OSU wrecked by No. 15 Texas Tech in Big 12 opener

Steve Lutz has routinely preached the importance of defense to his players.

But stressing old talking points, as the second-year Oklahoma State coach often has, can only do so much. And when little improvement in such areas is made, it comes costly.

OSU’s West Texas trek was one to forget, as the Cowboys were dominated by No. 15 Texas Tech 102-80 on Saturday as Big 12 play commenced. 

Everything that could have gone wrong for OSU defensively did. In turn, the Cowboys (12-2, 0-1 Big 12) are off to a 0-1 start in conference play for the 10th-straight season.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Perimeter defense dooms Cowboys

For most of the first half, OSU held Texas Tech’s interior offense in check. Red Raider star power forward JT Toppin’s production was kept at bay as OSU kept things close for most of the first half. 

Until Tech’s perimeter offense ignited.

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By halftime, the Red Raiders had 10 made 3s, compiling 30 of their 46 first-half points. That total continued to snowball. And once that offensive element got going, that opened up Tech’s pick-and-roll game, and Toppin broke out. Toppin and Red Raider point guard Christian Anderson scored 23 and 19, respectively, as Tech finished shooting 17-for-37 (45.9%) from 3. The Red Raiders also finished with 38 points in the paint, largely due to Toppin’s second-half tear.

Throughout the season, OSU’s offense has been its strong suit. The Cowboys averaged roughly 92 points per game heading into Saturday. And while 80 is often enough to win, especially in Big 12 play, 17 made 3s — the most OSU has allowed all season — from an opponent is a daunting task to overcome.

Red Raiders dominate second half

While it felt like the Red Raiders controlled the first half, OSU went on a late run to trim the deficit to 8 heading into halftime. 

But things didn’t get any better for the Cowboys from that point. And anytime OSU clawed its way back within striking distance, the Red Raiders (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) countered.

Ill-advised shot attempts, sloppy turnovers and glimpses of what Lutz has often referred to as “hero ball” from his players allowed Tech to go on multiple lengthy scoring runs. Tech eventually put the game out of reach, outsourcing OSU 56-42 in the second half.

At times, the Cowboys tried to push the pace, but it often led to players going one-on-one rather than operating within the offensive scheme.

Roy, Fallah provide a silver lining for down the road

Although the end result wasn’t ideal for Lutz or OSU fans, OSU’s offense was, for the most part, still efficient. And that was largely due to production coming from guard Anthony Roy and center Parsa Fallah. 

Roy led OSU with 22 points, shooting 6-for-8 from 3. He hit a handful of deep, contested 3s to keep OSU in the game early on, before Tech pulled away. After Saturday, Roy took the reins as OSU’s leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points per game through 10 appearances.

Fallah logged 20 points of his own and played a vital role in sparking OSU’s interior offense late in the first half. Fallah missed two games after exacerbating a back injury Dec. 13 against Oklahoma, but returned for OSU’s nonconference finale against Bethune-Cookman.

The Cowboys’ offensive fluency has fared well since his return. And that likely isn’t a mere coincidence.

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