Oklahoma State University Athletics
Know Your Foe: Arkansas-Monticello
November 01, 2017 | Cowboy Basketball
STILLWATER – Worst to first. That's what Arkansas-Monticello went from last season under coach Kyle Tolin, and now the No. 23 ranked Boll Weevils come into Gallagher-Iba Arena with high expectations and a stable of talent for the 2017-18 season.
• Winning Weevils
Despite being picked last in the 2016-17 Great American Conference preseason poll, UAM racked up 23 wins en route to a GAC regular season co-championship. The Boll Weevils advanced to the GAC Tournament title game before falling to No. 1 seed East Central. UAM advanced to the NCAA Divsion II Tournament as a No. 4 seed, but fell to No. 5 Augustana in the opening round after 27-10 second-half run by the Vikings erased UAM's 43-37 halftime lead. UAM is just the fifth NCAA Division II men's basketball program in the last eight years to win 20 games just one year after losing 20 games in the previous season.
• Great Expectations
With nine returners from last year's 23-7 squad, the Boll Weevils will open the season as the favorites in the Great American Conference, according to the league's preseason poll and multiple publications. In fact, UAM is ranked No. 23 in the year's first Division II coaches poll. The Boll Weevils are also ranked No. 20 by the DII Bulletin, a publication that also picked UAM to win the Great American Conference for a second straight season.
• Inside-Out Attack
The Weevils are led by the inside-out senior trio of Derylton Hill, Cobe Goosby and Karim Mawuenyega. Hill, a 6-5 forward, led UAM with 16.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and shot a team-high 57.5 percent from the floor. The Palm Bay, Florida native was a first-team All-GAC selection and the conference's Newcomer of the Year. Goosby, a 6-5 guard, led the Weevils with 4.9 assists and was second in scoring at 15.3 points per game. A native of Elba, Alabama, Goosby was a second-team All-GAC pick and earned All-GAC Tournament team honors as well. Mawuenyega, a junior point guard from New Orleans, earned a Second-Team All-GAC selection as well, finishing the year with 14.6 points per contest, and led UAM in steals with 55, and three-pointers with 78.
• Taking A Tolin
Fourth-year head coach Kyle Tolin guided the Boll Weevils to their first conference championship since 1956, and earned 2017 GAC Coach of the Year honors in the process. UAM's 23 wins are the second most in program history, and the NCAA Tournament appearance was just the second since the program joined Division II in 1995. Tolin engineered the best turnaround in school history, going from eight wins in 2015-16 to 23 in 2016-17. Tolin took the reins of the UAM program in 2014 after helping Oklahoma Baptist reach 14 straight NAIA national tournaments during his 10 years as an assistant coach and four years as a student-athlete under his father, Doug Tolin. He helped coach the 2010 Bison team to the NAIA national championship.
• The Series Against The Boll Weevils
The only other meeting between these two programs came in the 1981-82 season opener in GIA. OSU's Leroy Combs posted 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Lorenza Andrews added 18 points for a Cowboys squad that shot 52.9 percent from the floor. OSU out-scored UAM, 44-19, in the second half and held the Boll Weevils to 39.1 percent shooting on the night.
• Against The GAC
The Cowboys are 26-10 all-time against current members of the Great American Conference, which consists of East Central (1-2), Arkansas-Monticello (1-0), Arkansas Tech (1-0), Southern Nazarene (never met), Ouachita Baptist (never met), Southern Arkansas (never met), Harding (never met), Henderson State (never met), Northwestern Oklahoma State (9-1), Southeastern Oklahoma State (2-0), Oklahoma Baptist (7-1), Southwestern Oklahoma State (5-6).
Cowboy Basketball Game Center
Opponent: Arkansas-Monticello (0-0, 0-0 GAC)
Date • Tipoff: Nov. 3, 2017 • 7 p.m. Central
Site: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.)
