Oklahoma St. 2/21 7:00 ESPN+

[Lobot]

Get to the game and support the team for this one. It is not sold out. The team Needs SUPPORT and crowd noise. If we get down, don't boo the players. Bring them back into the game together. We really can't afford to lose this one and make the NCAAs.

[GoBearcats31]

Oklahoma State is 0-7 on the road and 1-9 away from Stillwater including neutral games.

OSU is 0-6 in Big 12 road games with four blowouts and two Ls five or under.

Last two games are a 4 point loss at Oklahoma and a 10 point win versus BYU — the Cowboys’ best two game stretch in league play, if you will.

Leading scorer is Javon Small, who played the last two years at ECU.

[Carthage World]

Oklahoma State brought in a top 10 recruiting class for this season. Their future beyond this season is bright if they can keep their core together. The problem is that those 5 freshmen have played 35% of the team's total minutes so far this season and the growing pains have been obvious.

The Cowboys are particularly vulnerable in the frontcourt where 3 of those freshmen feature. Their only other true frontcourt player is a 5th-year 6'10 journeyman (Mike Marsh) who transferred in from Jacksonville University and plays sparingly off the bench.

Oklahoma State is good at drawing fouls and not fouling too much themselves, but their 2-point defense is awful. They've allowed teams to make 57.5% of their 2s during Big 12 play and concede a league-leading 40 2-point attempts/game, which means teams know to exploit their poor interior defense.

They are a team that is presumably improving though as they've won 3 home games in a row (WVU, Kansas St, and BYU) and their road losses have gotten more competitive (only lost by 4 @Oklahoma recently).

I hope we play to our full potential and beat this team by double-digits as it would provide a much needed boost for our NET ranking.

[coach]

Pound the ball inside early and often. Not the game to settle for 3's, make them guard you. Simple game plan for this one.

[leeraymond]

What is this Cincinnati team? Who is this Cincinnati team. I swear, I do not recognize this UC team. Who are these guys? Based on UC's conference play so far, it is unrecognizable. They do not play strong enough at home, as they have lost 4 conference home games and are 2 and 4 at home. So, you cannot say that they have a home court advantage. UC's conference win/loss record shows that it is actually a better road team than home team (3-3 on road). You cannot say that it is a defensive team because it gives up almost 70 points a game (conference play). You cannot call them an offensive team because they only score 68.58 points a game (conference play). They do not have any advantages other than rebounding and shot blocking. UC turns the ball over more than their opponents and teams steal the ball from UC more than UC steals the ball from them. UC does make one more free throw than their opponents per game (conference play). So, I ask the question again. Who are these guys? This is the most puzzling team that I have ever seen. For every game that they have won in conference so far, they have lost two straight except once where they won one and loss one. In fact, UC has yet to win two straight games in the conference. If UC wins Wednesday night, that would be two straight wins in conference play for the first time.

Here is the good part. The remaining conference schedule has some opportunities to get some good wins. They finally have a full roster (hopefully CJ can get hot down the stretch). UC's next opponent, Oklahoma State, is in worse shape than UC inside the conference. However, they have played some very close games in the conference. Hopefully, Miller and the coaching staff have learned its lesson from the West Virginia game. You have to take every team in the BIG 12 seriously.

Over the next 6 games we are going to get our answers to the lingering question; who are these guys and what is this Cincinnati team?

[GoBearcats31]

UC is 2-3 all-time versus Oklahoma State, with its most recent outings being a 2001 loss at Oklahoma State and a 2003 win at the Shoe.

If I am not mistaken, the loss at OSU was a season opener and snapped a long streak of UC winning its first game.

The most recent outing, in Feb. 2003, saw UC win by 11, led by 24 from Jason Maxiell and 15/10 from Leonard Stokes.

[GoBearcats31]

ESPN+ TV: Eric Rothman and Bryndon Manzer

Manzer seems to have played two seasons at Oklahoma State in the 90s under Eddie Sutton.

