Southeastern Louisiana @ Oklahoma State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 14, 2014 ) Southeastern Louisiana 55, Oklahoma State 83

Oklahoma State is stumbling at the end of its non-conference slate and will try to go into Big 12 play on a strong note when it finishes off non-league play by hosting Southeast Louisiana on Sunday. The Cowboys dropped three of their last four games and are coming off a 20-point loss to Minnesota last week.

Oklahoma State allowed 80 or more points in each of its three losses and allowed Minnesota to shoot 58.2 percent from the floor in the 86-66 setback on Dec. 21. "Minnesota just outplayed us," Cowboys coach Mike Boynton told reporters. "I think watching that game from start to finish, maybe something worse, one of the worst things you can say about your team after any game is that the other team played harder than you did. Unfortunately, I have to stand here and be honest and say that was the case that Minnesota played harder and therefore deserve to win." Oklahoma State owns wins over major-conference opponents Syracuse and Ole Miss but struggled to compete on the defensive end against Georgetown, Wichita State and Minnesota. The Lions are still looking for their first win over a Division I opponent but played Ole Miss tough before fading down the stretch in an 83-76 setback last time out.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, Big 12 Now

ABOUT SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA (3-8): Sophomore forward Ty Brewer enjoyed a bounce-back game with 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, in the loss to Ole Miss. Brewer scored at least 23 points in three straight games but was held to three points on 1-of-8 shooting in an overtime loss to Lamar on Dec. 18 before catching fire against the Rebels, and he is averaging 17.6 points on 54.2 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds. Forward Pape Diop (10.2 points) is the only other player scoring in double figures for the Lions.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (8-3): The Cowboys, who begin Big 12 play on Jan. 4 at No. 22 Texas Tech, are trying to correct the small mistakes that plagued the team in their three losses and Boynton is trying to guard against complacency. "We've accomplished very little. We've had some success; we've had eight wins," Boynton told reporters. "We played some really good teams; we've had a good schedule to this point. We lost to a good team today. But in the big picture we're still a long way away from accomplishing real meaningful goals. So, we have to continue to understand where the bar is and not allow ourselves to get distracted on the way on how things are going well." The common denominator in the last four games was the absence of point guard Isaac Likekele (13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, five assists), who sat out the stretch with an illness and could return on Sunday.

TIP-INS

1. SE Louisiana G LaQuan Butler is averaging 14.5 points over the last two games after scoring in single digits in each of his previous four contests.

2. Oklahoma State G Lindy Waters III scored in double figures in each of the last five games.

3. The Cowboys are 4-0 all-time against the Lions and own a 20-game winning streak against Southland Conference competition.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma State 83, SE Louisiana 63