Cincinnati ousts Oklahoma State in Big 12 tourney opener

Field Level Media|published: Tue 11th March, 15:17 2025

NCAA Basketball: Big 12 Conference Tournament First Round - Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State

Mar 11, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Dillon Mitchell (23) saves a ball from going out of bounds around Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Connor Dow (13) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Dillon Mitchell had a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as Cincinnati defeated Oklahoma State 87-68 on Tuesday in the first round of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

Cincinnati will face No. 5 seed Iowa State, the No. 12 team in the country, in the second round Wednesday. The Bearcats lost their only meeting with the Cyclones this season, 81-70 on Feb. 15 in Ames, Iowa.

The game Tuesday was a rematch of Oklahoma State's 78-67 victory last Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.

The 13th-seeded Bearcats (18-14) forced a season-high 24 turnovers by the Cowboys. Day Day Thomas led the Bearcats with a season-high 21 points, 12 after halftime. Josh Reed scored a creer-high 19 points and Dan Skillings Jr. had 13, all in the second half. Mitchell also had a career-high five assists.

No. 12 seed Oklahoma State (15-17) was led by little-used reserve Connor Dow, who hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range to reach 12 points. Arturo Dean made seven steals -- the eighth time this year he's had at least four.

OSU head coach Steve Lutz lost his first conference tournament game as a head coach. In two years at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and one year at Western Kentucky prior to taking the OSU job, he won three conference tournaments.

Cincinnati took a 12-point halftime lead and stretched it to 20 points about midway through the second half. The Cowboys never got closer than 12 the rest of the game. The Bearcats extended the lead to 22 points at 84-62.

Reed and Mitchell carried the Bearcats in the first half, nearly matching Oklahoma State's total of 28. They averaged a combined 13.7 points per game on the season, but they combined for 24 in the first half. Reed had a career-high 15 points, while Mitchell had nine points and seven rebounds. Thomas also had nine points.

It took a while for Cincinnati to pull away, as the Bearcats closed the half on a 12-6 run to lead 38-26 at halftime.

The Cowboys were led by Marchelus Avery with six first-half points. The problem for the Cowboys was the number of turnovers. They averaged 13.4 turnovers per game had 11 in the first half.

--David Smale, Field Level Media