Just three days after suffering a 96-64 drumming at the hands of Kansas, the Oklahoma State Cowboys responded in a big way.
They knocked off No. 9 Iowa State, 74-68. The loss for the Cyclones was their second in a row and are now 4-5 over their last nine games.
Oklahoma State had not beaten a ranked opponent all season until Tuesday night, and it happened despite a poor shooting performance from three.
The Cowboys shot just 26.1% from beyond the arc, well below their season average of 32.3%.
Abou Ousmane would not be denied, as he led all scorers with 25 points. His 25 points were the most in a game since he scored 27 points back in early January.
As impressive as Ousmane was, Arturo Dean may have been the best player on the floor for either team. Dean finished with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and seven steals. He accounted for over half of his teams steals for the game.
Bryce Thompson (11 points) and Marchelus Avery (10 points) were also in double figures for Oklahoma State.
Iowa State struggled from three (29.6%) as well as from the free throw line (60%). The Cyclones also struggled with ball security, as they turned the ball over 18 times, a bit above their season average of 11.5 per game.
They did have four players in double figures, led by Joshua Jefferson with 17 points. Jefferson’s 17 points were his most in a game since he scored his season high of 30 in January against UCF.
Nate Heise (13 points), Curtis Jones (11 points) and Milan Momcilovic (10 points) were the other three players in double figures.
It doesn’t get much easier for Iowa State as its next two games are against ranked Big 12 opponents in No. 22 Arizona and No. 25 BYU.
Oklahoma State does not match up with any more ranked teams this season, giving it a chance to have a strong finish to the season.
