After a mini-homestand that gave Oklahoma State (KenPom No. 44) plenty to work on and promising moments from some of the new players, the Cowboys will take their 2-0 record on the road. Along with the road environment OSU will see likely its toughest opponent to date in a quality Charleston team (KenPom No. 145).
Who: Charleston (2-0)
Where: TD Arena; Charleston, South Carolina
When: 8 p.m. Central; Wednesday, Nov. 13
TV: CBS Sports Network
Web Stream: CBS Sports
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network / TuneIn
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
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Injury Report:
Oklahoma State
Hidde Roessink - Questionable - Knee
Charleston
NA
Projected Starters
Oklahoma State
Charleston
No.10 | Zep Jasper | G | 6-1 | So. | Augusta, Georgia
No. 1 | Grant Riller | G | 6-3 | Sr. | Orlando, Florida
No. 2 | Brevin Galloway | G | 6-2 | Jr. | Anderson, South Carolina
No. 24 | Jaylen McManus | F | 6-7 | Sr. | Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 33 | Osinachi Smart | F | 6-8 | Jr. | Umuahia, Nigeria
The Opponent
The Cougars are coming off a solid 24-9 season that saw them finish third in the Colonial Athletic Conference. The Cowboys beat the Cougars 70-58 last season in Gallagher-Iba after holding star guard Grant Riller to only seven points. Charleston was led that day by star forward Jarrell Brantley, who has fortunately moved on to the NBA.
Riller has averaged 24.5 points this season to go with 3.5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3.5 steals. Keeping him in check again this year will be a difficult but important task. Guards Brevin Galloway and Jaylen Richard have contributed 14.5 and 10.5 points per game as well, while forwards Jaylen McManus and Sam Miller have pulled down 6.5 and 10.5 rebounds per game.
3 Things to Watch
Slowing down Riller
Coach Mike Boynton made a point in media availability Monday that the team would need to make sure that Riller’s contributions would be inefficient. Inefficiency here is the key, as Charleston leans heavily on their senior guard. His high usage will make it very difficult to keep him from putting up good numbers, but Isaac Likekele and Avery Anderson will need to make sure that production comes on a high volume of shots.
Road trip with the kids
The Cowboys’ young talent has shown some flashes of brilliance and a ton of potential, but they’ve also made expected freshman mistakes. This will be their first chance to play in front of a hostile college environment, and it will be interesting to see how they respond.
The Pokes will need their youth to provide depth, and some freshmen such as Anderson and Keylan Boone have begun to make their case for increased roles.
Road test by design
As I noted in the open, the Cowboys will face their toughest opponent of the young season on the road. Boynton said in his availability that giving his young team opportunities on the road early is all part of the plan to prepare them for conference play. With the Cowboys opening conference play this season in Lubbock, and with a quality Syracuse team on the horizon in the preseason NIT, this early road bout will be a great test to see where the team is at a week into the season.
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