Cowboys Set For Trip To Brooklyn To Face Virginia Tech

Sunday, December 11

Brooklyn, N.Y.

1 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

Virginia Tech

Buy Tickets

Image Taken at the Oklahoma State Cowboys at UConn Huskies for Big 12 Big East Battle, Thursday, December 1, 2022, Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, CT. Mary Elizabeth/OSU Athletics

Photo by: OSU Athletics

December 09, 2022 | Cowboy Basketball

Watch Follow Listen Tickets Game Notes

Facing Virginia Tech - Here's The Scout

Oklahoma State will hit the road for a pair of games, starting Sunday, as it travels to Brooklyn to face Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Mike Monaco and Noah Savagewill have the call while Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the call on radio. Cowboy fans can also listen to the game on the Varsity Radio Network.
Virginia Tech comes into the game with a 9-1 record, led by Sean Pedulla who enters the weekend averaging 17 points per game with 3.8 assists.
The Hokies have earned notable wins this season over Penn State, Minnesota and most recently No. 18 North Carolina and Dayton. They've won four-straight games coming into the weekend and have scored 80 or more points three times and 70 or more points seven of their first 10 games.
The Cowboys are 0-4 all-time in the series against Virginia Tech. The two last played in 2012, in Blacksburg, as Virginia Tech won 81-71. VT has won both games played on campus and two neutral site meetings in the series that dates back to 2010.
This will be the second time the two have met in New York. Virginia Tech won the 2011 meeting in New York's Madison Square Garden, 59-57. OSU has averaged 60 points per game in the series.

The New Sheriffs In Town

John-Michael Wright, a High Point transfer, brings experience and poise to the Oklahoma State locker room. In the 2021-22 season, his junior year of eligibility, he played and started in all 32 games for High Point while averaging 34.9 minutes per contest. He shot .410 from the field and .363 from behind the arc as he averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
He finished the year with the eighth-best assist-turnover ratio in the Big South, the ninth-best field goal percentage, had the second-most free throw attempts (third-most made), led the conference in scoring average and had the eighth-most assists.
Alongside Wright from the transfer ranks is Caleb Asberry from Texas State. He started all 29 games during the 2021-22 season, the only Bobcat to do that, as he led the team in scoring with a career-high 13.6 points and also paced the team in minutes played (847), steals (37), three-pointers made (63).
Asberry was notably a two-time All-Sun Belt (2021: Third Team, 2022: First Team) selection.
The lone freshman of the group, Quion Williams, joins the Cowboys from Jonesboro. During his high school career, Williams helped lead his team to two state championships and a 30-3 record.

Early Season Quick Hitters

Moussa Cisse has dominated through nine games with four double-doubles to his name so far. The four double-doubles are the second most in the Big 12.
As of Friday morning, Cisse has the most blocked shots in the conference with 30. When you combine the total number of blocks from the No. 2 and No. 3 players in the block standings, you get a total of 27 blocks so far. It's not until you include the No. 4 player in the standings that you get enough to out rank Cisse (37).
Along those lines, Oklahoma State has the league's best field goal percentage defense at 36.1, the third-best three-point field goal defense at 28.2, the best rebounding margin (+8.33) and the most blocked shots at 49.

They Made It Here - They Can Make It Anywhere

Oklahoma State has four members of its staff from the New York area returning home this weekend for its game in Brooklyn.
Most notably, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton grew up in Brooklyn. There he attended Bishop Loughlin, where his name is printed on the "1,000 Point Club" banner that hangs in the gym.
Assistant coach Terrence Rencher, originally from The Bronx, attended Saint Raymond's High School, one of the premier programs in the state.
From Staten Island, Kris Quintana joined the Cowboy basketball staff this summer as the team's video coordinator.
A graduate assistant, James Barrett grew up in Brooklyn and attended high school with Boynton.

