Cowboys tip off Steve Lutz era against a familiar face

Monday, November 4

Stillwater

8:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Green Bay

Tickets

November 03, 2024 | Cowboy Basketball

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GREEN BAY (0-0) at OKLAHOMA STATE (0-0)
Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 | 8:01 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)

Tickets: okstate.com/tickets
Watch: ESPN+ (Adam Hildebrandt & Bryndon Manzer)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network & The Varsity App (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: First Meeting

Promotion: Monday's 8 p.m. tip is part of a doubleheader. The Cowgirls open their season at 5 p.m. against Arkansas Pine Bluff. Fans can enjoy both games with one ticket.

Watch: The game will air on ESPN+ with Adam Hildebrandt and Bryndon Manzer. Fans can subscribe to ESPN's over-the-top streaming service for $11.99/month ($119.99/year) or bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for as little as $16.99/month. Visit plus.espn.com for more information.

Listen: Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb describe the action on stations across the Cowboy Radio Network. Visit okstate.com/radio for a full list of affiliates by location. Fans outside the listening area can tune in via the Varsity Sports App or at okstate.com/listen.

The Basics:

The Oklahoma State Cowboys open their 116^th season of men's basketball and its first under new head coach Steve Lutz.
Lutz joins the Cowboys after successful turnarounds at Western Kentucky (2023-24) and A&M-Corpus Christi (2021-23). He's been to the NCAA tournament in each of his first three seasons as a head coach while posting a 69-35 record.
Lutz's 2023-24 Western Kentucky squad won 22 games and the 2024 Conference USA tournament title while leading the nation in adjusted tempo. Nearly a quarter of the Hilltoppers' 86.1 possessions came in transition.
A trio of guards -- graduate Bryce Thompson and sophomores Connor Dow and Jamyron Keller -- are the only holdovers from last year's OSU team, which finished 12-20 (4-14 Big 12).
Lutz has added 13 newcomers to the roster (12 transfers and one true freshman).
In one off-season, OSU went from the Big 12's youngest team (average opening night age 19.49) to one of its oldest (22.28).
Nine of the 17 Cowboys are seniors, fifth-years or grad students.
Thompson (1,030) is one of four Cowboys with 1,000+ collegiate points, along with Khalil Brantley (1,183), Davonte "Devo" Davis (1,030) and Abou Ousmane (1,008).
The Cowboys defeated visiting SMU, 89-78, last Saturday in an exhibition game. Thompson scored 24 points and made all five of his three-point field goal attempts, while Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery added 14 points on 3-of-5 long range shooting. OSU nailed 10 first-half threes on the way to a 47-38 halftime lead and finished 14-of-28 overall.
The Cowboys are 89-26 all-time in season openers with wins in 27 of their last 29.
A 64-59 loss to Abilene Christian on Nov. 5, 2023 snapped a 48-game winning streak in home openers (No. 11 Alabama in 1974) and marked the first time the Cowboys had dropped a season-opener on their home floor since 1957 (Kansas).
The Cowboys have never faced Green Bay but fans may recognize the Phoenix's first year head coach. Doug Gottlieb is a 2000 OSU graduate and holder of the program's single-game (18), season (299) and career (793) assist records.
Gottlieb is the 19th former OSU player to serve as head coach of a Division I program.
This is the first of three consecutive OSU home games to begin the regular season, with St. Thomas (2 p.m. Sunday) and Southern Illinois (7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14) to follow.

Last Time on Cowboy Basketball:
Oct. 26, 2024 in Stillwater | OSU 89, SMU 78 (Exhibition)

New head coach Steve Lutz and the Cowboys made a strong first impression with an 89-78 exhibition win.
Bryce Thompson went 5-for-5 from three and set an unofficial career-high with 24 points.
The Cowboys hit 10 first-half threes and finished 14-of-28 overall from deep.
Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery added 14 points.
Abou Ousmane had a team-high eight rebounds to go with three blocks, and Khalil Brantley dished out five assists without a turnover.
11 Cowboys saw action and nine of them contributed at least five points.
Avery connected three times during a string of seven straight three-point makes that helped the Cowboys turn a 24-20 deficit into a 47-38 halftime lead.
OSU had more steals (8) than turnovers (7) and outscored SMU 14-0 on fastbreak opportunities.
Avery's steal and dunk gave OSU its largest lead of the day at 61-46 with 16:22 to play.

