Previewing OSU’s Saturday Tilt Against Sixth-Ranked Wichita State

On Saturday, Oklahoma State welcomes No. 6 Wichita State to Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Shockers (7-1) overcame a 13-point second half deficit against South Dakota State on Tuesday night and should be primed for a little payback against the Cowboys. OSU (7-1) has won three-straight and five of the last six against Wichita State, including a 93-76 upset last season in Wichita under Brad Underwood.

How to watch

TV: ESPN2

Time: 3:00 p.m.

Listen: Cowboy Radio Network

Experience

“We got a team that’s legitimate,” Mike Boynton said of Wichita State. “Top ten team, a team with, probably the most experience of any team in the country. A team people are projecting to be a Final Four-caliber team and we got them in Stillwater.

“Certainly know we will have a great week of preparation and getting ready for them. I know they’ll be ready considering how we played up there.”

According to KenPom, the Shockers are actually the eighth-most experienced team in the nation, but they are the most experienced group Oklahoma State will face this season. OSU comes in at 183rd in the experience metric.

Offense

The Cowboys come in scoring 80.4 points per game and ranked 59th in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Shockers are averaging 88 points per game and come in 5th in adjusted offensive efficiency. And Wichita State is still without its leading scorer from last year, Markis McDuffie, who suffered a broken foot during the offseason.

Let’s take a closer look at both offenses through the lens of KenPom’s Four Factors.

The Shockers have been significantly better in two of those crucial categories — effective field goal percentage and offensive rebounds.

The Cowboys finished last season 4th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage at 38.3 percent, but this year they’ve dropped off, so far. On Sunday, the Cowboys lost the battle for the offensive glass 13-8 to Mississippi Valley State who currently ranks 239th in the category. But Mitchell Solomon is the best they have at cleaning up the offensive glass and was last season. So, the potential is there.

Defense

The Cowboys have allowed opponents an average of just 62.3 points per game and are 46th in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Shockers allows 68.5 and rank 15th.

Let’s look at the Four Factors on defense for both squads.

Mike Boynton’s crew has been very good at limiting teams’ effective field goal percentage and turning them over, a product of its man pressure and length and athleticism. Where that bites you is the glass. They are allowing a ton of offensive rebounds which, as we noted above, is a strength for Wichita State.

The Cowboys will have to continue to force turnovers to keep up with the Shockers. As we saw above, both teams are prone to giveaways, the Cowboys need to capitalize on those mistakes they force.

X-factors for Wichita State

The Shockers have a legitimate low-post presence in center Shaq Morris. Listed at 6-foot-7 but 261 pounds, the Edmond, Okla. native is a load for anyone, especially the Cowboys’ best low post defender, Mitchell Solomon.

Expect Gregg Marshall to try to force-feed his leading scorer because if when Solomon gets into foul trouble, there’s not a lot behind him in terms of depth. I could even seen Boynton using Davon Dillard on Morris some to spell Solomon. He’s more physical than Lucas N’Guessan and can bang down low with Morris.

Landry Shamet will also be high on OSU’s scouting report. The sophomore shooting guard is a versatile two-way player. He’s second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and ranks third in the American Athletic Conference with a 55.4 percent field goal percentage while averaging 4.5 3-point attempts per game — he’s shooting nearly 53 percent from 3 — and boasts a conference-leading true shooting percentage of 71.3 percent.

Conclusion

Oklahoma State has struggled to string together a wire-to-wire good performance on offense and while its defense has potential, it will need to put the ball through the hoop to keep up with Wichita State. KenPom gives the Pokes a 34 percent chance to pull off another upset of Gregg Marshall’s team. Basically, it will take the Cowboys’ best game of the season to keep this thing close.