The Cowboys

  1. The 2022-23 Cowboys will attack the season with a 15-man roster that features the returning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Big 12 selection and a bevy of talent that is poised for a postseason run.
  2. Oklahoma State will introduce a slew of newcomers this season, starting with transfers John-Michael Wright (High Point) and Caleb Asberry (Texas State). Quion Williams, the lone freshman, will also join the trio from Jonesboro, Ark. Rounding out the new faces is Kris Quintana, the team's new video coordinator.
  3. The Cowboys open with a pair of home games against UT Arlington and Southern Illinois before hitting the road for their first trip to Rochester, MI. OSU is no stranger to Oakland, as the two have squared off two-straight years coming into this season's meeting.
  4. Under the direction of head coach Mike Boynton, the Cowboys haven't been a team you wanted to fall behind on. In fact, the Pokes are a commanding 69-19 in his five seasons when leading at halftime.
  5. Oklahoma State brings plenty of experience to the table this season with three consistent starters from last season's team (Avery Anderson III, Bryce Thompson and Moussa Cisse) all returning, as well as key members who have filled the starter's role or made an impact off the bench (Kalib Boone and Tyreek Smith).

Facing Ouachita Baptist - Here's The Scout

  1. Oklahoma State will open its 2022-23 season Thursday when it plays host to Dennis Nutt and Ouachita Baptist at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Mike Wolfe and Bryndon Manzer will be on the call.
  2. Nutt is brother to Houston and Danny Nutt - two former Arkansas Razorback football coaches. His other brother, Dickey, is on the men's basketball staff at Florida State. Dennis notably played with the Mavericks in his NBA career that lasted from 1986-88. He has led the Tigers to two Great American Conference tournament championships in 2013 and 2016, and a GAC regular season title in 2015. His 2016 squad qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament, the first appearance for the program since 2008.
  3. The Tigers went 7-21 overall last season, including a 3-10 mark on the road and an 0-2 mark in neutral site action. Ouachita Baptist closed the season on a high note with two wins to finish the year.
  4. Ma'Darius Hobson led the Tigers in scoring last year as he averaged 15.8 points per game. A senior this season, he also averaged 5.4 rebounds last season.  Last season the Tigers averaged 68.5 points per game, while allowing an average of 73.8.
  5. In the paint, Tylar Haynes led the way last year with 6.0 rebounds per contest. On the year, OBU averaged 33.6 rebounds per contest and while opponents averaged 35.6.  

The New Sheriffs In Town

  1. 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 3.4 assists.
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. Asberry was notably a two-time All-Sun Belt (2021: Third Team, 2022: First Team) selection.
  5. 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.

Defense First - Because It Wins Games  

  1. Oklahoma State allowed just 12 of its 30 foes to score more than 70 points in a game last season and had the 4th-best adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Kenpom.
  2. A big point of that was turnovers as the Pokes posted the 17th best turnover percentage in the country last season while holding teams to 43.7 percent from inside the arc.
  3. Once teams found their way in the paint, things didn't get much easier as the Cowboys delivered the seventh-best block percentage in the country to go along with the 23rd best steal percentage.
  4. The Cowboys closed the season with a bang on the defensive side. After holding Iowa State to just 36 points on the road, the fewest points the Cowboys had allowed in any conference road game since a 38-34 win over Oklahoma in Norman on March 2, 1995, they turned around just three days later and held Texas Tech to just 51.
  5. Iowa State came into the game in Ames shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 33.4 percent from three. In the Oklahoma State win, OSU held the Cyclones to 28.3 percent shooting from the floor and 11.8 percent from three. The Cowboys also held the Cyclones to 16 points in the second half, which was the lowest Iowa State point total in any half last year. The 36 total points was also the lowest point total in a game for Iowa State last season.

