OSU defeated Northwestern on Friday night, tipping at 10:00 P.M. in Chicago, and it had the feel of the basketball version of the 2011 football game at Tulsa.
The win moved the Pokes to 7-0 on the year with dates against Sam Houston on Tuesday in GIA, then Grand Canyon in Phoenix on Saturday. Neither game is a guarantee, and Grand Canyon, under Bryce Drew, is always tough at home.
The Cowboys controlled the game, but didn’t show it on the scoreboard, largely because Northwestern shot 30 free throws, many in the 1st half when OSU could have taken control.
Well, that, and Nick Marshall, who dropped 28, almost all coming from about 2 feet from the bucket.
OSU had 3 more points off turnovers than the Wildcats, 2 more 2nd chance points, 21 more points off the bench, and 4 more points in the paint. OSU made just 1 fewer field goal, made 4 more free throws, 5 more 3-pointers, had 6 more offensive rebounds, and 7 more rebounds overall. OSU also had 2 more blocked shots, and the steals, assists, and turnovers were even.
So, as you can see by the stat line, while there were parts of the game that were equal, it’s still hard to figure out how OSU didn’t win by 10 points or so. and have that type of lead basically from start to finish.
I guess the point to that is, while OSU went to 7-0, and picked up a HUGE road win (technically neutral site), there’s a lot more in the tank for this team in terms of showing how much they’re controlling a game on the scoreboard, because the scoreboard is the ONLY thing that matters.
Parsa Fallah
Vyctorius Miller had a big night Friday night, and Anthony Roy came up CLUTCH in the 2nd Half, but, for my money, Parsa Fallah was the MVP. Fallah was hampered by foul trouble, logging just 23 minutes, but he was 5-9 from the field, had 11 boards, 4 on the offensive glass, 2 assists, and 13 points.
Fallah is a Senior from Iran who played on the Iranian Junior National Team, started his Collegiate career at Southern Utah, spent 2 years at Oregon State, and transferred this year to OSU. He’s 6-10, so he has legitimate size, super-soft hands, a great touch around the basket, and a tremendous understanding of how to set his defender up with the pump fake in post-up situations.
He’s also very adept at coming out on the floor to handle the high pick-and-roll action and spotting up for an occasional but well-timed 3-pointer.
The Cowboys have several perimeter players who are extremely good at getting downhill and finishing drives to the bucket. And, part of that is the fact that post defenders have a choice to make, either come off their man, many times Fallah, to help on the ball, or stay back and let the play develop 1 on 1. Neither is a good choice, as we’ve seen over and over this year.
Anthony Roy
DAYUM…DUDE!
Roy did not score in the 1st half, and, quite frankly, was having a fairly frustrating evening before he went to WURK. Roy scored his first points with 16:38 to go in the 2nd half, then, after missing his next 3-pointer, made 3- 3 pointers, and was also fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and made ALL 3 free throws. He also added a layup to that flurry, and several rebounds to finish with 16 points in 28 minutes, 6 boards, and a block.
Roy is 3rd on the team in points per game at 16, and 4th on the team in 3 pt% at 36.4%. Roy came to OSU via Milwaukee-Green Bay, where he was coached by Doug Gottlieb.
Roy was leading the nation in scoring before he suffered a season-ending injury in December of last year. Before that, he helped Langston win the NAIA Runner-up in 2023, and was an NAIA All-American and the SAC Player of the Year. Before Langston
Vyctorius Miller
One word…SUMOOTH!
Dude makes making tough shots look WAY too easy, never gets sped up, and it looks like the game is in slow motion to him at all times.
Miller got the Cowboys off to a GREAT start Friday night, which was HUGE, because the game didn’t start until 10:00, and it would have been easy to come out flat. He and Fallah took care of that piece, and his contributions didn’t end until the last buzzer sounded.
The Louisiana native dropped 17, which just just behind Jaylen Curry for the team lead, and did it on JUST 9 shots. It’s one thing to score, but it’s a WHOLE ‘nuther thing to be efficient and do so within the team structure, and he has been the MASTER at that.
He was 3-5 from 3 and also added a rebound, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. Miller came to OSU from LSU as a very highly ranked transfer, after being a very highly ranked recruit, and he’s been “as advertised”. He leads the team on the season with a ridiculous 51.7% from 3, and also leads the team in FT% at 89.2%. He’s shooting 57.8% overall from the floor and is averaging 17.4 per game, which also leads the team.
If you guard Miller tightly on the perimeter, he blows by you and can finish getting downhill. But if you give him space, he is a deadly shooter. It’s the classic “Pick Your Poison”.
Christian Coleman
Christian Coleman reached double digits last night, droppin’ 10 in 21 minutes. Dude is the master at fitting the offensive puzzle together when OSU is trying to finish a play. With his length, at 6’8″, his wingspan, and athletic ability, if you leave him to help on the ball, it’s curtains.
And it’s gonna be Phi Slamma Jamma!
Coleman is 4th on the team in rebounds with 4.6 per game, and is averaging 10.7 points a game as well. Which means, if you equate that, if he played the full 40 minutes, he’d be averaging right at a double-double EVERY game. Wow!
He’ll also throw in an assist, a steal and a blocked shot every game as well. His role is neat, because it provides many of the “Thunderous” moments, with his dunks, but then, many of the “unsung” moments as well that go unnoticed, but go a long way towards winning.
Coleman came to OSU from UAB, where he played 2 seasons, and was at South Plains College, and LSU Alexandria before that.
Jaylen Curry
The left-handed take of Jaylen Curry is STURONG!
Dude brushes off contact finishes strong, and MAKES his free throws, all things great finishers and scorers do.
Bryce Thompson was good at times last year at creating his own shot, but, by in large, OSU has desperately needed guards in the last several years that can just go make some plays.
Every team can score when their set runs perfectly, and they get the shot that they want. But, in the real world, that doesn’t happen all the time, and when things break down, if you can still score, that’s when you become unstoppable as a unit.
So, what Curry does is he gets the team in the correct set and sets OSU up to score through the offense. But, then, can identify when things didn’t go as planned, and just go MAKE A PLAY.
In fact, OSU has several that can do this, which is why this team is so good at putting up points.
Curry led OSU in scoring last night with 18, and leads the team with 5.2 assists per game, but only gives back 1.6. Anyone would take close to a 5:1 assist-to-turnover rate from their PG.
He is also 2nd on the team, averaging 16 points a game, and is tied for 2nd in steals with 1.4. It’s hard to overstate how much of an impact Curry has on this team, and how much of a stat stuffer he truly is.
Kanye Clary
Kanye Clary will have better nights offensively as he was just 1-6 from the floor and scored just 6 points. But, I’ll tell you what he did do, he took care of the ball and had just 1 turnover in 29 minutes. He also dished it up with 5 assists and had 3 steals. He made the plays down the stretch when his team needed him the most, and he made his free throws in crunch time, so his +- on the night was as positive a margin as just about anyone’s.
Clary is tied for 2nd on the team steals with 1.4 per game and has a 2.5:1 Assist to turnover ratio and is shooting 82.4% from the free throw line.
With all the scorers around him, it makes it easy to make an impact, but sometimes harder to identify when it’s your turn. He is the MASTER of doing that, and letting the game come to him, and only trying to make the plays the game presents to him.
Clary came to OSU from Mississippi State, where he suffered an injury. He went to Penn State originally and went to High School in Virginia. So, he’s another one on this roster that is well-traveled, has great experience, all of which allows him to take things in stride as they come.
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