Oklahoma State University Athletics
Monday, February 20
Morgantown, WV
6 P.M. CT
Oklahoma State University
at
West Virginia
Photo by: USA Today Sports Images
Cowboys Set To Close Road Trip At West Virginia On Monday Night
February 19, 2023 | Cowboy Basketball
Facing West Virginia- Here's The Scout
- Oklahoma State men's basketball will travel to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Monday in what will be its second road game in three days. Tip is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN2 with David Saltzman and Chris Spatola on the call while Cowboy fans can listen to Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the Cowboy Radio Network or Varsity App.
- West Virginia enters the contest with a 15-12 record on the season, including a 4-10 mark in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers have dropped their last three games and have lost eight of their 13 games since they last played Oklahoma State on January 2nd, when the Cowboys won 67-60. Despite the tough stretch, West Virginia has remained tough to beat in Morgantown, boasting an 11-4 record at home.
- Oklahoma State took the lead in the series, 12-11, with its win in Stillwater earlier this season. The win was OSU's fourth in the last five meetings and seventh in the last 11 against West Virginia. A Cowboy win on Monday would complete a season sweep of the Mountaineers, something they haven't done since the 2018-19 season. It would also be the third sweep of a Big 12 team this season for Oklahoma State.
- Despite struggled in conference play this season, West Virginia remains a threat each and every night due to its ability to shoot from the perimeter. The Mountaineers rank second in the conference in both three pointers made per game (7.3) and three-point percentage (35.5). Four West Virginia players are shooting 35.0 percent or better from three this season, with South Carolina transfer Erik Stevenson leading the way. Stevenson leads the Mountaineers in scoring at 14.3 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from three on 5.5 attempts per game.
- West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins was selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022. He ranks second in total victories among active Division I head coaches and has the fourth-most wins in college basketball history among Division I head coaches.
- 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.
- Woody Newton has started the last 10 games, marking the first 10 starts of his career, and has averaged 24.5 minutes with 6.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 42.3 percent from three.
- After the Wichita State result earlier this season in Wichita, 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 five teams, Baylor, Texas, TCU (twice) and Kansas, have scored more than 69 points on the Cowboys in 14 Big 12 games thus far while only three (TCU, Texas Tech and Kansas) have scored more than 60 in Stillwater.
- Only five teams (UT Arlington, Southern Illinois, TCU, Texas Tech and Kansas) have scored more than 60 points in GIA this season through the first 14 home games of the season.
- A big part of those numbers? The Cowboys have held a 74-30 blocked shots advantage at home, with Cisse leading the way at 26. Boone has recorded 17, himself.
- For the first time in his career, Kalib Boone was named the Big 12 Player of the Week last week. Boone averaged 21.5 points and 5.0 rebounds as the surging Cowboys won three straight games and five of six.
- For his efforts against Iowa State and Oklahoma last month, Oklahoma State's Avery Anderson III was named the Big 12 Player of the Week. He averaged 16.0 points per game. The honor was the first of his career.
- Mike Boynton's teams continue to peak at the right time. In the last four seasons, his teams are 17-13 in the month of February, including a 4-2 mark this season. In March, his teams are 16-7 in his six seasons at the helm, including a 4-3 record in the Big 12 tournament.
- In the latest AP rankings as of Feb. 13, Oklahoma State earned 23 votes. The mark was the sixth-most for teams outside the official top-25.
- Oklahoma State was last inside the AP's rankings on March 15 when it checked in at No. 11 in the polls.
- All-time, the Cowboys are 353-147 (.706) when ranked in the poll, 169-54 (.758) when ranked inside the top-10 and 82-26 (.759) when ranked inside the top-5.
- OSU last made an appearance in the AP's rankings during the 2020-21 season, doing so four times. It was the first time OSU had made an appearance since Feb. 16, 2015.
- The Cowboys have plenty of opportunities to earn their spot in the rankings as they will face West Virginia on Monday, No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday and No. 9 Baylor next Monday.
- Oklahoma State has put itself firmly in the conversation for an NCAA Tournament bid with its play in the last 10 games. During that stretch, the Cowboys are 7-3, with six of those wins coming against Big 12 opponents. All three of its ranked wins this season have also come in this portion of the schedule.
- In its seven wins during this stretch, OSU is outscoring opponents by 9.5 points per game while holding them to 39.4 percent shooting from the field. The Cowboys have also closed games well, outscoring opponents 266-218 in the second half of its wins.
- Much of the Cowboys' success in this stretch can be attributed to the stellar play of Kalib Boone. The OSU big man is averaging 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 68.2 percent from the field in his last nine games.
