The Miami Hurricanes and Oklahoma State Cowboys — both coming off upset losses against mid-major schools — will meet Friday afternoon in a Charleston Classic consolation game.
On Thursday afternoon in the first round at Charleston, S.C., Miami (3-1) never led while falling 80-69 to Drake.
Later on Thursday, the Cowboys (3-1) squandered a 10-point lead in an 86-78 loss to Florida Atlantic.
The Friday matchup will be special for Cowboys backup point guard Arturo Dean, who is from Miami.
Dean played for Florida International the past two seasons, and he led the nation in steals in 2023-24 with 104. He also led the Panthers in scoring (13.4 points per game), rebounds (5.1 boards per game) and assists (4.0 per game).
“He takes tremendous pride on defense,” Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz said. “You don’t get 100-plus steals by accident.”
Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga believes that the Cowboys will test Miami.
“They’ve got some really big guys,” he said. “We haven’t played that type of size yet (this season).”
Up front, Oklahoma State starts 6-foot-10, 245-pound Abou Ousmane and 6-7, 230-pound Robert Jennings II. Jennings amassed 14 points and 11 rebounds against Florida Atlantic, while Khalil Brantley scored a team-high 16 points.
This is supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Cowboys, who were predicted to come in 14th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 based on a preseason vote of the conference’s head coaches. The Cowboys have earned just one NCAA Tournament berth in the past seven years.
Lutz, after coaching Western Kentucky last season, is in his first year with the Cowboys, who lost four starters from 2023-24.
Miami, meanwhile, has a lot to prove after a Thursday game in which Drake logged a 14-5 edge in the offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs also posted a 36-18 advantage in paint points.
Miami’s defense had trouble with Drake’s voluminous screens.
Two Miami starters — center Lynn Kidd and power forward Brandon Johnson — will be looking for bounce-back games on offense. Kidd had just two points against Drake, while Johnson had seven.
Nijel Pack topped the Hurricanes with 17 points, raising his team-leading scoring average to 15.3 per game. Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Blackmon each put up 12 points vs. the Bulldogs.
–Field Level Media
