Tipoff Notes
Youngstown State hosts Big XII member Oklahoma State in the first National Invitation Tournament game in program history, Wednesday, March 15. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center, and the game will be broadcast on 570 WKBN and ESPN+. The Penguins earned the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NIT after winning the conference regular-season championship.
Up Next
With a win, the Penguins will play the winner of the Washington State/Eastern Washington game in the second round on March 18 or March 19.
Last Time Out
Youngstown State lost to Northern Kentucky, 75-63, in the Horizon League Championships Semifinals on March 6. Adrian Nelson led the Penguins with his 13th double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Dwayne Cohill scored 16 points while Malek Green had 10 points. Bryce McBride just missed a double-double with nine points and nine assists.
Scouting Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State enters the game with an overall record of 18-15 and had an 8-10 record in Big XII games. The Cowboys lost to Texas, 61-47, in the Big XII Tournament Quarterfinals on March 9. Leading the Cowboys is Bryce Thompson with 11.7 points per game while Kalib Boon and Avery Anderson III are averaging 11.2 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. Oklahoma State is scoring 68.5 points per game, but allows just 66.1 points per contest.
Series vs. Oklahoma State
This is the first meeting between Youngstown State and Oklahoma State.
YSU Against the Big XII
This is the fourth time Youngstown State has played a team from the Big XII Conference, and YSU owns a record of 0-3 against Big XII teams. All three games against Big XII teams have been against West Virginia. This is a first time the Penguins hosted a game against a Big XII foe at Beeghly Center. The Penguins hosted West Virginia at the Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown on Dec. 21, 2019. The Penguins lost, 75-64. Youngstown State's most recent game against a member of the Big XII was an 82-52 loss to the Mountaineers on Dec. 22, 2021.
A Win Would...
- Set the program all-time record for most wins in a season with 25.
- Improve YSU's record to 25-9.
- Be Youngstown State's first NIT victory in program history.
- Be YSU's first win over Oklahoma State and the first win over a team from the Big 12 Conference.
- Marks YSU's second win over a Power 5 school.
- Be the 221st in Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun's career and his 97th at Youngstown State.
- Make Jerrod Calhoun the third coach in school history to record at least 97 wins.
- Be Jerrod Calhoun's first win over Oklahoma State.
Single-season Marks Eclipsed
Youngstown State has broken or on the cusp of breaking several school single-season records. The Penguins have already set the school record for most points (2,721), field-goals made (995), and tied the school mark for most wins with 24. The Penguins are also on pace to break the single-season free-throw percentage record of .761 set in 2021-22. YSU needs five more made field-goals to reach 1,000 for the first time in program history.
200 3's
Youngstown State has made 263 3-pointers this season to reach 200 3s made for the 12th consecutive full season. The 263 made 3s rank third on the YSU single season list. YSU needs just eight more to move into second on the single-season chart. The Penguins also made 186 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The streak started in 2010-11 when the Penguins made 235 3-pointers.
High Efficiency
As of March 13, Youngstown State ranks seventh in the nation in team offensive efficiency rating, per teamrankings.com. The Penguins ranked fourth with 1.129 points per possession. Over the last three games, the Penguins offensive efficiency was 1.101 points per possession. The Penguins also own a 1.157 points per possession at Beeghly Center.
100 Assists Duo
Dwayne Cohill has 159 assists and Bryce McBride has 125 this season and became the duo since 2013-14 to eclipsed the 100 assist mark in the same season. The last two were DJ Cole (143) and Kendrick Perry (140).
Nelson Among Rebound Leaders
Adrian Nelson ranks second in the Horizon League with 9.5 rebounds per game. His 315 rebounds are the most at YSU since Jerome Sims has 327 in 1991-92 and rank second in YSU's Division I history. The last player to average more than 10 rebounds per game was Sims with 11.7 in 1991-92. Sims is also the last YSU player to average a double-double with 13.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. The only other YSU Division I player to average a double-double was Tim Jackson in 1989-90 with 16 point and 10.3 rebounds per game. The last Youngstown State player to lead the Horizon League in rebounding was Quin Humphrey in 2005-06.
Among Nation's Top Offenses
Youngstown State has been one of the nation's top offenses all season. As of March 13, the Penguins ranked in the top 35 nationally in seven different statistical categories. Youngstown State is sixth in scoring offense (82.5 ppg), ninth in field-goal percentage (.491), 14th in effective field-goal percentage (.556), 10th in free-throw percentage (.777), 26th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.39) and 34th in assists per game (15.5).
Cohill Class by Himself
With 586 points and 159 assists, senior Dwayne Cohill became the first Youngstown State player since 1971-72 and the second in program history to score at least 500 points and dish out at least 150 assists. The last player to accomplish both was Bill Johnson with 522 points and 239 assists. With 14 more points, Cohill will become the first player in school history to post at least 600 points and 150 assists in the same season.