So that is two straight games with the ESPN+ analyst being an alum of UC's opponent and--having played the last two home games on ESPN and ESPN2--this also makes it the second straight home ESPN+ broadcast with the analyst being an alum (BJ Taylor, UCF for both)

[sedz]

What is this Cincinnati team?

We are top 3 in the Big12 in keeping opponents off the three point line and the free throw line. I'd say those are the main fingerprints of this Bearcats team. We're also the best offensive rebounding team in the conference.

[sedz]

ESPN+ TV: Eric Rothman and Bryndon Manzer

Manzer seems to have played two seasons at Oklahoma State in the 90s under Eddie Sutton.

So that is two straight games with the ESPN+ analyst being an alum of UC's opponent and--having played the last two home games on ESPN and ESPN2--this also makes it the second straight home ESPN+ broadcast with the analyst being an alum (BJ Taylor, UCF for both)

I actually like that. Homers don't bother me. I'd rather hear a different perspective from another team's homer. It's just guys talking. Bad takes don't affect our team, and every now and then you'll get an interesting unfiltered nugget that we wouldn't get from inside our own fan bubble or from observers that are holding back to appear neutral.

[Corporateballa]

Pound the ball inside early and often. Not the game to settle for 3's, make them guard you. Simple game plan for this one.

Pound it inside to who?

[sedz]

Oklahoma St brings in an offense that is very reliant on free throws and three pointers. They are #1 in the conference in free throw rate, and second only to BYU in three point rate. As I just pointed out upthread, our biggest strength on defense is preventing threes and free throws. So on paper, this is a great matchup for us. Make no mistake, this offense is not on BYU's level. While they chuck up a ton of threes, OK St only makes 31% in conference play. They also shoot under 50% from 2 and under 70% from the free throw line. So they're a bad shooting team just like us, but they're also the worst offensive rebounding team in the conference. As long as they don't repeat their performance against BYU where thy made 20 free throws and 11 threes, we should have no problem holding them near or under a point per possession.

6'3 guard Javon Small will be the toughest cover, as he can score at all three levels. Small is a 39% three point shooter on over 5 attempts per game who also gets to the free throw line more than 4 times per game where he makes 86%. I'm sure we'll have Newman on him. Another 6'3 guard, freshman Jamyron Keller, is coming off a monster game against BYU, putting up 20 points from the field on only 8 shots. His 8.3 net points nearly accounted for the entire 10 point OK St win. 100% of Keller's threes have been assisted this year, so we need to be aware of him off the ball. Big man Brandon Garrison also had a big game, scoring 14 on 8 shots plus 7 free throws. He's strictly a post player who doesn't shoot the three. 6'8 forward Eric Dailey is a rare true midrange maestro, converting over 50% on twos away from the rim. And he'll also step out and take a three. He'll be a tough cover if he's playing the 5, but he's had a rough month and hasn't played more than 18 minutes in the last 6 games. Undersized 6'5 forward Quion Williams is their best offensive rebounder. There are a couple of pure shooters - Jarius Hicklen and John-Michael Wright. I'd like to see the PGs or Fredrick chase them around.

Defensively, Oklahoma St gives up the fewest threes in conference, but that's not necessarily a good thing. They concede an astounding 58% on twos and only block one of every 18, both league worsts. The Cowboys also foul at the lowest rate in conference and force the third lowest turnover rate, indicating a defense that puts up little resistance inside. One thing they are good at is defensive rebounding, which is what keeps their overall defensive efficiency from coming in dead last. There's no reason to be putting up threes in this game. I'd even suggest turning down open looks (except for CJ) and instead taking advantage of every opportunity to drive.

Torvik predicts a 73-64 win and an 81% chance of victory.

[Bearcat93]

I’d start Reynolds and feed him as a starting place

[John P]

I’d start Reynolds and feed him as a starting place

I would love to see that too.

[Jeff Burk]

I hope it is the same starting lineup as the last game.

[Carthage World]

-10.5

Gotta lay a beatdown in the manner that Vegas expects us to do.