Cowboy Basketball eyes series sweep at UCF

OKLAHOMA STATE (14-15, 6-12) at UCF (15-14, 6-12)
Wednesday, Mar. 5, 2025 | 6:01 p.m. CT (7:01 p.m. ET)
Orlando, Fla. | Addition Financial Arena

Watch: ESPN+ (Drew Fellos & B.J. Taylor)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: UCF leads 3-1 (First Meeting in Orlando)
Last: Feb. 19, 2025 in Stillwater (OSU, 104-95)

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Opening Tips:

The Oklahoma State Cowboys look to finish off a two-game sweep of the UCF Knights and pick up their first Big 12 road win.
Two weeks ago in Stillwater, Bryce Thompson scored a career-high 25 points and OSU reached the century mark in a Big 12 game for the first time in 18 years, winning 104-95.
This is the fifth all-time meeting between the schools but the first to take place in Orlando.
The Big 12's fastest teams square off. UCF (14^th) and OSU (21^st) both rank among the nation's top-25 in adjusted tempo, per KenPom.
The Cowboys swept non-conference visits to Tulsa and Seton Hall but have dropped 11 straight Big 12 road games, last winning Feb. 21, 2024 at Cincinnati.
OSU led by 10 points late in the first half of Saturday's 71-61 loss at Baylor. Thompson led the way with 19 points and Arturo Dean notched the 1,000^th of his collegiate career.
OSU now has seven 1,000-point scorers on its roster, matching Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota and Ole Miss for the most nationally.
OSU (14-15, 6-12) has already exceeded last year's overall and Big 12 victory totals (12-20, 4-14) while improving by 30 spots in the NCAA NET rankings (96, up from 126).
First-year head coach Steve Lutz brings a fast and physical brand of basketball to Stillwater with a team that relentlessly attacks the rim and feasts on transition opportunities created by a smothering half court defense.
Dean, the Big 12 steals leader (2.25) is among the keys to an OSU defense that ranks second in the league in steals (8.8) and takeaways (14.7).
Dean needs just two more steals to reach 250 for his collegiate career. He would be the first member of college basketball's current junior class to reach that milestone.
OSU has made a living at the line with nearly a quarter of its points coming on free throws (24.5% is 5^th-highest nationally). The Cowboys also lead the Big 12 and rank among the NCAA leaders in free throw rate (12^th, 43.2), free throw makes (10^th, 17.8) and attempts (12^th, 24.6).
OSU followed up a 2-7 Big 12 start with a 4-4 February (and came within a TCU buzzer beater of making it 5-3).
Thompson is averaging a career-high 12.6 points for the year and has moved into the top-25 on the school's all-time scoring list (24^th, 1,304). He's in line for his 108^th start in an OSU uniform which would move him into the top-10 on the program's all-time list.
UCF transfer Chi Chi Avery (11.8 ppg) makes his return to Orlando. He heads up an OSU bench unit that ranks 12^th nationally in points (31.1).
Mar. 3 Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Abou Ousmane (12.1 ppg) is OSU's top rebounder (5.4) and shot-blocker (27). He scored 25 points in the Cowboys' Feb. 25 upset of No. 9 Iowa State.
Arturo Dean needs two steals to reach 250 for his NCAA career. He would be the first member of college basketball's current junior class to reach that milestone.
Bryce Thompson is in line for his 108th start in an OSU uniform, which would place him among the top-10 all-time in program history.
The 2023-24 Pokes were the Big 12's youngest team, but this year's version is loaded with experience. Ten Cowboys average 10+ minutes. Eight of them are DI transfers and seven are listed seniors, fifth-years or grad students.

