Since @Rolf C already did a tremendous job recapping the Texas win I am just going to move on to Oklahoma State. OSU does not look like a tourney team and has a pretty rough resume. That being said this has all the makings of a trap game as Okie State is still a solid P6 team and has been trending upwards lately. This is a game Tech absolutely has to have, especially at home.
Oklahoma State by the numbers:
Key Players:
Oklahoma State by the numbers:
- 97th in the country per Kenpom
- 151st on offense and 55th on defense
- 84th in the country per Haslametrics
- 148th on offense and 53rd on defense
- Tech projected to win 73-64
- 85th in the country per Torvik
- 149th on offense
- 49th on defense
- Tech projected to win 73-64
- Don't get many shots blocked - block rate is 44th in the country
- Awful FT shooting team - 67.5 FT% - 294th in the country
- Live and die by the 3 - 22nd in the country in 3PAR and 39th in 3p%
- Don't allow many makes at the rim - 8th in the country in defensive near-proximity percentage, but allow a ton of looks close to the basket
- Run opponents off the arc - 25th in the country in % of attempts allowed that are from deep
Key Players:
- Javon Small - A transfer from ECU and the guy who makes things go for Oklahoma State offensively. Strong bodied guard who will operate a ton out of ball screens, likes to shoot the three out of screening situations and is a deadly shooter off the bounce. Not limited to making threes he has a very physical build and can get downhill in a hurry and is efficient finishing at the rim, also adept at using PnR situations to find shooters and the lob man. The best and most frequent FT shooter for OSU (87% on 5 FTA/game). Not a ball-hawk defensively but uses his size well. Averaging 15.3 PPG, 5 rpg, 4.7 apg. 6'3 200.
- Bryce Thompson - OSU's second leading scorer and it feels like he has been there for a decade. Former 5 star recruit and Kansas transfer who is having his best college season yet. Another bigger bodied guard, Thompson is not the most efficient shooter around but is more than capable of getting hot and going on a scoring tear. Like Small he will be put in a ton of ball screen actions but is more likely to work in the midrange than any other OSU player. He likes to work off the FT line extended and go to work in isolation. Historically not a great 3p shooter but is shooting 37% on high volume. Another guy Tech can't lose. Not a good FT shooter and while he is a good on ball defender Thompson sometimes gets lost off ball. Averaging 12.7ppg, 2 rpg, 1.8 apg. 6'6 205.
- Eric Dailey - Uber talented freshman and a top 50 recruit. Looks like a big but has very good ball skills and operates more like a wing. Can put the ball on the deck, attack off faceups and is used as an offensive hub in screening/dho actions. May eventually shoot it but right now is not a great 3 point shooter. Very skilled and athletic but his eyes can get a little too big for his stomach sometimes on offense. Bad FT shooter (55%) but good in transition. Not a bad defender and uses his length and athleticism well. Not much of a shot blocker but can slide in space to hang with guards. Averaging 9.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg. 6'8 230.
- Quion WIlliams - Another physically imposing guard who I would say is OSU's version of Devin Cambridge. Looks like a perimeter player but operates more like a small ball 4. Very strong/athletic player who is the dirty work guy for OSU. Gets the majority of his points off of put backs, cuts or in transition. Has ok ball skills but is a solid passer. Not really a shooter but is shooting much better this year on small volume (40% on 1 attempt a game). Cannot lose him in transition. Very good defensive player who has good instincts and can guard a variety of positions. Also a good rebounder for his size. Averaging 7.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg.
- Brandon Garrison - Freshman and former big time recruit who is just now coming into his own. Has shown flashes throughout the season but had a break out performance against Baylor where he dropped 20 points, 8 boards, 4 blocks and didn't miss a shot from the field or at the line. Impressive build for a young player at 6'11 245 and already looks like an upperclassman. Has some post up skills but the majority of his points will come off of lobs, put backs or as the roll man. OSU ran a side PnR with Garrison late in the last game and it was borderline unstoppable for a stretch. Plays mostly in drop coverage on defense. Can slide a bit in space but is at his best as a weakside shot blocker where he is very dangerous. Still very young and doesn't always play the ball screen well. Averaging 6.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, and 2 bpg.
- The bench/role players are comprised of Mike Marsh, John Michael-Wright, Jarius Hicklen and Jamyron Keller. Mike Marsh is a physical post who has seen his minutes dwindle as of late. Not much of a shot blocker but will clean up on the glass and can finish around the rim. Reminds me a bit of Jimmy Bell, formerly of WVU. JMR is a smaller guard who has really seen his role shrink this season. He is a very inefficient shooter (34% from the field) but a good ball handler and solid defender. Jarius Hicklen is the sharpshooter off the bench, 4.3 of his 4.7 attempts a game are from deep where he is shooting 41.7%. He doesn't do much else. Keller is another true freshman getting decent minutes off the bench. He plays the role of Lamar Washington and looks like a RB on the court.
- Okie State wants to muck this game up. Tech will need to keep the TO's down and keep the spacing on offense clean. Also, they cannot get killed on the offensive glass like they did at Texas.
- Hit timely threes - I doubt that Tech will get as many clean looks as they did in the UT game. So picking their spots and moving the ball accordingly will be huge.
- OSU will run Tech off the 3 point line - so finishing inside and getting to the FT line is key.
- Backcourt play - Both of these teams go as their back courts go. Tech need Pop, Joe T and Chance to outplay Javon Small, Bryce Thompson and Co. in order to win. Also a Kerwin resurgence would be nice.
- Clean closeouts - the one (and really only) gripe I had with the Texas game. Tech lost very good shooters one too many times throughout the game and closed out a bit lackadaisically at times (Pop was the worst offenders). Facing a team that relies on shooting from deep so heavily Tech has to clean this up. Strong closeouts and clean rotations only.
- Put a damn straight jacket on Lindy Waters.
