Oklahoma State vs Wichita State Odds
| Oklahoma State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-4.5 -106 | 129.5 -105o / -115u | -184 |
| Wichita State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+4.5 -114 | 129.5 -105o / -115u | +152 |
Oklahoma State makes the two-hour trip north into Kansas on Saturday to take on Wichita State in a nonconference game at the INTRUST Bank Arena.
The Cowboys enter the contest with losses in two of the last three to sit at 6-4 on the season.
Meanwhile, the Shockers have also had some early season struggles, coming into this game with the same record.
Even without the results, this is still a matchup of two teams that rank in the Top 100 by both Kenpom and in the NET Rankings. So, this is a great chance to boost their resumes before conference play begins.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
In his sixth season at the helm, head coach Mike Boynton only has two more games to claim some positive momentum before tipping off Big 12 play against Kansas.
The Pokes have struggled when playing better competition, losing all but one of the games against Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents.
Most recently, Boynton’s team dropped a close contest at the Hoop Hall Invitational in Brooklyn against Virginia Tech, with the Hokies now ranked following the victory. The Cowboys also dropped games against No. 1 Connecticut, UCF and Southern Illinois.
The issues are not on the defensive side of the ball. Through the opening 10 games, Oklahoma State is inside the Top 25 in adjusted defensive efficiency (23rd), defensive eFG% (12th), opponents’ 2-point FG% (13th) and turnover percentage (17th), according to barttorvik.com.
In fact, the Cowboys have only allowed two teams to score over 70 points against them in UConn and DePaul, with the Pokes giving up an average of just 63.1 points per game. This mark is just outside the Top 50 in the country.
Offensively, they have three players who average double-figures: Avery Anderson III, Kalib Boone and Bryce Thompson.
Wichita State Shockers
Which Wichita State team shows up in this game: the one that took Missouri to overtime or the one that fell to Alcorn State at home?
Coach Isaac Brown needs to lead his squad to a victory in this contest, especially with a pretty soft nonconference slate up to this point.
The Shockers’ strength of schedule is ranked 219th by Kenpom, which is going to put even more pressure on the team to pick up results in a difficult American Athletic Conference.
Just like the Pokes, Wichita State’s better numbers come on the defensive end of the floor, where they are 40th in adjusted efficiency and 11th in eFG% on defense.
The Shockers are led offensively by the one-two punch of Craig Porter, Jr. and Jaykwon Walton. The duo combines for 27.1 points per game, which is just shy of 40 percent of the team’s offensive output on a nightly basis.
Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State Betting Pick
When I look at this game at FanDuel, it is clearly a matchup where both teams are better defensively as opposed to on the offensive side of the floor.
So, my best bet is for the total to fall under 129.5 points at -115 odds. I would play this down to 125.
I really have a hard time seeing how Wichita State is going to be able to consistently put the ball in the basket here. In games where the Shockers played good defensive teams in Richmond (49th AdjD) and Kansas State (41st AdjD), they averaged 53 points, and this same bet cashed in both.
You could say that both of those games were on the road. However, this is the same team that only scored 57 against Alcorn State at home earlier in the season.
The other big factor that leads to this being a low-scoring affair is the pace of play, where Wichita State is outside the Top 300 in tempo. Oklahoma State checks in at 153rd, but the Cowboys could struggle to set the pace away from home.
The Pokes had a similar game earlier on in the year against UCF, which is even slower in tempo than the Shockers. There were 116 total points scored in that contest.
As long as one of these teams doesn't have a hot-shooting night, I think this one sets up to be a grinding game that trends towards an under.
Pick: Under 125 or Better |