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On This Date: March 1

1962 – The Cowboys shot 72% from the field and made 32-of-40 free throws in a 78-68 win over No. 3 Kansas State, snapping the Wildcats' 11-game winning streak and dashing their Big Eight title hopes. Center Eddie Bunch scored 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
1995 – In one of the great individual performances in both OSU and Allen Fieldhouse history, Randy Rutherford scored 45 points and set a school record with 11 three-pointers against the fourth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

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Last Time on Cowboy Basketball:
Saturday, Mar. 1 in Waco, Texas | Baylor 71, OSU 61

A strong defensive effort wasn't enough to push OSU past Baylor. Both sides shot under 40%, but the Bears had 10 extra attempts, helped by a 16-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Aurtro Dean scored all nine of his points in the first 10:00, capped by a three-point play that gave him exactly 1,000 for his collegiate career and spotted OSU to an early 10-point lead.
Baylor missed 17 of its first 20 shots but caught up after OSU missed 13 of its last 16. Down 22-12 near the 6:00 mark, BU finished on a 12-2 run to take a 26-24 into the locker room.
After Abou Ousmane's putback tied the game at 29 with 18:00 to play, Baylor answered with another 12-0 spurt to take the lead for good.
Jeremy Roach scored a game-high 21 points for Baylor, including eight during that pivotal run.
The Bears shot 23.5% in the first half but hit on 56% after halftime, including 6-of-13 from three.
Bryce Thompson finished with 19 points for the Cowboys, who shot 46% and made 17-of-21 free throws after halftime. They rallied to within 63-59 with 1:26 to play but could get no closer.

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Ousmane Honored:

Five days after helping Oklahoma State to a top-10 upset, fifth-year forward Abou Ousmane helped himself to the Big 12's Newcomer of the Week award.
The 6-foot-10 Brooklyn native led the way with 25 points, six rebounds and four steals in last Wednesday's 74-68 victory over No. 9 ISU. Foul trouble limited him to 13 minutes at Baylor, but he still managed nine points and six boards.
For the week he totaled 34 points in a little over 40 minutes of work. He shot 67% from the field, including 3-of-6 from long distance, and knocked down 11-of-12 free throws.
Ousmane is the Cowboys' first Big 12 weekly award winner since John-Michael Wright was voted top newcomer on Feb. 13, 2023.

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Thompson Finishing Strong:

As he nears the end of his four-year Cowboy career, graduate guard Bryce Thompson is playing some of his best all-around basketball with double-figure points in 14 of his last 16. He's averaging 13.8 points in Big 12 play and career-best 12.6 for the season.
First-year head coach Steve Lutz has encouraged Thompson to attack the rim more, rather than settle for jump shots, and the results have been positive. Thompson has knocked down 60 free throws in Big 12 play (18 games). Prior to that, he had made just 152 in 114 career contests.
Thompson has also been a markedly improved marksman this year, connecting on 81.7% of his free throws (compared to 62.3% in his first four years).

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More Baylor Leftovers:

The quintet of Dean, Keller, Thompson, Jennings and Ousmane made its 14^th consecutive start together (and 16^th overall).
Thompson notched his team-best 21^st double-figure scoring game of the season and the 70^th of his NCAA career while becoming just the 24^th Cowboy to cross over the 1,300 point threshold.
OSU did not have a shot blocked, despite attempting 24 of its 49 from inside the paint. It was the first time since Feb. 27, 2023 (also against Baylor) that a Cowboy opponent has failed to record one.
Baylor's 31.8% assist rate was a season-low for an OSU opponent. The Bears had seven on 22 baskets.
OSU set season-lows for assists (4), three-point field goals (2) and three-point percentage (.143).
OSU is averaging 76.3 points in Big 12 home games, compared to 61.2 on the road.

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Trending:

The Cowboys are 9-5 when coming off a loss (4-10 coming off a win).
OSU is 13-6 when holding opponents to less than 80 (1-9 otherwise, with a 104-95 win over UCF).
OSU is 10-0 when scoring at least 80 (4-15).
OSU is 13-1 with a halftime lead (1-14 when trailing). The Cowboys overcame a six-point deficit to defeat Tarleton State (Dec. 18) but let a 39-34 advantage slip against FAU (Nov. 21).
OSU is 8-2 when outshooting opponents (6-13). Losses came at Texas Tech and Houston.
OSU is 9-2 when forcing 16+ turnovers (5-13).
OSU is 8-2 with 20+ points off turnovers (6-13).
OSU is 11-1 this season when scoring 40+ points off of free throws and turnovers (3-14).