The OSU Outlook:

Oklahoma State tips off a new era under head coach Steve Lutz, the lead architect in rapid rebuilds at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (2021-23) and Western Kentucky (2023-24).
The Cowboys return three players – all of them guards -- from last year's team, which finished 12-20 (4-14 Big 12).
Graduate Bryce Thompson missed the final six weeks to a shoulder injury but is an otherwise proven commodity, averaging double-figure points in each of the last three seasons.
Sophomores Jamyron Keller and Connor Dow earned valuable experience as true freshmen, combing for 15 starts.
To that mix, Lutz added 10 new scholarship players and a total of 13 newcomers. All but one of them are transfers.
The Cowboys are especially experienced in the backcourt:
Lutz has a first-rate disruptor in junior point guard Arturo Dean, the national steals leader last season at FIU (104). Lutz describes him as "fast, tough and very, very competitive."
6-3 fifth-year Davonte "Devo" Davis is a former SEC All-Defensive Team selection and was a key cog on Arkansas teams that advanced to two Elite Eights and a Sweet 16.
Need offense? Senior combo guard Khalil Brantley was one of the A-10's best scorers during his time at La Salle. Last year he was one of just seven players nationally who averaged the combo of 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.5 steals.
Brandon Newman played at Purdue during Lutz's time as an assistant coach and was an All-Conference USA performer for him last season at Western Kentucky. The 6-foot-5 wing has played in four NCAA tournaments and been part of nearly 100 wins in his career.
The Cowboys lost their entire front court but don't lack for Big 12 experience after bringing in forwards from three different conference rivals.
Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery was sixth man last year at UCF while splitting time between the 3 and the 4 positions. He's an athletic 6-foot-8 and can stretch defenses from beyond the perimeter.
Robert Jennings II, a rugged 6-8 junior, excels at doing the dirty work. He was a starter on Texas Tech's 2024 NCAA tournament team.
6-8 Patrick Suemnick, a former NJCAA All-American who played the last two seasons at West Virginia, can handle himself in the post or out on the perimeter.
6-foot-10 fifth-year Abou Ousmane was Xavier's leading rebounder last year and has scored 1,000 points and logged nearly 100 starts at the Division I level.
Lutz added some additional size and upside to the roster in August with the signing of 6-10 Andrija Vukovic. He'll be the lone true freshman on a 17-man roster but turns 20 in January and has spent the past two years battling seasoned pros in the Basketball League of Serbia.
Another late wildcard signing is 6-6 Mikey Kelvin II, a Canadian college basketball standout who will be playing his first season in the NCAA.
Better with Age:
Eight Cowboys are in their fifth season of college basketball. That's believed to be the nation's highest total ahead of the seven apiece from Louisville, Charlotte and Wichita State.
Collectively, the 17 Cowboys have 43 seasons of active college basketball experience.
Six of OSU's nine scholarship transfers have played on an NCAA tournament team, and a seventh (Mikey Kelvin II) played in Canada's national championship game last spring.
Four Cowboys begin the year with upwards of 1,000 points in their NCAA careers: Khalil Brantley (1,183 at La Salle), Devo Davis (1,118 at Arkansas), Bryce Thompson (1,030 at OSU and Kansas) and Abou Ousmane (1,008 at Xavier and North Texas).

The Schedule:

The Big 12 has led all conferences in average NET ranking in each of the last four seasons and has been the top ranked conference in NET/RPI (prior to 2019) in nine of the past 11 seasons.
The conference is bigger (16 teams) and somehow even badder with a record six preseason top-25 teams.
The Cowboys will play 20 games under the league's new scheduling format and are in line to host all four conference newcomers (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah).
The non-conference portion features games against all three in-state rivals, including a Dec. 14 Bedlam matchup at the Paycom Center.
The Cowboys will also play three games at November's Charleston Classic and travel to Seton Hall for the Big 12-Big East Battle.
After a three-game homestand to begin the season, OSU will go another 34 days without a home contest before closing out the non-conference season with games against Tarleton State (Dec. 18) and Oral Roberts (Dec. 22).

Trending:

The Cowboys open up their 87th season at Gallagher-Iba Arena with an 860-264 (.765) all-time record, including a 292-90 (.764) mark since the building's 2000 expansion and renovation.
OSU is 451-60 (.883) all-time in non-conference regular season games inside GIA.
This is the 2,998th men's basketball game in OSU history but the first to ever be played on the fourth of November.
This year's start date is the second earliest ever for a Cowboy team. Two years ago they met Texas Arlington on Nov. 3.
This is Bryce Thompson's fourth season opener as a Cowboy. He's scored in double-figures in each of the past three while averaging 16.0 points.
Between the newcomers and redshirt freshman Jaxton Bobik, as many as 14 players could make their OSU debuts on Monday night.
James Anderson holds the school record for most points in a Cowboy debut. He scored 29 in a 104-48 win over Prairie View A&M to open up the 2007-08 season and went on to earn Big 12 All-Rookie Team honors.

A Cowboy win would...

Be their first under head coach Steve Lutz.
Be the 70th of Lutz's four-year coaching career and up his winning percentage to .667 (70-35).
Make them 1-0 for the 90th time in their 116 seasons.
Make them 28-2 in season openers over the last three decades.
Give them a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with Green Bay.

Milestone Watch:

Bryce Thompson needs…

61 points to become the 45th member of OSU's 1,000-Point Club.
5 three-pointers to crack the top-20 on OSU's career list and 61 more to move into the top-10. He's hit 121 total in a Cowboy uniform.

Brandon Newman needs…

104 points to reach 1,000 for his NCAA career.

