Cowboy Basketball tips off new season Tuesday night against ORU

Tuesday, November 4

Stillwater

7:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Oral Roberts

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Cowboy Basketball tips off new season Tuesday night against ORU

October 31, 2025 | Cowboy Basketball

Cowboy Notes (PDF)ORU Notes (PDF)

ORAL ROBERTS (0-0) at -/rv OKLAHOMA STATE (0-0)
Tuesday, Nov. 4 | 7:01 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher Iba Arena (13,611)

Tickets: okstate.com/tickets
Watch: ESPN+ (Adam Hildebrandt & Bryndon Manzer)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: OSU leads 21-5 (14-1 in Stillwater)
Streak: OSU, Won 6
Last: Dec. 22, 2024 in Stillwater (OSU, 86-74)

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Opening Tips:

Oklahoma State opens its 117th men's basketball season and its second of the Steve Lutz era on Tuesday evening against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Cowboys split a pair of October exhibition games, defeating preseason No. 20 Auburn in Birmingham (97-95 ot) before falling to SMU (86-71) in Dallas.
Robert Jennings II is the only rotation player back from last year's NIT quarterfinalist. He started all 35 games.
The Cowboys have 12 newcomers on the roster, including seven Division I transfers who combined to average more than 94 points for their respective teams.
Green Bay transfer Anthony Roy was one of 20 players named last week to the Jerry West Award preseason watch list (national shooting guard of the year).
OSU started a pair of freshmen in the SMU exhibition (Lefteris Mantzoukas & Ryan Crotty).
Since 1972, when freshmen became eligible for varsity, 17 rookies have started an opener, most recently Cade Cunningham (2020).
OSU received a vote in the preseason edition of the USA Today Coaches Poll -- its first in either of the major top-25 lists since February 2023.
The Cowboys are predicted to finish 12th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 Conference race.
Former Cowboy Connor Dow is one of 13 newcomers on first-year head coach Kory Barnett's ORU roster. The Golden Eagles are picked ninth in the Summit League.
This will be the 27th meeting between the schools and their third in a season opener. OSU defeated ORU to tip off the 1980-81 and 2019-20 campaigns.
The Cowboys are 90-26 all-time in openers with victories in 28 of their last 30.
The 2024-25 Cowboys posted the program's highest home winning percentage in more than a decade (13-4, .765). Three of the losses came to NET top-10 opponents and the other in the NIT quarterfinals.
This will be OSU's first home action in exactly 224 days.
The Cowboys have won nine consecutive non-conference regular season contests on the white maple, dating back to December 2023.
This is the first of six consecutive OSU home games to start the regular season. That stretch continues Sunday with a 1 p.m. tipoff against Texas A&M on ESPN2.

Previewing the Pokes:

Steve Lutz spent his first year in Stillwater setting a foundation. Now he's ready to build on it.
The 2024-25 Cowboys played hard, rebounded and fought defensively – ultimately scratching their way to the NIT quarterfinals -- but often struggled for points. Lutz worked to rectify that over the offseason, targeting proven scorers and playmakers, more tailored to his aggressive, up-tempo style.
OSU reeled in the Big 12's top transfer portal class, per both On3 and HoopsHQ.
The 12 newcomers (seven DI transfers and five freshmen) join a core of three returners, headlined by senior forward Robert Jennings II, who started all 35 games last season.
Sophomore forward Andrija Vukovic looks to take on a larger role in year two, while senior guard Kirk Cole provides veteran leadership and stability.
Kanye Clary, a 6-foot guard who was included on HoopsHQ's preseason top-100 list, averaged nearly 17 points as a Penn State sophomore before an injury-shortened 2024-25 season at Mississippi State.
Likewise, Green Bay transfer Anthony Roy is playing his way back from a foot injury, suffered in early December of last year. Prior to it, he was the nation's leading scorer, averaging 25.7 points and 4.5 threes over the first 11 games.
Roy's presence, coupled with freshman sharp-shooter Ryan Crotty (247 threes in two seasons at the Miller School) should give opposing defenses something to think about on the perimeter.
Guards Jaylen Curry and Vyctorius Miller are two other potential playmakers. Curry averaged 13.3 points and ranked among the top-25 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.67) last season at UMass, and Miller showed flashes as a true freshman at LSU, averaging 8.9 points.
The two are not related, but 6-5 Isaiah Coleman (team-highs 15.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.5 spg at Seton Hall) and 6-8 Christian Coleman (11.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg at UAB) are both long, versatile athletes who can contribute in a variety of ways.
OSU added an experienced post presence in 6-10 senior Parsa Fallah (second team All-Pac 12 at Oregon State) to lead a youthful front court that includes Vukovic and high upside freshmen Benjamin Ahmed (Putnam Science) and Mekhi Ragland (Sunrise Christian).
Greek forward Lefteris Mantzoukas and Israeli guard Daniel Guetta aren't your typical freshmen. Both are 22 years old and have extensive international experience.
The 6-9 Mantzoukas is a career 40% three-point shooter who has played parts of eight seasons in the Greek Basketball League, including four with 2024 EuroLeague champion Pananthinaikos.

