully that's exactly what the Cowboys have this Saturday in Lubbock. Looking ahead just a little, the 3-game stretch the Cowboys have coming up will decide if an invite to the NCAA Tournament is warranted, with those games being at Texas Tech, followed by a big ones at home against Missouri and then Bedlam. Simply put, OSU has to find a way to win all 3 games, period.  Why? Take a look at the 4 games that follow the home game against OU: @ Nebraska, @ Texas, Texas A&M, @ Kansas.  Ouch.