Arturo Dean needs…

4 assists to reach 250 for his NCAA career.
15 steals to reach 200 for his NCAA career
204 points to reach 1,000 for his NCAA career.

Abou Ousmane needs…

24 blocks to reach 150 for his NCAA career.

Welcome Home Cowboy:

First-year Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb's collegiate coaching debut comes at his alma mater. The former Cowboy point guard still holds the program's single-game (18), season (299) and career (793) assist records. OSU won at least one NCAA tournament game in all three of his seasons in Stillwater (1997-00) highlighted by a run to the 2000 Elite Eight.
OSU had a 39-6 (.867) record in GIA during Gottlieb's three seasons as a player (1997-00). His final home game was also the last prior to the arena's expansion.
Gottlieb is the 19th former OSU player to serve as head coach of a Division I program and one of two who are active (Bill Self, Kansas).

Former Cowboy Players as Division I Head Coaches: 19 Total

Sam Aubrey (1940-42, 46) at Oklahoma St. (1970-73)

Floyd Burdette (1943-44) at

Alabama (1946-52) & UT Martin (52-71)

Win Case (1982-84) at Ole Miss (2023 (Interim))

Danny Doyle (1937-40) at Auburn (1947-49)

John Floyd (1938-41) atTexas A&M (1950-55)

Doug Gottlieb (1997-00) at Green Bay (2024-Pr.)

Jerry Hale (1956-59) at ORU (1974-77)

Jack Hartman (1943-47) at Southern Ill. (1962-70) & K-State (1970-86)

Don Haskins (1949-52) at UTEP (1961-99)

Moe Iba (1958-62) at Memphis (1966-70), Nebraska (1980-86) & TCU (1987-94)

Bud Millikan (1939-42) at Maryland (1950-67)

Dickey Nutt (1977-82) at Arkansas St. (1995-08) & SE Missouri St. (2009-15)

Doyle Parrack (1943-46) at Oklahoma City (1947-55) & Oklahoma (1955-62)

Bill Self (1981-85) at ORU (1993-97), Tulsa (1997-00), Illinois (2000-03) & Kansas (2003-Pr.)

Eddie Sutton (1955-58) at Creighton (1969-74), Arkansas (1974-85), Kentucky (1985-89) & Oklahoma St. (1990-06)

Scott Sutton (1992-94) at ORU (1999-2017)

Sean Sutton (1990-92) at Oklahoma St. (2006-08)

Brooks Thompson (1992-94) at UTSA (2006-16)

Cory Williams (1988-92) at Stetson (2013-19)

Scouting Green Bay:

Doug Gottlieb is one of five new head coaches in the 11-team Horizon League. He replaced Sundance Wicks on May 14 after the latter's move to Wyoming.
The Phoenix are picked eighth out of 11 teams in the 2024-25 Horizon League preseason poll.
In his lone season at Green Bay, Wicks led the Phoenix to an 18-14 record (up from 3-29 in 2022-23). That 15.0 game improvement tied for the tenth-largest turnaround in NCAA Division I history.
Green Bay tied for third in the Horizon League standings at 13-7 behind Oakland (which went on to upset Kentucky in the NCAA tournament) and Youngstown State.
6-2 redshirt junior Preston Ruedinger (8.4 ppg, 2.7 apg) is the lone returning starter and one of four holdovers from last year alongside 6-6 sophomore Marcus Hall (6.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and 6-5 junior sharp-shooter Foster Wonders (7.8 ppg, 39% 3pt FG).
Green Bay played both of its NCAA allotted scrimmages/exhibitions behind closed doors.

Matchup Mashup:

The two teams rank among the national leaders with 13 newcomers apiece. As many as 35 players could find their way into the box score on Monday night (OSU lists 17 players and GB 18).
The Phoenix are one of three first-time foes on the Cowboy's non-conference schedule along with St. Thomas (Sunday) and Tarleton State (Dec. 18).
Green Bay forward Isaiah Miranda is an OSU transfer. He tallied eight points in seven rebounds over three games last season.
Freshman guard Jeremiah Johnson is an Oklahoma City native.
Senior guard Anthony Roy was a teammate of OSU junior Arturo Dean's older brother, Toru, last season at nearby Langston University. Both Roy and the elder Dean were NAIA All-Americans and helped the Lions advance to the national title game for the first time in school history.

Up Next:

The Cowboys are back in action Sunday afternoon against St. Thomas at Gallagher-Iba Arena (2 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
Reserve your seat at okstate.com/tickets or call 877-ALL-4OSU.
The Tommies are entering the last in a five-year transition to NCAA Division I and the Summit League and are on track for full membership beginning with the 2025-26 school year.
The small private school was an NCAA Division III powerhouse with national championships in 2011 and 2016.
13th year head coach John Tauer and the Tommies have more than held their own at the DI level, finishing last year with a 20-13 record, a 159 NET ranking and a winning record in Summit League play (9-7).
In contrast to Steve Lutz's up-tempo style, St. Thomas prefers a more plodding pace. Last season the Tommies were the nation's ninth-slowest team in KenPom's adjusted tempo rankings.