Five Thoughts On OSU’s 117-64 Win Over Pitt State

The Brad Underwood era is underway. The Cowboys took care of a Division-II opponent in an exhibition game at home, and I have come to so many conclusions.

But seriously, here are some of the talking points that we can glean from Tuesday night.

1. A Little Rust

The game started off with five straight turnovers between the two teams before the Cowboys remembered who they were playing and ran away with the game.

Jawun Evans was rusty like everyone else committing an early turnover and foul before going out early for Brandon Averette. Evans played four minutes in the first half, picking up three fouls. He never really looked comfortable but he’s a known commodity and should be fine.

Brandon Averette looks like a good option as his backup, which brings us to…

2. Freshmen Runnin’ Wild

It appears the first-year head coach is really trying to see what he has in this roster. Lindy Waters, Cam McGriff and Averette were aggressive early and often.

I’m actually writing in “Lindy Waters III” on my presidential ballot this week.

He did it all. He made threes, defended well and even showed he could run the break. He was constantly setting up teammates and defending well. Most importantly, he did not look like a true freshman playing in his first college game.

Again, this is Pittsburg State and it’s an exhibition game but several of these young guys will play a lot.

3. Undewood’s Style

We saw easy shots for the Cowboys due to good movement in the spread offense and their defense forcing plenty of turnovers allowing for transition opportunities.

There were tough shots for the Gorillas due to a swarming Cowboy defense that necessitated constant subbing by Underwood. The Cowboys never really let up for any time even though they were up big from pretty much the jump. There was probably a good reason for that.

@KyleCox_oSu At the 12:10 mark, up 40, the look on HCBU would peel paint off the wall ?

— DON HALL (@donaldchall) November 2, 2016

The spacing is helped by the fact that there are actually shooters on the floor not named Phil Forte. Lindy Waters, Thomas Dziagwa and Cameron McGriff all showed they have touch from beyond the arc in their first game.

4. Mitchell Solomon’s Comfort Level

The lack of front-court depth makes Mitchell Solomon such an important player for this team. It was a normal look from Solomon early. He looked hesitant with the ball and there were several turnovers either committed by him or caused by his indecisiveness.

Phil Forte set up Solomon on consecutive possessions late in the first half and he knocked down a good looking hook shot followed by a 17-footer. The Cowboys will need more of that.

Freshman Lucas N’Guessan has plenty of upside but looks like he’ll get pushed around by some of the front-court players he’ll see in league play this year. Solomon needs to take that next step this year. Hopefully the treadmill or pushups in practice or the above-mentioned Underwood scowl will make him more prone to be aggressive.

This team has some things to clean up and there will be actually basketball teams that they play against but the Cowboys showed some promise.

5. Player of the Game

Jeffrey Carroll was just consistent all night. He was always ready and open to finish under the basket and knocked down some open jump shots. He had 22 points on 9 of 13 field goals a was 2 for 2 from three and added three rebounds and three assists.

Play of the Game

Trey Reeves for 3 from the left corner. The #OKState bench goes nuts.

— Mark Cooper (@mark_cooperjr) November 2, 2016

The Trey Reeves era has begun.