Cowboys Wrapping Up Non-Conference Play With UTRGV Friday Matinee

Game Center
Opponent: UT-Rio Grande Valley (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
Date / Tipoff: Dec. 22, 2017 / 12 p.m. Central
Site: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.)
Series: 1st meeting since merger (OSU 5-2 vs UT-Pan American)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: FSOK (Mike Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer, Allison Gappa)
Webcast: FoxSportsGo.com
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: None
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com

Oklahoma State Game Notes

The Basics
Oklahoma State is looking for win No. 10 in its final contest before the holiday break. The Cowboys roll out one of college basketball's toughest high-pressure defenses, and rank 19th nationally in defensive turnover percentage and 33rd nationally in defensive efficiency. On the other end of the floor, OSU is led offensively by senior wing Jeffrey Carroll, who is coming off his first double-double of the season. The Cowboys will face UT-Rio Grande Valley in a Friday noon tipoff. The Vaqueros know how to get to the free throw line, where they rank 15th in the country in makes.

On the Air
The matchup between the Cowboys and UTRGV will air on Fox Sports Oklahoma at 12 p.m. Central on Friday. The play-by-play team of Mike Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer and Allison Gappa will handle the on-air duties. FoxSportsGo will carry the webcast. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call.

Cowboy Quick Hitters
• Jeffrey Carroll is racing up the program's scoring charts, and is now tied with 14-year NBA veteran Tony Allen for 37th place with 1,022 career points.
• OSU was 1-of-1 from the free throw line against Tulsa, which are the fewest attempts and makes by an OSU team in GIA history. It was the fewest makes by the Cowboys in any game since going 0-5 from the stripe at St. Louis on Dec. 4, 1973.
• Mitchell Solomon has five double-digit scoring performances this season, which are already the most by an OSU player listed 6-9 or taller since Marcus Dove had 14 double-digit games in 2007-08.
• OSU is the only Big 12 team to take on three top-25 opponents this season, and the Cowboys are one of six teams in the league with a top-25 victory. OSU's only losses are to teams currently ranked 11th or better in the AP poll.
• The win over No. 19 Florida State was OSU's 117th over an AP top-25 opponent. Since that day, the Cowboys have jumped 83 spots in the official NCAA RPI report.
• OSU is tops in the Big 12 and fifth nationally in free throw shooting at 79.6 percent. Every OSU player that has made at least 10 free throws is shooting 73 percent or better.

Bixby Big Man Heating Up
Mitchell Solomon is shooting 77.6 percent on 2-point field goal attempts this season, which ranks ninth nationally according to KenPom. Solomon posted his first career double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) and made OSU's last two buckets in Saturday's win over No. 19 Florida State - including the go-ahead tip-in with 6 seconds to play. He also drew a charge inside the final second to seal the victory. Over the last six games, Solomon is averaging 11.0 points on 74.4 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds. He now has 232 career offensive boards, which ranks eighth in OSU history.

High-Pressure Defense
Oklahoma State's defensive pressure looks to speed up opponents and create turnovers and bad shots. OSU is forcing 16.8 turnovers per game (39th nationally) and a turnover percentage of 23.6 percent (19th nationally), including a season-high 22 turnovers against Florida State. That defensive pressure has helped OSU create 7.5 more shots per game than their opponents and average 18.5 points off turnovers per game, which is 7.7 points more than their opponents.

Going New School
UTRGV was formed as a merger between UT-Pan American and UT-Brownsville in 2015. Oklahoma State had never faced UT-Brownsville, but was 5-2 all-time against UT-Pan American. The last meeting between these two programs was when UTPA visited GIA on Dec. 22, 2003 - exactly 14 years ago. UTRGV has multiple campuses in the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas, but the athletics facilities are located in Edinburg, Texas, which was the former home of UTPA.

'Ole Saint Nick
UTRGV's Nick Dixon leads the WAC and ranks 32nd nationally in scoring with 21.1 points per game. He is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and is hauling in 4.9 rebounds per game. The senior has five 20-point performances and a 30-point outing to his credit this year. Last season, Dixon was a second-team All-WAC and a WAC All-Newcomer team selection after leading the league in scoring and steals. The Hillside, Illinois native transferred to UTRGV after earning a pair of NJCAA Division II All-America nods at Morton College in Cicero, Illinois.

Preseason Talk
After finishing 10-22 last season, UTRGV was tabbed to finish sixth in the eight-team Western Athletic Conference in the league's coaches and media polls. Grand Canyon was picked atop both polls despite finishing in a tie for second with New Mexico State at 11-3 in league play in 2016-17. CSU Bakersfield won the WAC regular season title last year, but fell to New Mexico State in the WAC Championship game, 70-60, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

No Stranger To GIA
UTRGV head coach Lew Hill is in his second season in charge of the Vaqueros, and is no stranger to GIA. Hill spent five seasons as an assistant coach on Lon Kruger's staff at Oklahoma, where he helped the Sooners post a 111-57 record during his five-year stay, including a run to the Final Four in 2015-16. Hill also spent six seasons on staff at Texas A&M (1998-04). Hill played his college ball at Wichita State, where he was a teammate of OSU assistant coach John Cooper.

Cowboys Wrapping Up Non-Conference Play With UTRGV Friday Matinee

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Players Mentioned

Jeffrey Carroll

Mitchell Solomon

Oklahoma State University Athletics