Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
The Oklahoma State Cowboys will go for the upset Saturday as they host 6th ranked Texas. The Cowboys are 9-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12, while Texas is 12-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12. These two teams split two games last season, with Oklahoma State covering the spread in both games. Tipoff is at 12 noon EST at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The 6th ranked Texas Longhorns had a 6 game winning streak derailed on Tuesday with a 116-103 loss at home to Kansas State. This score might sound more like a game between the NBAs Mavericks and Rockets but no, this was a college basketball final with no overtime period. Kansas State is unranked currently, but at 13-1 and 2-0 in the Big 12, they will almost certainly be ranked next week.
Kansas State hangs 116 points on No. 6 Texas in Austin, the most points by an unranked team in a road win against an AP Top-10 team in the poll era (since 1948-49). pic.twitter.com/bog8pqaDZg
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 4, 2023
Texas had been a good defensive team, at least leading into this game, ranking 41 in defensive efficiency and giving up 66.5 points per game, but they were exposed by Kansas State. Of course, their offense is top notch. They average 84.1 points per game, which is 8th in the country and they are 7th in offensive efficiency. Marcus Carr leads the Longhorns with 18.1 points per game while Tyrese Hunter averages 12.1 points per game and Timmy Allen scores 10.1 points per contest.
The Longhorns have been led by interim head coach Rodney Terry during head coach Chris Beard's suspension. Well, that is now permanent, at least for this season, as the Longhorns officially fired Beard on Friday.