Texas Basketball: 2 studs, 1 dud from mucky win over OK State

Despite not having senior forward Timmy Allen available as a last-minute subtraction from the lineup on March 9, the two-seed and No. 7 ranked Texas basketball was able to pull out a messy win over the seven-seed Oklahoma State Cowboys. In the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Men’s Tournament at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO, Texas was able to stay undefeated in three tries on the season against the Pokes.

Interim head coach Rodney Terry and the Longhorns controlled this game most of the way, despite the poor offensive night for both squads. Texas was able to hold Oklahoma State to well under 50 points for the second time in three meetings between these two teams this season.

Texas’ defense continued to show its strength in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, holding the stagnant Pokes to well under 30 percent shooting from the field and a poor 15 percent from beyond the arc.

Terry and the Longhorns really had Oklahoma State’s number this season. According to Sports Reference, Texas was the only team to hold Oklahoma State to fewer than 50 points in a single game this season. And the Longhorns were able to do that twice in three tries in the last couple of months.

Dylan Disu steps up to lead No. 7 Texas basketball past Oklahoma State in the Big 12 quarterfinals

Here’s a look at two studs and one dud from the Longhorns’ convincing 60-47 win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Men’s Tournament quarterfinals on March 9.

Stud No. 1: Tyrese Hunter, G

The hot offensive play of sophomore guard Tyrese Hunter continued for the Longhorns in the first game for this team in the Big 12 Men’s Tournament. He was able to extend his season-best scoring streak of at least 11 points now in five straight games dating back to the double-digit win over the Iowa State Cyclones at the Moody Center on Feb. 21.

Hunter gave the Longhorns some valuable early offense, especially shooting from deep. He finished up this game with 11 points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

We also saw the version of Hunter that was pretty locked in on the defensive end of the floor. He raked in one steal and played a critical role in limiting the Oklahoma State guards to less than 25 percent shooting from the field on this night.

It was a tough decision not to put freshman guard Arterio Morris in the first stud spot on this list. Morris does deserve some credit for giving Texas a spark off the bench in the first half. He actually led the team in points at halftime, with 10. Morris also gave the Longhorns two steals.

But Hunter definitely deserves some recognition for another solid and efficient offensive outing where he was a real threat shooting from the field and from beyond the arc.