Three Things to Know Before Oklahoma State Faces Utah

Oklahoma State is on the road for a two-game trip to state of Utah. First off is the state school.

Although the Cowboys are fresh off their first conference win, the Utes are one of three teams still winless in the Big 12. But that doesn’t mean they won’t present a challenge for the Pokes this Saturday. Here are three things worth noting before the Pokes and Utes square off.

1. Utes are Hungry for Their First Big 12 Win

Although the Cowboys finally broke the seal on Big 12 wins for the season, the Utes — newcomers to the league this year — are looking for their first ever.

After starting 8-2, Utah lost a neutral site contest to Iowa (95-88) and then proceeded to lose its first three Big 12 games by 25, 28 and 23 points, respectively. That’s a tough way to kick things off in a new conference. The Utes’ current four-game skid is their longest in two seasons.

But the Utes have had plenty of blowouts go the other way this season. Utah is one of only four Division-I teams with six or more wins by at least 30 points this season, joining Illinois, Maryland and UCLA. In fact, five of their first six wins were by 30 or more and all of those were on their home court, where the Cowboys will play Saturday.

It’s been a tough start for the Utes, but they can get hot quick. Speaking of that…

2. Prepare for the Madsen Bros.

Gabe and Mason Madsen are at the top of the Cowboys’ scouting report. The former is the Big 12’s second-leading scorer, despite not shooting the ball well in conference play. The latter ranks fifth in the league in 3-point percentage.

“The two Madsen brothers, they’re phenomenal,” said Steve Lutz this week. “They both can really, really shoot the ball and, to be honest with you, they really haven’t shot the ball well in Big 12 play, which is why they probably struggled a little bit.”

To Lutz’s point, the Madsens, and the Utes in general, have not been shooting up to their potential during their 0-3 start to Big 12 play. Two of those three games were on the road, so there’s always the chance that things start clicking thanks in their homecourt, something the Pokes will need to be prepared for.

Gabe leads the conference in both 3-pointers attempted and made per game this year and is a career 37.8% 3-point shooter, but he’s just 5-of-24 in league play. On the year, Mason averages a better 3-point percentage (42.4%) than his shooting percentage from anywhere on the floor (41.9%), but he’s gone just 2-of-13 over those three games. Hunter Erickson is shooting 39.5% from deep this season. After going 3-for-4 in Utah’s Big 12 opener, he’s 0-for-5 the last two games.

Regardless of the collective shooting slump, the Cowboys had better respect Utah’s perimeter shooters. It’s only a matter of time before those shots start falling. And if they don’t, long shots can lead to long rebounds, and potential back-breaking second-chance points. Which leads us to No. 3.

3. Utah Can Crash the Boards

As stated, those long shots can lead to a lot of long rebounds, and the Utes are adept at turning those into second-chance opportunities.

Utah ranks second in the league in total rebounds per game and, as Lutz pointed out, they reel in 34.5% of their missed shot attempts. That’s essential an extra possession for every three shots they take. Through 14 games, Utah has taken 54 more shot attempts than OSU, just under four per game.

In underlining the importance of those second-chance opportunities, Lutz made what might seem at first like a striking comparison for the Utes.

“I know this is going to sound a little odd, but I equate them a little bit to the University of Houston because they’re such a good offensive rebounding team,” Lutz said. “I think Houston maybe gets 37, 38% of their misses and Utah’s right around there, 34, 35.

“When you shoot a bunch of 3s, you’ve gotta check out and box out all over the floor and at all times. So we’ve gotta be great in terms of boxing out and then going to get the basketball on all those misses because long misses sometimes equal long rebounds and you’ve gotta turn that into offense. And we’ve gotta make them pay for missing.”

To their credit, the Cowboys have been pretty good at doing just that. OSU ranks 23rd in opponent offensive rebounding percentage, allowing just 25.6% thus far. If the Cowboys can keep that up on the road, against a team hungry for a win, they’ll put themselves in a great opportunity to make it two-straight Big 12 wins. If not — or if the Utes’ perimeter shooters can shake off their slump at home — it could be a tough win for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys and Utes tip off at 6 p.m. CST Saturday in Salt Lake City.