Big 12 Basketball: 2020-21 power rankings heading into New Year
team. 465. . 6-2 (0-2). . Cowboys . 7
Things started well for the Cowboys, winning their first six games of the season. That included wins over Wichita State and Marquette, one that also had star freshman guard Cade Cunningham make the game-winning three-pointer.
Cunningham has been as good as advertised, averaging a team-leading 19.3 ppg, along with 5.6 rpg and 3.6 apg. The 6’8 guard already has four games of at least 20 points, including a season-high 29 against Oral Roberts. He’s complemented by do-it-all guard Isaac Likekele, who leads Ok State with 8.3 rpg and 3.8 apg, along with being the team’s only other double-digit scorer on the roster. His rebounding has been important after losing forward Yor Anei to the transfer portal.
The team has two other key freshmen playing well in Rondell Walker (8.5 ppg) and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (8.3 ppg and 4.4 rpg). Transfers Bryce Williams and Ferron Flavors have added some shooting but the team’s lack of size has been an issue against teams with real frontcourts, such as Texas and TCU, the last two defeats that the Cowboys have suffered.
With the program appealing their postseason ban, there’s a chance that we can see Cunningham in the NCAA Tournament after all. But they’ll need to avoid hitting the freshman wall in Big 12 play, where they currently stand at 0-2.