Oklahoma State @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 20, 2017 ) Texas A&M 72, Oklahoma State 55

Oklahoma State and Texas A&M step out of conference to meet in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday in College Station, Texas, and the change in scenery could be a welcome sight for the Cowboys. They are coming off an 89-82 loss at Iowa State on Tuesday and are 0-6 in the Big 12 for the second time in four seasons, although the 2016-17 team reached the NCAA Tournament.

“We need anything, any kind of thing that we can grasp and hold onto that will change the psyche of our team,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton told the media. “I think I got a group of guys that want to win. I’m not sure that they really believe that they can, and that’s showing up in critical moments right now. Maybe a different type of team from a different league, guys we don’t have familiarity with, will give us a chance to find our own identity again.” Cowboys forward Cameron McGriff averages 10.1 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds, and needs one point to become the 43rd player in school history to reach 1,000. Texas A&M has split six SEC games after a 66-64 victory at Missouri on Tuesday behind guard Savion Flagg's 14 points and six rebounds. Aggies forward Josh Nebo paces the team with 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks with his 255 career rejections second-most among active players to Penn State's Mike Watkins (256).

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (9-9): Lindy Waters III has scored 14 points in each of the last two games and leads the team with 12.1 per game while averaging 4.8 rebounds. Isaac Likekele (11.5 points) also has averaged 14 over the last two contests and paces the club with 4.2 assists. McGriff narrowly missed his second double-double of the season with 12 points and nine rebounds versus Iowa State and has scored 10 or more points in four of his last five games.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (9-8): Freshman guard Andre Gordon (8.2 points) averages 11.5 points in SEC games and grabbed a season-high six rebounds against Missouri. Wendell Mitchell and Jay Jay Chandler each average 7.1 points but combine to shoot 29.3 percent from the field and barely over 25 percent from 3-point range. The Aggies shoot an SEC-worst 40.2 percent from the floor but are second-best by limiting opponents to 38.2 percent shooting.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Waters is one of 16 Cowboys with 1,000 points, 200 assists and 100 steals. The most recent players to join the list were Marcus Smart and Markel Brown in 2014.

2. The Aggies score 61.1 points per game - 339th among the 350 Division I teams entering Thursday - and allow 62.9.

3. Oklahoma State won 23 of 33 meetings when Texas A&M was a member of the Big 12 from 1996-2012. The Aggies defeated the Cowboys 72-55 in Brooklyn on Nov. 20, 2017 in the only encounter since.

PREDICTION: Texas A&M 62, Oklahoma State 61