Oklahoma State senior Keiton Page saved his best performance for last. In his first seven games against the Texas Longhorns, the Oklahoma native was held to just 36 total points on 8-of-40 shooting. The Cowboys were a dismal 1-6 against Texas in those games, losing by an average of 14.5 points. Page made up for all of that on Saturday afternoon, exploding for a career-high 40 points to power Oklahoma State to a 90-78 win over Texas at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Longhorns, and marked a big step backwards for a team that was progressing towards the NCAA tournament. Although Texas remained in Joe Lunardi’s bracket following Saturday’s action, the team was the next-to-last squad in the field. With tough games still to come against Baylor and Kansas, a win over Oklahoma State would have allowed the Longhorns a little more wiggle room though the final two weeks of the season and the Big 12 Championship.

What looked good

Although the Longhorns were down by just three points midway through the second half, there was not much for Texas fans to get excited about. Myck Kabongo set a new career high with 22 points, but took himself out of the game for much of the first half with a pair of early fouls. When he was on the floor, Kabongo was able to get to the rim with ease, knocked down his open looks from outside, and kept the offense moving. If Texas is going to find any success in March, the freshman point guard has to stop picking up needless fouls that relegate him to the bench.

Without Kabongo on the floor for much of the first half, freshman Sheldon McClellan picked up the scoring slack. He was aggressive from the wings and showed good body control when elevating to knock down the floater. When McClellan plays with his instincts, he’s very hard to stop, as evidenced by his performance in this one.

While Sheldon could definitely earn his way back into the starting five by playing like this, it’s also tough to give up the defense that Julien Lewis provides. Against smaller teams, the Longhorns could shelve the two towers look and give McClellan the nod over Alexis Wangmene. Regardless of who is actually in the starting lineup, it’s reassuring for Texas fans to see someone besides Kabongo and J’Covan Brown willing to take control and get buckets.

Sterling Gibbs also made some nice offensive contributions while filling in for Kabongo. He knocked down a triple and scored three points the old-fashioned way on a quick drive to the hoop. He struggled defending Page, however, getting called for two fouls while trying to contain him off the ball. With Texas having been whistled for six fouls in the first four minutes of the game, those off-the-ball transgressions turned into four easy points for the Pokes.

What needed work

The foul trouble that kept Kabongo out of the game in the first half was a team-wide epidemic. Wangmene and Clint Chapman both found themselves saddled with two fouls in the first few minutes, forcing the Longhorns to go with a rotating frontcourt. As a result, Jonathan Holmes and Jaylen Bond combined to play 43 minutes.

The Longhorn defense was especially undisciplined in this game, looking nothing like a team coached by Rick Barnes. Texas defenders consistently bit on shot fakes, leaving their feet and fouling jump shooters. Page ended up going to the line 20 times on the afternoon, and made Texas pay by sinking every single free throw. When the Longhorns weren’t giving away free points at the line, poor rotation led to numerous easy buckets inside.

On the other end of the court, the Horns scuttled their comeback bid with poorly-timed turnovers. Texas coughed it up on 21.3% of their possessions. In the first half, those miscues led to easy fast break points for Oklahoma State. In the second, the Horns were at least able to limit the damage from the turnovers, but those wasted possessions were crippling when trying to dig out of a 14-point hole.

The Longhorn comeback was also undermined by frustrating offensive rebounds that ruined good defense. On the afternoon, Texas actually did an incredible job on the defensive glass, limiting OSU to an offensive rebounding mark of just 21.7%. But late in the game, with the Longhorns needing big stops to stay in it, those critical defensive boards were often just out of reach. All five of Oklahoma State’s offensive rebounds came in the second half, extending Cowboy possessions and burning critical time that the Longhorns needed.

The big picture

Yesterday’s loss kills the momentum that Texas had been building over the last two weeks, and knocks the Horns further down the S-curve. There have been numerous losses by other bubble contenders over the last week, so the loss isn’t quite as damaging as it could be. Still, the struggles by other bubble teams mean that the Horns let a golden opportunity slip away. Instead of stepping further away from a very mediocre pack, the Horns are now once again fighting for elbow room with all of the other bubblers.

A win over Oklahoma State would have practically guaranteed a 20-win season, which would be quite impressive to the committee when you consider Texas’ strength of schedule. The Horns can still get there, but now will have to mix in an upset of Baylor or Kansas, or a win in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship. That quarterfinal game will be against either Baylor or Iowa State, so a win there will be a tough task.

Of course, if the Horns happen to trip up against Oklahoma in Austin or Texas Tech in Lubbock, all of this discussion is moot. The loss to the Cowboys was the only questionable defeat that Texas could still afford at this point. Dropping one to the Sooners or the Red Raiders will have the Horns NIT-bound.

Up next: vs. Baylor (22-5 overall, 9-5 Big 12); Monday, 8 P.M. CT