Christian Coleman ‘motored up’ as Oklahoma State basketball advances in Big 12 Tournament

KANSAS CITY, MO — Christian Coleman reached high but couldn’t grab the alley-oop pass from Jaylen Curry.

But it glanced off his fingertips, hit the backboard, then the rim and fell in the basket.

It wasn’t the prettiest clutch play by the Oklahoma State forward, but it was as important as any of them.

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Coleman’s alley-oops layup with just over two minutes remaining helped the 14th-seeded Cowboys stretch their lead on the way to a 92-83 win over No. 11 Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday at T-Mobile Center.

Had Coleman gotten his hands on the ball, it would have been a massive exclamation-point jam, yet as he rose for it, he could tell it was out of his reach.

“But God had his hands around it and it kinda fell in for me,” Coleman said with a laugh. “So we count it.”

More: Anthony Roy, Oklahoma State basketball outlast Colorado in Big 12 Tournament opener

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – MARCH 10: Christian Coleman #4 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys goes up for a dunk as Elijah Malone #50 of the Colorado Buffaloes defends during the first round game of the Men’s 2026 Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center on March 10, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Coleman finished with 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, backing guard Anthony Roy, who had 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Curry added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

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Late in the game, the lanky 6-foot-8 Coleman moved to center as coach Steve Lutz was forced to put a small lineup on the floor.

The Cowboys were without their two most-used bigs, Parsa Fallah and Andrija Vukovic, because of injuries. Their freshman replacements, Benjamin Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland, found themselves in foul trouble.

“He’s versatile,” said OSU point guard Kanye Clary, who had seven points, six assists and five rebounds. “He can guard the 1-5. He switches and plays hard.

“When he’s motored up, I don’t really think there’s…

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Publish date : 2026-03-11 06:25:00

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