The Non-Conference Schedule Highlights

  1. The Cowboys notably head to Oakland on Nov. 13, looking to avenge last season's 56-55 loss in GIA. The series, which started in 2020, sits at 1-1 as OSU has averaged 69.5 points per game against OU.
  2. For the third-straight year, Oklahoma State is set to open the regular season against UT Arlington. In a series that dates back to 1982, OSU is 12-1 against the Mavericks and won seven straight. The Cowboys earned their largest margin of victory in the series last season (+43) in GIA. OSU is 8-0 at home in the series.
  3. For the first time since 2017, and just the third since 1970, UConn appears on the Oklahoma State schedule. OSU is 2-0 in the series. This season's meeting will be the first played on either school's home court.
  4. Another exciting match up, Virginia Tech returns to the schedule for the first time since 2012. OSU heads to Brooklyn looking for its first win in the series. Head coach Mike Boynton is 4-0 all-time against ACC schools.
  5. A meeting for the fourth-straight year against Wichita State awaits the Cowboys. Although the Shockers have won three of the past four in the series, OSU leads the series, 30-11, all-time. The Cowboys are an outstanding 15-5 in games played in Wichita in the series that dates back to 1934. 

Moussa Got Better Last Season - And Here's The Numbers To Show It

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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. It would also be hard to miss his performance against Baylor on Feb. 21 when he recorded five blocks with 10 rebounds and 12 points.

Avery Anderson In The Records

  1. Avery Anderson III is set for his fourth season as a Cowboys and has the opportunity to leave his mark all over the Cowboy record book.
  2. Most notably, at 817 career points Anderson is likely to become the 45th Cowboy in program history to record 1,000 or more points in a career. This would mark back-to-back seasons for OSU to have a player achieve this mark after Isaac Likekele did so last season, as well.
  3. A point of pride for Anderson has been his free throw shooting, and he currently stands with the seventh-best percentage in Big 12 play in school history. That to go along with the 24th best overall free throw percentage.
  4. A sneaky good defender, he also has the opportunity to finish inside the top-10 for steals in Big 12 games in a Cowboy career.
  5. With 87 under his belt already, it's likely he will reach 100 games played in a career around the start of conference play.

Last Year's Exhibition

  1. Four Oklahoma State players scored in double figures to lift the Cowboy basketball team to a 76-68 exhibition win over Central Oklahoma in front of 8,368 fans in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Nov. 5.
  2. Playing for the first time in an OSU uniform, 6-foot-10 Memphis transfer Moussa Cisse scored 14 points and blocked five shots. Avery Anderson added 14 points, five assists and three steals.
  3. An 11-0 Oklahoma State run in the first half took a 27-26 deficit and turned it into a 37-27 lead, but UCO closed out the half with a 9-0 run of its own to bring the halftime score to 39-38 in favor of OSU. The game remained close in the second half until the Cowboys went on a 14-0 run to turn a 53-52 deficit into a 66-53 advantage. During that deciding second-half run, OSU held the Bronchos to 1-for-12 shooting from the field.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

  1. Give OSU a win in each of its past 34 exhibition games since 2001.
  2. Not actually show up in the record, as exhibitions don't count toward official records or stats.
  3. Be its second over Ouachita Baptist in exhibition contests.
  4. Be Oklahoma State's third-straight victory, if it counted. OSU comes into the season with a two-game winning streak, the second longest in the Big 12 conference behind only Kansas.
  5. Be OSU's 839th win in GIA, if it counted. OSU can reach that mark on Nov. 7 against UT Arlington in the season opener.

Streaks and Trends

  1. Oklahoma State has held opponents to less than 70 points in each of the past eight exhibitions dating back to 2013 and 14 of the past 15 dating back to 2009. Along those lines, OSU has won all 33 of its exhibitions since 2001.
  2. OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 727 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
  3. Avery Anderson III has reached double figures in scoring seven of his last eight games.
  4. Moussa Cisse has reached double figures in rebounds in his last four games, and six of his last seven.
  5. The Cowboys have defended home well as of late, winning four of their past five games in Gallagher-Iba Arena and six of their past eight.