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Oklahoma State faces UConn Monday night
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 11/21/2016  at  5:28:00 AM
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OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (3-0)

vs. CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (1-2)

Lahaina Civic Center – Maui, HI
Tip-off: Monday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: Oklahoma State -3.0

Oklahoma State looks to stay unbeaten with a win over an underperforming Connecticut team on Monday.

The Cowboys have looked excellent to start the season, as they are 3-0 with an average margin of victory of 31.3 PPG. Oklahoma State has been dominant offensively, averaging 107.0 PPG thus far. The team shot over 50% from the floor in each of the past two contests and an impressive 47.9% in its season opener as well. Connecticut, meanwhile, has been rather pathetic to start the season. The Huskies lost their season opener 67-58 against Wagner and followed it up with a 64-61 loss as 13-point favorites against Northeastern. Connecticut picked up its first win of the year with a 65-62 victory as a 5.5-point favorite against Loyola-Marymount last game, but the Huskies were 5.5-point favorites in that one. They’ll need to really step it up on the offensive end, as they have shot less than 42% from the field in all three of their games. One thing that favors Oklahoma State in this game is the fact that Kevin Ollie is 18-33 ATS after playing two consecutive games as favorite as the coach of Connecticut. The Huskies are, however, 19-6 ATS as a neutral court underdog of six points or less since 1997.

The Cowboys have been impressive to start the year and G Jawun Evans (23.3 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.0 RPG, 3.0 SPG) has looked like one of the best players in the nation thus far. Evans averaged 12.9 PPG and 49 APG as a freshman, but he has taken a huge leap in his second year. Evans is scoring the ball at a high rate, and he has been doing it efficiently. Through three games, Evans is shooting 63.2% from the floor and 75.0% from the outside. Those numbers are not sustainable, but he should be able to have some success against the Huskies on Monday. Joining him in the backcourt is G Phil Forte III (22.0 PPG, 1.0 SPG). Forte is an impressive college scorer, as he can shoot the outside shot and knows how to get himself to the free throw line. He’s averaging 5.7 attempts from the charity stripe per game this season, and he has hit every single one of those free throws. Look for him to be aggressive in this game. Another guard to watch out for in this game is G Jeffrey Carroll (18.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.3 SPG). Carroll comes off the bench for this Oklahoma State team and he is the definition of instant offense. The most impressive part of his 18.7 PPG is the fact that he is doing it in 18.3 MPG. He should have a significant impact in this game against Connecticut. On the inside, F Leyton Hammonds (7.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG) will need to play well on Monday. He is one of the Cowboys’ only big bodies and the team will need him to rebound the ball effectively in this one.

The Huskies are playing some horrible basketball right now and they’ll need G Rodney Purvis (5.7 PPG, 1.0 SPG) to turn things around soon. Purvis is one of the team’s top returners, but he is averaging just 5.7 PPG on 28% shooting from the floor and 12.5% shooting from three. He shot 43.4% from the field and 38.5% from three last year, averaging 12.8 PPG. That suggests that Purvis should be getting back to the mean soon, and a solid performance against Oklahoma State should be expected. Lack of energy will not be an excuse, as the Huskies desperately need a solid performance in this Maui Invitational. The guy who has picked up the slack for Purvis has been G Terry Larrier (16.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG). A VCU transfer, Larrier is shooting 47.5% from the floor through three games and has been attacking the rim successfully. He’ll be counted on to score again on Monday. G Jalen Adams (11.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 4.0 RPG) will also be leaned on for the Huskies. Adams has struggled a bit to start the year, but he is easily the most talented player on this roster. He should show out against the Cowboys on Monday night. In the frontcourt, the guy that has to be mentioned is C Amida Brimah (6.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 4.3 BPG). Brimah is one of the best shot-blockers in the nation and he should do a good job of protecting the rim in this one. He could be in for a solid performance offensively as well, as he is the only player with significant size in this game.


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