Cowboys Arrive In Hawaii, Begin Prepping For Maui Invitational

Monday, November 21

Lahaina, HI

8 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Connecticut

Cowboys Arrive In Hawaii, Begin Prepping For Maui Invitational

November 18, 2016 | Cowboy Basketball

Game Center
• Opponent: Connecticut (1-2, 0-0 American)
• Date/Tipoff: Nov. 21, 2016 / 8 p.m. Central
• Tickets: mauiinvitational.com
• TV: ESPNU (Dan Shulman & Jay Bilas)
• Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 108 (UConn Radio)
• Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
• Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
• Oklahoma State Game Notes

The Basics
• Oklahoma State ended its three-game homestand with a record-setting trio of 100-point games, and now heads to Hawaii for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. This is OSU's second appearance in the Maui Invite. The Cowboys will face UConn on Monday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. Central, followed by either North Carolina or Chaminade on Tuesday. Wednesday's game will be against either Oregon, Georgetown, Wisconsin or Tennessee.

On the Air
• The ESPN family of networks will carry each game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas will call OSU's first game against UConn on ESPNU. The combo of Roxy Bernstein and Bill Walton will also call games in Maui. As always, the game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb.

Oklahoma State Snapshot
• Oklahoma State closed out its three-game homestand with a third straight 100-point outing. So far, the Cowboys are the only team in the country to score over 100 points in each of their first three games, and it marks just the second time in OSU history the Cowboys have reached the 100-point plateau in three straight outings (last in 1993-94). OSU ranks third nationally with an average of 107 points per game, and they lead the nation in free throws attempted (108) and rank second in free throws made (80).
• OSU is coming off a record-setting performance against New Orleans on Wednesday night. The Cowboys scored 117 points, which are the sixth most in a single game in program history. OSU broke the school record for points in a first half with their 68-point explosion (previous high was 67 points against Houston Baptist on Dec. 15, 1998). The 32-point halftime lead is the ninth largest in school history. Six OSU players reached double figures despite the fact that every Cowboy played 21 minutes or less.
• Jawun Evans ended his freshman season on fire, and he seems to be picking up right where he left off. Evans posted 34 points in the season opener against Campbell, and followed it up with 23 points and eight assists against UCA. He tallied 13 points and eight assists in just 19 minutes against New Orleans. He leads the Big 12 with 3.0 steals per game, ranks second in scoring at 23.3 per game and his 6.3 assists per game is fifth. Last year, he averaged 19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the six games prior to his shoulder injury.
• Only two players in the country have been perfect from the free throw line with more makes than Phil Forte, who is 17-of-17 from the stripe. Matt Harris from UMass-Lowell leads the country with a perfect 19-of-19 mark, while Nick Mayo of Eastern Kentucky is 18-of-18. Forte has hit 19 straight dating back to last season.
• At 18.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest, Jeffrey Carroll is the only player in the Big 12 averaging at least 18 points and eight boards. The redshirt-junior ranks sixth in the conference in both categories. Carroll entered the season with a career scoring high of 19 points, but has topped that in two of the three games this season.
• Foul trouble hampered Leyton Hammonds in the first two games of the season, but the senior captain got back on track against New Orleans. Hammonds posted 15 points and a career-high 13 boards for his second career double-double.

UConn Snapshot
• The Oklahoma State and UConn basketball programs are connected by a tragedy that occurred in Stillwater on July 21, 2016. Cowboy Tyrek Coger, 22, signed with OSU and had been on campus just 17 days before collapsing and passing away following a team workout. Coger's brother, Rodney Purvis, is a redshirt senior for the Huskies, and the two were looking forward to facing each other in the Maui Invitational opener.
• The Huskies are the defending American Athletic Conference Tournament champions, and were picked to finish second in the league's preseason poll last month. Cincinnati topped UConn by one first-place vote in the preseason poll, while SMU, Houston and Memphis round out the top five.
• UConn rebounded from its losses to Wagner (67-58) and Northeastern (64-61) with a 65-62 win at Loyola Marymount on Thursday. Terry Larrier posted 14 points and six rebounds, while Amida Brimah tallied nine points and a game-high 10 boards.
• UConn freshman Alterique Gilbert is the third straight Husky to be selected as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Rookie of the Year. He joins Daniel Hamilton (2014) and Jalen Adams (2015) on that list. A McDonald's All-American from Lithonia, Ga., Gilbert is averaging 10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds through three games for UConn.
• The Huskies are led by head coach Kevin Ollie, who has racked up quite a list of accomplishments in his four seasons in Storrs. Ollie is the architect of the 2014 NCAA Championship, four straight 20-win seasons and an American Athletic Conference title. The Los Angeles native was a standout player at UConn before embarking on a successful pro career than included stops with 12 NBA franchises.
• OSU and UConn met just once previously on Dec. 18, 1970. That day, the Cowboys took an 80-64 matchup in the 1970 Bayou Classic in Lafayette, La. Tony Kraus tallied 19 points and 12 rebounds to pace an OSU offense that shot 53.7 percent.
• Two of the most successful programs in college basketball, Oklahoma State and UConn combine for 11 Final Four appearances and six national titles. OSU has six appearances in the Final Four and two national titles in 1945 and 1946. UConn has been to five Final Fours with titles in 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014.

Maui Invitational Quick Hitters
• This is OSU's second trip to Maui. Below is a brief recap of the Cowboys' trip to the 2007 EA Sports Maui Invitational.
• OSU 83, LSU 77: James Anderson scored 25 points and Terrel Harris added 24 points and the clinching free throws with 16 seconds remaining to help the Cowboys hold off the Tigers. OSU led by as much as 21 points. Marcus Thornton led LSU with 20.
• No. 11 Marquette 91, OSU 61: Tom Crean's Golden Eagles got off to an 11-2 start and never looked back. Jerel McNeal led five Marquette players in double-figures with 20 points. Terrel Harris led OSU with 17 points. Marquette shot 52.6 percent and hit 11 3-pointers.
• Illinois 65, OSU 49: Trent Meacham had 17 points to pace an Illini offense that shot 48.9 percent. OSU freshman James Anderson went 4-of-9 from 3-point for 12 points, but the Cowboys struggled overall with 30.6 percent shooting and 15 turnovers.
• Brad Underwood played in the 1985 Maui Invitational as a senior at K-State. He and the Wildcats topped Chaminade, 68-56, before falling to No. 3 Michigan, 80-58.