Recap: Oklahoma State 78 Cincinnati 67

Cincinnati's underwhelming and disappointing regular season came to a conclusion Saturday with a 78-67 loss at Oklahoma State (15-16, 7-13 Big 12).

It was the third straight loss for UC, dropping the Bearcats to 17-14, 7-13 in Big 12 play. 

Jizzle James scored 15 first half points but was held to just two points on 1-of-11 shooting during the second half.  James finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-21 shooting, as well as 2-of-9 from three. 

Other Bearcats to reach double figure scoring included Dan Skillings with 15 points off the bench, as well as Day Day Thomas with 12 points.

Cincinnati shot 41% from the field but were 7-of-28 from deep and got to the free throw line just seven times, converting four of those attempts. 

Oklahoma State led by as many as 18 points but the Bearcats were able to claw their way back into the game, cutting the OSU lead to one, 66-65, with 4:31 remaining.

Following Simas Lukosius' three to cut the deficit to one point, the Bearcats made just 1-of-8 field goal attempts, contributing to the Cowboys' 12-2 run over the final 4:06.

Abou Ousmane led all scorers with 24 points. Brandon Thompson scored 16 points for the home team, while Marchelus Avery contributed 10 points off the bench for OSU. 

(Photo: Oklahoma State MBB twitter)

The Cowboys entered Saturday 311th nationally in 3-point shooting but made their first six attempts and finished 7-of-9 from deep, while also making 46% of their field goal attempts. 

OSU won the rebounding battle, 41-37, outscored UC 38-26 in the paint, and also outscored the Bearcats 18-14 in second chance points. OSU averaged 1.083 points per possession and were 17-of-28 around the rim on layup attempts.

UC outscored OSU 11-2 in transition, holding the Cowboys 16 points below their league leading average in that category. 

The biggest difference was OSU's ability to get to the line and convert 13 of their 17 attempts. The Cowboys lead the Big 12 in free throw rate and consistently attacked the rim to draw fouls and get easy baskets around the rim. 

UC will now head back to Cincinnati for 24 hours before starting their prep and travel to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament, where they likely get a rematch with this same Oklahoma State team. 

Game Notes

1st Half:

15:35- UC makes 4 of their first 6 field goal attempts and lead 9-8 at the first media stop. Bryce Thompson has all 8 points for the Cowboys.

11:39- Oklahoma State opens up an 18-14 lead after a three-point play by Brandon Newman and three from the top of the key by Marchelus Avery. The Cowboys made three straight from the field to go ahead by 4.

8:14- Wes Miller is forced to call a timeout after a 9-2 run over 2:39 extends the OSU lead to 29-20. Cowboys have made four straight from the field and 8 of last 10.

5:49- Oklahoma State extends their lead to 37-22 after making their 8th straight field goal attempts. UC has missed four straight from the field and haven't scored in 2:24.

3:00- Cincinnati trails 40-27 following a basket by Dan Skillings. UC had missed 7 straight shots and went 3:53 without scoring prior to a basket by Jizzle James.

1:04- Jizzle James knocks down a jumper to cut the OSU lead to 44-36. It would be the final basket of the half as neither team scored during the final minute, including a missed 3-point attempt by Day Day Thomas to close the half. UC finished 3-of-14 from three during the first half. OSU finished 6-of-7 after coming in to the game ranked 311th nationally in 3-point shooting. 

2nd Half:

13:58- Josh Reed's turnaround hookshot cuts the OSU lead to 56-47. Dan Skillings has 7 points to lead UC during the opening minutes of the second half.

12:24- A 6-0 run over 1:34 cuts the Oklahoma State lead to 56-51 following a basket by Jizzle James. 

11:10- Oklahoma State extends their lead back to 9 points following four straight points from Brandon Newman. 

10:11- UC hasn't scored in 2:21 and have missed four-straight from the field. OSU leads 60-51. 

6:35- Dillon Mitchell's dunk off a lob from Day Day Thomas cuts the OSU lead to 64-58. 

6:22- Day Day Thomas cuts the OSU lead to 64-62 with a jumper. Josh Reed's missed free throw following an and-one led to Thomas' jumper after the ball went out of bounds off OSU, allowing UC an extra possession. 

4:06- Arturo Dean makes two free throws following a foul on Day Day Thomas. Simas Lukosius knocked down a corner three to cut the OSU lead to one on the possession prior. Dean's free throws extended the OSU lead to 68-65.

2:12- Dean grabbs an offensive rebond and puts it back in to extend the OSU lead to 70-65. Skillings turns the ball over on the next possession to give OSU the ball back with under 2 minutes remaining.

1:46- UC hasn't scored in 2:45 and are 1 of last 7. Bearcats still trail by five, 70-65.

1:15- Foul on Jizzle James leads to two free throws by Ousmane, extending the OSU lead to 7.

0:26- Oklahoma State calls a timeout to get walk ons in with an 11-point lead. 

Postgame Video: Wes Miller, Aziz Bandaogo

Final Thoughts:

Similar to the Kansas State loss, there's really not much to say.

UC was favored by 3.5 points but lacked the consistent effort to come away with a much needed win to close out the regular season. The team showed fight to get back in the game but poor execution and the lack of shot making on good looks allowed the Cowboys to pull away down the stretch. 

It was encouraging to see Miller pull certain guys and bench them for stretches for a lack of effort during the second half. After 31 games, there's no excuse to not know and understand the expectations and what is necessary to win a road game in the Big 12. 

Cincinnati will still play post-season basketball, regardless of the outcome next week in Kansas City but where will be determined by the amount of success Miller's team has. At this point, it will take a run to the Big 12 Championship to get the Bearcats back in the discussion of an at-large bid, and that scenario might not be enough to get them in without winning the whole thing.