Texas basketball falls flat against Oklahoma State down Tre Mitchell

On the afternoon of Jan. 8, new head coach Chris Beard and No. 14 ranked Texas basketball didn’t get the result they desired on the road at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater against head coach Mike Boynton and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Texas got off to a slow start offensively in this game, and never really recovered against a spirited Pokes team in Stillwater this weekend.

Beard and the Longhorns were looking to capitalize on the momentum they built up by winning the first two games of the Big 12 slate. And the first two games of conference play were no cakewalk for the Longhorns either.

Texas topped the likes of the West Virginia Mountaineers at home last weekend to start off the Big 12 slate on the right foot. And then, the Longhorns got the best of the Kansas State Wildcats and head coach Bruce Weber on the road a few days later to move their winning streak in Big 12 play to two games.

A meeting with a struggling and inconsistent Oklahoma State squad looked like a prime opportunity for the Longhorns to pick up another important Big 12 road win. Yet, Boynton and the Pokes had other ideas on Jan. 8.

Marcus Carr and Timmy Allen can’t power a No. 14 Texas basketball squad down Tre Mitchell past Oklahoma State

Down standout junior center Tre Mitchell in this game, the Longhorns were facing an uphill battle as is against the Pokes. It is really apparent now just how critical Mitchell is to the Longhorns’ frontcourt unit after this game. And that is if his importance for the Longhorns wasn’t abundantly clear before this meeting with Oklahoma State.

With Mitchell out, Beard and the Longhorns rolled with the senior forward duo of Christian Bishop and Timmy Allen in the starting frontcourt. Those two did struggle on the boards at times in this game. But they were also efficient when called upon for the most part.

The problem for the Longhorns in this game definitely wasn’t the play of Allen and Bishop. While you would certainly like to see more two-way production from those two with Mitchell out, there were other issues Texas faced in this outing.

The biggest issue Texas faced in this game was the offensive production, or lack thereof, from the starting trio in the backcourt/on the wing. Texas went with senior guards Courtney Ramey and Marcus Carr, along with sharpshooting wing Jase Febres at the three.

Redshirt senior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones came off the bench in this game.

Those three combined to shoot just 4-of-16 from the field and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. Carr went especially cold in the second half of this game when the Longhorns needed him to step up in clutch time. Carr individually finished this game with just four points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field, 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line.

The fact of the matter is that Carr just has to be more productive on offense than he was in this game.

Allen did play well for the Longhorns in this game, it just wasn’t enough in the end. Junior power forward Dylan Disu had some highlights coming off the bench. He also injured his ankle in the second half but was able to return before it was all said and done.

Allen gave the Longhorns a team-high 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals, one block, and two turnovers. And he shot 5-of-10 from the field without any attempts from beyond the arc or the charity stripe.

This down game from the Texas backcourt unit offensively resulted in a bad loss to Oklahoma State by the final score of 64-51. It’s clear now that when Texas isn’t playing the insanely efficient lockdown defense that we’re used to at this point, the offense needs to provide more of a spark.

Texas is not going to win many games when Mitchell is out and the trio of Ramey, Febres, and Carr give the team just 15 points combined.

Following this loss to the Pokes on the afternoon of Jan. 8, Beard and the Longhorns are now sporting a record of 12-3 (2-1 Big 12). These types of losses can happen when Texas is down key players such as Mitchell. But these are also games that the Longhorns must learn from here on out.