Oklahoma State University Athletics
Friday, November 29
Brooklyn, NY
8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma State University
vs
Ole Miss
Cowboy Basketball Facing Ole Miss In NIT Season Tip-Off Title Game
November 28, 2019 | Cowboy Basketball
• Game Center
Ole Miss (5-1, 0-0 SEC) vs Oklahoma State (6-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Nov. 29, 2019 / 8:30 p.m. CT
Site: Barclays Center (19,000)
Tickets: Start at $27.50 at espnevents.com/nit-tip-off/
Series: OSU leads 2-0
Last: OSU won 59-42 on Dec. 29, 1953 in Oklahoma City.
Broadcast: ESPN2 (Doug Sherman, Fran Fraschilla)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: TBA
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes
• The Basics
Oklahoma State (6-0, 0-0) will battle a resilient Mississippi (5-1, 0-0 SEC) squad for the NIT Season Tip-Off championship at 8:30 p.m. CT on Friday on ESPN2. The Rebels overcame a 21-point deficit to take down Penn State, 74-72, and earn a trip to the championship game. The Cowboys will look to bring another NIT Season Tip-Off trophy back to Stillwater after winning the title back in 1991. The Cowboys are looking to join Kansas, West Virginia and Baylor as Big 12 squads that already won their holiday tournaments.
• How We Got Here
Oklahoma State rolled past Syracuse, 86-72, thanks to a career-high 26 points from Isaac Likekele and a 35-16 edge in transition points. OSU, which is off to its first 6-0 start since 2014-15, is one of just 31 undefeated teams remaining nationwide. The Cowboys held the Orange to 33.9 percent shooting and became the first team to score more than 70 points on the Orange this year. Yor Anei added 19 points and Thomas Dziagwa finished with 16 for OSU.
• The Series With Ole Miss
OSU is 2-0 all-time against Ole Miss, but it's been over 66 years since the last meeting. OSU beat the Rebels in a neutral site matchup in Memphis, 52-34, in 1948, and then beat them again, 59-42, in the 1953 All-College Tournament in OKC.
• Cowboy Defense
The Cowboys employ a high-pressure defense led by the Big 12's top shot blocker, Yor Anei, and has held every opponent to 40.4 percent shooting or lower. OSU ranks fifth nationally in block percentage at 18.5 percent, which has allowed OSU's guards to extend their pressure on the perimeter. As a result, the Cowboys are 15th nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.7 percent) and 16th in defensive 3-point field goal percentage (25.7 percent). Overall, the Cowboys rank 33rd in the country in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
• Ice Storm
Isaac Likekele has turned into a do-it-all force at point guard for the Cowboys. The sophomore, who starred for the gold-medal winning U19 USA Basketball squad over the summer at the FIBA World Cup, is averaging 14.5 points (10th in Big 12), 5.2 rebounds (23rd), 5.2 assists (4th) and 2.8 steals (2nd) per game, and is the Big 12's only player with those all-around stats. Known as "Ice" by friends and teammates, Likekele averaged 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assist and 1.7 steals per game with over the summer with USA Basketball.
• Cowboys In New York
This will be OSU's 37th game in the state of New York, and the Cowboys own an 18-18 record. The most notable of those games are OSU's wins in the 1945 and 1946 NCAA Championship games in Madison Square Garden where they took down NYU and North Carolina.
• OSU In The NIT Season Tip-Off
This is OSU's third trip to New York for the NIT Season Tip-Off. The No. 11 Cowboys won the 1991 NIT Season Tip-Off title after taking down No. 24 Pitt (74-63) and No. 18 Georgia Tech (78-71) in Madison Square Garden. OSU also played in the 2011 Tip-Off, where they fell to Stanford (82-67) and Virginia Tech (59-57). All-time, OSU owns a 10-3 record in the event including campus site games.
• Brooklyn Born & Raised
Cowboy head coach Mike Boynton is from the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and played his high school ball at Bishop Loughlin in the Ft. Greene neighborhood, which is located blocks away from the Barclays Center. In fact, Boynton is one of just 16 members of the 1,000-point club in Loughlin history, and his name is inscribed in a banner in the gym.