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Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork:

Steve Lutz wants players who are willing to put team goals ahead of their own. You won't see many Cowboys on individual Big 12 leaderboards, but the group is putting up some strong numbers collectively.
On a per-40-minute basis, Arturo Dean is averaging a league-best 3.8 steals (5^thnationally), Abou Ousmane (21.5) and Chi Chi Avery (21.0) are seventh and eighth respectively in points, and four Cowboys rank among the top-15 in free throw makes, led by Robert Jennings (5^th, 5.5).

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The Series with UCF:

UCF has won three of the four meetings between the schools. All have taken place over the past three seasons, beginning with a chance encounter in the semifinals of the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship and continuing with UCF's move to the Big 12.
Last season, the Knights defeated the Cowboys twice in a span of less than two weeks -- the first in Stillwater and the latter in the first round of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
Two weeks ago in Gallagher-Iba Arena, OSU notched its first series win (104-95) behind Bryce Thompson's career-high 25 points and now heads to Orlando in search of its own season sweep.
The Cowboys last played in the Sunshine State in February, 2022 at the University of Florida as part of the BIg 12-SEC Challenge.
Cowboy teams are 5-4 all-time in Orlando after three separate appearances in the ESPN Events Invitational (previously known as the Old Spice Classic and the Advocare Invitational) in 2008, 2014 and 2018.

Last Time vs. UCF:
Feb. 19, 2025 in Stillwater | OSU 104, UCF 95

OSU topped the century mark in a Big 12 game for the first time in 18 years in a 104-95 win.
Bryce Thompson scored a career-high 25 to lead a group of five double-figure scorers.
The Big 12's top tempo teams had 86 possessions apiece and combined for 51 fastbreak points, but the Cowboys took better care of the basketball, outscoring the Knights 26-5 off turnovers, helped by a +13 margin. They forced 20 and committed just seven.
Abou Ousmane scored 13 of his 17 points before the intermission to help the Cowboys to a fast start. They scored on 14 of their first 18 possessions to build a 30-16 lead at the 10:40-mark of the first half and were up as many as 19 (50-31) with 4:00 left in the period.
Keyshawn Hall (game-high 34 points) helped UCF pull to within 53-40 at halftime and to within five (81-76) with 5:00 to play in the game.
The Cowboys had just two field goals the rest of the way but converted 18-of-22 free throws to preserve the win.

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Keeping it 100:

OSU's 104-95 win over UCF on Feb. 19 was the 52^nd 100-point game in school history and first since Dec. 22, 2018 against UTRGV (102-83).
It was OSU's highest scoring output since a 117-72 rout of New Orleans on Nov. 16, 2016.
It was also the Cowboys' fourth ever 100-point game in Big 12 Conference play and their first in more than 18 years -- OSU defeated Kevin Durant's Texas Longhorns 105-103 in triple OT on Jan. 6, 2007.
The game featured 86 possessions per side. Per BartTorivik.com, that's the sixth-most this season in a regulation game involving two Division I teams and the third-most between two Big 12 teams in the 18 seasons that the site has tracked single-game tempo stats. Missouri defeated OSU, 97-95 on Jan. 21, 2009 in a game that featured 88 possessions. Iowa State's 87-54 win over Mizzou on Jan. 22, 2011 featured 87 possessions.

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Scouting the Knights:

