Washington St & Oklahoma St Square off in NIT

The NCAA Tournament may get all the publicity, but there are some very interesting match-ups in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament that are worth watching. One of those games will be played on Monday when 2 very solid big conference schools square off in what will be a highly contested contest. Both the Washington St Cougars and the Oklahoma St Cowboys played well enough to warrant a spot in the “Big Dance”, but neither was able to solidify a spot due to a poor finish.

The Cowboys lost 6 of their last 9 games to fall out of what should have been an easy tournament bid. The Big-12 conference proved to be much improved this season as there were 4 teams that finished the year inside of the top-25 in the country. The Big-12 had 5 teams get into the NCAA tournament, but could have had a total of eight teams if Colorado, Nebraska, Baylor and Oklahoma St had won a couple more games down the stretch. Outside of the Big East, the Big-12 is the deepest conference in the nation. Oklahoma St is hoping to represent this league with an NIT Championship in 2011.

Oklahoma St doesn’t fill up the stat sheets with points, rebounds and assists, but they are a scrappy team that has the ability to win games regardless of the pace of play. Marshall Moses leads the team with a 14.5 point per game average, but it’s his 7.4 rebounds that make him so dangerous for opposing teams. Keiton Page and J.P. Olukemi are the only other players to average double digits for the Cowboys, but it’s their inside outside capability to score that makes them so difficult to guard.

College basketball handicappers aren’t giving Okie St much of a chance Monday as they are listed as a 5.5 point underdog to the Cougars. The Pac-10 as a whole was thought to be “down” this season, but in all reality they were very strong. Teams like California, USC, Washington St and Stanford are all capable of beating top ranked teams, but didn’t show a lot to tournament committee members as they beat each other up throughout the season.

Washington St has a talented but young squad. There is not 1 senior on this roster, but there are 8 juniors that help the underclassman stay composed. Klay Thompson is the leader for this team. He is a gifted athlete that has good genes, and is highly sought after by NBA experts. His size and speed gives his a huge advantage against smaller guards and bigger forwards, but it’s his defense that often goes unnoticed. Thompson does it all. He leads the team in scoring with a 22.2 point per game average, and is second with 5.2 rebounds and first with 3.9 assists. This team heavily relies on the production from their starters, and will need them to step up Monday against a good Cowboys team.

Tune in as both of these talented squads fight to the finish in a game that may very wll determine who will win the NIT this season!

Related posts:

1. NIT 2nd Rd Showdown: Connecticut v. Virginia Tech
2. Wichita St vs. Alabama in NIT Championship Game
3. 7/10 Seed Match-Up: Oklahoma St/ Georgia Tech
4. NIT Quarterfinals: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi
5. Virginia Tech Takes on Rhode Island in NIT Quarterfinals

Comments