Oklahoma State Looking for a Boost With New Starting Five

The Cowboys remain winless in conference play but are looking for something to get them in the win column.

Oklahoma State desperately needed a change, and it may have found one that works.

After an 0-4 start to Big 12 play, coach Mike Boynton made a change to the Cowboys’ starting lineup. The five-man group of Javon Small, Bryce Thompson, Quion Williams, Eric Dailey Jr. and Brandon Garrison had been on the floor for tipoff of the past 11 games going into Saturday.

But in need of a boost, Boynton opted for John-Michael Wright and Connor Dow to fill in for Williams and Dailey. The move was made for OSU to get a boost offensively to begin the game.

However, the matchup quickly turned into a slugfest full of turnovers. The Cowboys held strong throughout the contest but still fell 70-66 to Kansas State.

While Wright and Small finished as the only OSU starters with at least 10 points, each scoring 11, Dailey found a rhythm coming off the bench. Tying his career-high with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, the freshman led OSU in scoring, with most of his damage coming in the first half.

Meanwhile, Dow’s first start proved to be a tough task for the freshman wing, who had played sparingly throughout the first couple of months. At KSU, he was two minutes shy of his high of 21 minutes in the season opener against Abilene Christian.

Since that game, Dow had only hit the 15-minute threshold against Kansas on Tuesday. Despite his reputation as a shooter, he has only shot 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in Big 12 play and 28.6% for the season.

However, the other new starter appears to be a solid option moving forward. Wright has not seen consistent minutes since the first several games but could be a mainstay in the lineup as he is in his fifth season of college hoops.

Even with some encouraging signs in Manhattan, OSU still has a long road ahead for this to be a successful season.

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