The Cowboys will welcome a ranked Houston squad to Eddie Sutton Court to start Big 12 play.

Oklahoma State and Houston have the same record at 8-3, but the Cougars come to Stillwater among the best teams in the country in myriad analytical rankings. Here is a preview of Monday’s matchup.

Viewing Info

Time: 7 p.m. Monday
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena
Watch: ESPN+ (James Westling and King McClure)

Team Stats

	Oklahoma State	Houston
Record	8-3	8-3
NET	109	5
Points Per Game	78.9	78
Opponent Points Per Game	74.6	55.3
Field-Goal Percentage	44%	46%
Opponent Field-Goal Percentage	46%	34%
3-Point Percentage	34%	36%
Free-Throw Percentage	74%	75%
Rebounds Per Game	37.7	39.4

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Last Game Starters

Oklahoma State	Class	Height	PPG	RPG	APG
Khalil Brantley	Senior	6-1	8.6	2.9	2.8
Jamyron Keller	Sophomore	6-3	6	1.7	1.2
Bryce Thompson	Senior	6-6	10.5	2.8	1.5
Robert Jennings II	Junior	6-7	7.6	4.2	0.2
Abou Ousmane	Senior	6-10	12.2	5.4	1.2

Houston	Class	Height	PPG	RPG	APG
L.J. Cryer	Senior	6-1	14.8	1.5	2
Emanuel Sharp	R-Junior	6-3	14.7	3	1.5
Milos Uzan	Junior	6-4	8.8	3.1	5.1
Terrance Arceneaux	R-Sophomore	6-6	10.1	3.5	1.1
Joseph Tugler	Sophomore	6-8	6.4	6.1	1.1

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Series History (OSU Leads 13-10)

Season	Winner	Score	Location
2023-24	Houston	79-63	Houston
2021-22	Houston	72-61	Fort Worth
2019-20	Oklahoma State	61-55	Houston
2018-19	Houston	63-53	Stillwater
1964-65	Oklahoma State	75-60	Manhattan, Kansas
1960-61	Houston	56-54	Houston
1957-58	Oklahoma State	73-60	Stillwater
1957-58	Houston	70-64	Houston
1956-57	Oklahoma State	76-62	Stillwater
1956-57	Houston	64-52	Houston

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In beautiful southeastern Oklahoma, River’s Edge delivers stunning scenery and luxurious privacy. A 350-acre riverfront wilderness, perfect for rekindling passions and reconnecting families. A place where you can be close to the ones you love – and far from the ordinary. To check them out head over to www.riversedgecottages.com or call 580-244-7296.

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OSU Bullets

• In what has a chance to be the highest impact transfer portal addition, the Pokes have reportedly added a four-star quarterback from a Big 12 peer (PFB)

• ICYMI – a Cowboy defender that was in the portal is reportedly returning (SI)

• A little more on the Pokes’ new QB: 

As a member of the Class of 2024, Hejny was a four-star recruit out of Fort Worth (Texas) Aledo, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 43 overall prospect in the state, the No. 16 quarterback in the class and the No. 246 overall prospect in the class.

[On3.com]

• Cade Cunningham’s development is leading to a better season in Detroit (The Athletic $$$)

• Taking a look at the CFP matchups coming up this week (CBS Sports)

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Non-OSU Bullets

• Kindness can improve health

• Holy bravery (faith-based)

I learned this formula for success from Charlie Munger:

1. Don’t sell stuff you don’t want to buy.
2. Don’t work for people you don’t want to become.
3. Create win-win relationships for all.

[FS]

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TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

The Cowboys will, in fact, take a quarterback out of the transfer portal, and it’s one that new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham has some familiarity with.

Hauss Hejny (pronounced Hoss HAY-nee), a TCU transfer, is expected to commit to Oklahoma State. The news was first reported by 247Sports’ Chris Hummer. A dual-threat quarterback, Hejny was listed as a 6-foot, 195-pound true freshman in Fort Worth this past season. He played in four games, running 15 times for 65 yards. He didn’t attempt a pass. With him taking a redshirt in 2024, he has four seasons of eligibility remaining.

Hejny was the No. 201 player in all of the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. He was a consensus four-star prospect.

Hejny picked up an OSU offer out of Aledo High School (Texas), where he threw for 2,772 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior while running for another 1,041 yards and 13 scores. That followed up a junior season in which he threw for 2,094 yards and 20 touchdowns while running for 1,276 yards and 15 scores. Aledo won state titles in Hejny’s junior and senior seasons. Along with his offers to TCU and OSU, Hejny had offers to Baylor, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Utah, West Virginia and others out of high school.

OSU landed his high school teammate and target — receiver Jalen Pope — in the 2023 class.

Here are 20 minutes of Hejny highlights from Aledo:

He’ll join a young but exciting quarterback room that also features Garret Rangel, Zane Flores and Maeliuaki Smith. None of that group entered the transfer portal, and it officially closed Saturday. But, that was the date that players had to submit their paperwork by, meaning it is possible for a few more players to trickle into the portal over the next week or so. A second portal window will open in April.

Hejny rejoins Meacham after OSU hired him away from TCU this offseason to be the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator. Kevin Johns will coach the OSU quarterbacks, coming over from Oklahoma.

