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Preview: Purdue vs. Oklahoma State
Marcus Smart and his NBA-ready game will take the floor Thursday when No. 8 Oklahoma State meets Purdue in the opening game of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Smart has been nothing short of spectacular through the first five games of the season, averaging 21 points and putting up a 39-point performance last week against No. 19 Memphis. Purdue coach Matt Painter said earlier this week that Smart is probably the best guard in the country.
Painter can’t afford to cover Smart with multiple defenders, as the Cowboys have plenty of supporting players who can inflict damage. Markel Brown plays alongside Smart in the backcourt and has produced at least 20 points in each of the last three games while the third starting guard, Phil Forte, has a pair of 22-point performances. Purdue has its own high-scoring trio of guards in Ronnie Johnson, his older brother Terone and Bryson Scott, all of whom average double figures in scoring.
TV: Noon ET, ESPN2.
ABOUT PURDUE (5-0): Painter keeps waiting for 7-footer A.J. Hammons to dominate a game this season, but other than some blocked shots here and there, the sophomore center has been pretty quiet, even against marginal competition. Hammons showed his offensive abilities at times last season, including a 30-point game against then-No. 2 Indiana followed by a 19-point, 13-rebound performance three nights later against Northwestern. Oklahoma State’s tallest starter is 6-8 Michael Cobbins, so Hammons needs to take advantage of his height if the Boilermakers hope to stay in the winner’s bracket.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (5-0): Le’Bryan Nash continues to find ways to get to the free-throw line and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he tries to bait Hammons into early foul trouble. Nash has taken more than 100 free throws in each of the last two seasons and could become the fourth player in program history to take triple-digit free throws in three straight seasons. He’s averaging five trips to the line this fall and has bumped his percentage to 84.0 after shooting 74.1 last season.
TIP INS
1. The Cowboys have been in Florida since Monday, when they beat South Florida 93-67 in a non-conference game.
2. Oklahoma State is second in the nation at 100.2 points a game.
3. Purdue owns a victory over every team in the Big 12 except Oklahoma State.
PREDICTION: Oklahoma State 97, Purdue 82.
