Cowboy Basketball continues road swing Tuesday at BYU

Tuesday, January 14

Provo, Utah / Marriott Center

8:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

BYU

Photo by: OSU Athletics

January 13, 2025 | Cowboy Basketball

Cowboy Notes (PDF)Watch Listen Live Stats Series History

OKLAHOMA STATE (9-6, 1-3) at BYU (10-5, 1-3)
Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 | 8 p.m. CT (7 p.m. MT)
Provo, Utah | Marriott Center

Watch: ESPN+ (Ted Emrich & Tim Welsh)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: BYU leads 5-4 (2-1 in Provo)
Last: Mar. 9, 2024 in Provo (BYU, 85-71)

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Opening Tips:

The Cowboys finish out a two-game tour of the Wasatch Front on Tuesday night against BYU Cougars inside the Marriott Center.
OSU fell 83-62 to Utah on Saturday evening in Salt Lake City, which is roughly 50 miles up the road from Provo.
Bryce Thompson scored a team-high 16 points for the Cowboys, who fell behind 12-0 early and never recovered. The Utes shot 55.6% from the field to OSU's 33.3%, helped by 12 dunks.
The loss slowed momentum from last Tuesday's 79-66 win over Kansas State, which included a season-high 27 points from Abou Ousmane as well as the 1,000^th point of Brandon Newman's collegiate career.
First-year head coach Steve Lutz has already doubled OSU's true win total from a season ago (1-9) after December victories at Tulsa and Seton Hall. The latter capped off the Big 12's 6-5 challenge series win over the Big East.
This is the first and only meeting between OSU and BYU this season. The Cougars are one of five Big 12 opponents who will not appear at Gallagher-Iba Arena (Baylor, KU, TCU, WVU).
The schools split last year's series with each protecting their home floor. On Feb. 21, 2024 in Stillwater, OSU upset the 19^th-ranked Cougars, 93-83. Jamyron Keller (one of just three OSU holdovers) celebrated his first career start with 22 points and zero misses (8/8 FG, 4/4 3pt, 2/2 FT). BYU returned the favor with an 85-71 win on its senior night (Mar. 9, 2024).
Tuesday night will be a busy one for the Mariott Center table crew, as BYU and OSU utilize their benches more than any other teams in the Big 12. Per KenPom, Cougar reserves are clocking 43.4% of the team's overall minutes (7^thnationally), just ahead of the Cowboys' 42.2% (11^th).
OSU is one of only two teams nationally (along with DePaul) that have nine regulars* averaging 17.0-or-more minutes per game (*= players who have appeared in at least 75% of team's games).
Fifth-year forward Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery has scored in double-figures in each of the last three games for OSU and team-best 11 times overall. His season scoring average (12.6 ppg) is the nation's second-highest among players who have not started a game.
Among Big 12 regulars, Avery (7th, 21.8) and Ousmane (21.7) both rank inside the top-10 in points-per-40-minutes.
Notably, the last set of OSU teammates to average more than 21.0 points-per-40 were the 1995 Final Four duo of Bryant "Big Country" Reeves (24.8) and Randy Rutherford (21.5).
OSU ranks among the Big 12 leaders in steals (9.1), forced turnovers (15.4) and fastbreak points (13.9). The Cowboys are also among the top-25 nationally in free throw makes (17.8) and attempts (24.5).
Devo Davis' next steal will be his 150th, which would make OSU one of only two programs (along with Dayton) with a backcourt featuring three players with 150+ career steals. In addition to Dean (210), Khalil Brantley has 151.

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Mr. Bigshot:

6-foot-10 Abou Ousmane is one of the nation's deadliest three-point snipers -- at least according to the numbers. His .636 percentage ranks fourth nationally among players with at least 10 attempts. The fifth-year forward had attempted just six career threes coming into the season but has knocked down 7-of-11 as a Cowboy.
Ousmane's percentage would be an all-time OSU record (again, among players with 10+ attempts), topping Derrick Davis, who made 8-of-14 (.571) during the 1987-88 season, and Darwyn Alexander (26/51, .510 in 1988-89).
Ousmane's improved stroke has also been evident at the foul line. A career 57.6% free throw shooter on nearly 300 attempts prior to this year, Ousmane is shooting 76.1% for OSU (35-of-46).

