Tough competition
Oklahoma State released its 2017-18 nonconference men’s basketball schedule on Tuesday. The Cowboys face the likes of Arkansas, Florida State, Tulsa and Wichita State.
Oklahoma State’s nonconference basketball schedule features familiarity for 2017.
The Cowboys will face in-state squads Tulsa and Oral Roberts, old rival Arkansas and another neighbor in Wichita State. There’s also a date with Florida State, coached by former Cowboys coach Leonard Hamilton — and more — with Tuesday’s release of the full nonconference slate.
Also on tap: Pitt, Penn State or Texas A&M (another former Big 12 rival) at the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., an opener against Pepperdine at Gallagher-Iba Arena, Charlotte, Houston Baptist, Austin Peay, Mississippi Valley State and UT-Rio Grande Valley.
Last season, KenPom.com ranked OSU’s schedule as the nation’s toughest.
This schedule offers challenges, too, with four teams that made the postseason, five squads that finished among the RPI’s top 105 and three 20-win teams.
“Our goal will always be to put together a nonconference schedule that prepares our team to compete in the nation’s toughest basketball conference while giving Cowboy fans an exciting slate of games they can look forward to,” coach Mike Boynton said in a statement, “and I think we’ve done just that.
“Our team will take the court against nationally respected squads, regional rivals, as well as a host of opponents that will help our team gel and young players adjust to the rigors of college basketball. I’m excited for the upcoming season, and to have Gallagher-Iba Arena rocking again.”
The Cowboys will open the season with a three-game homestand that includes Pepperdine (Nov. 10), Charlotte (Nov. 13) and ORU (Nov. 16).
The Legends Classic will take place Nov. 20-21 at the Barclays Center in Boynton’s hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. While the matchups and schedule are expected to be released later this summer, the Cowboys could potentially face Texas A&M, Penn State or Pittsburgh inside the Barclays Center.
The matchup against Hamilton’s Florida State Seminoles will take place at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., as a part of the Orange Bowl Classic on Dec. 16.
In a Big 12/SEC Challenge rematch from a year ago, the Cowboys head to Fayetteville Jan. 27 to take on Arkansas. OSU rolled to a 99-71 win over the Razorbacks last January.