Cowboys Hit The Road For Pair Of Games

Tuesday, November 16

Uncasville, CT / Mohegan Sun Arena

4 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

UMass-Lowell

Photo by: OSU Athletics

November 15, 2021 | Cowboy Basketball

OSU Notes

STILLWATER ---- Oklahoma State men's basketball is set to continue the 2021-22 regular season on with two games this week at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase in Uncasville, CT. OSU starts the week on Tuesday against UMass-Lowell at 4 p.m. CT on FlowBasketball before its 7 p.m. CT game against NC State on Wednesday.

The Cowboys

The 2021-22 Cowboys will attack the season with a 17-man roster, including five newcomers and four returning starters from last year's squad.
Speaking of new - Oklahoma State welcomes three new assistant coaches (Terrence Rencher, Larry Blunt and David Cason) and a new strength coach (Mark Mitchell).
The Cowboys return four starters from last season's squad that returned OSU to the postseason and have added four key transfers with ambitions of pushing past the NCAA Round of 32. Setting its sights on a deep run in March, Oklahoma State returns 73 percent of its points from a year ago, 94 percent of its offensive rebounds and 74 percent of its assists.
Oklahoma State is set to compete in 17 games against 2021 NCAA Tournament foes.

Through Three - Where We're At And Where We're Going

Oklahoma State moved to 2-1 on the year after Sunday afternoon's game with Prairie View A&M. OSU can move to 3-1 or better to start a season for the 14th-straight year with a victory on Tuesday. The Cowboys have started 2-1 or better 27-straight seasons.
The Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase puts OSU up against two foes it doesn't regularly see. OSU has never faced UMass-Lowell and is 2-0 against NC State, having last played in Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 2012. The Cowboys have outscored NC State 149-120 (+29) in those two contests.
OSU's key to wins early on? Points in the paint. Of its 215 points through three games, 114 (53 percent) have come in the paint.
Along those same lines, pay attention to the Cowboy bench. The unit has come into games and made immediate impacts, posting 109 of the team's 215 points thus far (51 percent).

The New Sheriffs In Town

2021 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and former five-star big man Moussa Cisse certainly stands out in this year's group of newcomers. Listed at 6-10 and a springy 225 pounds, Cisse started every game for Memphis as a freshman in 2020-21 and helped lead the Tigers to the NIT Title.
Joining Cisse is 2020 McDonald's All-American and former Kansas standout Bryce Thompson. A unanimous five-star talent, he finished his time at Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School as the nation's No. 19 recruit according to Rivals. He comes to Stillwater as the seventh-highest rated Cowboy signee in the recruiting rankings era (since 2003).
Former Texas Tech Red Raider and four-star recruit Tyreek Smith will be complementing the duo. The 2021 Academic All-Big 12 Conference selection was the 2018 TAAPS 5A Player of the Year for Trinity Christian High School in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, where he averaged 17.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game as a senior.
Rounding out the highly-anticipated class is Woody Newton. A former Rivals four-star recruit out of District Heights, Maryland, Newton is coming off a freshman campaign at Syracuse in which he posted a 46.4 shooting percentage, 38.9 percent clip from 3-point and averages of 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

A Season For The Books

Armed with hoops sensation and Consensus First Team All-American Cade Cunningham, the new era of Oklahoma State basketball announced its presence on the national stage.
The Cowboys took down a school record nine ranked squads, advanced to the Big 12 Championship title game for the first time since 2005 and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
OSU logged its first victory in the Big Dance since 2009 and saw a slew of postseason awards arrive in Stillwater.
The Cowboys also showed that they're set up for the future with the emergence of Avery Anderson III and the explosive play of two-time All-Big 12 selection Isaac Likekele, as well as Kalib Boone, Rondel Walker and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe.
OSU ended the year ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press top-25, which is the team's highest spot in the final rankings since 2005.