Oklahoma State and host Tulsa will return from a much-needed holiday break as the in-state rivals meet Wednesday night in non-conference action.
The Cowboys (4-2) went into the Charleston Classic undefeated on Nov. 21 but left after absorbing two losses in four days. They fell to Florida Atlantic to start the tournament and ended it with a 90-78 loss to Nevada on Nov. 24.
In the latter defeat, Oklahoma State’s defense allowed the Wolf Pack to shoot 58.9 percent from the floor as the Cowboys trailed by as many as 19 points and never led.
“This team has to has to get over itself,” said Cowboys coach Steve Lutz. “We’ll get frustrated with the officials or we’ll get frustrated with our team or you know because someone took a bad shot, or someone missed us on an opportunity to get a shot, and we’ll let that affect the other end, and so we’ve got to get past all of that, get past ourselves, and be consistent with our defensive effort.”
Offensively, Oklahoma State has gotten better at holding onto the ball, averaging 11 turnovers per game for the first four games of the season, but totaling just 13 in the past two games.
Marchelus Avery scored 15 points for the Cowboys in each of those two games, showing offensive consistency that Oklahoma State will need Wednesday.
Tulsa (4-4) split two games at the Jacksonville Classic, falling 74-71 most recently against Georgia State on Nov. 27. Despite Dwon Odom’s 16 points and 11 rebounds, the Golden Hurricane were outrebounded 46-32, leading to 10 second-chance points.
With two seconds left and the game tied 71-71, Braeden Carrington fouled Zarique Nutter on a jumper, leading to a free throw and the eventual three-point victory, with Tulsa not getting off a final shot.
Now, the Golden Hurricane will welcome a Sooner State rival loaded with experience, with the Cowboys a top-10 team in terms of Division I experience on their roster.
“They’ve got a deep roster of guys that will do a few things,” said Tulsa coach Eric Konkol. “They’re going to play fast, they’re going to play hard, they’re going to crash the glass, and they right now are winning both the rebound margin and the turnover margin, and that’s not an easy thing to do.”
–Field Level Media
