No. 7 Texas will look for a regular season sweep of tenacious Oklahoma State when the two teams square off Tuesday in Austin, Texas, in another matchup in the Big 12 Conference gauntlet.
The Longhorns defeated Oklahoma State on the road on Jan. 7 in the first meeting. Both come into Tuesday’s game off gritty wins Saturday, with Texas holding off West Virginia 69-61 on the road and the Cowboys beating No. 12 Iowa State 61-59 at home.
Texas (16-3, 5-2 Big 12) was led by Marcus Carr’s 23 points, six of which came in the final 2:20, as the Longhorns rebounded from a loss at Iowa State on Tuesday. Dylan Disu added 13 points for the Longhorns, with Tyrese Hunter and Christian Bishop scoring 11 each.
Saturday’s game was tied with just under 11 minutes to play before Texas took charge, building a seven-point lead on Timmy Allen’s two free throws with 4:36 to play and not allowing the Mountaineers closer than two points the rest of the way.
Carr scored the game’s final six points, and Texas held the Mountaineers without a field goal over the final 4:23. Carr scored 19 of his points in the second half.
“Marcus all year long has let the game come to him,” Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said. “He doesn’t come out and force it. Once he sees that basketball go through the basket, it opens up a lot for him. It really creates a whole different way of carrying himself on that end of the floor.”
The Longhorns are 9-2 under Terry since Chris Beard was suspended on Dec. 12.
Oklahoma State (11-8, 3-4 Big 12) roared back from a 16-point, first-half deficit and held on as Iowa State had shots to tie or win on its last two possessions.
Avery Anderson III matched his season high with 18 points, 14 of them after halftime, and Kalib Boone added 13 points for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State shot 61.1 percent from the floor in the second half, but its defense turned the game around as the Cowboys held Iowa State to 39.7 percent shooting.
“We’re gonna be able to compete with anybody when we defend at the level we’re capable of,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “And on a night where we make shots, it gives us a chance to beat anybody in the country.”
It was the second straight game that the Cowboys trailed at halftime and rallied to win. In the every-game-is-a-war Big 12, Oklahoma State has found plenty of ways to get in the decisive punch.
It was the Cowboys’ first win in five games this season against teams ranked in the Top 25.
“This is what you expect. You expect it to be a fight and a grind, and you just expect that the last four minutes, somebody’s gonna step up and make plays and do it at a really, really high level,” Boynton added. “Today we had several guys step up and make meaningful plays.”
–Field Level Media
