OSU's Season Ends in NIT Blowout — Wichita State Rolls Cowboys 96-70 at Gallagher-Iba

Steve Lutz stared intently toward a piece of paper placed on the table in front of him.

Before addressing reporters shortly after Oklahoma State’s 96-70 loss to Wichita State on Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena, the OSU coach took a moment to analyze the stat sheet presented to him. In front of him were familiar numbers. An illustration of recurrent woes that had plagued his team throughout the year. Ones that altered a promising 12-1 start to a fifth-straight season without an NCAA Tournament appearance, and eventually, a second-round exit from the NIT after a loss to the third-seeded Shockers.

Moments later, Lutz spoke. 

“They took it to us,” Lutz said. “They beat us, fair and square.”

The Shockers (24-11) made easy work of second-seeded OSU from the opening tip-off. A 15-4 advantage swiftly ballooned to a 14-point lead. OSU held its own for most of the first half, trimming the deficit to 44-37 heading into halftime. 

A Christian Coleman layup gave the Cowboys (20-15) a 48-47 lead at the 17:07 mark in the second half. But that was the last time OSU saw the plus side of the scoreboard.

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Then came the Kenyon Giles takeover. 

The senior Wichita State guard was metaphorically unconscious in the second half, finishing with 28 points on 10-for-24 shooting and eight 3-pointers. In turn, OSU suffered its second-worst loss this season. 

Giles, however, wasn't an isolated element. The Cowboys struggled to defend the 3 throughout the game. In whole, Wichita State shot 14-for-26 from deep. And while more than half of those came from Giles, other Shockers garnered open looks but simply couldn’t capitalize.

OSU also struggled with rebounding. The Shockers won the rebounding battle 46-38, capitalizing in the paint in timely fashion.

"I thought we won on account of rebounding and defensively," Shockers' coach Paul Mills said. "We were really solid there. And when you shoot it that well, the margin is gonna be pretty good."

Such woes were recurrent through the season. Lutz had profusely emphasized fixing them, but to no avail. On Sunday, they were the crux in an early ending to OSU's season. 

“We didn’t make plays when we needed to — that’s the bottom line,” Lutz said. “We couldn’t stop them when they made runs. That’s on us, and that’s especially on me.”

The second season of Lutz’s tenure has come and gone. The Cowboys showed notable improvements in a multitude of areas, most notably in the win-loss column. Now, entering a pivotal third year, Lutz said he knows the importance of returning the program to March Madness for the first time since 2021. 

“I understand that my job is to win,” Lutz said. “When I was hired, I was told that you need to get us to the NCAA Tournament, and I have failed to do so in two years. And ultimately, it’s up to me to get us to that point.”

With that, comes efficient roster construction.

Last offseason, Lutz attacked the transfer portal. The Cowboys ushered in a handful of key transfers, including guard Anthony Roy from Green Bay, guard Vyctorious Miller from LSU, center Parsa Fallah from Oregon State, among others.

One of the biggest areas OSU improved was on offense. During Lutz’s first season, the Cowboys ranked 165th in scoring offense, averaging 73 points a game. This season, OSU was a top-25 scoring offense, averaging 83.2 points a game – the second-most in program history, only behind the Brad Underwood season in 2016-17.

Simultaneously, OSU displayed substantial regression defensively. Last season, the Cowboys held opponents to 76.3 points a game. That total ballooned to 83.2 this season, ranking 349th out of 361 Division-I teams.

“From Year 1 to Year 2, we’ve grown exponentially offensively, but I know that we took a step backwards defensively,” Lutz said. “So, I’ve got to hold them accountable on both ends of the floor so that we’re fantastic all the way through. Like, Year 1 we were very good defensively, but we had a hard time scoring. This year, we were top 20, top 30 offense in the country — whatever the number is. But we were (bad) on defense. Last year, we were top 60, I believe. So, you’ve got to find the right mix. And a lot of that starts with recruiting, but it also comes down to coaching, too. So, I’ve got to make sure that we have a very good blend of both.”

OSU will lose a handful of key contributors from this season, including Roy, Fallah and forward Christian Coleman. Against the Shockers, Coleman scored a team-high 22 points and finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Roy was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points per game this season, while Fallah was the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer (14.7 PPG).

However, a handful of key prospects could return, too. Junior guard Kanye Clary averaged 10.4 points per game and scored in double digits over seven of the final eight games of the season, including a 19-point performance against Wichita State.

Clary has a year of eligibility remaining, and proved he can be a viable asset for the Cowboys come next season.

Given the absences of Fallah, forward Robert Jennings III and sophomore center Andrija Vikovic due to injury, prospects buried in the depth chart early were jolted into the rotation. Freshman center Ben Ahmed started the final seven games this season, while Mekhi Ragland garnered important minutes in an enhanced work load in that same span. Both made the most of their opportunities, and both cemented themselves as bright spots within a potential returning core for the Cowboys a season from now.

OSU also has a top-15 recruiting class according 247Sports, featuring four-star McDonald’s All-American Latrell Allmond and four-star, two-time Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year Jalen Montonati — the son of Cowboy basketball great, Brian Montonati. Also included is four-star Parker Robinson out of Atlanta.

“I think that they’ll have a chance to be good players for us moving forward,” Lutz said. “We’ll see what happens within the next three to four days. Within the next week — whatever it is. But I think that we can have a good nucleus returning for next year. And then add the three freshmen and now really attack the (transfer) portal here in the spring, that’s got to be our mindset moving forward.“

But in the modern era of college athletics, nothing is guaranteed. Loyalty is fickle and the transactional element of the sport is more prevalent than ever.

Lutz declined to comment on his projection for next season's roster. He noted how foolish it would be of him to forecast what the ensuing three to four weeks will look like, both tactically and schematically.

Lutz has routinely cited his standard — competing for conference championships and consistently appearing in the NCAA Tournament. OSU fell short of both this season, and Lutz didn't shy away from that when addressing members of the media on Sunday.

And while signs indicate Lutz's program trending upward, meeting such standards is vital for Lutz and Co. next season.

The transfer portal opens April 7 and runs through April 21. Lutz said he knows preparation and establishing a blueprint for once it opens is paramount for success next season. With that, constructing NCAA Tournament-caliber roster as he enters a pivotal third season at the helm becomes all the more important.

“We have to look ourselves in the mirror and own it,” Lutz said. “Because we did not do our best tonight, and we did not rebound at a level that it needed to be rebounded at, and we did not defend at a level that we needed to defend at.

“With that being said, I think — I know that the program is moving in the right direction, and I am excited about the future.”