Oklahoma State goes with upset victory over No. 9 Iowa State

February 25, 2025; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Bryce Thompson (1) takes up the ball during the first half against Iowa State Cyclones at Gallagher -iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images

Abou Ousmane scored 25 points on 7-for-11-shooting, and Oklahoma State kept on for a 74-68 victory over No. 9 Iowa State in a Big 12 conference matchup Tuesday evening in Stillwater, Okla.

Arturo Dean added 14 points for Oklahoma State (14-14, 6-11 Big 12), which bounced back from a 32-point loss to the then no. 23 Kansas in his previous game three days earlier. Bryce Thompson contributed 11 points and Marchelus Avery chipped in with 10 from the bench.

Joshua Jefferson scored 17 points and pulled down eight returns to lead Iowa State (21-7, 11-6), who lost his second straight after winning the previous four. Nate Heise scored 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range, while Curtis Jones finished with 11 points.

Oklahoma State outscored Iowa State 22-9 in Fastbreak points.

Halfway through the first half, the cowboys took a lead 23-12 thanks to a 3-point from Ousmane. Jones, however, helped Iowa State to withdraw to within four points with 3:53 left in the first half with a free throw on the heel of a layout from Jefferson.

However, Oklahoma State closed half on a 12-2 run to take a 14-point advantage.

Arturo Dean made two free throws to start driving. Avery accompanied a 3-pointer and two free throw, and he lost another 3-pointer before Patrick Suemnick made a layout to finish the score to give Oklahoma State a 40-26 lead at the break.

Ousmane made a couple of free throw to increase Cowboy’s lead to 16 points early in the second half before Iowa State responded with a 9-0 driving to reduce the deficit to 42-35, covered by a layout from Milan Momcilovic.

With just over two minutes to play, Jefferson saw another close look to get the cyclones back to within four of 66-62. But Thompson responded with a jump shot at the other end to drive Cowboy’s lead back to six points. Dean accompanied a jumper to make it an eight point lead with 54 seconds left.

Oklahoma State shot 42.4 percent (25 out of 59) from the field and 26.1 percent (6 out of 23) from 3-point intervals. Iowa State shot 41.4 percent (24 out of 58) in total and 29.6 percent (8 out of 27) beyond the arch.

-Field level media