The Sooners (16-11, 6-8) jumped out to a 21-11 lead nine and a half minutes into the first half, but then went cold for the next five minutes while Oklahoma State mounted a 13-0 run to erase the deficit and go up by three, 24-21.
Oklahoma regained the lead briefly at 28-27, but that was the last time the Sooners would not be in the red (pun intended) the remainder of the game. Senior Cameron McGriff scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the opening half, as the Cowboys went to the locker room at halftime leading 42-36.