Smart powers OSU to win over UT

Standout freshman Marcus Smart poured in 23 points Saturday as No. 17 Oklahoma State breezed past Texas 72-59 in Austin.

Cowboy Markel Brown tossed in 17 points and Le’Bryan Nash added 14 with nine rebounds as OSU posted their fifth win in a row.

The Longhorns are suffering through their worst season in the 15 years under coach Rick Barnes.

“I was concerned coming into this game,” said OSU coach Travis Ford. “We have respect for this team, they have been through so many tough games and we have been through some mentally tough games, we had a lot of guys playing 40 close minutes. We did some things the last few days to get our guys minds off those games and to relax, to enjoy this journey rather than talk about those close games.”

Defense was key for the Cowboys.

“I liked our approach to start the game,” Ford said. “Offensively, it was not pretty, we turned the ball over a lot but it is not something I am overly concerned with at this point. I thought we played good defense, we have been asking our guys to give better defense all year, especially three-point field goal defense.”

OSU did a very good job on guarding the Texas shooters.

“I think we put a lot of emphasis on the perimeter,” said Brown. “We worked on doing what Baylor did to us, getting into a shooting rhythm and getting our hands up when we shoot. We wanted to put emphasis on that. They [Texas] did not shoot too well but I am glad it all worked out for us.”

It was another good win for the Cowboys in the conference, who have a shot at a Big 12 crown.

“We are trying to keep climbing the ladder with our effort to make a big run in the tournament,” said Nash.

OSU will host Oklahoma at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the second game of the Bedlam series.