NIT Preview: Cowboys battle Davidson in First Round

Tuesday, March 17

Stillwater

7:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Davidson

Buy Tickets

March 16, 2026 | Cowboy Basketball

Cowboy Notes (PDF)Davidson Notes (PDF)

DAVIDSON (20-13) at [2] OKLAHOMA STATE (19-14)
National Invitation Tournament | First Round
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 | 7:05 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena

Tickets: okstate.com/tickets
Watch: ESPN2 w/ John Schriffen & Jon Sundvold
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network w/ Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb
Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: First Meeting

The Basics:

No. 2 Seed Oklahoma State hosts Davidson in a first-round NIT matchup inside historic Gallagher-Iba Arena.
A win would set up another home matchup Saturday or Sunday in the second round against either No. 3 Wichita State or Wyoming.
No. 1 Tulsa, Stephen F. Austin, No. 4 UNLV and UC Irvine make up the other half of an eight-team regional pod, the winner of which will advance to the NIT semifinals in Indianapolis.

Tickets:

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth/students. Children ages 2 and under do not require a ticket.
Parking around Gallagher-Iba Arena will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, with the exception of Lots 4 and 6B.

Follow the Bouncing Ball:

Fans can watch Tuesday's matchup on ESPN2 with John Schriffen and Jon Sundvold or tune in to Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb's radio broadcast on the Varsity App and affiliates across the Cowboy Radio Network. Visit okstate.com/radio for a complete list of affiliates.
Find the bracket, schedule, scores and more on the tournament central page at NCAA.com/NIT and follow @NITMBB on Instagram and X.
Track live -statistics from a variety of OSU sports via StatBroadcast. To view the latest games, visit okstate.statbroadcast.com.
Go behind the scenes with Cowboy Basketball on X (@OSUMBB), Instagram (@OSUMBB) and Facebook (CowboyBasketball).
Read all the latest news at okstate.com and watch highlights, interviews and more at YouTube.com/OSUAthletics.

OSU in the NIT:

OSU has competed in 14 previous NITs, including the inaugural event in 1938.
Cowboy teams are 13-15 with three semifinals.
OSU has reached the quarterfinals in each of its last three NIT appearances but last made the semifinals in 1944.
The Cowboys are 8-4 in NIT games played inside GIA (6-1 in the Round of 32).
A 2025 win over top seed at SMU was just the second true road victory in eight tries (2-6).
OSU teams are 3-5 at neutral sites (all at Madison Square Garden).
OSU has won at least one game in each of its last four postseason appearances, including the 2021 NCAA tournament.
The Cowboys have also won at least one game in 10 of their 14 NIT appearances all-time.

The 2026 NIT:

This is the 89^th National Invitation Tournament
The first 82 NIT champions were crowned exclusively at New York City's Madison Square Garden (1938-2019), however in recent years the final site has rotated between host cities: Frisco, Texas (2021), MSG (2022), Las Vegas (2023) and Indianapolis (2024-26).
This year, for the first time, the NCAA will stage the Final Four, NIT and Division II and III championships in the same city on the same weekend.

On This Date: March 17

1989 – The Cowboys defeated Boise State in the first round of the NIT, 69-55, ending a 24-year postseason victory drought. Freshmen Corey Williams (23 points) and Byron Houston (14 rebounds) were part of a young Cowboy core that, two years later, would win a Big Eight title and advance to the Sweet 16.
2000 – OSU tipped off an eventual Elite Eight run with an 86-66 victory over Hofstra. Joe Adkins led the Cowboys with 18 points, Doug Gottlieb handed out 10 assists and Brian Montonati tallied a double-double (10 pts, 11 reb). It was the NCAA Tournament debut for Hofstra head coach Jay Wright, who would go on to win two national titles with Villanova in 2016 and 2018.

