Fresh Off Wichita Win, Underwood Faces Familiar Foe

Game Center
• Opponent: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-3, 0-0 Southland)
• Date/Tipoff: Dec. 22, 2016 / 12 p.m. Central
• Series: OSU leads 9-0 (9-0 in Stillwater)
• Tickets: 877-ALL-4-OSU or okstate.com/tickets
• TV: FSOK (Mike Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer & Allison Gappa)
• Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
• Satellite Radio: None
• Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
• Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
• OSU Game Notes

The Basics
• The Cowboys shocked Wichita State and the college basketball world with a 93-76 win to snap WSU's 42-game non-conference homecourt win streak. At home, the Shockers had held 116 straight opponents under 80 points in regulation, but OSU eclipsed that mark with 8:02 left to play. On the verge of a top-25 ranking, the Cowboys now turn their attention to a familiar foe for head coach Brad Underwood. Led by do-it-all forward Rashawn Thomas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won 25 games last year and met Underwood's SFA squad in the Southland Conference Tournament finals.

On the Air
• Oklahoma State's final non-conference tune-up will air on Fox Sports Oklahoma with Mike Wolfe and Bryndon Manzer on the call. Allison Gappa will provide sideline reports. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call from the sidelines of historic Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Snapshot
• The Islanders were 25-8 last season, and battled Brad Underwood and the Lumberjacks in the Southland Conference Tournament finals. SFA won that battle, 82-60, in Katy, Texas, but the Islanders advanced to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, where they fell to Louisiana-Lafayette, 96-72, in the Cajundome.
• Brad Underwood was a remarkable 53-1 in conference play as the head coach at Stephen F. Austin, but the solitary loss came at the hands of Willis Wilson and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 14, 2015. SFA had won 32 straight conference games over a span of 728 days, which was the nation's longest winning streak in league games. The Lumberjacks had won 19 consecutive games overall, which was the third-longest streak in the country at the time.
• In all, Underwood is 5-1 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in his head coaching career.
• Oklahoma City native Rashawn Thomas was a Preseason All-Southland Conference first-team selection, and leads the Islanders in scoring (17.9 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg), assists (3.0 apg) and blocks (2.3 bpg) this season. A CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-America selection last season, Thomas was the 2015-16 Southland Defensive Player of the Year. Thomas played his high-school ball at Southeast High School in OKC.
• In the Jan. 8, 2003 matchup, OSU hit 9-of-12 (.750) shots from deep against the Islanders to set the Gallagher-Iba Arena record for 3-point shooting percentage in a single game. Victory Williams (3-of-3) and Tony Allen (3-of-5) both scored 20 points in the 91-58 win.
• The Cowboys are 55-8 (.873) all-time against current members of the Southland Conference, and have faced two other Southland opponents this season. OSU took down Central Arkansas, 102-90, and New Orleans, 117-72, back in November.

Oklahoma State Snapshot
• At 98-16, Brad Underwood is on the verge of becoming one of the fastest coaches to reach 100 wins in the history of college basketball. With 89 wins in his time at Stephen F. Austin, Underwood tied for the most victories by any coach after three seasons. His .860 win percentage ranks behind only Buck Freeman (.914, St. Johns, '28-31) and Adolph Rupp (.882, Kentucky, '31-34) for the best win percentage ever by a fourth-year coach.
• OSU ranks fourth in the country in scoring at 93.5 points per game, but their high-pressure defense is the main reason why. The Cowboys rank fifth in the country with 10.9 steals per game and second in turnovers forced at 20.64. According to KenPom, OSU is holding opponents to an average possession of just 14.7 seconds - the shortest in the country - and they rank third in turnover percentage with a mark of 26.1. That defensive pressure has allowed OSU to average 10.5 more shots per game than their opponents, and average 23.5 points off turnovers per game.
• Their fast-paced tempo is another reason the Cowboys rank fourth in the country in scoring. OSU is sixth nationally with 78.6 possessions per game, and they rank 16th in KenPom's offensive efficiency rating. OSU also knows how to get to the free throw line, where they rank sixth nationally in free throws made (22.8) and eighth in free throws attempted (30.3).
• One of the nation's elite point guards, Jawun Evans is taking the nation by storm this season. The sophomore is the only player in the country to rank among the top 20 in scoring (19th, 21.6 ppg) and the top 15 in steals (11th, 2.7 spg) and KenPom currently rates him as the No. 5 offensive threat in the nation. The Naismith Trophy and Cousy Award watch list member has six 20-point games and three 30-point games this season alone, and he also earned a spot on the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team. The Big 12 leader in scoring, Evans also ranks among the league's top 10 in steals (2nd, 2.7 spg), assists (5th, 4.7 apg) and free throw percentage (7th, 77.4%), and he owns two of the Big 12's top three scoring performances this season - 35 points against UConn, and 34 points against Campbell.
• At an average of 40.8 points per game, the Cowboy bench is one of the nation's deepest. OSU's bench averages 43.2 percent of its minutes, which ranks seventh nationally. The Cowboy bench has been responsible for 36-plus points in eight games this season, including three games with 58-plus points. Jeffrey Carroll leads the OSU bench efforts with 16.5 points per game.
• OSU's freshmen are responsible for 40.0 percent of the team's minutes this season, and have played in key stretches lately. Freshmen scored 19 of OSU's final 23 points - including the last nine - in the road win at Tulsa, and four freshmen were on the floor when the Cowboys stretched their lead at Wichita State. Point guard Brandon Averette is last week's Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, while Lindy Waters III hit a baseline jumper with 15.8 seconds left that proved the game winner against Tulsa. Over the last three games, sharpshooter Thomas Dziagwa has shot 62.5 percent from 3-point, and now ranks second in the Big 12 with a mark of 54.8 percent on the year. He has yet to miss from the free throw line in 10 attempts.
• Jeffrey Carroll has been a scoring and rebounding machine this season. The redshirt-junior is the only player in the Big 12 ranked among the league's top five in scoring (4th, 16.5 ppg), rebounding (4th, 7.3 rpg) and field goal percentage (4th, 59.8 percent). He's also fifth in 3-point percentage at a stellar 45.9 percent (17-of-37). Carroll has four 20-point games this year, and pulled down a career-high 12 board at Maryland.

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Players Mentioned

Brandon Averette

Jeffrey Carroll

Thomas Dziagwa

Jawun Evans

Oklahoma State University Athletics