Pokes Set to Face Red-Hot No. 1 Kansas
Oklahoma State (14-13, 4-10) at 3/3 Kansas (24-3, 13-1)
Date / Tipoff: Feb. 24, 2020 / 8 p.m. CT
Site: Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series: KU leads 117-59 (KU leads 62-12 in Lawrence)
Last: KU won 65-50 on Jan. 27 in Stillwater
TV: ESPN (Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla, Holly Rowe)
Webcast: WatchESPN app or espn.com/watch
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81 (KU call), XM 382 (OSU call)
STILLWATER – Coming off a dominate 83-66 win over Oklahoma this past weekend in Stillwater, Oklahoma State, led by Cameron McGriff, are set to take on a red-hot Kansas team. A Kansas team fresh off a 64-61 upset of No. 1 Baylor, effectively ending the Bear’s 23-game winning streak. The win actually bumped Baylor down into the No. 2 spot in the latest AP Top 25 and moved KU from No. 3 up to No. 1.
So, there might not be a team in the country that’s playing as hot as KU. Don’t get me wrong, this is going to be one of, if not the toughest challenge yet for Oklahoma State. But that doesn’t automatically mean the Cowboys out of this game. Despite the second half of the West Virginia game, the Cowboys are playing their best basketball of the season, including nearly upsetting then No. 1 Baylor earlier this month.
I’m fact, Oklahoma State’s won four out of the last six games dating back to the Baylor game
“There’s a lot this team is still playing for,” Boynton said. “There are no more bigger resume-building wins than going into Allen Fieldhouse. I’ve got four guys on the roster, three who’ve played, in the win up there. We’re gonna need to find a way to offset two of, maybe the two best players in the conference. They’ve got the two guys who I would guess if the season ended today, they would have the co-players of the year on the same team in [Devon] Dotson and [Udoka Azubuike]. Big challenge ahead of us, but I’m excited for the opportunity to go up there and see what we’re made of.”
There’s no doubt that Dotson and Azubuike are the cream of the crop in the Big 12. Dotson’s averaging a Big 12 leading 18.2 points on 47.3% shooting and 4.2 assists, while Azubuike’s averaging 13.1 points on a Big 12 leading 73.3% field goal shooting.
The Cowboys will be looking to get continued great play out of senior Cameron McGriff, who’s coming off a career-high 28 points against Oklahoma this past Saturday. He’s also scored double figures in 12 of the last 14 games.
McGriff’s not one to shy away from the pressures of Allen Fieldhouse as he scored 20 points and hauled in nine boards as a sophomore, then turned around and dropped 22 points as a junior.
Mike Boynton and Co. are also going to need continued good play out of freshman Kalib Boone. The freshman set his career-high in scoring against Texas Tech with 16 points, and was pivotal in the win over Oklahoma scoring 14 points.
Again, tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday night and is being televised on ESPN.
