The 2023-24 basketball season was a tough one for Oklahoma State, as the Pokes wrapped their season with a 12-20 (4-14) record and a loss in the first round the Big 12 tournament.
That 77-62 loss to UCF was the last of a six-game losing streak to finish the season, but it also served as the final game of Mike Boynton’s seven-year stint with the program.
Fast forward to Monday, November 4, and we’ve now seen the first game of the Steve Lutz era in Stillwater, and there are some palpable differences already.
The roster looks completely different, as just three scholarship players return for the Cowboys this season: Jamyron Keller, Connor Dow, and Bryce Thompson. Also, the Pokes started off with a win in Lutz’s first game — an 89 -76 win over Doug Gottlieb and the Green Bay Phoenix.
One of the most notable differences on the court, however, was the rate of play that we saw on Monday night.
According to Marshall Scott of Pistols Firing, Oklahoma finished the 2023-24 season ranking 205th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo. After one game, the Pokes rank ninth nationally in the same statistic, which means faster, more exciting basketball in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State was picked to finish 14th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 this season, but will hope that their portal haul can help them overachieve. The Pokes will get back in action against St. Thomas-Minnesota on Sunday, November 10.
