Sunday November 10, 2024 | 2:01 PM CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)

Buy tickets: okstate.com/tickets or 877-ALL-4OSU
Watch: ESPN+ (Adam Hildebrandt & Bryndon Manzer)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network and the Varsity App (Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb)
Live stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: First meeting

Military Appreciation Day: The Cowboys will pay tribute to current and former service members during Sunday’s game. In addition, OSU has partnered with Vet Tix to provide more than 100 free tickets to military families from around the area.

Opening tips:

• After winning his debut under head coach Steve Lutz earlier this week, OSU looked to continue that momentum on Sunday against St. Thomas.
• Lutz joined the Cowboys after successful turnarounds at Western Kentucky (2023-24) and A&M-Corpus Christi (2021-23). He has been to the NCAA tournament in each of his first three seasons as head coach.
• Last Monday, OSU used a 50-point second half to pull away for an 89-76 win over Green Bay.
• Bryce Thompson led the way with 22 points (one shy of his career high) on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, and About Ousmane added 16 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
• The Cowboys shot a modest 42% from the field, but made 10 of 22 threes and 21 of 24 foul shots. They also enjoyed a 43-25 rebounding advantage and scored 27 points off 19 Green Bay turnovers.
• OSU’s 89-78 exhibition win over SMU on Oct. 26 followed a similar script, with Thompson (24 points) draining all five of his three-point attempts. The Cowboys made 14 of 28 overall from deep.
• Thompson is one of just three holdovers from last year and needs just 39 points to become the 45th member of OSU’s 1,000-point club.
• Lutz added thirteen newcomers to the roster (twelve transfers and one true freshman) during a whirlwind spring. Eight of them made their OSU debuts in the opener.
• The 11 Cowboys in action Monday average 3.11 years of Division I experience. According to KenPom, only three teams (Xavier, Ole Miss and Nevada) rolled out a more experienced opening night lineup.
• Reserves accounted for 40% of the minutes.
• The Cowboys had 74 total possessions in the opener. That’s a pace they’ve matched just three times in the past year, yet it’s still more than a possession lower than the 75.4 average of Lutz’s 2023-24 Western Kentucky team, which led the nation in a modified pace.
• In contrast, the Cowboys’ Sunday opponent had KenPom’s ninth-slowest adjusted pace last year and averaged just 63.4 possessions.
• This is the first-ever meeting between OSU and St. Thomas, a former Division III power based in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Tommies are in the fourth year of a five-year transition to Division I, but have already had success, winning 20 games last season while finishing in the top half of the NET.
• This is the second of three straight OSU home games to start the regular season. After Thursday’s date with Southern Illinois (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+), the Cowboys will go another 34 days without a home appearance.

Green Bay Remnants:

• The Cowboys improved 90-26 all-time in season openers with wins in 28 of their last 30.
• With his debut, Green Bay’s Doug Gottlieb became the 19th former OSU player to coach a team at the Division I level.
• OSU forced turnovers on well over a quarter of Green Bay’s possessions (25.7%) as nine several Cowboys combined for 11 steals.
• The Cowboys scored 27 points off that 19 turnovers – the most by an OSU team since Nov. 22, 2021, when they put up 34 points on 28 College of Charleston giveaways in a 96-66 win.
• OSUs .889 defensive rebound percentage (27 on 30 opportunities) was a top-10 mark in program history (offensive boards have been officially tracked since the 1986-87 season).
• OSU was almost as good on the offensive glass and snagged 19 by 41 possibilities (.463), included 12 by 22 (.545) in the second half.
• Green Bay also simply became the fifth opponent in OSU history to attempt more than 60% of their field goals from behind the three-point line. 31 of the 51 Phoenix shots came from deep (.608), included 19 by 27 in the second half (.704).
• OSU won despite being off the field (49-42%). The Cowboys were just 3-17 last season as they finished with a lower shooting percentage than their opponents.
• Bryce Thompson posted the 50th double-digit scoring game of his NCAA career. Four of which have come during the OSU season openers.
• Thompson also reached the 20-point mark for the eighth time in his NCAA career.

