What we learned from Cincinnati Bearcats basketball’s Big 12 road loss at Oklahoma State

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Jizzle James and the Cincinnati Bearcats wrapped up their regular season at Oklahoma State Saturday

STILLWATER, Okla. – The final horn of the Big 12 regular season has sounded and UC has suffered yet another road defeat, losing to Oklahoma State, 78-67 Saturday. It was Senior Day for the Cowboys who came out pistols firing to send their fans home happy.

It was another opponent UC was favored to beat. Instead, they’ve dropped three straight and enter the Big 12 tournament at 17-14 and 7-13 in the Big 12. UC got within a point in the second half on a Simas Lukošius 3-pointer, 66-65 with 4:25 left. They didn’t score again until a meaningless dunk by Dan Skillings Jr. in the final seconds.

The Bearcats were down 18 points late in the first half and spotted the Cowboys an eight-point halftime advantage. From there they played comeback all afternoon. Oklahoma State improved to 15-16 (7-13 Big 12). The Bearcats and Cowboys could well meet again in the Big 12 tournament should the Bearcats drop to a No. 12 or No. 13 seed. That will be determined later Saturday.

UC struggled with 6-foot-10 Abou Ousmane who weighs 245 pounds, more than any Bearcat. Ousmane finished with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds. Bryce Thompson added 16 points. UC was led by Jizzle James with 17, but 15 of those came in the first half. Skillings added 15 and Day Day Thomas had 12 points.

It was UC’s first basketball visit to Gallagher-Iba Arena since the beginning of the 2001 season under Bob Huggins. Oklahoma State now leads the series 5-2.

Oklahoma State has been a tough opponent in Gallagher-Iba Arena. They have lost to three Top 25-ranked Big 12 teams: Houston, Arizona and Texas Tech. They also knocked off then-No. 9 Iowa State on Feb. 25.

There were five lead changes in the first half, but UC’s last lead came about seven minutes into the half when Tyler Betsey’s 3-pointer put them up 12-10. About nine minutes later, the Bearcats were down 18 points on a 3-pointer from Abou Ousmane. UC scrapped back…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/learned-cincinnati-bearcats-basketballs-big-222342509.html

Author : Cincinnati.com | The Enquirer

Publish date : 2025-03-08 22:23:00

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