Ninth-year UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins was the 1986 NCAA player of the Year at Duke and spent 10 seasons in the NBA before moving into the coaching world. He won a pair of NIT championships during an eight-year run at Stanford (2008-16) and has since led the Knights to four postseasons, highlighted by a first-round victory in the 2019 NCAA tournament.
Last season, Dawkins guided UCF to a 17-16 record (7-11 Big 12) and a second straight NIT bid.
From that team, UCF returned a pair of honorable mention All-Big 12 guards in Darius Johnson and Jaylin Sellers, but the latter has been limited to just three games due to injury.
The Knights started the year 10-2 with a win at Texas Tech to open Big 12 play but are just 5-12 since the calendar flipped to 2025.
The Knights' Feb. 19 loss in Stillwater was their seventh in a row, but they bounced back afterward with consecutive home wins over Utah (76-72) and Kansas State (80-76) before falling Saturday at TCU (89-78).
UCF is 12-5 at home this season with wins over Texas A&M (currently No. 24 in the NET), Utah (64), TCU (70), K-State (83) and Colorado (97).
The Knights' only home losses have come to top-40 foes: Houston (3), Iowa State (9), Kansas (19), BYU (26) and Cincinnati (40).
Johnson, a 6-1 senior, is the Big 12 leader in total steals (63). He's also averaging 15.4 points and 4.2 assists in 34.0 minutes and has knocked down a team-best 68 threes on 40% accuracy.
Now in his fourth season at UCF, Johnson ranks among the program's all-time DI era leaders in points (1,389), steals (223), assists (440) and threes (193).
A group of 11 UCF newcomers includes the Big 12's leading scorer, 6-7 junior forward Keyshawn Hall (18.9 ppg), a George Mason transfer who started his career at UNLV. Hall ranks among the nation's top-10 in free throw makes (168 on 204 attempts) and has reached the 20-point mark in 16 of his 29 games.
In Big 12 play, 6.3 of Hall's league-best 21.2 points per game have come at the foul line.
Helped by Hall's numbers, UCF is a top-25 free throw shooting team, by both volume (12^th, 17.4) and percentage (23^rd, 77.7%).
UTSA grad transfer Jordan Ivy-Curry has added some additional firepower to the UCF backcourt, averaging 12.9 points with 57 triples.
The Knights tradition of sizeable centers continues with Moustapha Thiam, 7-foot-2 Senegalese freshman who is averaging 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds. He leads the Big 12 and ranks fifth nationally in blocks (2.69).

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A Note for the Nerds:

OSU (21^st) and UCF (14^th) both rank among the national leaders in adjusted tempo, per KenPom. They would be the Big 12's highest finishers in that category since 2018 when Trae Young's Oklahoma Sooners ended the year at No. 4.
In the last 10 seasons (2016-25), the only other Big 12 team to finish top-25 in adjusted tempo was Cade Cunningham and the 2021 OSU Cowboys (24^th).
Since the 2011-12 season (when TCU and West Virginia joined the league), only 2018 Oklahoma (76.5) has averaged more raw possessions than 2025 UCF is currently averaging (72.5).
KenPom's research shows that college basketball games are averaging 1-2 fewer possessions nationwide compared to late 90s and early 2000s, but it's notable that during the league's first 15 seasons (1996-2011), 23 different Big 12 schools averaged at least 72.5 raw possessions, topped by 2002 Kansas (78.6). The Jayhawks did it six times over Roy Williams' last seven seasons in Lawrence.

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Matchup Mashup:

OSU's Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery played last season at UCF. He averaged 7.6 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Knights.
Twin brothers Joey and Stephen Graham also started their collegiate careers at UCF (2000-02) before transferring to OSU. Both sat out the 2002-03 season before helping the Cowboys to back-to-back Big 12 tournament titles (2004 & 2005) along with a Final Four berth.

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A Cowboy win would...

Be their first Big 12 road victory since Feb. 21, 2024 at Cincinnati, snapping an 11 game streak.
Make them 3-9 overall in true road games, tripling last seasons road wins total (1-9).
Put them three wins ahead of last season's overall and conference victory totals (12-20, 4-14).
Give them a season sweep of UCF.
Narrow the Knight's all-time series lead to 3-2.
Make them 6-4 all-time in Orlando (1-0 vs. UCF).

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Up Next: Cincinnati
Saturday, 2 p.m. CT, ESPN+

OSU will honor nine seniors prior to Saturday's regular season finale against Cincinnati.
This will be the Bearcats' first appearance in Stillwater since the 2001-02 season opener.
The Cowboys won last year's lone meeting at Cincinnati, 80-76, with help from 15 points from Jamyron Keller, who hit both ends of a 1-and-1 in the closing seconds to ice it.
Cincinnati (17-12, 7-11 heading into Wednesday's home finale against Kansas State) has won five of its last eight on the heels of a 2-8 start to conference play.
The Bearcats rank 25^th nationally in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 65.3 points per game.

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Players Mentioned

Arturo Dean

Jamyron Keller

Abou Ousmane

Bryce Thompson

John-Michael Wright

Oklahoma State University Athletics