News Releases

The Cowboys

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 SIU - Here's The Scout

• Oklahoma State will close out its two-game home stand to open its 2022-23 season on Thursday when it plays host to Bryan Mullis and Southern Illinois at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Mike Wolfe and former Oklahoma State Cowboy Bryndon Manzer will be on the call. On the radio side, Dave Hunziker will be joined by John Holcomb.
• Southern Illinois comes into the contest with a 1-0 record on the season after dropping a close 73-64 contest at No. 20 Alabama in its lone exhibition of the year. SIU went 16-15 last season, including a 9-9 mark in conference play. Southern Illinois went a combined 5-11 away from home last season.
• SIU leads the series, which dates back to 1963, 4-2. The two foes haven’t met since 2008 when OSU traveled to Carbondale. There, SIU captured a 69-53 victory. OSU’s two victories in the series came in Oklahoma City in 2005 and in Stillwater in 1963.
• Thursday will be SIU’s third trip to Gallagher-Iba Arena and its first since 1966. OSU has averaged 68.2 points per game in the six-game series.
• SIU opened the season, officially, with a 94-63 win over Little Rock on Monday at home. SIU jumped out to a 54-27 lead at halftime and never looked back. Four players finished with double-figure scoring while Clarence Rupert brought in eight rebounds.

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 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.

Defense First - Because It Wins Games  

• 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.
• 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.
• Once teams found their way in the paint, things didn't get much easier as the Cowboys had the seventh-best block percentage in the country to go along with the 23rd best steal percentage.
• 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.
• 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

• Oklahoma State opened non-conference play 1-0 after Monday night's victory over UT Arlington in Stillwater. Kalib Boone scored the opening points of the season as OSU took down the Mavericks, 77-66. OSU's defense held UT Arlington to two makes in its first 12 attempts from the field while also forcing six turnovers in the first eight minutes.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

• 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. 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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• With 87 under his belt already, it's likely he will reach 100 games played in a career around the start of conference play.

Clutch Cowboys

• The Cowboys have always prided themselves in winning the tough games and have especially shined in overtime games during the Mike Boynton era.
• After Oklahoma State was a perfect 4-0 in overtime games two years ago, it went 3-3 last year but has won 10 of its last 14 OT games dating back to 2016.
• The mark two seasons ago tied for the most overtime games in a season in program history, and the perfect 4-0 record in extra sessions equaled the marks set by the 2006-07, 1982-83 and 1964-65 squads.
• Mike Boynton and the Cowboys are 9-4 in OT games during his career.
• All together, Oklahoma State is 87-64 (.576) all-time in overtime games dating back to 1907.

Win And Loss Differences Last Season

• In losses last season, Oklahoma State allowed an average of 70.9 points while scoring 63.4. It had 7.7 steals in those 15 games with 4.1 blocks and 15.5 turnovers. It shot 41.1 percent from the field, and 27.4 from behind the arc.
• In the 15 wins, OSU averaged 73.3 points while allowing just 60.4. It had 6.8 blocks per win, 14.7 turnovers and shot 45.7 from the field. It also notably shot 31.8 percent from behind the arc in those victories.
• The Cowboys finished the year with two wins.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

• Improve the Cowboys to 3-4 all-time in the series against SIU.
• Push OSU to 2-1 all-time at home in the series.
• Be Oklahoma State's second in the past three games of the SIU series.
• Be OSU's first in Stillwater over SIU since an 83-54 win on Dec. 3, 1963.
• Make head coach Mike Boynton 1-0 against Southern Illinois.
• Be OSU's 840th win in GIA.
• Be OSU's 448th non-conference win in the arena.
• Make OSU 2-0 to start the season for the fourth time under head coach Mike Boynton.

Streaks and Trends

• OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 728 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
• In the first half, Oklahoma State held UT Arlington to just 22 points. It marked the seventh-straight half of basketball that it held its opponent to less than 30 points.
• Oklahoma State has recorded seven or more blocks in five-straight games and has reached the mark in seven of its past 10 contests.
• Moussa Cisse has recorded at least one block in each of his past 11 games dating back to last year. There have been just three games in his Oklahoma State career in which he did not record at least one block. He opened the 2022-23 season with four blocks against UTA after recording two against the Mavericks in the 2021-22 season.
• The Cowboys have posted ten or more assists in 11 of their past 13 games dating back to last season.
• OSU has recorded 10 or more offensive rebounds in seven of its past nine games dating back to last season. OSU brought in 14 in the opening night win over UTA on Monday night.
• The Cowboys have outscored their opponents 986-930 (+56) in the first half dating back to the opening game of the 2021-22 season.
• With Monday night's result, OSU has now won five of its past six home games dating back to the 64-55 win over Oklahoma on Feb. 5, 2022. 
• Dating back to last season, OSU has hit 10 or more free throws in a game in two of its past four games and has hit nine or more in three of its past four.