Cowboys Set To Travel To Texas

Facing Texas - Here's The Scout

Oklahoma State men's basketball is set to travel to Austin to face Texas on Tuesday night for its first trip to the Moody Center. Tip is set for 8 p.m. CT on Longhorn Network with Tyler Denning and Lance Blanks on the call while Cowboy fans can listen to Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the Cowboy Radio Network or Varsity App. The Moody Center, with a ribbon cutting ceremony of April 19, 2022, sits 10,000 for basketball and is located just southeast of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas comes into the game with a 16-3 record, including a 5-2 mark in Big 12 play. The Longhorns have been tough to beat at home, as they've posted an 11-1 record there in Austin. Texas defeated West Virginia, 69-61, on the road Saturday night. Dating back to their win in Stillwater on Jan. 7, Texas has won four of its past five games.
Marcus Carr has led the way, averaging 17.4 points per game with 2.8 rebounds while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 40.5 from behind the arc. Timmy Allen has been a force on the boards, bringing in 5.3 rebounds per game with 10.4 points.
Oklahoma State held Texas to just 56 points in Stillwater on Jan. 7. It was the fewest points Texas has scored this season and the fewest since scoring 55 against No. 11 Texas Tech on Feb. 19. 2022. The Cowboys have held the Longhorns to less than 60 points in three-straight meetings between the two schools.
Overall, in the series, Texas has won three of the past four and seven of the past 11 games dating back to 2018. The Cowboys have struggled at times on the road in the series, as Texas holds a 34-14 advantage in home games throughout the series that dates back to 1918. Texas leads the all-time series between the two schools, 47-56, and holds a 39-24 advantage when the two have met as conference foes. The Cowboys have averaged 61.4 points per game in the 103 three games played between the two.

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.

Mid-Season Quick Hitters

Kalib Boone, Tyreek Smith, Woody Newton and Bernard Kouma teamed up to help fill the Moussa Cisse gap, as he missed three games due to injury before returning last Wednesday night to face Oklahoma. During the stretch, Smith made three-straight starts while averaging 25.1 minutes with 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 2.0 points. Newton made the start on Wednesday night against OU.
Boone amped up the scoring in those three games, as he averaged 15.7 points with 5.3 rebounds in 27.1 minutes of work. For Newton, he averaged 17.5 minutes with 4.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.
After the Wichita State result, Oklahoma State has now held at least one opponent to less than 50 points in a game in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2016.
There have been 17 seasons since the 2000-01 year that OSU had at least one game holding an opponent to less than 50 points while the program has done so in back-to-back seasons 13 times during the stretch.
Just one team, Baylor, has scored more than 69 points on the Cowboys in seven Big 12 games thus far while no Big 12 team has scored more than 60 in Stillwater.
Only two teams (UT Arlington and Southern Illinois) have scored more than 60 points in GIA this season through the first nine home games of the season.
In those 10 home games, OSU has held teams to an average of 57.6 points per game and just 36.3 percent shooting from the field.
A big part of those numbers? The Cowboys have held a 61-20 blocked shots advantage at home, with Cisse leading the way at 21. Boone has recorded 16, himself.
Fast starts have been the key at home for the Cowboys as they have outscored their visiting foes by 44 in the first half of action in GIA.
For his efforts against Iowa State and Oklahoma last week, Oklahoma State's Avery Anderson III was named the Big 12 Player of the Week. He averaged 16.0 points per game.

Things That Happened In Bedlam

Bryce Thompson recorded a career-high nine rebounds. His previous high was seven, a mark he had reached twice before in his career.
Oklahoma natives, Kalib Boone and Thompson, combined for 34 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots in the win.
Woody Newton recorded his first career start and took advantage. In 27 minutes of work, he posted a career-high 12 points with two three-pointers to go along with five rebounds, a block and a steal.
Moussa Cisse made his return to the court. He played just 2 minutes but recorded a rebound and forced an Oklahoma turnover under the basket. It was his first action on the court for the Cowboys since the West Virginia game on Jan. 2.
Gallagher-Iba Arena returned to true form. With an official attendance of 10,789, it was the largest crowd of the season and the biggest home crowd since the 11,215 who attended last year's Bedlam game on Feb. 5.

1,000-Point Club

Avery Anderson III joined Oklahoma State's 1,000-career point club last Wednesday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena. While teammates Caleb Asberry and John-Michael Wright won't count toward the OSU records, as they transferred in at the start of the season, they are both part of the larger club that spans the nation.
Around the league, Kansas State, Iowa State and Texas all have four on their current roster while Oklahoma State and Texas Tech have three. Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia and TCU have two.
For Wright, he currently has the 89th-most career points in Division I basketball and is fifth among current Big 12 players.
Wright is within striking distance of finishing with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds (27 away) and 300 assists (12 away).

Moussa Got Better Last Season - And Here's The Numbers To Show It

Based on his first 15 games in Stillwater last season, in comparison to the final 15 of last year, the evidence shows Moussa Cisse got better as the year went along and was playing his best basketball at the end of the season.
Through his first 15 contests as a Cowboys, Cisse was shooting 49.2 percent from the field while averaging 5.4 rebounds, 6.4 points and was playing 17.5 minutes per game.
Flip it to the last 15 games, and Cisse shot 61.5 percent from the field while averaging 7.5 rebounds with 8.1 points and was playing 22.4 minutes per game.
Just looking at the last 10 games of the season, he recorded a double-double in three contests (West Virginia, Baylor and Oklahoma) and had multi-digit rebounds in six of them, including all of the final four.
In that stretch of games down the stretch, the numbers immediately jump out from the West Virginia win on Feb. 12. Cisse posted 18 points with 10 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive side of the ball.

