Opponent Preview: OSU Set to Face North Texas in NIT Quarterfinals

STILLWATER – The NIT’s No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma State is set to host North Texas in the third round of the tournament on Tuesday evening at 6, with the game being televised on ESPN.

The winner of this game will advance to the NIT semifinals, which take place in Las Vegas.

The Cowboys are fresh off a 71-60 win over Eastern Washington on Sunday. It was a good win for the Cowboys as they shot nearly 50% from both the field and 3-point range.

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As for the Mean Green, you’d have to imagine they’re feeling quite confident heading into the quarterfinals as they’re coming off an absolute drubbing of Sam Houston on Sunday, 75-55. More on that win coming up in just a few graphs.

The Mean Green have had an incredible season this year. They’ve gone 28-7 overall up to this point, including a 16-4 conference record, which was good for second place behind Florida Atlantic. They made it to the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament, where they fell to the No. 3 seed, UAB, 76-69.

As a team this season, the Mean Green are averaging 64.7 points per game on 44% shooting from the field and nearly 36% from 3-point range. They’re also shooting 75% from the free throw line. On the defensive end, they’re holding opponents to just 55.6 points per game on nearly 40% shooting from the field and 30% from 3-point range.

As far as rebounding goes, they’re winning that battle too as they’re outrebounding opponents 33.7 to 29. They are, however, fairly close in the turnover battle as they force 12.3 per game, scoring 13.3 points off those turnovers, while turning it over 11.9 times per game, allowing for 11.1 points on the other end. They also record 3.0 blocks per game.

Senior guard Tylor Perry out of Spiro (OK) HS, by way of Fort Coffee, OK, is leading the way for the Mean Green with 17.1 points per game on 44% shooting from the field and 43% from 3-point range. He also leads the team in 3-point makes with 103.

The leading big man is Abou Ousmane, a 6-10, 230-pound junior forward out of Brooklyn, NY. He’s averaging 11.1 points per game, while hauling in 6.0 boards per game. He’s also recorded 45 blocks on the season. He’s been away from the team dealing with personal matters, missing the Sam Houston game, and could very well miss the game against OSU as well.

As for the previous game against Sam Houston in the second round of the NIT, Perry led the way with 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, as well as an impressive 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

Junior guard Rubin Jones was also impressive scoring 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range.