NCAA Leaders // 3-Point Percentage (Min. 10 3FGA):
Tyler Boston (Holy Cross) – .818 (9/11)
Jake Auer (West Virginia) -- .700 (7/10)
Jermaine Ballisager-Wenn (Portland) -- .700 (7/10)
Abou Ousmane (Oklahoma St.) – .636 (7/11)
Eduardo Klafke (Ole Miss) -- .611 (11/18)
As of Jan. 12, 2025 // Data Source: Stathead.com

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On This Date: Jan. 14
1958 -- The Cowboys secured their third top-25 win in a span of 13 days, defeating No. 17 Wichita, 55-42, on the road. Arlen Clark had 19 points and senior Eddie Sutton added seven points and six rebounds for the Pokes, who were coming off victories at No. 2 Kansas (led by Wilt Chamberlain) and at home over No. 5 Cincinnati (led by Oscar Robertson).
2004 -- OSU piled up 20 takeaways in a 77-56 thrashing of 11^th-ranked Oklahoma. The trio of Ivan McFarlin, Tony Allen and John Lucas made life miserable for Kelvin Sampson's young guards, combining for 59 points and 10 of the Cowboys' 16 steals.

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Last Time on Cowboy Basketball:
Saturday, Jan. 11 in Salt Lake City | Utah 83, OSU 62

Utah scored the first 12 points of the game and cruised to its first ever Big 12 conference win.
Playing without defensive sparkplug Arturo Dean (illness), OSU did little to disrupt the Utes' offensive rhythm. The hosts shot 55.6% from the field to OSU's 33.3%, helped by 12 dunks and 10 layups. They had a 46-24 advantage in the paint while piling up 23 assists and 2.09 A:TO Ratio.
Utah made 16-of-24 second half shots (eight of them dunks) to grow an 11-point halftime lead to as many as 26 with 8:02 to play.
Bryce Thompson paced the Cowboys with 16 points and reserves Chi Chi Avery and Brandon Newman added 13 and 10 respectively.
Ezra Ausar (21), Jake Wahlin (16) and Keanu Dawes (16) led the Utah count.
The Cowboys won the rebounding battle, 40-39, helped by 18 offensive boards, but managed just five fastbreak points--roughly a third of their Big 12-best average coming into the day.

More Utah Leftovers:

Thompson's 16-point night was his best since scoring 17 in a win over Miami at the Charleston Classic (Nov. 22).
Avery went 0-for-5 from three, snapping a season-long string of 14 straight games with at least one make.
Avery blocked two shots, matching his career-high, set earlier this season against SIU.
OSU has forced double-digit turnovers in every game this season.
Utah's 46 paint points, 23 assists and 2.09 assist-to-turnover ratio were all season-highs for an OSU foe.
In addition to a rough shooting night from the field (33.3%), the Cowboys made a season-low 54.5% of their free throws (12-of-22).
OSU started 8-of-39 (.205) from the field before making 14-of-27 (.519) over the final 18:00.
OSU fell behind by scores of 12-0 at 21-5 against the Utes and went into halftime down 37-26.
Slow starts have been the theme in each of the last four Cowboy losses. They also faced double-digit halftime deficits against Oklahoma (43-26), Houston (28-18) and West Virginia (46-19).

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The Series with BYU:

With last season's home-and-home split, BYU maintained its lead in the all-time series (5-4).
The Cowboys upset the 19^th-ranked Cougars in Stillwater on Feb. 17 behind a breakout performance from Jamyron Keller, who celebrated his birthday with his first career start and scored 22 points without missing a shot (8/8FG, 4/4 3pt, 2/2 FT) in a 93-83 OSU win.
BYU avenged the loss in the regular season finale at the Marriott Center, winning 85-71 to lock up the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 tournament. Javon Small scored 27 of his season-high 34 points in the second half for OSU.
Last year's games were the first between the programs in more than two decades and their first as Big 12 conference rivals.
The Cowboys won the series debut (Dec. 15, 1961) under legendary head coach Henry Iba in the arena that now partially bears his name.
Two years later (Dec. 12, 1963) he led the Cowboys to a 71-64 road win at Marriott Center's predecessor, Smith Field House.
Shortly after Mr. Iba's 1970 retirement, nationally-ranked BYU squads returned the favor with a home-and-home sweep.
Last year's visit to GIA was BYU's first since Dec. 15, 1971. Likewise, last year's trip to Provo was OSU's first since Dec. 13, 1972. The Marriott Center, now in its 54^th season, was a little over a year old at that point.
BYU twice defeated Final Four bound OSU teams in 1994-95 (Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks) and 2003-04 (Salt Lake City).
In between, OSU won a January 2003 matchup in downtown Oklahoma City (the first college basketball game ever played at Paycom Center).

