The Oklahoma State Basketball MVP Draft: Baylor

It’s time again for the hardwood version of the MVP Draft. We’ve chosen Baylor for this week’s draft as Oklahoma State continues Big 12 play.

First off, for those who haven’t seen the MVP Draft before, here’s the rules: Each participant will pick ONE PLAYER from EACH TEAM they think will perform the best. They will then pick a third player from either team as their wild card pick. Each correct pick is worth one point. We will tally the points throughout the season.

Before we get to the Bears, let’s rack up the points from last week’s West Virginia draft.

Tyler
OSU: Jawun Evans | WVU: Nathan Adrian | Wild Card: Thomas Dziagwa (OSU)

Sam
OSU: Phil Forte | WVU: Nathan Adrian | Wild Card: Jeffrey Carroll (OSU)

Sumer
OSU: Jawun Evans | WVU: Jevon Carter | Wild Card: Lindy Waters (OSU)

Opponent (Bart Keeler)
OSU: Jawun Evans | WVU: Esa Ahmad | Wild Card: Jevon Carter (WVU)

Oklahoma State: It’s hard to beat a double-double. Evans put up 15 points and 11 rebounds. However, he had 5 turnovers and was 3-9 shooting. He took some bad wild shots hoping to get a whistle. He got them, getting 14 attempts at the line. I’m rewarding Forte for finding his shot. He we 7-12 from the field including 4-7 from beyond the arc to lead the team with 18 points.
West Virginia: Jevon Carter gets the point for his full stat line; 15 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Plus, only one turnover. That’ll get it done.
Wild Card: It’s always hard to pick a wild card player from the losing team and my options weren't great. Carroll gets the point for the best line; 9 points, 6 rebounds. The 5 turnovers make me dislike the pick. Waters played some decent defense, but looked lost often. Dziagwa played 3 minutes, and Carter was the WVU player. So despite 5 turnovers, Carroll get’s the point

With that, let’s update the standings.

Opponent - 6
Sumer - 5
Sam - 5
Tyler - 2

The Big 12 schedulers did Oklahoma State NO favors this season. Here they are facing their second top 10 team in three games.

Let’s hope this one turns out better than the West Virginia and Texas games. Especially since I won’t have a Bowl Game victory to balance out my emotions.

This week Kendall Kaut of our Baylor SBNation sister site Our Daily Bears joins us to make the opponent picks. The guy covers basketball for the site, so he should know what he’s talking about.

Tyler

OSU: Jawun Evans | Baylor: Johnathan Motley | Wild Card: Jo Lual-Acuil (Baylor)

Oklahoma State: It’s hard to go against one of the best players in the Big 12 Conference. Evans leads the conference in scoring, is fourth in assists per game, fourth in free throw percentage, and third in steals. Expect the star of the Cowboys to rise up and do everything he can to get a win in Waco today.
Baylor: Just like Evans is the star for Oklahoma State, Motley is the star for the Baylor Bears. The junior forward is 0.7 rebounds away from averaging a double double per game for the season, and through two conference games, he is averaging a double double. He leads the team in scoring and rebounds, is third in field goal percentage, second in blocks, and the fourth best passer on the team. I expect him to have a field day against Oklahoma State’s suspect interior defense. If the Cowboys can get him in early foul trouble though, that could bode well for the Cowboys and Sheriff Underwood.
Wild Card: This was a toss up for me between Lual-Acuil and guard Manu Lecomte. (Baylor has some really cool names on their team.) What gave Lual-Acuil the advantage you may ask? Simple. His position. He is the other starting forward across from Motley, and is playing well so far this season. The seven footer is also the third in the nation in blocked shots per game. Baylor matches up well size-wise with Oklahoma State, and the athleticism of his play could give Lucas N’Guessan and Mitchell Solomon for the Pokes fits. Just look at how effortless he makes this block look.

Containing the two big men for the Bears will be no easy task for the Cowboys, and I (unfortunately) think they will eat the Cowboys interior D alive.

Sam

OSU: Jawun Evans | Baylor: Johnathan Motley | Wild Card: Jo Lual-Acuil (Baylor)

Oklahoma State: Baylor isn’t particularly huge in size, but Motley and Lual-Acuil Jr. are enough to give any front court fits. For that reason I’m going with a guard, and one of the best guards in the country Jawun Evans. I don’t need to give you stats, the dude can score whenever he wants, and is the backbone of this OSU team. Evans’ game is getting notice from the NBA, as he is currently projected to go pick #34 in the latest NBA Mock Draft. Jawun needs to have one of the biggest games of his career if the Pokes want to knock off the #2 team (possible #1 after Villanova loss) in the country in Waco.
Baylor: Pre-Season All Big-12 pick, Jonathon Motley is quickly becoming the face of Baylor Basketball. Listed at 6’10, Motley is a long, athletic forward who has really came through for the Bears in big games, tallying 17 points against #4 Oregon and 26 against #24 Michigan State. He has 13 blocks in 13 games, which is good for 2nd on the team, and is averaging just under a double-double with 16.0 PPG and 9.3 RPG. Motley can create problems for the Pokes with his size and athleticism down low, and is a major force on the glass with 40 offensive rebounds this season. Motley is looking to notch his 4th straight double-double against the Pokes.
Wild Card: The man has a really long name, so i’m just going to stick with Jo. The 7-footer from Melbourne is a blocking machine, swatting away opponents shots 50 times this season (3.5 BPG). Jo is 4th on the team in scoring, averaging 11 PPG. He is also 2nd on the team in rebounds with a little over 7 per game. He is my wildcard pick because he is a 7-footer who compliments Jonathan Motley down low. Not only will the Pokes have to worry about Motley in the paint, they will have to worry about Jo. He has impressive blocking and rebound numbers, but he can also be a problem on the offensive end; as he’s looking to score in double-figures for the 8th straight game.

Sumer

OSU: Jawun Evans | Baylor: Johnathan Motley | Wild Card: Ishmail Wainright (Baylor)

Oklahoma State: Even when he has a bad night, he still gets everything right. We need him to be at his best. We need him to rally everyone because it's possible that we can complete with Baylor. Scoring 29 points last game was just enough to keep us in the running against Texas. A win would've been cool though. I wish he would chill on the turnovers. Look for him to be big offensively, possibly save us.
Baylor: He is their backbone. Leading scorer and rebounder, he is capable of facilitating movement all over the court. Slightly above average free throw shooter, and way below average from beyond the arc. Look for him to facilitate ball movement and big points, possibly a double-double.
Wild Card: Ish... like as in he's an okay(ish) scorer. Sorry, I had to. Leads the team in assists and steals. But I see him being bigger defensively in this game than anything.

Opponent: Kendall Kaut

OSU: Jawun Evans | Baylor: Johnathan Motley | Wild Card: Jo Lual-Acuil (Baylor)

Oklahoma State: Evans is one of the best players in the Big 12, and even if we focus on him, he's going to be fantastic.
Baylor: Motley is clearly the best big man in the Big 12, and he's close with Frank Mason for the best player in the conference. Oklahoma State's going to have a huge challenge stopping him.
Wild Card: Lual-Acuil is currently 4th in KenPom's Big 12 player rankings. Lual-Acuil is 7'1 and leads the country in block rate on KenPom. He's incredibly quick and has really turned it on offensively too.