2019 Big 12 tournament: Oklahoma State rides momentum into first round vs. TCU

It’s do-or-die time for Oklahoma State with every game being potentially the team’s last.

The good news is, the No. 9-seeded Cowboys are carrying some momentum into the Big 12 tournament, where they’ll meet No. 8-seed TCU Horned. The Cowboys have won two straight with victories at Baylor and against West Virginia last week.

The Horned Frogs, however, have lost six of their last eight games and are barely hanging on in the latest ESPN bracketology.

OSU and TCU split the season series, with the home team winning each contest. The Cowboys fell 70-68 on Feb. 6 in Fort Worth then beat TCU, 68-61, on Feb. 18 in Stillwater.

The OSU-TCU winner will face No. 1 Kansas State in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. That game will air on ESPN or ESPN2.

The Cowboys went 1-1 last year at the Big 12 tournament, with a 71-60 win over No. 9-seeded Oklahoma before falling 82-68 to No. 1-seeded Kansas in the quarterfinals in OSU head coach Mike Boynton’s first season.

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Who: TCU (19-12, 7-11 Big 12)

Where: Sprint Center; Kansas City, Missouri

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday

TV: ESPNU

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network / TuneIn

Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com

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Injury Report

Oklahoma State:

Trey Reeves (foot)

TCU:

Lat Mayen (Knee)

Jaylen Fisher (Knee)

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Projected Starters

Oklahoma State:

TCU:

G Alex Robinson (Sr.), G Desmond Bane (Jr.),F Kouat Noi (So.),F J.D. Mille (Sr.), C Kevin Samuel (R-Fr.)

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Statistics

ESPN

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Three things to watch

1. Yor Anei is close to breaking another record

After breaking the freshmen single-season block record, Anei finds himself on the edge of breaking another record. He’s only eight blocks away from the all-time blocks in a single season record being his. While I don’t expect that it happens Wednesday night since eight blocks in one game would tie his season-high, if OSU is able to advance it could happen during the tournament.

2. 3-point shooting

Whether or not Lindy Waters III and Thomas Dziagwa are able to stay hot from beyond the arc is going to be a huge factor in this game. If they can start nailing shots from deep, OSU has a chance to win. In the Cowboys’ loss to TCU, they shot just 31 percent from 3-point range compared to 44 percent in the win.

3. Nothing to lose

OSU isn’t expected to win this game. Do they play like they have nothing to lose? The Cowboys have fought hard recently, and I look forward to seeing if they play like living to play another game in a single-elimination tournament depends on it.