Ousmane scores 25 as Oklahoma State knocks off No. 9 Iowa State 74-68

Feb 25, 2026, 11:11 pm

STILLWATER, Okla. -- — Abou Ousmane scored 25 points and Oklahoma State beat No. 9 Iowa State 74-68 on Tuesday night.

Arturo Dean had 14 points and seven steals, and Bryce Thompson added 11 points for the Cowboys (14-14, 6-11 Big 12). A crowd that grew as the game progressed celebrated by storming the court.

Oklahoma State had no previous wins over AP Top 25 teams this season under first-year coach Steve Lutz. The Cowboys lost their previous two games against ranked opponents Texas Tech and Kansas by a combined 70 points.

Josh Jefferson scored 17 points and Nate Heise added 13 for Iowa State (21-7, 11-6). The Cyclones were trying to bounce back from a loss at then-No. 5 Houston on Saturday. Keshon Gilbert, the team's No. 2 scorer this season, sat out with a muscle strain. Curtis Jones, who leads Iowa State with just over 17 points per game, was held to 11 on 2-for-8 shooting.

Oklahoma State ran out to a 12-4 lead as Iowa State made just one field goal in the first five minutes. The Cowboys rolled to a 40-26 halftime lead behind 12 points from Ousmane.

Iowa State trimmed it to 44-39 before Brandon Newman made an off-balance, contested shot in the lane to help the Cowboys regain control. That sparked a 7-0 run that led to an Iowa State timeout. Oklahoma State pushed its lead to 56-41, then hung on at the end.

Takeaways

Iowa State: The Cyclones are 14-1 at home, but 5-5 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites. They'll have to improve away from Ames if they're going to make a postseason run.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys found some defense after allowing at least 93 points in each of their previous three games.

Key moment

Dean made a pull-up jumper with the shot clock winding down that gave the Cowboys a 70-62 lead with 54 seconds remaining.

Key stat

Iowa State committed 18 turnovers to Oklahoma State's 12.

Up next

Iowa State hosts No. 22 Arizona on Saturday. Oklahoma State visits Baylor on Saturday.

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