Hokies, Cowboys set to square off in Brooklyn for Basketball Hall of Fame InvitationalHokies, Cowboys set to square off in Brooklyn for Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational
Men's Basketball

Hokies, Cowboys set to square off in Brooklyn for Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational

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Oklahoma State (6-3)
vs. Virginia Tech (9-1)
December 11, 2022
Barclays Center
2:00 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Virginia Tech Sports Network

BLACKSBURG – With its sights set on 10 wins, Virginia Tech returns to the scene of last season's biggest win, as the Hokies take on Oklahoma State in the Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon. Mike Monaco and Noah Savage will be on the call on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. when Tech competes in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational. As always, Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop will provide coverage for Tech fans on the Virginia Tech Sports Network.
 The Hokies improved to 9-1 for the fourth time since 2016-17 following their resounding 77-49 victory over preseason Atlantic 10 favorite Dayton. It was the Flyers' largest margin of loss in seven years. Grant Basile tallied 23 points, including 20 in the first half, and added 10 rebounds to notch his second double-double of the season.

Tech enters the weekend at No. 36 in the NET rankings, while Oklahoma State is at No. 52 – making Sunday's matchup a Quad 2 game as it stands now. Winners of four straight, the Hokies are poised to break into the AP Top 25 on Monday with a win against the Cowboys. Stay Connected with Tech Men's Basketball

 

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS 

  • Oklahoma State is led by Moussa Cisse, who has four double-doubles through nine games. The four double-doubles are the second most in the Big 12. Cisse, a junior from Conakry, Guinea, is the Big 12 leader in total rebounds, blocks and offensive rebounds.
  • The Cowboys' scoring leader is Avery Anderson III, who averages 12.6 points per game. An All-Big 12 preseason selection, Anderson III is also the team's best free-throw shooter.
  • Oklahoma State has the Big 12's best field-goal percentage defense at 36.1%, the third-best 3-point field goal defense at 28.2%, the best rebounding margin (+8.33) and the most blocked shots at 49.
  • The Cowboy defense has held teams to less than 40% shooting in 11 straight games dating back to last year and has done so in 16 of OSU's past 18 games. Only two teams (SIU and DePaul) have shot 38% this season against the Cowboys. Behind the arc, six of OSU's nine foes have shot less than 30% this year.

 

The Series

  • Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State are set to meet for the fifth time in Sunday's nonconference matinee in Brooklyn.
  • The Hokies are unbeaten against OSU, posting a 4-0 mark. 
  • This will be the second matchup between the two schools in the Empire State. Tech edged the Cowboys, 59-57, in the 2011 NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.
  • Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton, who is in his sixth season at the helm in Stillwater, was Mike Young's associate head coach at Wofford for the 2007-08 season before moving on to his alma mater, South Carolina.
  • Boynton was the primary recruiter of current Tech assistant coach Kevin Giltner to Wofford. Giltner played for the Terriers from 2008-12.
  • The Hokies will be seeking their first 10-1 start to a season since 2018-19. That year, Tech opened with a 14-1 ledger through its first 15 games. 

FOND MEMORIES AT THE BARCLAYS CENTER

  • Sunday's game marks the first time the Hokies will return to Barclays Center since they won four games in four days en route to the 2022 ACC Tournament title. 
  • Tech played a total of six games at Barclays Center last season. In addition to the four last March, the Hokies played Memphis and Xavier in the NIT Season Tip-Off in November.
  • When asked if the return to Brooklyn will stir up some emotions, Coach Young had this to say: "Darn right it will. I can't wait. We played six games in that building last year. That experience in March – that was pretty cool. I can't wait to get back." 

THE OKLAHOMAN SHOWDOWN

  • Sean Pedulla, a native of Edmond, Oklahoma, is set to battle the Cowboys from his home state for the first time in his college career.
  • Oklahoma State was one of Pedulla's three finalists when making his college decision. Tech and Minnesota were his others.
  • Pedulla was high school teammates with Cowboys' sophomore guard Brooks Manzer at Edmond Memorial. 

BASILE THE PERFECT FIT

  • More than 50 schools reached out to Grant Basile when he went into the transfer portal last spring. After his latest outing - a 23-point, 10-rebound performance against Dayton, Basile continues to deliver at a high rate for the Hokies. 
  • "He's just the perfect fit to go along with the other four starters that we have and the rest of the team," Sean Pedulla said. "Just a completely unselfish guy, a very team-oriented guy. And like the rest of us, he gets excited when other people play well and we're all excited when he plays well. Just a great overall fit." 

UP NEXT

  • Virginia Tech returns home for its final nonconference game of the regular season against Grambling State on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m.