Tickets: Start at $5 at okstate.com/tickets
Series: OSU leads 1-0
Last: OSU 82 vs UAM 47 • Nov. 28, 1981 (Stillwater, Okla.)
TV: Fox-Plus • Mike Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer & Allison Gappa
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: None
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
• Winning Weevils
Despite being picked last in the 2016-17 Great American Conference preseason poll, UAM racked up 23 wins en route to a GAC regular season co-championship. The Boll Weevils advanced to the GAC Tournament title game before falling to No. 1 seed East Central. UAM advanced to the NCAA Divsion II Tournament as a No. 4 seed, but fell to No. 5 Augustana in the opening round after 27-10 second-half run by the Vikings erased UAM's 43-37 halftime lead. UAM is just the fifth NCAA Division II men's basketball program in the last eight years to win 20 games just one year after losing 20 games in the previous season.
• Great Expectations
With nine returners from last year's 23-7 squad, the Boll Weevils will open the season as the favorites in the Great American Conference, according to the league's preseason poll and multiple publications. In fact, UAM is ranked No. 23 in the year's first Division II coaches poll. The Boll Weevils are also ranked No. 20 by the DII Bulletin, a publication that also picked UAM to win the Great American Conference for a second straight season.
• Inside-Out Attack
The Weevils are led by the inside-out senior trio of Derylton Hill, Cobe Goosby and Karim Mawuenyega. Hill, a 6-5 forward, led UAM with 16.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and shot a team-high 57.5 percent from the floor. The Palm Bay, Florida native was a first-team All-GAC selection and the conference's Newcomer of the Year. Goosby, a 6-5 guard, led the Weevils with 4.9 assists and was second in scoring at 15.3 points per game. A native of Elba, Alabama, Goosby was a second-team All-GAC pick and earned All-GAC Tournament team honors as well. Mawuenyega, a junior point guard from New Orleans, earned a Second-Team All-GAC selection as well, finishing the year with 14.6 points per contest, and led UAM in steals with 55, and three-pointers with 78.
• Taking A Tolin
Fourth-year head coach Kyle Tolin guided the Boll Weevils to their first conference championship since 1956, and earned 2017 GAC Coach of the Year honors in the process. UAM's 23 wins are the second most in program history, and the NCAA Tournament appearance was just the second since the program joined Division II in 1995. Tolin engineered the best turnaround in school history, going from eight wins in 2015-16 to 23 in 2016-17. Tolin took the reins of the UAM program in 2014 after helping Oklahoma Baptist reach 14 straight NAIA national tournaments during his 10 years as an assistant coach and four years as a student-athlete under his father, Doug Tolin. He helped coach the 2010 Bison team to the NAIA national championship.
• The Series Against The Boll Weevils
The only other meeting between these two programs came in the 1981-82 season opener in GIA. OSU's Leroy Combs posted 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Lorenza Andrews added 18 points for a Cowboys squad that shot 52.9 percent from the floor. OSU out-scored UAM, 44-19, in the second half and held the Boll Weevils to 39.1 percent shooting on the night.
• Against The GAC
The Cowboys are 26-10 all-time against current members of the Great American Conference, which consists of East Central (1-2), Arkansas-Monticello (1-0), Arkansas Tech (1-0), Southern Nazarene (never met), Ouachita Baptist (never met), Southern Arkansas (never met), Harding (never met), Henderson State (never met), Northwestern Oklahoma State (9-1), Southeastern Oklahoma State (2-0), Oklahoma Baptist (7-1), Southwestern Oklahoma State (5-6).
Cowboy Basketball Game Center
Opponent: Arkansas-Monticello (0-0, 0-0 GAC)
Date • Tipoff: Nov. 3, 2017 • 7 p.m. Central
Site: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.)
Tickets: Start at $5 at okstate.com/tickets
Series: OSU leads 1-0
Last: OSU 82 vs UAM 47 • Nov. 28, 1981 (Stillwater, Okla.)
TV: Fox-Plus • Mike Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer & Allison Gappa
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: None
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
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