Facing Kansas- Here's The Scout
- Oklahoma State men’s basketball is set to return home to face No. 5 Kansas on Tuesday in what will be another pivotal matchup in the Big 12. Tip is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN with Chuckie Kepmf 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.
- The Jayhawks enter the contest with a 20-5 record on the season, including an 8-4 mark in Big 12 play. After starting the year 16-1, Kansas hit a speed bump, losing three straight conference games to Kansas State, TCU and Baylor. Since then, they've won four of five, with the only loss in that stretch coming to Iowa State.
- Kansas leads the all-time series 122-60, including having won four in a row and nine of ten. The only Oklahoma State win in that stretch came in Stillwater in 2021, when Cade Cunningham had 18 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes. The Cowboys have held their own at home, though, having won 36 of 75 all time meetings in Stillwater.
- The Cowboys enter this one playing their best basketball of the season, having won five straight and seven of the last eight. The span includes all three of OSU's ranked wins this season (Iowa State twice and TCU) and has generated its longest win streak since the beginning of last season. During its five-game win streak, Oklahoma State is holding opponents to just 63.6 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting from the field and 28.2 percent from three while out-rebounding opponents by over five per game.
- Round one of this year's Oklahoma State-Kansas series went to the Jayhawks in a thriller. Oklahoma State held a 15-point halftime advantage, its largest on the road this season, before Kansas battled back to win 69-67. Bryce Thompson matched a career-high in scoring against his former team, posting 23 points with seven made threes in the loss. John-Michael Wright added 19 as well.
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
- Woody Newton has started the last eight games, marking the first eight starts of his career, and has averaged 25.7 minutes with 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 45.5 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 three teams, Baylor, Texas and TCU, have scored more than 69 points on the Cowboys in 12 Big 12 games thus far while only two (TCU and Texas Tech) have scored more than 60 in Stillwater.
- Only four teams (UT Arlington, Southern Illinois, TCU and Texas Tech) have scored more than 60 points in GIA this season through the first 13 home games of the season.
- A big part of those numbers? The Cowboys have held a 72-29 blocked shots advantage at home, with Cisse leading the way at 25. 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 late season success has continued this year. Boynton's teams are 17-11 in February in the last four seasons, including a 4-0 mark so far this year against America's toughest conference. His teams are also 16-7 in March in his six seasons at Oklahoma State.
Cowboys in the Rankings... Close
- 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 No. 5 Kansas on Tuesday, No. 22 TCU on Saturday and West Virginia next Monday.
Getting Hot At The Right Time
- Oklahoma State is playing its best ball at an opportune time, having won five straight and seven of its last eight. Six of those wins have come against Big 12 opponents, pushing the Cowboys over .500 in conference play at 7-5 and keeping them within striking distance of the top half of the league.
- During this stretch, OSU has held opponents to just 65.3 points per game while allowing them to shoot only 40.8 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Cowboys, in comparison, are scoring 71.9 points per game while shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three.
- Much of the Cowboys recent success can be attributed to the stellar play of Kalib Boone. The OSU big man was named Big 12 Player of the Week last week and is averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 69.0 percent from the field in the last eight games.
- John-Michael Wright has also been a key component for the Cowboys as of late, taking on more ball-handling and scoring duties in the absence of Avery Anderson III. Wright is averaging 10.9 points per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three in the last eight games.
1,000-Point Club
- 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 46th-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 (4 away) and 300 assists (6 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 Upcoming Schedule
- Oklahoma State is gearing up for the stretch run, with only six games left before the Big 12 conference tournament. Three of those six games will come on the road - TCU, West Virginia and Texas Tech - while the Cowboys will host Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor.
- OSU is in the midst of a five-game win streak, its longest 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.
- Oklahoma State will look to maintain its momentum through one of its toughest stretches of the season, as four of its final six opponents are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. They'll start with a home test against No. 5 Kansas on Tuesday before heading south to Fort Worth to attempt to sweep No. 22 TCU. They'll follow that with a trip to Morgantown to take on West Virginia before heading home to host No. 12 Kansas State.
- The Cowboys' schedule will conclude with a home date against No. 9 Baylor before a trip to Lubbock for their regular-season finale.
- Mike Boynton's teams have a history of peaking this time of year, as they are 17-11 in the last four seasons in the month of February, including a 4-0 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.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
- Improve the Cowboys to 61-122 in the Kansas series dating back to 1926
- Extend the Cowboys' win streak to six, its longest since the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
- Be its second in the last three meetings in Stillwater.
- Snap a four-game losing streak to the Jayhawks.
- Improve the Cowboys to 37-39 all-time against Kansas at home.
- Be the Cowboys' fourth win over a ranked opponent this season.
- Give OSU back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since the 2021 Big 12 Tournament.
- Give Mike Boynton 24 wins over ranked opponents in his career.
- Be Mike Boynton's 104th career win, putting him three shy of Paul Hansen for fourth-most in school history.
- Improve OSU to 5-0 in the month of February for the first time since 2013.
- Be the Cowboys' eighth conference win this season, matching their total from last season.
- Be the Cowboys' fifth-straight conference win, their longest such streak since 2021.
Streaks and Trends
- OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 752 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
- The Cowboys have posted 10 or more assists in 32 of their past 37 games dating back to last season.
- Dating back to last season, OSU has held 27 of its past 29 opponents under their season scoring average.
- Oklahoma State has reached double-digit second chance points in eight of 12 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 24 of 25 games this season. OSU leads the Big 12 with 5.3 blocked shots per game, which ranks 14th in the country.
- OSU has held 20 of its 25 opponents to 35 percent shooting or less from the three-point line while 15 of 24 have shot less than 30 percent. The Cowboys rank 17th in the country in three-point defense, holding opponents to 29.6 percent.
- The Cowboys have made 10 or more free throws in 18 of 25 games this season after doing so in 18 of their 30 games last season.
- OSU has forced 10 or more turnovers in 16-straight Big 12 games.
- Oklahoma State has recorded at least five steals in 21 of its 25 games this season.
- Kalib Boone has scored 13 or more points in eight of his last 11 games and has scored 18 or more in four of the last six.
- Boone has posted 96 points while shooting 38-51 from the field in his last six games.
- OSU has recorded five or more blocks in six of its seven road games this season.
- Bryce Thompson continues to shoot the three at a high clip in conference play, making 43.4 percent of his attempts while averaging 1.9 makes per game.
- The Cowboys have shot better than 40 percent from the field in eight-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 1-6 when their opponent has a higher field goal percentage.