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Chuba Hubbard’s career season will end in unceremonious fashion.

The Carolina Panthers placed the former Oklahoma State All-American running back on injured reserve, the team announced on Saturday. Just a week after earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Hubbard was listed as questionable for the Panthers’ Week 17 game against Tampa Bay. He was limited in practice with a knee injury and also reportedly has a calf injury.

Neither injury is considered major and it appears that the Panthers, which are 4-11 and ranked last in the NFC South, are trying to play it safe for the final two weeks of the season.

In his final appearance of the season, Hubbard carried 25 handoffs for 152 yards and two scores, including the overtime game-winner. His fourth 100-yard outing of the season earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Hubbard ends his fourth NFL season with 1,195 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught 43 passes for 171 yards and a score. As of writing, Hubbard is ranks sixth in the NFL in rushing yards and yards per game (79.7) and seventh in touches (293).

He became the first Oklahoma State alum to reach 1,000 rushing yards since Chris Carson in 2019 and just second Canadian to do so, the first since 1986. Originally drafted by the Panthers in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Hubbard’s career year earned him a four-year, $33.2 million contract extension last month.

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Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

In beautiful southeastern Oklahoma, River’s Edge delivers stunning scenery and luxurious privacy. A 350-acre riverfront wilderness, perfect for rekindling passions and reconnecting families. A place where you can be close to the ones you love – and far from the ordinary.

To check them out head over to www.riversedgecottages.com or call 580-244-7296.

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Three Thoughts

• OSU’s new staff has sent out some of its first offers to high school prospects (PFB)

• Go Navy! Late decision cost the Sooners (ESPN)

• Wondering if this will tip the Cowboys’ hand – Doug Meacham has historically thrived with a dual-threat quarterback. 

But Meacham’s trends, along with Gundy’s historical tendencies, suggest a quarterback who can run will be the best option for the Cowboy offense going forward.

[NewsOK]

Two Quotes

• Help is headed to Stillwater. 

Most transfer portal commits in 2024-25 cycle as of Friday morning:

T1. Kansas (17)
T1. Oklahoma State (17)
T1. Texas Tech (17)
T4. Arkansas (16)
T4. Mississippi State (16)
T4. UCF (16)
T4. UCLA (16)
T4. Wisconsin (16)

— Cody Nagel (@CodyNagel247) December 27, 2024

• Not OSU specific but I love this take about sports: 

And honestly a more macro problem in college football is nobody stops to smell the roses on anything. It’s all about the playoff and your place in the world as every non blue blood worries about an existential crisis and arms race. Last night was fun. Try to enjoy it a bit. https://t.co/aBZ5Tve6Mc

— John Kurtz (@jlkurtz) December 27, 2024

One Question

• What are your expectations for the Cowboys’ Big 12 opener on Monday against Houston? 

Oklahoma State’s Big 12 opener in GIA vs Houston on Monday night is going to be a strong indicator on how much this team has grown/learned in the non conference. Do we have a fighting chance to compete with the top half of the Big 12 or are we in for a long few months?

Bedlam…

— Jake (@JakeWayneSports) December 27, 2024

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Non-OSU Bullets

• Curiosity beats criticism

• Deep thoughts here – did Jesus truly leave heaven when he came to earth? (faith-based)

“In my whole life I’ve never been good at something I wasn’t very interested in. It just doesn’t work. There’s no substitute for strong interest.”

Charlie Munger

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PORTAL TRACKER

The Cowboys’ defensive rebuild continues with a commitment from the ACC.

Michael Diatta, a defensive line transfer from Virginia, committed to Oklahoma State on Thursday, according to On3’s Steve Wiltfong. Diatta has been with the Cavaliers since 2021. In that time, he’s recorded 57 tackles, five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Earlier this week, Wiltfong reported that Diatta also took visits to Vanderbilt and UCLA out of the portal.

“They have a winning culture there,” Diatta told Wiltfong. “Coach Gundy’s resume speaks for itself. (Eighteen)-straight winning seasons and there’s a real need for me there. They emphasized that I’m going to come in and truly help their program and be a difference maker.”

Listed at 6-foot-4, 292 pounds this past season, Diatta joined Virginia out of Antioch, Tennessee. He was the No. 837 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking for the 2021 class. He chose the Cavaliers over offers from Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Tulane, Memphis, Coastal Carolina and others out of Cane Ridge High School.

Diatta appeared in 12 games through his first two seasons Charlottesville, making seven tackles, including two for loss and a sack. He played in all 12 of the Cavs’ games in 2023 putting up 18 tackles with another sack before recording a career-high 31 tackles this past season.

Diatta becomes the fourth traditional transfer defensive lineman the Cowboys have grabbed out of the portal thus far, joining Malik Charles (West Georgia), Kyran Duhon (UTEP) and Demerick Morris (Temple). The Cowboys also have a pair of junior college transfer defensive ends coming in with Chandavian Bradley and Rashod Bradley.

It’s a room being reloaded with Collin Oliver, Collin Clay, Obi Ezeigbo, Xavier Ross and Kody Walterscheid — all contributors for the Cowboys this past season — finishing out their eligibility. The position group also has a new leader in Ryan Osborn, who comes to Stillwater after coordinating the Charlotte defense.

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