Oklahoma State 2009 NCAA Tournament Preview

Oklahoma State Cowboys - Big 12 Conference (22-11, 9-7)

Seed: #8 - East Region

RPI: 19

Big Wins: 11/30 vs Siena (77-68), 2/28 Texas (68-59), 3/12 vs Oklahoma (71-70)

Bad Losses: 1/17 at Baylor (92-98), 1/31 at Texas A&M (64-76), 2/10 at Texas (74-99)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2005, Sweet Sixteen loss to Arizona

Coach: Travis Ford (0-1 in 1 NCAA appearance)

Probable Oklahoma State Starters:

• Byron Eaton, Senior, Guard, 14.1 ppg, 5.5 apg, 2.2 spg

• Terrel Harris, Senior, Guard, 13.8 ppg, 1.9 apg, 4.8 rpg

• James Anderson, Sophomore, Guard, 18.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg

• Obi Muonelo, Junior, Guard, 12.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg

• Marshall Moses, Sophomore, Forward, 6.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg

Key Oklahoma State Roleplayers:

• Anthony Brown, Senior, Forward, 2.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg

• Keiton Page, Freshman, Guard, 8.9 ppg, 1.3 apg

• Nick Sidorakis, Sophomore, Guard, 1.2 ppg

Why The Cowboys Can Surprise:
The one thing Oklahoma State does not lack is scorers. Coach Travis Ford has installed a high flying offense and this is a team that is not afraid to take the three-pointer. Like any team that depends on the long ball, the Cowboys will live by the three and die by the three. James Anderson, Obi Muonelo and Keiton Page are the most prolific outside shooters and those three all hit over 40 percent of their attempts from long range.Anderson, who averages 18.6 points per game will also attack the basket and is the most dynamic scorer on the team.

Byron Eaton is the point guard and the playmaker on the team. He will not drain a ton of three-pointers, but he will use his wide frame to attack the basket and he seems to spend most of his time at the free-throw line, and that is certainly not a bad thing since he hits over 76 percent of his shots from the charity stripe. Terrel Harris is the other guard who can score 20 points on any given day. Like Anderson, Harris is a versatile scorer who can hit the long ball and get to the basket.

Why The Cowboys Can Disappoint:
If you were keeping track, those five players are all guards. And, believe it or not, they have all started together during this season. That left Muonelo, a 6-5 guard, manning the five spot. And while that creates some fun mismatches on the offensive side of the floor, it leads to an awful lot of problems on the other side. Muonelo and the 6-6 Anderson are often matched up against much, much bigger players and all the hustle in the world is not going to help. The lack of a frontcourt is also a big problem on the glass and OSU will get outrebounded against most quality opponents.

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Who To Watch:
But there are a couple forwards on the roster. Anthony Brown, a 6-8, 225-pound senior, is the biggest and most experienced option. Brown is not much of a scorer, but at least he has some girth on his frame and can play decent defense. He will not get too many minutes per game, but he does play an important role and will tally about 15 minutes per contest. Marshall Moses plays about the same amount of minutes, and has been inserted into the starting lineup at the five spot on a few occasions. Moses is shorter at 6-6, but can score 15 or more points on any given day and is a more polished rebounder than Brown.

Oklahoma State By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 82.2 (4th in nation, 1st in conference)

Scoring Defense: 74.8 (308, 11)

Field-Goal Percentage: 46.2 (61, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 44.3 (222, 11)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.5 (5, 1)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.2 (22, 1)

Free-Throw Percentage: 74.2 (25, 1)

Rebound Margin: -1.4 (238, 8)

Assists Per Game: 12.7 (192, 9)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.6 (60, 5)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Pittsburgh

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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