ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Jaden Bradley (6-3 junior)

G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)

F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 junior)

F Trey Townsend (6-6 senior)

C Tobe Awaka (6-8 junior)

OKLAHOMA STATE

G Arturo Dean (5-11 junior)

G Bryce Thompson (6-6 senior)

F Jamyron Keller (6-3 sophomore)

F Robert Jennings (6-7 junior)

C Abou Ousmane (6-10 senior)

How they match up

Series history: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has won all three games it has played against Oklahoma State, the last a 79-78 contest in the 2005 Sweet 16 at Rosemont, Ill., when Salim Stoudamire hit a game-winning jumper in the final seconds. UA also won in 1993-94 at Phoenix and 73-63 at the Great Alaska Shootout in 1994-95.

Oklahoma State overview: After quick fixes at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (2021-22 and 2022-23) and Western Kentucky last season, Steve Lutz took over an Oklahoma State team that won just four Big 12 games last season. Expectations remained low this season, with the Cowboys picked to finish in 15th place. They have generally played to par so far, without an exceptional win or surprising loss.

Oklahoma State went 8-3 on a nonconference schedule ranked No. 250 in strength by KenPom, losing to FAU, Nevada and Oklahoma while beating eight mid- or low-major teams. In the Big 12, the Cowboys beat Kansas State and Colorado at home while losing at Houston, West Virginia, Utah and BYU. 

The Cowboys run the nation’s 170th-most efficient offense, scoring just 106.9 points per 100 possessions and aren’t a great-shooting team. They shoot 32.3% from 3-point range but take nearly two-thirds of their shots from within the arc, hitting two-pointers at a 47.4% rate that ranks just 298th nationally. They also hit free throws at a mediocre 72.5% rate.

But Oklahoma State does cause some damage on the glass. The Cowboys rank 16th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (74.6) and 50th in offensive rebounding percentage (34.6). Big men Abou Ousmane and Marchelus Avery are nationally ranked in both categories individually. In raw terms, the Cowboys are outrebounding all opponents by 4.3 per game and by 0.7 in Big 12 games.

The Cowboys can also be disruptive defensively. Teams shoot well against them — 55.9% from two — but Oklahoma State ranks 30th nationally in defensive steal percentage, taking away the ball on 12.6% of opponents’ possessions.

Lutz had to replace eight players off the roster he inherited last spring, but collected plenty of experience via the transfer portal. OSU ranks 15th in KenPom's "Division I experience (2.93)," a measure of the average number of full D-1 seasons played by the current roster, weighted by minutes played.

Lutz pulled in seven transfers and a freshmen, with Ousmane (Xavier) and Avery (UCF) the two top transfer portal acquisitions. At 245 pounds, Ousmane is a 53.4% shooter from 2 and has also stepped out to hit 7 of 12 3-pointers. Both Avery and Ousmane are effective at drawing fouls, and both hit free throws at about 72%. Arturo Dean and Khalil Brantley have split time at point guard while two returnees start on the wing: Small forward Bryce Thompson, who is coming off a shoulder injury, and shooting guard Jamryon Keller. 

Key players

Oklahoma State — Marchelus Avery 

The sixth man on a UCF team that reached the NIT last season, Avery tested the NBA Draft last spring and has since begun thriving in a similar role off the bench for the Cowboys this season. Usually settling in at power forward, Avery is a factor from all levels offensive and is a disruptive force on the other end.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ — Henri Veesaar 

The Wildcats' third-year big man finally hit a speed bump in Big 12 play at Texas Tech, missing all five shots he took while grabbing just two rebounds, but he'll have a chance to redeem himself quickly against Oklahoma State's active and physical big men.

SIDELINES

Cowboy memorials

Oklahoma State will be hosting ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ on Tuesday in the wake of an emotional 83-73 win over Colorado on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The game featured OSU’s annual “Remember the Ten� celebration of the 10 men in Oklahoma State’s men’s basketball traveling party who died in a Jan. 27, 2001, plane crash in Colorado. But the game was also an emotional one for backup forward Patrick Suemnick, whose grandfather passed away last week.

Suemnick averaged only 10.8 minutes this season but played 15 on Saturday while scoring 10 points and grabbing four rebounds.

“My grandma texted me and she was like 'You know, he would want you to stay there and handle business for the game. Just make sure you play for him today,'� Suemnick said. “So, it just had a little extra meaning for me.�

A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who has also played for Robert Morris and West Virginia, Suemnick wasn’t able to attend his grandfather’s funeral on Friday, but OSU had allowed him to skip the Dec. 22 game with Oral Roberts in order to spend time with him before he passed away.

“My team and the coaches have always been supportive,� Suemnick said Saturday. “My family flew in for this game to give me company today and my high school starting five drove down, so all the people who love and support me, they’ve been there for me.�

No love for Wildcats

While ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ remained out of the Associated Press Top 25 again this week, the Wildcats' opponents are well-represented.

Duke, which beat UA 69-55 on Nov. 22 at McKale Center, rose to the No. 2 spot behind Auburn this week after Iowa State lost at West Virginia and dropped from No. 2 to 3.

Among other UA opponents this season, Kansas (13-4, 4-2) slipped from No. 9 to No. 12, while Houston (14-3, 6-0) jumped from 10 to 7 and Wisconsin (15-3, 5-2) moved up from 24 to 18. Baylor (11-6, 3-3) dropped out, but West Virginia (13-4, 4-2) moved back in at 23.

The Wildcats (11-6, 5-1), who beat West Virginia on Jan. 7, received the 32nd-most points in voting. Texas Tech (13-4, 4-2), which beat ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ on Jan. 18, received the 26th-most points.

Because they played so many highly regarded teams, and beat the Mountaineers, the Wildcats remain popular in computer metrics: UA is No. 9 in Torvik, No. 14 in the NET and No. 16 in KenPom.

Big 12 honors Small, Hall

The Big 12 named West Virginia’s Javon Small its Player of the Week and UCF’s Keyshawn Hall its Newcomer of the Week.

Small scored 12 of his 27 points in the final two minutes of the Mountaineers’ 64-57 win over Iowa State while adding seven rebounds. He also scored 13 points with eight assists in a loss to Houston.

Hall had 40 points, seven rebounds and six assists in UCF's 95-89 win at ASU. His 40 points were the third-most by a UCF player in a Division I game and the most by any Big 12 player in a Conference game since Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham on Feb. 27, 2021. Hall also had 11 rebounds in UCF's 69-68 loss to Houston and scored a go-ahead layup with 9.8 seconds to play before the Cougars pulled out the game.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has not had a player earn a Big 12 weekly award this season.

Numbers game

1: Loss (to Houston) in eight home games for Oklahoma State.

20: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s ranking in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The Wildcats are averaging 119.3 points per 100 possessions and giving up an average of 95.5 points per 100 possessions.

99: Wins as ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s head coach since Tommy Lloyd was hired before the 2021-22 season.

— Bruce Pascoe