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Scouting the Cougars:

BYU finished its first Big 12 season with a 23-11 (10-8) record and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament where it fell to No. 11 seed Duquesne in the first round.
The Cougars were one of the nation's most prolific three-point shooting teams under Mark Pope (who departed for Kentucky last spring) and have maintained that identity under Kevin Young, a longtime NBA assistant who most recently served with the Phoenix Suns.
BYU is averaging 10.4 threes per game and out-rebounding opponents by an average of 10.2 per game.
The Cougars rely heavily on their bench, which has clocked a Big 12 best 43.4% of the minutes while averaging 30.4 points per game. 10 players are logging 12+ minutes per game.
A high percentage of BYU shots (48.1%) and points (38.7%) come from beyond the arc, with rest from mostly around the rim. The Cougars are shooting 59.1% on two-point looks (11^th nationally) and 35.5% from deep.
BYU has been a good offensive rebounding team (36.1% ranks 29^th) and an elite one on the defensive glass, limiting opponents to 21.5% of chances (2^nd nationally).
In their 1-3 Big 12 start, the Cougars have shot just 31% from three against Big 12 foes and their rebounding margin is down to just 1.3 per game.
Two of the three conference losses have come to KenPom top-15 opponents (Texas Tech and Houston) and the other was on the road (TCU).
BYU is 8-1 at home but the Jan. 7 loss to Texas Tech snapped a 14-game winning streak at the Marriott Center. The Cougars are 8-3 in Big 12 home games since joining the league.
BYU's rotation includes five holdovers from a year ago plus three transfers and a pair of highly-regarded freshmen.
6-foot-9 Russian guard Egor Demin – a five-star recruit – is averaging 11.1 points and 5.8 assists while clocking a team-high 28.9 minutes.
Fellow rookie Kanon Catchings, a 6-9 forward who averages 9.9 points, is the only Cougar to start all 15 games.
The team's rebounding has gotten a lift from junior Utah transfer Keba Keita (6.8 ppg). He's pulling a team-best 8.4 boards in just under 20 minutes per game. KenPom rates him as the nation's seventh-best offensive rebounder by percentage (17.5) and second-best on the defensive glass (32.7).
The majority of the production has come from returning players, including Honorable Mention All-Big 12 picks Fousseyni Traore and Dalin Hall.
Traore, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, is in his fourth season with the program and closing in on 1,200 career points. He's averaging 9.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and shooting 61% from the field.
Hall, a 6-4 junior guard, averages 4.0 assists.
A key reserve the past two years, 6-foot-5 junior Richie Saunders is averaging a team-best 13.9 points in his first season as a starter and shooting close to 43% from deep (30/70, .429).
One of two returning starters (along with Hall), 6-foot-5 fifth-year Trevin Knell (9.6 ppg) has hit a team-best 31 threes on 42.5% accuracy.

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Matchup Mashup:

Jaxton Bobik served a portion of his two-year church mission alongside BYU's Dallin Hall in California.
Bobik was born in Provo but moved to Stillwater when he was six weeks old after his father transferred from BYU to Oklahoma State.
Daniel Bobik was a key reserve in two seasons at BYU (2000-02) and helped the Cougars to the Mountain West tournament title and an NCAA tournament bid as a freshman. After sitting out the 2002-03 season as a transfer, Bobik was a starting guard on OSU teams that advanced to the 2004 Final Four and the 2005 Sweet 16.
As of Sunday, OSU and BYU were on a short list of 28 teams that had not experienced a one-possession game this season. The Cowboys' closest call was a 66-61 win over Tarleton State, while Tuesday's 71-67 loss at TCU was BYU's thinnest margin.

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A Cowboy win would...

Salvage a split of their two-game road swing through the Beehive State and make them 2-3 in Big 12 Conference play (10-6 overall).
Make them 3-2 in true road games, tripling last season's win total (1-9).
Even the all-time series with BYU and 5-5 and give them a 2-1 leg up in the Big 12 era.
Be their first at the Marriott Center and make them 1-2 in Provo.

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Up Next: Colorado
Saturday, 2 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

The Cowboys returns home Saturday to face new/old Big 12 rival Colorado. The teams last met in 2011 (CU's last before moving to the PAC-12).
OSU continues its promise to forever Remember the Ten with an annual observance of the Jan. 27, 2001 plane crash that claimed the lives of ten members of the Cowboy Basketball family.
Colorado (9-5, 0-3) will be playing for the third time in seven days after Sunday and Tuesday home games against West Virginia and Cincinnati.