BYU basketball has been exposed as they lose big to Oklahoma State

This year's edition of BYU basketball can be summed up with one word: ugh.

True to form, the Cougars were completely stagnant on the offensive end in the opening 10 minutes of their trip to Stillwater. Just two points five minutes into the contest. With 11 minutes remaining in the first half, BYU's turnovers nearly matched their point total, with eight giveaways as they had posted just nine points to Oklahoma State's 20.

The Cougars' tendency to start slowly is no slump; it's a pattern, and one that is showing no signs of changing anytime soon.

It only took 11 minutes of game time for the Cowboys to push their advantage to double-digits, and two minutes later, the 16th-ranked Cougars' sum had been doubled.

Long-range threes, effortless rejections, acrobatic layups, and everything was going through the cylinder for the home squad, as OK State's rapid pace pushed their guests to their heels. Bucket after bucket piled onto Kevin Young's squad, as Gallagher-Iba Arena rumbled.

BYU basketball is in serious trouble. Serious, serious trouble. A team that entered the year with its sights set on the Final Four is struggling to compete against the middle of the Big 12 pack. The roster is simply unbalanced -- too dependent on their top three contributors, and any defense in the country will happily play with a five-on-three advantage.

For the Cougars' defense, this was yet another game that saw BYU's opposition absolutely on fire offensively out of the gate. Call it what you will, but simple bad luck cannot be responsible for this team constantly playing from behind.

Fortunately in this instance, the Cougars were able to knot up the score by halftime, as AJ Dybantsa took matters into his own hands and carried the team with 18 first half points, including two timely three-pointers and a punctuating dunk to draw the point differential to zero.

Thunderous, filthy, and dirty.

Unfortunately, the second half arrived to the dismay of the Cougars this time around, as though BYU wasable to jump out to an early five-point lead, the Cowboys pushed ahead

Vyctorious Miller, Anthony Roy, and Jalyn Curry torched the Cougars' defense all night long on both ends of the floor, as the trio combined for 64 of the Cowboys' 99 points.

BYU has fundamental issues on both sides of the floor, allowing their opponents to score 84 or more points in four of their last five games. Each of those finals resulted in a loss for a BYU basketball team that has no answers, no response, and no direction as they careen down the Big 12 basketball standings.

This team has become joyless -- void of any soul to speak of as the offense has lost all rhythm, flow, or aggression. This is a team incapable of controlling the narrative. Incapable of taking the lead. Incapable of competing in a league like the Big 12 Conference.

Losing four of five games is no coincidence -- this team is revealing its identity. Shallow on the depth chart, hollow on defense, and empty on offense, this team is not equipped to compete with the best in the nation, no matter how narrow the score differential has been against elite teams. Close losses are not the same as wins, and BYU's ceiling has proved impenetrable.

It boils down to one simple fact: BYU is essentially playing three-on-five every night, as the Big 3 remains the only reliable stream of scoring. They've been effectively schemed against on a nightly basis, and have proved incapable of winning outside the bottom half of the conference standings.

This team was propped up to be world-beaters; this was supposed to be the best BYU basketball team ever constructed. But whether its a lack of leadership, direction, or a competent game plan, the Cougars have been humiliated and exposed against their peers.

AJ Dybantsa can't do it on his own (he had a remarkable 36 points tonight), and the Cougars' defense has to improve drastically if this team hopes to compete in the postseason. Richie Saunders and Rob Wright are not a strong enough tandem carry the rest of the load. Kevin Young needs to find answers because another night of negligible bench contributions sank the boat once again.

BYU drops to 17-5 with a 99-92 loss in Stillwater.

Last year's team stumbled out of the gate in conference play and finished with an incredible Sweet 16 finish. This year's team feels completely out of their depth -- outmatched and unbalanced -- but everything could change with a win against Houston on Saturday.