Tip-Off: 6:30 PM CT
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, OK)
Television: ESPN+
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network
Twitter: Follow @HeartlandPokes for live-tweets during the game
The Cowboys opened basketball season on Wednesday afternoon with a 75-68 victory over the Texas-Arlington Mavericks, and freshman Cade Cunningham burst onto the college basketball scene in incredible fashion as he put up a stat line of 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists in his debut.
Tonight, the young squad hosts Texas Southern in Stillwater for the home opener, and Oklahoma State owns a 2-0 all-time record over the Tigers. The last time Texas Southern was in Stillwater, which was in 2006, the Cowboys sent the Tigers packing with an 86-65 loss, something Oklahoma State fans will hope to see repeated tonight.
Streaking in Home Openers
The Cowboys have won 44 straight home openers, and head coach Mike Boynton led Oklahoma State to a 7-0 start last year before ending the season with an 18-14 record. Expectations in Stillwater are much higher this time around, and a big win today would go a long way.
Non-Conference Success Under Boynton
Since Mike Boynton took over as head coach in the 2017-18 season, the Cowboys have gone 28-13 (.683) against non-conference opponents. While this isn’t entirely impressive, if you take into consideration some of the struggles of the program, plus the difficulty of some of those non-conference opponents, Boynton has done well for himself, and he is likely to continue that trend this season.
Tigers are Southwestern Athletic Conference Favorites
Texas Southern is a member of the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference), which is a Division I conference made up historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and they are considered the favorites to win the conference this season.
The Tigers are 14-time regular season champions and 8-time conference tournament champions. They have made 8 NCAA tournament appearances since 1990, including 4 since 2014.
Familiar Face
Michael Weathers is in his second season at Texas Southern, although he was forced to sit out last year due to his transfer from Oklahoma state. Weathers played 16 games for the Cowboys in the 2018-19 season before being dismissed due to violating team rules.
In his time with the Cowboys, Weathers averaged 9.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 20.4 minutes per game, and he managed to put up 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block in his debut with the Tigers, a 52-56 loss to Washington State on Wednesday.
The Odds
The Cowboys are heavy favorites in tonight’s matchup with Texas Southern. Oklahoma State is a 20-point favorite, so this should very well be a high-scoring affair for the home team, which should make for an exciting game for the fans.