Big 12 Tournament Leftovers:

The Cowboys outperformed their No. 14 seed, knocking off No. 11 Colorado in the first round (92-83) but couldn't close out No. 6 TCU on the second day. The Horned Frogs rallied from 10 points down in the final 14 minutes to win 95-88.
Anthony Roy posted a pair of 20-point performances (24 vs. CU, 25 vs. TCU). He's done it a team-best 10 times this season.
Roy's two-game scoring average (24.5) was the second highest ever by a Cowboy in Big 12 Tournament play. He did much of his damage at the foul line, sinking 19-of-21 free throws (.905).
Roy matched his career high with nine rebounds against TCU and averaged 8.5 boards over two games in KC.
Christian Coleman averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks, highlighted by a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double in the first round and his 1,000th career point late in the first half against TCU.
The Cowboys played without their two most experienced centers (sophomore Andrija Vukovic and Parsa Fallah). Freshmen Benjamin Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland combined for just 200 minutes during the regular season but clocked 66 of the 80 minutes in KC (with Christian Coleman filling in the remaining gaps).
Ahmed -- who missed the first 10 games of the season to a foot injury -- has come on strong in the final month, scoring in double-figures three times in four games since moving into the starting lineup. Over that span he's averaging 9.5 points and 5.2 rebounds
The Pokes also set new team single-game Big 12 tourney marks for points (92 vs. CU), field goals (34 vs. TCU) and free throw makes (29 vs. TCU).
Against TCU, six Cowboys scored in double-figures -- the third time this season that the Pokes have achieved that feat.

Milestone Watch:

A pair of Pokes are closing in on 1,000 collegiate points. Senior guard Anthony Roy needs just four points to reach that milestone and junior guard Jaylen Curry is only 64 points shy.
Despite missing the first three games of the season to injury Roy became the 42^nd player in OSU history to score 500+ points in a season. He crossed that threshold during the first half of the Cowboys' second-round game against TCU.
Roy is averaging 23.7 points per 40 minutes. If he maintains that pace, it would be one of the 10-best prorated averages in school history (among players appearing in at least 75% of the team's games). 2016-17 teammates Jawun Evans (3rd, 26.3) and Jeffrey Carroll (24.00) were the last Cowboys to average more.
Roy made 4-of-10 threes in the Big 12 Tournament to move into sole possession of seventh place on OSU's single-season list (89). He needs 11 more to became just the seventh Cowboy with 100+.
Kaney Clary needs just six more assists to move into the top-10 on OSU's single-season chart.

Also Trending:

Point guards Kanye Clary and Jaylen Curry have combined for double-digit dimes in 10 different games this season, most recently against Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament.
In two seasons under Lutz, OSU is 14-0 at home against teams ranked outside the top-100 in the NCAA NET.
The Cowboys have scored at least 81 points in all 19 victories this year but are 0-12 when falling short.
OSU is a combined 29-2 in the Lutz Era when scoring 81+.
OSU has scored 90+ points a total of 13 times this season, breaking the school record (12), set by Brad Underwood's 2016-17 Cowboy team.
OSU is 15-2 (27-7 Lutz Era) when out-rebounding its opponent and 15-2 (26-6) when finishing with a higher shooting percentage.
OSU is 16-3 this season when tied or leading at halftime (31-5 under Lutz).
OSU is 13-5 in evening games (after 6 p.m.) compared to 6-9 in morning/afternoon tips.

Strength in Numbers:

OSU has played the nation's 34^th hardest schedule, per KenPom, while facing the 14^th toughest collection of opposing defenses.
The Cowboys played 15 of their 33 regular season/Big 12 Tournament games against NCAA Tournament qualifiers, posting a 6-9 record.
OSU went 1-0 against the 2026 NIT field, defeating Sam Houston on Dec. 2 (93-83).
While not an official result, the Cowboys also opened the preseason with an overtime win over Auburn in Birmingham, Ala.
The Cowboys posted two non-conference wins over eventual league regular season champions: South Florida (American) and Bethune-Cookman (SWAC).
OSU also swept two games from UCF (No. 10 seed), hung 99 points in a home win over BYU (No. 6) and routed Texas A&M (No. 10 seed) by 24 points.

