Oklahoma State fans can breathe a sigh of relief even if it isn’t a long one.
The Cowboys beat DePaul 60-56 in the opening round of the 76 Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. They play Virginia Tech on Friday in the semifinals.
The cause for concern from Cowboys fans is simple. The score was too close for comfort against a team that finished last season 8-23 and lost its top two scorers, who combined for 32.3 points per game.
Forward Marshall Moses appeared to be the lone highlight for the Cowboys (4-0). He finished with a team-leading 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting.
Everything else looked ugly, suggesting the Cowboys don’t have the depth to replace James Anderson, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year, who graduated.
Excluding Moses, Oklahoma State went 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) on field goals. The Cowboys also continued to shoot poorly from 3-point range. They entered the game 9-for-35 (25.7 percent) from there.
Oklahoma State was actually worse than that Thursday, going 1-for-9 (11.1 percent) from deep range.
Offense wasn’t a problem for the Blue Demons (1-2). They had four scorers reach double digits and were led by 13 from senior Mike Stovall.
DePaul | Oklahoma St. | |
Mike Stovall 13 | Scoring | Marshall Moses 27 |
Brandon Young 2 | Assists | Keiton Page 2 |
Brandon Young 6 | Rebounds | Marshall Moses 9 |
Brandon Young 6 | Free Throws Made | Keiton Page 6 |
Jeremiah Kelly 3 | Steals | Fred Gulley 1 |
Jimmy Drew 1 | Blocks | Marshall Moses 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
DePaul | 56 | 33.3 | 3-22 | 13-19 | 7 | 22 | 3 | 7 | |
Oklahoma St. | 60 | 45.7 | 1-10 | 17-20 | 6 | 38 | 5 | 2 |