Texas Tech basketball: Scouting the Oklahoma State Cowboys

OSU is one of the lowest-scoring teams in the Big 12

Interestingly, the Cowboys are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the Big 12 despite having Waters and Dziagwa on the floor to knock down 3s.  At 72 points per game, they are just 8th in the league ahead of only Texas and Kansas State.

The problem has been that no one on the roster outside of the two afore-mentioned shooters has proven capable of hitting looks from outside.  As a team, OSU shoots just 31.1% from deep.  That’s worst in the Big 12.

Dziagwa is their most accurate shooter at 42.9% while Waters is a 37.9% marksman thus far.  Of the 80 shots the Cowboys have hit from 3-point range, that duo has accounted for 47.  After them, no player on the roster has hit more than eight.  That’s why it isn’t surprising to see that only three other teams have attempted more shots from deep.

Only 27.8% of their points come from behind the arc.  That’s just 250th in the nation.

Much like Tech, the free-throw line is critical for the Pokes.  Averaging 20.6 attempts per game, 20.8% of their offense comes at the line, 77th-most in the nation.

There are only three double-digit scorers on the OSU roster, Likekele, Waters, and forward Yor Anei.  What’s more, their four top scorers average just 46.8 points per game, which is 6.7 less than Tech’s top four scorers (all of whom average double digits) are combining to average.

If Tech can come out of the gates hot from the field and put OSU in a significant hole the way they did in last year’s game in Lubbock, it is worth believing that the Pokes may not have the firepower to come back.  Of course, we assumed that was the case last February when Waters and Dziagwa lit it up in Lubbock.