Cowboys Set to Face Tough Texas Tech Squad in Lubbock

Oklahoma State starts Big 12 play Saturday in Lubbock against a tough Texas Tech squad.

STILLWATER -- The past few months have been a grind for Oklahoma State basketball as they've played one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the country.

Things got a little dicey for the Pokes as Isaac Likekele missed four-straight games with an illness. Prior to the loss of Ice, the Cowboys started the season 8-0. During the four-game Ice-less stretch, the Pokes dropped three out of four.

But the Cowboys' leading scoring came back a few days before the game against Southeastern Louisiana and appears to be back to full strength. Which will be critical as the Pokes are headed to Lubbock to start Big 12 play against the reigning Big 12 champs, and national runner-up in Texas Tech.

Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg and Robbie Hummel on the call. You can stream the game on the WatchESPN app or at ESPN.com.

As always, you can listen to the Cowboy Radio Network broadcast with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb. You can also listen to their radio broadcast on XM 383.

“They’re really, really physical defensively,” said head coach Mike Boynton of Texas Tech. “They’re pretty versatile. They don’t necessarily play with a true big, which can present some challenges, but there’s some things that maybe we can take advantage of in terms of rebounding and protecting the rim on defense. [Davide] Moretti is the leader for them; he’s a tremendous shooter. Great competitor. They have one of the most unique players in the country in [Virginia Tech transfer] Chris Clarke, a guy who starts at power forward and has 70-some off assists and 20-some odd turnovers, which is unusual for a guy playing that position. When he rebounds [the ball], he’s basically their point guard, so it gives us a different look in that regard. But they’re really versatile defensively and they can switch one through five and really be able to guard you.”

Four out of the five starters for Tech are averaging more than 10 points a game, with freshman guard Jahmi'us Ramsey leading the way for the Red Raiders. He's averaging 17.4 points on 46 percent shooting from the field, while hauling in 5.5 rebounds per game.

His 5.5 rebounds per game trails only Virginia Tech transfer Chris Clarke who's averaging 8.8 per game. The state sheet shows that Clarke has only started in four games this season, but he's averaging 29.3 minutes per game. That's the third highest total on the team. He's also averaging 7.2 points per game.

As a team, the Red Raiders enter this game averaging 76.17 points per game, while holding opponents to 63.25 points per game.

As for the Pokes, they enter Saturday averaging 72 points per game, while holding opponents to 61.8 points per game.

There's no doubt that this is going to be the Cowboys' toughest challenge yet this season. While the Red Raiders aren't overly big across the board, they have an abundance of talent and can score at will.