Liberty vs Oklahoma State Prediction
Liberty vs Oklahoma State Prediction: The Liberty Flames (23-5) kickoff March madness with a difficult matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-8). This is a matchup between a Big 12 team and a much smaller school in Liberty.
Oklahoma enters this game as a No. 4 seed opposed to Liberty, a No. 13 seed. The committee clearly identifies that one team is much better than the other, but yet again it is March and anything is possible once you make it to the big dance.
This will be one of Liberties biggest tests on the entire season as they started the year going against teams like Purdue but have not played higher end competition since. Liberty is coming off winning the Atlantic Sun tournament.
Players to Watch
For Liberty their best player is Darius McGhee and he led all scorers with 15.4 points per game. The guard has the ability to score all over the court and will need to put up big numbers and get other palyers involved for Liberty to keep this one close.
For Oklahoma State their best player is Cade Cunningham. Cunningham is one of the top players in the entire country and will receive a lot of looks from scouts. At 6’8” Cunningham brings a major matchup mismatch on the court. In the regular season Cunningham averaged 20.2 points per game, leading all scorers on Oklahoma State.
Cunningham will have a big game against Liberty and it will be important for the Flames to try and force Cunningham to pass the ball and force other palyers to score. I expect Cunningham to be a major x-factor in this game and Liberty will struggle to contain him.
Last Five Games
Liberty (5-0)
Liberty had a very successful season and they continued their success towards the end of the regular season. Liberty ended the season with a five game winning streak and has shown consistency when winning.m One thing to keep in mind is Liberty is in a much smaller conference and does not have the same strength of schedule that Oklahoma State has.
Oklahoma State (3-2)
The Cowboys had an interesting end to the regular season. Oklahoma State slipped up towards the end, but had a solid three game winning streak including a win over No.1 seed Baylor. The Cowboys have shown the ability to hang with one of the best teams in the entire NCAA and that is a good sign for this tournament.
Odds
Liberty +7.5 (-110) Moneyline +305 Over/Under 139 (-110)
Oklahoma State -7.5 (-110) Moneyline –335 Over/Under (-110)
Prediction: Oklahoma State -7.5
In this matchup I feel that Oklahoma has the clear edge. Now covering a 7.5 point spread is a decently tall task, but they have competed with some of the best teams in the entire NCAA this regular season and have shown that they are a talented team.
Liberty is going to come out and give the Cowboys all they have and it will be important for Oklahoma State to counter that first big punch the Flames are going to throw. Both of these teams have the ability to put up big numbers and I expect a high scoring matchup to kickoff each team’s tournament. Take the Cowboys -7.5.
