The Oklahoma State Cowboys will close out non-conference play on Sunday afternoon against Southeastern Louisiana.

The Cowboys have dropped three of four while its best player in Issac Likekele has been out with an undisclosed illness. OSU posted a photo of Likekele with the caption “The holiday break was fun and all, but it’s time to get back to work” leading many to believe the sophomore will return.

Who: Southeastern Louisiana (3-8, KenPom #316)

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena | Stillwater, OK

When: 1:30 p.m. Central | Dec 29th

TV: ESPN+

Streaming: Watch ESPN

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network / TuneIn

Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com

The Opponent

Randy Bergeron (lionsports.net)

SELA represents an opponent that, in no less words, should be nothing more than a tune-up game for the Cowboys as conference play begins next week. The Lions sit at 3-8 on the season under first year coach David Kiefer, who was promoted after being the assistant coach for the last four years. In their most recent game against common opponent Ole Miss, the Lions fell 83-76 in a closer result than most expected.

Their best player is sophomore forward Ty Brewer. He averages more than 17 points per game, and scored 30 in their last game against the Rebels. He’ll be an interesting match-up for Cameron McGriff. Brewer’s frontcourt partner, Pape Diop, also averages double figures and will be matched up against Yor Anei. SELA’s backcourt is small and has not scored the ball much this season. This team does not shoot the deep ball well, and as long as the Pokes can contain Brewer, they should wrap up the non-conference slate with a lopsided victory against a generally over-matched team.

3 Questions

1. How does Likekele look after a near month absence? The Cowboys need their floor general to be sharp heading into conference play, and this game represents the ideal scenario for him to knock the rust off and get back into game form.
2. Scheduled question alert Can Anei stay on the floor? The sophomore big man played just 16 minutes against Minnesota last weekend and had little-to-no impact on the game. His absence is always felt on both ends of the floor, and hopefully he continues to learn how to play without fouling while still maintaining his elite shot-blocking skills.
3. Can anyone other than Lindy Waters be consistent on the offensive end? It seems the rest of the team disappears for minutes, halves, and even weeks sometimes. In OSU’s last game, Thomas Dziagwa and McGriff each had 5 points, Anei had 2 and Dee Mitchell just 1. If this team is going to do anything in March, they’re going to need everyone to show more consistency on the scoring sheet.