- John-Michael Wright has also played his best basketball as of late, averaging 12.0 points per game over the last 10 games while leading the Cowboys with 2.5 three-pointers made per game on 44.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
- Along with Boone and Wright, Bryce Thompson is the third Cowboy to average over 12.0 points per game in the last ten. Thompson has averaged 12.1 points per game while leading the Cowboys with 29 assists in the stretch.
- Avery Anderson III joined Oklahoma State's 1,000-career point club against Oklahoma earlier this month 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 43rd-most career points in Division I basketball and is fourth among current Big 12 players.
- Wright is within striking distance of finishing with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists (1 away).
- 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.
- 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.
- Oklahoma State is gearing up for the stretch run, with only four games left before the Big 12 conference tournament. Two of those four games will come on the road - West Virginia and Texas Tech - while the Cowboys will host Kansas State and Baylor.
- Before its loss to Kansas last Tuesday, Oklahoma State had won five-straight games, its longest streak of the season. The streak began with a dominant win over Ole Miss in the Big 12/SEC Challenge before the Cowboys completed a sweep of Oklahoma in Norman. They then returned home to knock off then No. 15 TCU and beat Texas Tech last Wednesday. The fifth win in a row took place in Ames on Saturday, where the Cowboys completed a season sweep of the Cyclones for the second time in the last three seasons.
- The Cowboys have dropped the last two games but will need to rebound quickly as two of its next three opponents are ranked in the top 12. OSU will be in Morgantown on Monday to take on West Virginia in its second road game in three days. After that, the Cowboys will return home for two important home battles, first against No. 12 Kansas State followed by No. 9 Baylor. Oklahoma State will conclude its season with a trip to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are 11-4 at home this season.
- Mike Boynton's teams have a history of peaking this time of year, as they are 17-13 in the last four seasons in the month of February, including a 4-2 mark so far this year. Boynton's teams are also 16-7 in March in his six seasons as head coach at Oklahoma State, including a 4-3 record in the Big 12 Tournament.
- Improve the Cowboys to 13-11 in the West Virginia series dating back to 1958.
- Improve the Cowboys to 7-4 against the Mountaineers in Morgantown.
- Improve the Cowboys to 8-3 in games directly following a loss this season.
- Improve the Cowboys to 5-2 in February.
- Improve the Cowboys to 5-6 on the road this season.
- Give in four wins in its last five games against West Virginia.
- Complete its fourth sweep of West Virginia all time and first since the 2018-19 season.
- Complete the Cowboys third sweep of a Big 12 opponent this season.
- Give it five wins in its last seven game.
- Be Mike Boynton's 104th career win, putting him three shy of Paul Hansen for fourth-most in school history.
- Be the Cowboys' eighth conference win this season, matching their total from last season.
- OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 754 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
- The Cowboys have posted 10 or more assists in 34 of their past 39 games dating back to last season.
- Dating back to last season, OSU has held 27 of its past 31 opponents under their season scoring average.
- Oklahoma State has reached double-digit second chance points in nine of 14 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 25 of 27 games this season. OSU leads the Big 12 with 5.2 blocked shots per game, which ranks 15th in the country.
- OSU has held 20 of its 27 opponents to 35 percent shooting or less from the three-point line while 15 of 27 have shot less than 30 percent. The Cowboys rank 30th in the country in three-point defense, holding opponents to 32.9 percent.
- The Cowboys have made 10 or more free throws in 20 of 27 games this season after doing so in 18 of their 30 games last season.
- OSU has forced 10 or more turnovers in 18-straight Big 12 games.
- Oklahoma State has recorded at least five steals in 23 of its 27 games this season.
- Kalib Boone has scored 13 or more points in nine of his last 13 games and has scored 18 or more in five of the last eight.
- John-Michael Wright has scored at least 15 points in four of his last five games. During this stretch, he is averaging 3.2 made threes per game on 50.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
- Boone has posted 126 points while shooting 49-68 from the field in his last eight games.
- OSU has recorded five or more blocks in six of its eight road games this season.
- Bryce Thompson continues to shoot the three at a high clip in conference play, making 40.3 percent of his attempts while averaging 1.9 makes per game.
- The Cowboys have shot better than 40 percent from the field in 10-straight games, their longest such streak of the season.
- Oklahoma State is 15-3 when they shoot the same percentage or better than their opponent from the field this season. They are 1-8 when their opponent has a higher field goal percentage.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Cowboy Basketball
G
/ Cowboy Basketball
F
/ Cowboy Basketball
F
/ Cowboy Basketball
G
/ Cowboy Basketball
G
/ Cowboy Basketball
G
/ Cowboy Basketball
G
/ Cowboy Basketball
G
/ Cowboy BasketballTuesday, July 07
Tuesday, July 07
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