Allow Us To Re-Introduce Ourselves

This will be Oklahoma State's first trip to head coach Mike Boynton's hometown since the NIT Season Tip-off during the 2019-20 season. The Cowboys went 2-0 that year in Brooklyn with wins over Syracuse and Ole Miss.
The 2017-18 season featured the Cowboys in the Legends Classic, also in Brooklyn. OSU lost to No. 16 Texas A&M before closing out the weekend with a victory over Pittsburgh.
With its third trip to Brooklyn this weekend under Boynton, the Cowboys will look to improve to 4-1 under his guidance in his hometown.
OSU's results include a 72-55 loss to No. 16 Texas A&M, a 73-67 win over Pittsburgh, an 86-72 victory against Syracuse and a dominating 78-37 win over Ole Miss.
Oklahoma State has won three-straight games in Brooklyn coming into the weekend game against Virginia Tech.

The Defense Lately

Has not allowed 30 points in six of the past eight halves of action and hasn't let opponents reach that mark in 17 of the past 26 dating back to last season.
Has held teams to 60 or less points in three of the past four games and hasn't allowed a team to score 61 or more in six of their past 11 games dating back to last year.
Has held teams to less than 40 percent shooting from the field in 11-straight games dating back to last year and has done so in 16 of their past 18 games. To expand, only two teams (SIU and DePaul) have shot 38 percent this season against the Cowboys. Behind the arc, six of OSU's nine foes have shot less than 30 percent this year.
Has started its success early in its nine contests as it has held teams to less than 10 points in the first 10 minutes of a game three times this season.

Moussa Is A Monster

If you only counted his blocks at home (18), Moussa Cisse would still have the most blocks in the Big 12 as of Dec. 8. He has recorded at least one block in each of his past 19 games. There have been just three games in his Oklahoma State career in which he did not record at least one block. In his last home game against Sam Houston on Tuesday night, he recorded four blocks. It marked the fourth time this season he recorded four or more blocks and was the eighth time he posted two or more in a game this year.
Through the first five home games this season, Cisse is averaging a block approximately every 7 minutes of his playing time in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
As of Thursday, he checked in at No. 5 in KenPom's block percentage rankings only behind Western Kentucky's Jamarion Sharp, Milwaukee's Ahmad Rand, Cal Baptist's Tim Ighoefe and Auburn's Dylan Cardwell.
In his last three home games, Cisse has combined to post 31 points, 11 blocks and 32 rebounds.
It's been tough to keep him off the boards this year, as he has posted 10 or more rebounds in three-straight games and has reached the mark in seven of his first nine games.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

Improve the Cowboys to 1-4 all-time in the Virginia Tech series.
Be Oklahoma State's first win over a team receiving votes this season.
Improve OSU to 4-1 in Brooklyn under head coach Mike Boynton.

Streaks and Trends Coming

OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 736 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
OSU's defense has been locking down its opponents, allowing less than 30 points in six of its last eight halves of basketball.
The Cowboys have posted ten or more assists in 18 of their past 21 games dating back to last season.
OSU held teams to less than 40 percent shooting from the field in 11-straight games dating back to last year and has done so in 16 of its past 18 games.
The Cowboys have taken advantage of their size in the frontcourt, reaching at least ten offensive rebounds in eight of nine games this season.
That size has also given the Cowboys an edge in the paint offensively, outscoring eight of nine opponents in the paint.
Moussa Cisse has now recorded at least one block in each of his past 19 games. There have been just three games in his Oklahoma State career in which he did not record at least one block.
Cisse has reached at least two blocks in 12 of the past 13 games dating back to last season, tallying 41 total in those 13 games.
As a team, the Cowboys have reached at least three blocks in all nine games this season. OSU leads the Big 12 with 5.6 blocked shots per game.
John-Michael Wright has recorded at least one steal in seven of the Cowboys nine games this season, tallying ten in total.
The Cowboys have made 10 or more free throws in six of the first nine games this season after doing so in 18 of their 30 games last season.