KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma State players sat scattered on chairs and benches, a vibe of bewilderment emanating from the mostly silent locker room.

A team the Cowboys had beaten three days earlier manhandled them Tuesday, with Cincinnati, the No. 13 seed, rolling to an 87-68 win over the 12th-seeded Pokes, eliminating them from the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament at the T-Mobile Center.

“We did not perform well today,” first-year OSU coach Steve Lutz said. “We did not play our best basketball and they played better than us, therefore they won. Hats off to them, they get to play another day, and we get to go home and figure out what the next step is.”

The Cowboys had a season-high 24 turnovers, allowed Cincinnati to grab 16 offensive rebounds and watched the Bearcats dunk on them time and again to end OSU’s season (probably, anyway, but more on that later).

OSU mustered enough offense for a brief second-half rally, sparked mostly by sophomore wing Connor Dow, who hit four 3-pointers in a span of eight game minutes to finish with a team-high 12 points.

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But a string of Cincinnati dunks, off OSU turnovers and offensive rebounds, helped the Bearcats put the game away. 

If this is the end of Lutz’s first season, the Cowboys will put a 15-17 record in the books.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

More: Steve Lutz, Oklahoma State basketball arrive at Big 12 Tournament building on right path

Postseason for Pokes?

The two additional postseason tournaments beyond the NCAA Tournament — the NIT and the newly created College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas — give 48 teams the opportunity to continue their seasons. 

The Cowboys could be an option for one of those tournaments, though the exact mechanics of what needs to happen are unclear.

Regardless, if given the opportunity, Lutz says his team would be up for it.

“I think these guys deserve it,” he said. “If we can play postseason and have an opportunity to continue to fight for a championship, these guys deserve it. They’ve given a lot all year long and have set the culture for the future.

“We need to reward them if at all possible.”

Though their stay at the Big 12 Tournament ended with a whimper, the Cowboys finished the regular season with one of their best stretches of basketball all year.

Following a 38-point home loss to Texas Tech on Feb. 15, the Cowboys were 4-10 in Big 12 play, but closed the season with three wins in the final six, beating then-No. 9 Iowa State in Stillwater. 

OSU’s last postseason appearance was two seasons ago, when it won two games in the NIT before being eliminated in the round of eight.

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Connor Dow catches fire

Though the Oklahoma State offense resembled the current state of the stock market most of the day, Dow was on the rise.

The sophomore from Broken Arrow made his first appearance at the 12:49 mark of the second half, with OSU trailing by 20.

Thirty seconds later, Dow swished his first 3-point attempt, and nailed three more before his first miss, an off-balance, contested try late in the game. He also had a pair of rebounds and an assist in 12 minutes of action.

Dow’s hot streak helped OSU get within 12 before the Bearcats pulled away again.

“It felt good to come in and hit some shots, just trying to do anything to help us get back into the game,” Dow said. “My teammates were also giving me open looks, so that was helping a lot.”

No other Cowboy scored in double-figures, with Jamyron Keller scoring nine points, Khalil Brantley added eight and Arturo Dean seven.

Dean also had seven steals, the most in a Big 12 Tournament game since 2006, but counteracted that with six turnovers. 

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Abou Ousmane exits early

The Cowboys’ key to their 78-67 win over Cincinnati on Saturday in Stillwater was senior center Abou Ousmane.

On Tuesday, Ousmane played just 10 minutes, fouling out with more than 14 minutes left in the game.

The 6-foot-10 Ousmane had two fouls and two turnovers, missing his only shot attempt in four minutes of first-half action. After the second foul, he went to the bench for the remainder of the half. 

The third foul came quickly in the second half, with the fourth and fifth on the same play. 

Ousmane argued the call until teammates guided him toward the OSU bench. But he backtracked toward the referee to argue further and drew a technical foul, ending his game.

“I think our guys were aware of the game he had,” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. “I could tell in practice yesterday the way they were talking, we were going through their stuff that they were very attentive, because they understood what happened in Stillwater.”