Oklahoma State’s new coach Steve Lutz had to mostly remake his roster when he took over after Mike Boynton was fired last spring.
But one guy he didn’t have to replace was 6-foot-6 guard Bryce Thompson, one of the Cowboys’ leading scorers as they head into Thursday night’s home game in Stillwater against Southern Illinois.
Thompson is averaging 16.5 points per game in Oklahoma State’s 2-0 start while shooting 56.5 percent, meaning he is scoring more efficiently. He averaged 11.8 and 11.6 points per game in the last couple of seasons but failed to make 40 percent of his attempts in either campaign.
“He’s figured out that we do have some guys who can create opportunities for him and he doesn’t have to press as much,” Lutz said. “I commend him for that. I tell him all the time I want him to be hungry to score, but I don’t want him to be selfish.”
UCF transfer Marchelus Avery is also hitting for 16.5 ppg and carried the load in the Cowboys’ 80-71 win Sunday over St. Thomas (Minn.), pumping in 23.
Oklahoma State is aiming to salvage a game in its three-year, 2-for-1 series with the Salukis. SIU rallied two years ago for a 61-60 win on Marcus Domask’s late 3-pointer at Gallagher-Iba Arena, then got 32 points from Xavier Johnson last season to beat the first Power 5 school in 15 years to visit Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill.
SIU (1-1) is coming off an 86-64 verdict Friday night against Division II Missouri S&T, the first win for new coach Scott Nagy. He’s won 578 games in a 30-year career spent at South Dakota State and Wright State until he replaced Bryan Mullins in March.
Nagy is installing a much faster system than the one SIU has traditionally played for about the last 20 years. The Salukis are averaging 83 points per game but have had some hiccups.
“We’re not even that good offensively yet,” Nagy said.
Elijah Elliott (18.5 ppg), Kennard Davis Jr. (17) and Ali Dibba (13) are the top scorers for SIU.
–Field Level Media
