Underwood Opening Big 12 Play Against Friend, Mentor Huggins

Friday, December 30

Stillwater, OK

3 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

West Virginia

Underwood Opening Big 12 Play Against Friend, Mentor Huggins

December 27, 2016 | Cowboy Basketball

Game Center
• Opponent: No. 11/12 West Virginia (11-1, 0-0 Big 12)
• Date/Tipoff: Dec. 30, 2016 / 3 p.m. Central
• Series: WVU leads 5-4 (Tied 2-2 in Stillwater)
• Tickets: SOLD OUT
• TV: ESPN2 (Mark Neely & Mark Plansky)
• Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 81, XM 81
• Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
• Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
• OSU Game Notes

The Basics
• The Cowboys wrapped up their final non-conference tune-up with a 10-2 record, the nation's third ranked scoring offense and a high-pressure defense that turns opponents over 26.1 percent of the time - also third nationally. Now OSU turns its attention to Big 12 Conference play and No. 11/12 West Virginia, which will feature Cowboy head coach Brad Underwood facing off against his friend and mentor, Bob Huggins, for the second time in nine months.

On the Air
• The Big 12 opener for Oklahoma State and West Virginia will air nationally on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Mark Plansky on the call. Tipoff is slated for 3:01 p.m. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call from the sidelines of historic Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Oklahoma State Snapshot
• At 99-16, Brad Underwood is on the verge of becoming one of the fastest coaches to reach 100 wins in the history of college basketball. With 89 wins in his time at Stephen F. Austin, Underwood tied for the most victories by any coach after three seasons. His .861 career win percentage ranks behind only Buck Freeman (.914, St. Johns, '28-31) and Adolph Rupp (.882, Kentucky, '31-34) for the best win percentage ever by a fourth-year coach.
• OSU ranks third in the country in scoring at 93.3 points per game, but their high-pressure defense is the main reason why. The Cowboys rank fourth in the country with 11.0 steals per game and third in turnovers forced at 20.67. According to KenPom, OSU is holding opponents to an average possession of just 14.8 seconds - the shortest in the country - and they rank third in turnover percentage with a mark of 26.1.
• Oklahoma State pushes the tempo on offense. OSU is fifth nationally with 78.6 possessions per game, and they rank 17th in KenPom's offensive efficiency rating. In fact, the Cowboys average 10.2 more shots per game than their opponents. OSU also knows how to get to the free throw line, where they rank fourth nationally in free throws made (22.4) and 10th in free throws attempted (29.5).
• One of the nation's elite point guards, Jawun Evans is taking the nation by storm this season. The sophomore leads the Big 12 in scoring at 20.2 points per game (45th nationally), and is second in steals at 2.5 per game (12th nationally). KenPom currently rates him as the No. 11 offensive threat in the nation. The Naismith Trophy and Cousy Award watch list member has six 20-point games and three 30-point games this season alone, and he also earned a spot on the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team. Evans also ranks among the league's top 10 in assists (5th, 4.6 apg) and free throw percentage (5th, 78.8%), and he owns two of the Big 12's top three scoring performances this season - 35 points against UConn, and 34 points against Campbell.
• At an average of 41.7 points per game, the Cowboy bench ranks fifth nationally in scoring. OSU's bench averages 44.3 percent of its minutes, which ranks third nationally. The Cowboy bench has been responsible for 36-plus points in nine games this season, including three games with 58-plus points.
• OSU's freshmen are responsible for 40 percent of the team's minutes this season, and have produced in key stretches lately. Freshmen scored 19 of OSU's final 23 points - including the last nine - in the road win at Tulsa, and four freshmen were on the floor when the Cowboys stretched their lead at Wichita State. Thomas Dziagwa leads the Big 12 with a 3-point shooting mark of 52.6 percent. The freshman was 3-of-7 from 3-point against TAMU-CC, which brings him to 13-of-23 over the last four games. Point guard Brandon Averette won Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors after leading OSU to a road win at Tulsa.
• Jeffrey Carroll has been a scoring and rebounding machine this season. The redshirt-junior remains the Big 12's only player ranked inside the league's top six in scoring (4th, 16.2 ppg), rebounding (6th, 7.3 rpg) and field goal percentage (6th, .568). Carroll has four 20-point games this year, and pulled down a career-high 12 board at Maryland.
• The Cowboys have cleaned up on the offensive glass this year. OSU is fourth nationally with 16.1 offensive boards per game and third in offensive rebound percentage at 41.1 percent. A true team effort, only one player on the team ranks inside the top 100 in the country in offensive boards (Mitchell Solomon, 77th at 2.92 per game). The Cowboys have pulled down 15-plus offensive boards in nine games this year, including each of the last six outings. OSU has at least 20 offensive rebounds in two of their last three games. Solomon posted nine offensive boards against TAMU-CC, which is only one off the school record.

West Virginia Connections & Snapshot
• Brad Underwood and Bob Huggins share a 20-plus year friendship in basketball. While at Cincinnati, Huggins recruited Underwood's players at Western Illinois and Daytona Beach CC, and when a spot opened on Huggins' staff at K-State in 2006 he brought Underwood on board. Underwood remained on staff with Frank Martin when Huggins returned to West Virginia, and the two have remained close friends ever since.
• Underwood and Huggins met on March 18 in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and that day Underwood's No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin squad took down the No. 3 Mountaineers, 70-56, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Led by 33 points from two-time Southland Conference MVP Thomas Walkup, the Lumberjacks turned WVU over 22 times and held them to 30.8 percent shooting. Walkup was one of three SFA players with four steals on the day. Devin Williams posted 12 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Mountaineers.
• West Virginia and Oklahoma State employ similar high-pressure defensive tactics to turn opponents over, and both have been very effective. The Press Virginia defense leads the nation in turnovers forced (26.25), turnover percentage (35.0) and steals (13.9), while the Cowboys rank third in turnovers forced (20.67) and turnover percentage (26.1) and are fourth in steals (11.0).
• Both squads also make a living on the offensive glass. WVU is second in the country in offensive rebounds per game (16.25) and fourth in offensive rebound percentage (41.0), while the Cowboys rank fourth in offensive rebounds (16.08) and third in offensive rebounding percentage (41.1).
• After West Virginia's victory over UMKC on Dec. 17, Bob Huggins became just the third active coach to win 800 career games. Huggins is the author of 27 20-win seasons and 30 postseason appearances in 34 seasons as a head coach.