OSU By the Numbers:

1,070 -- Total points scored by the OSU bench last season (a school record).
20 -- Number of games in which OSU reserve topped the 30-point mark.
5 -- Games with 40+ bench points.
57 -- OSU's season high for bench points, set during the Nov. 14, 2024 win over SIU.
21.2% -- Percentage of OSU offensive possessions in transition, per Synergy.
12-0 -- OSU's record last season when scoring at least 80 points (5-18 otherwise).
8-3 -- OSU's record when scoring at least 20 points off opponent turnovers.
11-1 -- OSU's mark when totaling 40+ points off turnovers and free throws.

Top Performances in an OSU Varsity Debut:

Points:
29 -- James Anderson (Fr.) -- Prairie View A&M (11/9/2007)
27 -- Amos Thomas (So.) -- Arkansas (12/3/1968)
22 -- James King (So.) -- Hardin-Simmons (12/1/1962)
21 -- Cade Cunningham (Fr.) -- at UT Arlington (11/25/2020)
20 -- Ray Alford (Jr.) -- SFA (11/27/1984)
20 -- Mark Tucker (Jr.) -- vs. Tulsa (11/26/1977)
20 -- Dave Fisher (So.) -- Cal Poly (12/2/1971)

Rebounds:
13 -- Cameron McGriff (Fr.) -- Campbell (11/11/2016)

Assists:
8 -- Kendall Smith (Sr.) -- Pepperdine (11/10/2017)
8 -- Stevie Clark (Fr.) -- Mississippi Valley St. (11/8/2013)
8 -- Doug Gottlieb (So.) -- Texas-Pan American (11/15/1997)
8 -- Andre Owens (Jr.) -- vs. BYU (11/23/1994)

Steals:
4 -- JamesOn Curry (Fr.) -- Northwestern St. (11/19/2004)
4 -- Daniel Bobik (Jr.) -- Northwestern St. (11/21/2003)
4 -- Victor Williams (So.) -- vs. UMKC (11/21/2000)

Blocks:
4 -- Anthony Allen (Jr.) -- SE Louisiana (11/14/2014)
4 -- Kamari Murphy (Fr.) -- UC Davis (11/9/2012)
4 -- Byron Houston (Fr.) -- at Pittsburgh (11/27/1988)
4 -- Ray Alford (Jr.) -- SFA (11/27/1984)

The Series with ORU:

The teams play for the third straight year and for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.
OSU has swept every meeting in that span (five in GIA and one in Tulsa), however three of those wins came by five points or fewer.
ORU is in search of its first series win since Dec. 20, 2007 (under current Cowboy staffer Scott Sutton) and its first in Stillwater since 1983.
The Cowboys lead 21-5 all-time with six consecutive victories and are 14-1 inside GIA with wins in 13 straight.

Last Meeting: Dec. 22, 2024

The Cowboys wrapped up non-conference play last December with an 86-74 victory over the Golden Eagles behind team-highs 19 points and seven rebounds from Abou Ousmane.
Two OSU returners logged time in that game. Robert Jennings contributed nine points and five boards, and Andrija Vukovic put up a season-high six points (all at the foul line).
OSU made just 3-of-14 threes but pushed around the Golden Eagles inside, finishing +26 on the glass (46-20) with offensive rebounds on 17 of their 29 misses (.586).

