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The Oklahoma State Cowboys and St. Bonaventure Bonnies will square off on Thursday in the Legends Classic at Barclays Center. Tip-off from Brooklyn, NY, is at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Oklahoma State (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS, 1-1 O/U) beat Sam Houston 85-70 at home on Sunday. The Cowboys were picked to finish tenth in the Big 12 in the conference's preseason poll. Last season, they were 20-16 overall, including 5-7 away from home.
St. Bonaventure (1-1 SU, 0-2 ATS, 1-1 O/U) lost 70-67 to Canisius at home on Saturday. The Bonnies were predicted to finish third in the Atlantic 10's preseason poll. Last season, they were 14-18 overall, including 2-11 on the road.
The Cowboys are three-point spread favorites and the game total is 138 points.
Cowboys: Freshman guard Jamyron Keller is out (wrist). Freshman forward Isaiah Miranda is questionable (hip).
Bonnies: No injuries.
Oklahoma State bounced back from its season-opening loss to Abilene Christian with a win over Sam Houston in its last game. The Pokes hit 17 three-pointers in the victory, finishing 30-of-64 (46.9%) from the field, including 51.5 percent from long range. In their upset loss to Abilene Christian, they were an inefficient 5-for-23 (21.7%) from three-point distance and 8-for-20 at the foul line.
The Cowboys return their leading scorer, senior guard Bryce Thompson (11.8 PPG), but he is the only player on the 2023-24 roster who averaged double-digit points for OSU last season. He's joined by senior guard John-Michael Wright (9.8 PPG) and sophomore guard Quion Williams, who came on late in his freshman season, averaging 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in three postseason games.
OSU welcomes four transfer players and five freshmen, as wel l. The most notable newcomers are junior guard Javon Small (East Carolina), senior center Mike Marsh (Jacksonville), and freshman forward Eric Dailey Jr. Small averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.8 rebounds, Marsh scored 10.5 points per game on 55 percent shooting, and Dailey Jr. was a top-50 national recruit.
Oklahoma State scores 72.0 points per game (245th) and shoots 44.2 percent (205th), including 39.3 percent from three-point distance (56th). It shoots just 50.0 percent at the free-throw line (357th) and averages 32.5 rebounds (250th). Last season, the Pokes scored just 68.3 PPG (271st), struggling from the field (42.8%) and three-point range (31.0%). Considering that their two shooting performances from long range this season have been mixed, it's too soon to assume they have improved their accuracy from beyond the arc.
OSU's opponents average 67.0 points per game (148th) on 41.5 percent shooting (184th), including 34.1 percent from long range (251st), with 34.0 rebounds per game (249th). The Cowboys were a great defensive team last season, holding their opponents to 65.8 PPG (54th) on 39.5 percent shooting (11th), so it will be interesting to see if they can get back on track defensively in 2023-24.