Depth Charged:

Steve Lutz doesn't put much stock in who's on the floor for the opening tip, but rather who's playing well enough to be there at the buzzer.
OSU used 19 different starting lineups during the regular season with 12 different Cowboys logging at least one start. For comparison, no other Big 12 team used more than eight lineup combos during the regular season.
Seven Pokes have taken a turn as minutes leader, led by Kanye Clary (10x). Jaylen Curry has done it five times from off the bench.
Reserves are averaging 36.9% of the minutes and a league-best 28.0 points per game.
Reserves have combined for 1,994 bench points in two seasons under Lutz. The 2024-25 Cowboys set a school record with 1,070 and this year's group ranks second at 924 (and counting).
Fresh legs have helped OSU maintain the Big 12's fastest pace, with nearly one-in-five offensive possessions coming in transition, per Synergy.

Scouting the Wildcats:

Matt McKillop is in his fourth season as head coach at his alma mater. He played for (2002-06), assisted (2008-22) and later succeeded his father, Bob McKillop. The elder McKillop retired in 2022 after piling up 634 wins in 33 seasons.
This is the younger McKillop's first 20-win season and first postseason bid.
It's the program's 10th NIT bid and first since 2021. The Wildcats have twice reached the second round -- in 2005 with McKillop in the starting lineup and in 2009 when an undersized guard named Stephen Curry scored 32 points to key a win over South Carolina.
The Wildcats (20-13, 10-8) finished sixth in this year's 14-team Atlantic 10 race and boasted the league's second-best scoring defense (67.4).
Davidson entered Selection Sunday ranked No. 114 in both the NET and KenPom while playing at one of the nation's 25 slowest adjusted tempos.
The Wildcats have a deep bench, with reserves accounting for 40% of the minutes and more than 45% of the points.
Leading scorer Roberts Blums (12.1 ppg) has come off the bench in all 31 games.
Nine Wildcats are averaging between 15 and 25 minutes per game, led by 6-4 junior Parker Friedrichsen (10.6 ppg, 25.1 mpg).
6-6 junior Josh Scovens (11.1 ppg) is the team's top rebounder at 4.3 per contest.
Davidson has an elite rim protector in 6-10 senior Sean Logan, who averaged a league-best 2.4 blocks per game during the regular season.
Additionally, 6-6 freshman Devin Brown (6.4 ppg) made the A10's All-Rookie team.

A Cowboy win would....

Move them into this weekend's second round (Saturday or Sunday) for a home date against either No. 3 seed Wichita State or Wyoming.
Secure their 39th 20-win season and first since 2023.
Give Lutz his fourth 20-win season in five years as a head coach.
Tie a school record for home victories in a season (15), set eight times previously, with a chance to claim it outright this weekend.
Make them 8-3 all-time in the NIT's Round of 32, including 7-1 at home.
Boost their all-time NIT record to 14-15 (9-4 in GIA).
Make them 1-0 all-time against Davidson.

A Cowboy loss would....

End their season at 19-15.
Snap a four-game winning streak in NIT openers.
Make them 13-16 all-time in 15 NIT appearances (8-5 in GIA).
Give Davidson a 1-0 lead in the all-time series.

Scouting Wichita State:

American Conference regular season and tournament runner-up Wichita State (22-11, No. 78 in the NET) has won 12 of its last 15 games.
The Shockers are led by first team all-conference guard Kenyon Giles (19.2 ppg, 113 3pt FGM) and the league's sixth man of the year, junior 7-footer Will Berg (8.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 44 blocks).
WSU leads The American in rebounding margin (+6.9) and ranks fourth nationally in offensive boards per game (14.7).
OSU defeated the Shockers in the first round of last year's NIT to improve to 33-11 all-time against its former MVC rival (16-5 in Stillwater).
The Shockers are making their 15th NIT appearance all-time. They won it all in 2011 and reached the 2019 semifinals.

Scouting Wyoming:

Wyoming, the 1986 NIT champion, is making its ninth appearance in this event.
The Cowboys (18-14, 9-11 MWC, No. 99 NET) closed the regular season with victories in five of their last six. They're one of five Mountain West teams in this year's NIT bracket.
This Wyoming's first postseason appearance since 2022 and first NIT since 2003.
They're led by Leland Walker (13.7 ppg), a senior guard who is closing in on 500 career assists.
OSU is 10-3 all-time against Wyoming (3-0 in Stillwater), but the programs last met in 1967.
The most notable matchup between the schools came in the quarterfinals of the 1949 NCAA Tournament in Kansas City. OSU won 40-39 on its way to an eventual national runner-up finish.