Memorable Series Moments:

Jan. 11, 1983 – Matt Clark recorded 11 of OSU's school record 30 assists (a mark that has since been broken) in 108-82 win. The Cowboys made 43 field goals on 66.2% shooting.
Jan. 18, 1989 – OSU set a school record for most points against Division I opponent in a 124-98 win. Richard Dumas scored 33 of them on 14-of-24 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Jan. 25, 1992 – Byron Houston's 30 points and 12 rebounds led the Cowboys to a 84-61 win at ORU's Mabee Center. It was victory No. 18 in a school-record 20-0 start to the season.
Mar. 4, 1993 -- Fred Burley (35), Brooks Thompson (33) and Bryant Reeves (31) combined for 99 in No. 19 OSU's 114-85 win.
Nov. 6, 2019 – Yor Anei blocked eight shots to help the Cowboys fend off ORU, 80-75.
Dec. 8, 2020 – Cade Cunningham scored 29 points to help OSU survive another ORU upset bid, 83-78. Max Abmas, the nation's leading scorer, finished with 33 points on 6-of-12 three-point shooting for the Golden Eagles, who would go on to reach the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed.
Nov. 26, 2021 -- Abmas scored another 29 points on seven threes, but Bryce Williams hit back-to-back turn around jumpers late in overtime to help OSU emerge, 78-77.
Dec. 17, 2023 -- OSU closed the first half on a 17-2 run and led by as many as 30 points late in an 81-60 win. Bryce Thompson shared high-scoring honors with 13 points on 4-of-9 three-point shooting for the Cowboys, who knocked down 14-of-30 as a team. Issac McBride paced ORU with 14 points.

Matchup Mashup:

ORU junior guard Connor Dow played his first two collegiate seasons at Oklahoma State, appearing in 51 games with eight starts.
OSU special assistant Scott Sutton is the winningest coach in ORU history. The three-time Summit League Coach of the Year guided the Golden Eagles to 328 victories and eight postseason appearances from 1999-2017.
Notably, Sutton is one of four OSU grads who have led the ORU program, along with Jerry Hale (1975-78), Bill Self (1993-97) and Barry Hinson (1997-99). Hinson now serves is OSU Director of NIL.

Scouting the Golden Eagles:

ORU (7-23, 3-13 last year) is picked ninth in Summit League preseason poll.
The program begins its first season under Kory Barnett, a former Indiana Hoosier who worked 11 seasons under Steve Alford at UCLA and Nevada before joining Darian DeVries' staff for the 2024-25 season at West Virginia.
The Golden Eagles return just one player from last year's active roster, sophomore forward Luke Gray, who averaged 3.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 11.1 minutes over 30 games.
Junior guard Chase Martin redshirted for ORU last season after transferring in from Wofford.
12 of the other 14 players on the roster are in their first season with the program (four freshmen and eight transfers).
ORU is in search of its first true road victory since Jan. 3, 2024 at Montana State. The Golden Eagles have since dropped 21 straight.
Prior to that, ORU made the NCAA tournament twice in a three-year span, highlighted by a run to the 2021 Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed. In 2023, the Golden Eagles won 30 games and swept the Summit League's regular season and tournament titles.

A Cowboy win would...

Make them 1-0 for the second straight year and for the 29th time in the last 31 seasons.
Extend their all-time series lead over ORU to 22-5 (15-1 in Stillwater) with seven straight wins.
Make Steve Lutz 2-0 all-time against ORU.
Improve their home record under Lutz to 14-4.
Make them 873-268 all-time in GIA (now in its 88^th season), 305-94 since its 2000 expansion.
Up their record to 457-60 (.884) in non-conference regular season games in GIA.
Boost Lutz's career record to 87-53 in parts of five seasons as a head coach (18-18 with OSU).

Up Next: Texas A&M
Sunday, Nov. 9 (1 p.m., ESPN2)

Former Big 12 rival Texas A&M returns to Stillwater for the first time since the 2011-12 season as part of a new home-and-home series that will continue next season in College Station.
Fans are encouraged to dress in their brightest orange.
All season long, the OSU Ticket Office will offer a special Family Pack (four GA tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks) for just $65. To purchase, visit okla.st/familypack.
Sunday's Texas A&M game is part of a doubleheader at GIA, as the Cowgirls take on ORU at 4 p.m. Fans can enjoy both games with the same ticket.
The Cowboys won the most recent meeting with Texas A&M -- a Big 12-SEC Challenge matchup in College Station – back in January, 2020 – and lead the all-time series 32-18 (15-5 in Stillwater).
A&M is in its first season under head coach Bucky McMillan, whose Samford teams annually ranked among the national scoring and tempo leaders, averaging as many as 86 points in 2024.
A&M won 23 games last season, finished fifth in the SEC and reached a third straight NCAA tournament (advancing the second round).
14 of the 15 Aggies are new to the program.
Picked 13^th out of 16 in the SEC preseason media poll, A&M opens the season with home games against Northwestern State (Nov. 3) and Texas Southern (Nov. 6) before traveling to Stillwater.