The 100 Games Played Club Gained Two More

Oklahoma State's Avery Anderson III and Kalib Boone both played in their 100th game in a Cowboy uniform against Kansas in the Big 12 opener for the Cowboys. In doing so, they became the first two players on the current roster to play 100 college basketball games. John-Michael Wright, who transferred in, played his 100th basketball game against West Virginia.
Other notable members of the club include Darwyn Alexander, Joe Adkins, James Anderson, Markel Brown, Terry Collins, JamesOn Curry, Byron Eaton, Marcus Dove, Phil Forte, Isaac Likekele, Desmond Mason, Ivan McFarlin, Marshall Moses, Keiton Page and more.
Anderson III's first game came on Nov. 6, 2019, in an 80-75 win against Oral Roberts in Gallagher-Iba Arena. He played 13 minutes with five points, two steals and an assist.
Kalib Boone's first game was the same night. He played 10 minutes, bringing in four rebounds and recorded two blocks.

The Winning Formula This Year

In its 11 wins this season, Oklahoma State has four players (Avery Anderson III, Bryce Thompson, Kalib Boone and John-Michael Wright) averaging at least 10 points per game.
The Cowboys have shot 36.6 percent from behind the arc in their victories while allowing their opponents an average of just 58.9 points per game.
For comparison, in the eight losses just one player, Kalib Boone, has averaged at least 10 points or more while OSU has shot 27.3 percent from three. Opponents have still averaged just 66.1 points per game in the Cowboy losses.
Sharing the ball, alongside sharing the scoring, has been key as well. OSU has averaged 14.6 assists per game in wins while averaging 11.0 in losses.
Turnovers have been another winning indicator as the Cowboys have averaged 13.8 in wins while forcing an average of 14.0 in contrast to an average of 15.4 in losses while opponents are averaging 12.6.

The Upcoming Schedule

Oklahoma State is at the start a key portion of its schedule that features six of its nine games at home. The stretch started last Wednesday when it defeated in-state rival Oklahoma before it defeated Iowa State on Saturday afternoon.
The Cowboys hit the road for one game this Tuesday at Texas before returning home to face Ole Miss on Jan. 28. Twenty-two years after the tragic 2001 plane crash, the Oklahoma State family will honor and continue its promise to Remember The 10 when the Cowboys face Ole Miss.
Ten members of the OSU basketball program were lost when its plane crashed following a road game at Colorado on Jan. 27, 2001. From that moment, the University vowed to always Remember The Ten. The men who perished in the crash were: Kendall Durfey, Bjorn Fahlstrom, Nate Fleming, Will Hancock, Daniel Lawson, Brian Luinstra, Denver Mills, Pat Noyes, Bill Teegins, Jared Weiberg. At 6:37 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 27, the OSU Library Carillon will once again toll 10 times in honor of each of those that have been lost.
Following its emotional game against Ole Miss, OSU will hit the road next week to face Oklahoma on Feb. 1 before returning home to face TCU and Texas Tech. The Cowboys will look for the season sweep over the Sooners for the second time in the past three years and the third time since 2017.
A quick trip to Ames on Feb. 11 to face Iowa State will be followed with playing host to Kansas on Feb. 14 to round out the six home games in the upcoming nine contests.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

Improve the Cowboys to 48-56 all-time in the Texas series.
Be OSU's 15th win in Austin.
Snap a two-game losing streak to the Longhorns.
Snap a two-game losing streak in Austin.
Give OSU back-to-back wins over ranked teams for the first time since defeating No. 10 West Virginia and No. 2 Baylor on March 11 and March 12 of 2021 in the Big 12 Tournament.
Be the first time defeating back-to-back ranked teams in the regular season for the first time since defeating Oklahoma at home and on the road Feb. 27 and March 1 of 2021.
Be OSU's second win over a ranked foe this year.
Be head coach Mike Boynton's 99th win, putting him one shy of becoming the fifth coach in program history to win 100 games.
Improve Mike Boynton to 6-7 against Texas during his time as head coach.

Streaks and Trends

OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 746 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
The Cowboys have posted 10 or more assists in 26 of their past 31 games dating back to last season.
Dating back to last season, OSU has held 22 of its past 23 opponents under their season scoring average.
Oklahoma State has reached double-digit second chance points in six of seven conference games this season, with a high of 16 against Kansas State and Baylor.
As a team, the Cowboys have reached at least three blocks in all 19 games this season. OSU leads the Big 12 with 5.6 blocked shots per game, which ranks 12th in the country.
The Cowboys have made 10 or more free throws in 13 of the first 19 games this season after doing so in 18 of their 30 games last season.
OSU has forced 10 or more turnovers in 11-straight Big 12 games.
Oklahoma State has recorded at least five steals in 17 of its 19 games this season.
Caleb Asberry has shown a strong ability to rebound as of late as he's brought in five or more rebounds in five-straight games.
Woody Newton has played the best basketball of his career since being inserted into the starting lineup, making at least one three-pointer in three-straight games and has recorded two or more rebounds in 10 consecutive contests.
Asberry has made a three-pointer in eight-straight games.
Kalib Boone has scored 10 or more points in five of his past six games and has scored 13 or more in four of his past six.
Tyreek Smith has recorded at least one block in seven-straight games.
Asberry has made three or more three-pointers in two-straight road games.
Boone has posted 31 points and six rebounds in his past two road games.
As a team, Oklahoma State is shooting 41.7 percent from the field in road games this season and 34.7 percent from behind the arc.
OSU has recorded five or more blocks in four of its five road games this season and has six in both of the past two against Kansas State and Baylor.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Avery Anderson III

Caleb Asberry

Kalib Boone

Moussa Cisse

Bernard Kouma

Isaac Likekele

Woody Newton

Tyreek Smith

Bryce Thompson

Quion Williams

John-Michael Wright

Oklahoma State University Athletics