STILLWATER — Back before the season, new Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz joked about the day when foreplay Big 12 men’s basketball the schedule arrived in his email.
“Hey, I have a top-five team at home, then I go on the road for two, and I come back and there’s a top-ten team coming here,” Lutz said with an exasperated look . “But everyone in the league says it. That’s why we do this, right? Play in the best league in the country.
Well, maybe the schedule doesn’t seem as busy as it did in the preseason. Only five Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 25, unlike November when five were ranked in the top 10.
But that doesn’t mean the conference is suddenly a breeze. This is still the toughest conference in the country, although the Southeastern Conference might now have the edge.
After an 8-3 non-conference schedule, the Cowboys enter the Big 12 with 15th-ranked Houston at 7 p.m. Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
That’s followed by a trip Saturday to West Virginia, which is receiving votes in the latest poll.
It’s difficult to predict how the Cowboys will fare in Lutz’s first trip to the league. But here’s a look at three things we learned about the Pokes in non-conference games:
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Bryce Thompson found some new gear
As a fifth-year senior, OSU guard Bryce Thompson seemed to be well-established as a player who fit the offensive styles of the coaches he had played for – Mike Boynton at OSU and Bill Self for a year in Kansas.
It was unclear whether Thompson would excel at Lutz’s fast pace.
But over the course of 11 games, Thompson not only showed he could do it, he thrived in it.
He’s shooting the best field goal percentage of his career, 42.0%, being more demanding with his 3-point selection, rebounding more and sharing the ball just as well, even though he’s not asked to play as much. leader.
“He’s a good basketball player,” Lutz said. “The way I look at the way we play is if you’re a good basketball player, you’ll be fine. At the end of the day, we don’t do a million stagings. So if you know how to play basketball, we’re going to put you in a position to succeed and I knew he’s a good player, so I never had any doubt about that.
At this point, Thompson leads the Cowboys in minutes played with just under 24 per game, is third in goals and third in steals, which is a key development in his game as Lutz pushes the limits of the Cowboys’ defense. its players.
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Marchelus Avery needs to concentrate
As important as Thompson’s presence on the court is, Marchelus Avery – you may have heard him referred to as Chi Chi – has to be the offensive driving force of this team.
Avery knows it. Lutz knows it.
But getting there was a learning experience.
“We just asked him to be more disciplined,” Lutz said. “There’s a couple times tonight where we’re not catching the ball and he’s just running around.
“And I love that he has ambition and fire and plays hard and has fun. But we also need to be disciplined in what we do. But we need him to score.
A 6-foot-8 wing transfer from Central Florida, Avery is the team’s leading scorer with 13.0 points per game, and he is second in minutes played with 22.9 despite coming off the bench in every game .
Among the Cowboys attempting at least two 3-pointers per game, Avery is their best shooter at 39.2 percent (20 of 51) and leads the team in rebounding with 5.6 per game.
Frontcourt size will be a struggle
The most difficult area for Lutz in building his roster out of the transfer portal last summer was finding capable big men.
The Cowboys only have two players on the roster measuring over 6-8. One of them is Serbian freshman Andrija Vukovic, 6-10, who has dealt with injuries as well as the challenge of getting in shape to play extended minutes in Lutz’s system.
Vukovic did not appear in any games until mid-December and played just 18 minutes in three total games. He has nine points and one rebound in that span, but saw increased usage against Oral Roberts in the Cowboys’ last non-conference game.
If he can continue to develop and play meaningful minutes, it will be a big boost for the guys who have shared the bulk of the work at the center position thus far.
Abou Ousmane, who is 6-10, and Robert Jennings II, 6-7, have been tasked with carrying the load there, and both have their strengths. But in a conference featuring a collection of talented big men, they’ll need all the help they can get.
More: How Oklahoma State basketball coach Steve Lutz is attacking rebuilding the only way he knows how
Oklahoma State vs. Houston
ADVICE : 7 p.m. Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater (ESPN+)
This article was originally published on Oklahoman: What we learned about Oklahoma State men’s basketball outside of the conference
