Three Reasons to Watch OSU vs. Pittsburg State

The Brad Underwood era begins on Tuesday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena as the Cowboys welcome the Pittsburg State Gorillas.

It’s the second time the Cowboys have opened against Pitt State in an exhibition game. They beat the Gorillas 84-67 in an exhibition game back in 2006, which was also Sean Sutton’s first as head coach at OSU.

So why are you going to tune into watch an exhibition game on Tuesday night?

Basketball is Back!!

If you aren’t excited about the Brad Underwood era, than you need to check your pulse. The guy is enthusiastic and can obviously coach. Underwood comes in with an 89-14 record and was one of the biggest hires in the country this off season.

There will be some growing pains but I have a feeling OSU fans are going to love their new head coach, not just because he knows how to win the crowd either. Come for the selfies, stay for the wins. He preaches a defensive-first mentality and coaches a fun brand of ball.

Return of the Dynamic Duo

I’m not sure it’s exactly the Batman-Robin dynamic. But this backcourt is dynamic. Unfortunately, we only got to see Phil Forte and Jawun Evans play three games together before Forte went out with injury.

When Evans got going last year there was always that thought, “Man, how much could Forte help Evans in spacing?” Conversely, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Phil Forte not be the main focus of the opposing defense. When he’s running open off screens, he is the most deadly.

New Faces

How will the new guys on the team look? The roster includes seven freshmen and I think several of them could see real playing time. Brandon Averette is a point guard who was committed to Stephen F. Austin and flipped with Underwood to OSU. He’s Evans’ lone backup and should play a bunch.

Thomas Dziagwa and Lindy Waters III are both talented scorers who can space the floor. Cam McGriff could see time behind Tavarius Shine and Davon Dillard at the three.

The head coach’s son, Tyler Underwood also comes up from Stephen F. Austin as a redshirt freshman. Then, of course, is Trey Reeves. The “Little Country” era has begun.

I’m also very interested to see how sophomore Davon Dillard plays into the rotation. He found his way into Travis Ford’s dog house but seems to have the confidence of his new head coach.

The Gorillas made things interesting Friday night in Manhattan, KS. After going down by over 30, they ended on a 28-15 run against Kansas State, losing 85-72. The Cowboys should start out with a win Tuesday night but can’t sleep walk through this one. I have a feel that’s not going to be a problem for a Brad Underwood coached team.