STILLWATER, OKLA.—The South Carolina State men's basketball team close out the holiday break on the road versus non-conference foe Oklahoma State Sunday (Dec. 31) inside Gallagher -Iba Arena.
Tipoff is 2:01 p.m. (CT)/3:01 p.m. (ET)
GAME DAY INFORMATION
South Carolina State (4-11) at Oklahoma State (6-5)
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 | 2:01 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets
TV: ESPN+ (Mike Wolfe & Bryndon Manzer)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Internet Radio: okstate.com/listen & The Varsity Sports App
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: First meeting
The Series with South Carolina State:
- OSU has never faced South Carolina State.
- The Bulldogs are the last of four first-time foes on the Cowboys' 2023-24 non-conference schedule. OSU faced St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame at the Legends Classic in Brooklyn and defeated Wofford on Dec. 20.
- The Cowboys are 6-3 all-time on New Year's Eve. A year ago, they rang in 2023 and Big 12 play with a road game at Kansas.
Scouting the Bulldogs:
- Longtime Bob Huggins assistant Erik Martin (2006-07 at Kansas State and 2007-22 at West Virginia) is in his second year as head coach at South Carolina State.
- The 52-year old Martin played for Oklahoma State alumnus Moe Iba at TCU (1988-90) before finishing out his collegiate career with Huggins at Cincinnati (1991-93). He was a key reserve on the Bearcats' 1991 Final Four team and a second team all-conference performer the following year when Cincinnati returned to the Elite Eight
- Picked last in the MEAC preseason poll, SCSU (4-10) needs just one more victory to match its 2022-23 win total (5-26).
- A dozen Bulldogs average anywhere from 9-22 minutes. Eight of them weren't with the team a season ago.
- SCSU reserves have clocked 48.6% of the overall minutes (second-most nationally behind Alabama A&M's 49.5%) and collectively account for 35.5 points per contest (9th).
- The most-productive of the holdovers, 6-6 junior forward Davion Everett, is SCSU's leading scorer (10.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.1 rpg). Nearly half (51) of his 106 boards have come on the offensive end.
- The newcomers are a mixture of freshmen and junior college transfers.
- 6-3 Seward County Community College product Wilson Dubinsky (8.0 ppg) has hit a team-high 30 threes on 32.3% accuracy.
- Point guard responsibilities have been split between 6-2 freshman Mitchell Taylor (8.3 ppg, team-best 2.5 apg) and 6-1 JUCO transfer Michael Teal (7.0 ppg, 2.1 apg).
- 6-10 Drayton Jones (5.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, team-high 15 blocks) is one of the MEAC's top freshmen out Oak Hill Academy.
- Martin's SCSU teams play a fast and aggressive style, forcing 3.5 blocks and 14.9 turnovers. Opponents are averaging 82.7 points on 47.0% shooting.
- On offense, the Bulldogs get the rim and the foul line with regularity, averaging more than 22 free throw attempts. 73.8% of their shots come from inside the arc and 59.8% of their points are off 2-point field goals (12th).
- Offensive rebounding has been another point of emphasis. The Bulldogs rank fifth nationally in that category (16.1) after finishing second in 2022-23 (13.8).
- Sunday's visit to Stillwater marks the last of 11 non-conference road games on SCSU's 2023-24 calendar. The Bulldogs face a quick turnaround after Friday's 91-62 loss at Nebraska. In that game, the Bulldogs endured a miserable start, making just 5-of-42 shots (.119) on their way to a 50-11 halftime deficit.
- Over the past two seasons SCSU is 1-29 on the road with 22 straight losses. The lone victory came Nov. 29, 2022 at East Carolina.
NEXT UP: South Carolina State returns to action after the new year at home in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play versus Norfolk State Saturday (Jan. 6) in a 4 p.mm tipoff and Monday (Jan. 8) versus Howard inside Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
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