Tempo will be the headline when Oklahoma State walks into Texas A&M on Thursday night.
The Cowboys and Aggies tip at 7 p.m. in College Station, and the matchup should be a full-speed test between two teams that like to push. Texas A&M’s “Bucky Ball” has been flying early, and Steve Lutz’s Oklahoma State group has been right there with it. According to KenPom, the Aggies are third nationally in adjusted tempo, while the Cowboys sit 12th.
“You have two teams that play an exciting brand of basketball,” Lutz said. “There’s no reason to slow it down.
We’ve always taken what the defense has given us, and if they’re gonna put two on the basketball or three on the basketball - or whatever number they put on the basketball - then we’ve gotta be able to be strong enough to withstand that and get the ball moving. Then we’ve gotta make them pay for that.
That’s normal no matter any team that plays the way they do, you’ve gotta flip it on them and make them pay.”
The scoring pace backs that up. Oklahoma State is averaging 104.5 points through two games, while Texas A&M is at 103 through three.
A lot of the names are different from last season, but the Cowboys already know what this matchup can look like. Oklahoma State beat the Aggies 87-63 in Stillwater a year ago, though Texas A&M later reached the NCAA Tournament while OSU did not.
The challenge Thursday starts with the Aggies’ pressure. Texas A&M has been forcing turnovers at a ridiculous clip and is leading the country in turnovers forced per game early in the season. Opponents are coughing it up 23 times a game against the Aggies so far.
That puts a lot on Oklahoma State’s guards, especially with Kanye Clary working back from a groin injury. Sam Houston transfer Jacob Walker has handled a heavy load early and has been excellent, averaging 8.5 assists per game, which leads the Big 12, while committing three turnovers a game.
Clary’s return would be a major boost. He missed the opener, then played six minutes against Queens last Friday.
Last season, as OSU’s primary point guard, he averaged 4.6 points and two turnovers per game. Lutz said Clary is practicing and expects him to play against Texas A&M, though how much he can give remains the question.
“When you have fast guards like Kanye and Jacob and those guys, a lot of times they should be able to beat the press just on their own because they’re so fast,” Lutz said. “That certainly gives us another little feather in our cap if we do have him out on the floor.”
If Clary is limited, freshman Parker Robinson could be asked to help handle the pressure. The 6-foot-4 guard arrived as more of a combo guard, but he has already spent time at point guard during OSU’s Puerto Rico trip and again in the early going this season. In his first two official games, he has averaged 17 minutes, 2.5 assists and one turnover per contest.
Oklahoma State has mostly protected the ball well this season, but its one road trip of the year was a mess. In an exhibition at Wisconsin, the Cowboys turned it over 22 times in an 82-65 loss. That kind of night in College Station would make a win tough to imagine.
“At the end of the day, don’t turn the ball over,” Lutz said. “There’s nothing worse than turning the ball over and giving them an opportunity to get their crowd going and get their students behind them and get that place rocking.
That’s the last thing we need. We need to go in there and play well and try to take the air out of Reed Arena so that it stays that way the entire night.”
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