Texas vs Oklahoma State Basketball Recap

Texas 72, Oklahoma State 60

It's always a good lesson for a struggling team to learn: When you're struggling in general, but particularly at the offensive end of the floor, the best way to break a losing habit is to defend the bejeezus out of the opposition, particularly its meal-ticket scoring stud. That's what the Texas Longhorns did to Oklahoma State and James Anderson on Monday night, and as a result, Rick Barnes's ballclub registered a badly-needed win.

Texas - a loser in three of its past four contests - had to topple coach Travis Ford's Cowboys in Stillwater, Okla., if it wanted to have a shot at the Big 12 title heading into next Monday's colossal collision against Kansas. The Longhorns - loaded with so much talent at almost every position - had to grind out a road win at Gallagher-Iba Arena if they wanted to keep all of their foremost goals intact. Texas had been rattled on many occasions over the past two weeks, so in order to restore order inside their own locker room, the Burnt Orange Bevo Boys decided to disrupt and declaw the most potent players Oklahoma State had to offer.

In the second half of this contest, that's exactly what the Longhorns did.

In the first half, OSU star James Anderson scored a whopping 24 points. Inside and outside and at different angles relative to the basket, Anderson found ways around UT's defense and put the ball in the bucket. The Cowboys led by only four at the intermission (36-32), but they had the hottest hand on the court. As the two teams prepared for the second 20 minutes of play, two things were known: 1) Barnes and the rest of the Texas coaching staff would have to make fundamental adjustments; 2) if Texas did adjust to Anderson, the rest of the Cowboys would need to pick up the slack and make the Longhorns pay for their defensive maneuvers.

As the progression of this contest so plainly revealed, Texas did adjust, and OSU's supporting cast didn't have Anderson's back.

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The Cowboys scored only 24 points in the second half. Barnes was able to deny Anderson the ball in good spots on the floor, and as a result, Travis Ford's leading scorer tallied just four points after halftime. In order to stay ahead of (or at least keep pace with) the Longhorns, OSU's combination of Obi Muonelo and Matt Pilgrim needed to play big, but the duo combined for just 23 points, or one fewer than Anderson scored in the first half. With Cowboy point guard Keaton Page going 0-for-5 from the field as well, it became apparent that the Longhorns would not be punished for their clamp-down efforts on an increasingly handcuffed Anderson.

One coaching staff adjusted on Monday night, while the other one saw its role players wilt in the face of defensive pressure. Texas might have been struggling at the offensive end, but Rick Barnes realized just how much offense carries to defense and vice versa. Now, his Horns can pursue a high NCAA Tournament seeding with a marked increase in confidence.

By Matt Zemek
Big 12 Fans Senior Staff Writer