Ole Miss (5-1, 0-0 SEC) vs Oklahoma State (6-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Nov. 29, 2019 / 8:30 p.m. CT
Site: Barclays Center (19,000)
Tickets: Start at $27.50 at espnevents.com/nit-tip-off/
Series: OSU leads 2-0
Last: OSU won 59-42 on Dec. 29, 1953 in Oklahoma City.
Broadcast: ESPN2 (Doug Sherman, Fran Fraschilla)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: TBA
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes
• The Basics
Oklahoma State (6-0, 0-0) will battle a resilient Mississippi (5-1, 0-0 SEC) squad for the NIT Season Tip-Off championship at 8:30 p.m. CT on Friday on ESPN2. The Rebels overcame a 21-point deficit to take down Penn State, 74-72, and earn a trip to the championship game. The Cowboys will look to bring another NIT Season Tip-Off trophy back to Stillwater after winning the title back in 1991. The Cowboys are looking to join Kansas, West Virginia and Baylor as Big 12 squads that already won their holiday tournaments.
• How We Got Here
Oklahoma State rolled past Syracuse, 86-72, thanks to a career-high 26 points from Isaac Likekele and a 35-16 edge in transition points. OSU, which is off to its first 6-0 start since 2014-15, is one of just 31 undefeated teams remaining nationwide. The Cowboys held the Orange to 33.9 percent shooting and became the first team to score more than 70 points on the Orange this year. Yor Anei added 19 points and Thomas Dziagwa finished with 16 for OSU.
• The Series With Ole Miss
OSU is 2-0 all-time against Ole Miss, but it's been over 66 years since the last meeting. OSU beat the Rebels in a neutral site matchup in Memphis, 52-34, in 1948, and then beat them again, 59-42, in the 1953 All-College Tournament in OKC.
• Cowboy Defense
The Cowboys employ a high-pressure defense led by the Big 12's top shot blocker, Yor Anei, and has held every opponent to 40.4 percent shooting or lower. OSU ranks fifth nationally in block percentage at 18.5 percent, which has allowed OSU's guards to extend their pressure on the perimeter. As a result, the Cowboys are 15th nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.7 percent) and 16th in defensive 3-point field goal percentage (25.7 percent). Overall, the Cowboys rank 33rd in the country in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
• Ice Storm
Isaac Likekele has turned into a do-it-all force at point guard for the Cowboys. The sophomore, who starred for the gold-medal winning U19 USA Basketball squad over the summer at the FIBA World Cup, is averaging 14.5 points (10th in Big 12), 5.2 rebounds (23rd), 5.2 assists (4th) and 2.8 steals (2nd) per game, and is the Big 12's only player with those all-around stats. Known as "Ice" by friends and teammates, Likekele averaged 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assist and 1.7 steals per game with over the summer with USA Basketball.
• Cowboys In New York
This will be OSU's 37th game in the state of New York, and the Cowboys own an 18-18 record. The most notable of those games are OSU's wins in the 1945 and 1946 NCAA Championship games in Madison Square Garden where they took down NYU and North Carolina.
• OSU In The NIT Season Tip-Off
This is OSU's third trip to New York for the NIT Season Tip-Off. The No. 11 Cowboys won the 1991 NIT Season Tip-Off title after taking down No. 24 Pitt (74-63) and No. 18 Georgia Tech (78-71) in Madison Square Garden. OSU also played in the 2011 Tip-Off, where they fell to Stanford (82-67) and Virginia Tech (59-57). All-time, OSU owns a 10-3 record in the event including campus site games.
• Brooklyn Born & Raised
Cowboy head coach Mike Boynton is from the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and played his high school ball at Bishop Loughlin in the Ft. Greene neighborhood, which is located blocks away from the Barclays Center. In fact, Boynton is one of just 16 members of the 1,000-point club in Loughlin history, and his name is inscribed in a banner in the gym.
Players Mentioned
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