Odds and ends:

• This is the 2,999e men’s basketball game in OSU history.
• For what it’s worth, OSU won its last one five Sunday matches, helped by a 4-0 mark last year.
• OSU wants to reach 2-0 for the first time in the match four year. Cade Cunningham and the 2020-21 Cowboys started 6-0.

Cowboys in the NCAA standings:

• OSU junior guard Aturo Dean is the NCAA’s active career leader in steals per game (2.91).
• Deans 186 total steals rank 12th on the active list and are among the top players who have been active for less than four seasons.
• Dean’s next assist will be the 250^e of his career.
• Arkansas Transfer Davonte “Devo” Davisalso ranks among the NCAA’s active career leaders in games played. Monday’s opener was his 133rd match (draw 12thfrom Friday).

Scouting Sint-Thomas:

• St. Thomas is a private Catholic school in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• The Tommies are in the fourth year of a five-year transition to Division I, with full status beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.
• Prior to the move, the Tommies were a Division III power, winning national championships in 2011 and 2016.
• Johnny Tauer was assistant coach of the former and head coach of the latter. Now in his 13th season, he has a career record of 269-97.
• The Tommies are not eligible for NCAA tournament play, but have more than held their own at the DI level, finishing last year with a 20-13 record, a 159 NET ranking and a winning record in Summit League play (9- 7).
• St. Thomas was picked fourth out of nine teams in the 2024-25 Summit League preseason poll, but will need to replace three starters, including a pair of second-team All-Summit League performers.
• Unlike Steve Lutz‘s up-tempo style, Tauer’s Tommies preferred a plodding pace last year. They were the ninth-slowest team in the country in KenPom’s adjusted pace rankings.
• They are off to a more offensive start this year, scoring at least 90 points in each of their first two games. They are shooting 51.6% as a team and have made over 40% of their threes (18/44).
• St. Thomas will take less than two days off after Friday night’s 90-76 win over the same Green Bay team the Cowboys opened against last Monday night. The Tommies shot over 60% from the field in both halves and led 54-35 at halftime.
• 6-2 juniors Miles Barnstable is in the midst of its own DIII-to-DI transition. The former UW-Whitewater standout has been the Tommies’ scoring leader in each of the first two games and is averaging nearly a point per minute (19.5 ppg, 21.9 mpg).
• Barnstable joins a pair of returning starters in the backcourt in Kendall Blue (10.5 ppg, 2.0 spg) and point guard Drake Dobbs (11.5 ppg, 4.0 apg).
• 6-9, redshirt sophomore at 250 pounds Carter Bjerke and transfer of 6-8 Green Bay graduates Rich Byhre are the veterans in a young St. Thomas front court that also includes the 6-6 redshirt freshman Ben Oosterbaan (8.5 ppg, team best 7.5 rpg).

Matchup mashup:

• 6-7 freshmen Kyle counts is grandson of Mel countswho played 12 years in the NBA and won two titles with the Celtics. Mel was also a member of the 1964 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, which was coached by Oklahoma State’s Henry Iba.
• St. Thomas is one of three first-time foes on OSU’s 2024-25 schedule, along with Green Bay and Tarleton State (Dec. 18).
• St. Thomas is one of two Summit League teams OSU will face in the non-conference portion of the schedule. Oral Roberts (picked fifth, one spot behind the Tommies) comes to Stillwater on December 22.

A Cowboy win would…

• Make it 2-0 for the first time since 2020-2021.
• Be their 62nd 2-0 start of all time.
• Make Lutz 71-35 (.670) in parts of four seasons.
• Give OSU a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with St. Thomas.
• Push their all-time GIA record to 862-264, including 294-90 in regular-season non-conference play.

Next:

• OSU wraps up a three-game homestand against the Southern Illinois Salukis on Thursday night (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
• This is the last chance for fans to see the Cowboys at GIA until December 18 – a 34-day window – as they prepare for a stretch of six straight road or neutral field games.
• Reserve your seat at okstate.com/tickets or call 877-ALL-4OSU.