Oklahoma
As Oklahoma State basketball enters Big 12 play, what have we learned about the Cowboys?
Oklahoma State basketball coach Steve Lutz previews Bedlam showdown
Oklahoma State basketball coach Steve Lutz previews Bedlam showdown
STILLWATER — Back before the season, new Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz joked about the day the preliminary Big 12 men’s basketball schedule arrived in his email.
“Hey, I have a top-five team at home, then I go on the road for two, and I come back and there’s a top-10 team coming here,” Lutz said with an exasperated look. “But everybody in the league is saying that. That’s why we do this, right? Play in the best league in the country.”
Well, maybe the schedule doesn’t look quite as tough as it did in the preseason. Only five Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 25 — as opposed to November when five were ranked in the top 10.
But that doesn’t mean the conference is suddenly a pushover. It’s still in the conversation for the toughest conference in the country, though the Southeastern Conference may have the edge now.
Coming off an 8-3 non-conference schedule, the Cowboys enter Big 12 play with 15th-ranked Houston at 7 p.m. Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
That’s followed by a Saturday trip to West Virginia, which is receiving votes in the latest poll.
Just how the Cowboys will fare in Lutz’s first trip through the league is hard to predict. But here’s a look at three things we learned about the Pokes during non-conference play:
Bryce Thompson found a new gear
As a fifth-year senior, OSU guard Bryce Thompson seemed to be well-established as a player who fit the offensive styles of the coaches he had played for — Mike Boynton at OSU and Bill Self for a year at Kansas.
It was unclear if Thompson would excel in the up-tempo pace of Lutz.
But through 11 games, Thompson not only has shown he can do it, he has thrived in it.
He’s shooting the best field goal percentage of his career, 42.0%, being more choosy with his 3-point selection, rebounding more and sharing the ball just as well, even though he’s not being asked to play point guard nearly as much.
“He’s a good basketball player,” Lutz said. “The way I look at the way we play is if you’re a good basketball player, you’re gonna be fine. Ultimately, we don’t run a million set plays. So if you know how to play basketball, we’re gonna put you in positions to be successful and I knew he’s a good player, so I never had any doubts there.”
To this point, Thompson leads the Cowboys in minutes played at just under 24 per game, is third in scoring and third in steals, which is a key development of his game as Lutz pushes the envelope of how his players defend.
Marchelus Avery needs to be focus
As important as Thompson’s presence on the court is, Marchelus Avery — you might’ve heard him referred to as Chi Chi — needs to be the offensive driving force of this team.
Avery knows it. Lutz knows it.
But getting it to happen has been a learning experience.
“We’ve just got him to be more disciplined,” Lutz said. “There’s a couple times out there tonight where we’re not trapping the ball and he’s just kind of running all over.
“And I love it that he has ambition and fire and he’s playing hard and he’s having fun. But we also have to be disciplined with what we’re doing. But we need him to score.”
A 6-foot-8 wing who transferred from Central Florida, Avery is the team’s leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, and he’s second in minutes played at 22.9 despite coming off the bench every game.
Among Cowboys attempting at least two 3-pointers per game, Avery is their best shooter at 39.2% (20 of 51) and leads the team in rebounding at 5.6 per game.
Frontcourt size will be a struggle
The most challenging area for Lutz in building his roster from the transfer portal last summer was finding capable big men.
The Cowboys have just two players on the roster taller than 6-8. One of them is 6-10 Serbian freshman Andrija Vukovic, who has dealt with injuries as well as the challenge of getting in the kind of shape required to play extended minutes in Lutz’s system.
Vukovic didn’t appear in a game until mid-December and has played just 18 minutes in three games overall. He has nine points and one rebound in that span, but saw increased usage against Oral Roberts in the Cowboys’ final non-conference game.
If he can continue to develop and play meaningful minutes, it’ll be an important boost to the guys who have shared the bulk of the work at the center position thus far.
Abou Ousmane, who is 6-10, and 6-7 Robert Jennings II have been asked to carry the load there, and both have their strong points. But in a conference with a string of talented big men, they’ll need all the help they can get.
Oklahoma State vs. Houston
TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater (ESPN+)
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the USC Upstate Spartans meet in the first game of the Tuscaloosa Regional on Friday.
The Cowboys (37-20) and the Spartans (33-28) have never met on the diamond. Both enter the game on hot streaks. Oklahoma State didn’t win the Big 12 Tournament, but the Cowboys have won 11 of their last 14 games. The Spartans won the Big South Conference Tournament champions and have won 14 of their last 16 games.
The game is the first of two in Tuscaloosa. The second game features the host school, Alabama, facing Alabama State. The winners of the first two games will meet Saturday for a trip to the regional final on Sunday.
Oklahoma State fans can keep up with the game here, including lineups and inning by inning details on the game. Check out Oklahoma State On SI’s NCAA Tournament Central for everything related to the Tuscaloosa Regional.
Game Details
Oklahoma State vs. USC Upstate
Time: 1 p.m. central
TV: ESPN+ (Derek Jones & Jared Mitchell on the call). NOTE: TV is subject to change without notice. Game times and TV for games played after Friday will be announced.
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network & The Varsity Network App/93.7 KSPI-FM or okla.state/GetVarsity (Rex Holt on the call)
OSU Batting Order
The batting order for Friday’s game will be posted here when it is released by the team.
Tuscaloosa Regional
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala. Venue: Sewell-Thomas Stadium (5,867).
Friday’s Games
Game 1: USC Upstate vs. Oklahoma State, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Game 2: Alabama State vs. Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Saturday’s Games
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, TBA (elimination game)
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, TBA (advances to Sunday’s final)
Sunday’s Games
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (elimination game)
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Monday’s Game
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
(Times subject to change for TV purposes)
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
Brent Swadley, owner of Swadley’s Bar-B-Q, found guilty in fraud trial
A jury convicted Brent Swadley of fraud for inflating invoices involving Oklahoma state park restaurants.
A jury convicted Brent Swadley, owner of a string of popular Oklahoma barbecue restaurants, at his fraud trial and chose prison time as his punishment.
The 12 jurors reached their unanimous verdict Thursday, May 28, in a felony case that focused on Swadley’s inflated bills for the renovation and operation of restaurants at six state parks.
Jurors found Swadley, 55, guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the state and all five counts of presenting fraudulent claims to the state.
They chose five years in prison and a $25,000 fine as his punishment for the conspiracy. They agreed on one year in prison and a $10,000 fine as punishment on each fraudulent claims count.
Oklahoma County District Judge Susan Stallings could order Swadley to serve the time back to back for a total of 10 years.
Jurors voted for the maximum fines but showed leniency on prison time. Jurors could have chosen prison sentences totaling 20 years.
Sheriff’s deputies led Swadley from the courtroom in handcuffs to be taken to jail. Formal sentencing was set for July 16.
His defense attorney, David Smith, said, “We are not done fighting.”
Still to be decided by the judge is restitution. Prosecutors said Swadley defrauded the state of at least $3.1 million.
The owner of Swadley’s Bar-B-Q did not testify at his trial but has been outspoken in the past that he is innocent.
“The state attorney general … is pushing a false, politically motivated narrative accusing us of purposely misleading the government. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he wrote in an open letter to Oklahomans in 2024 after he was indicted.
Jurors took only 90 minutes to reach their verdict. “It was pretty easy,” one juror told prosecutors afterward.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who is running for governor, told reporters outside the courtroom that the case was never political.
“Mr. Swadley broke the law. His arrogance has been illustrated for the last four years, and I’m very happy that justice has been done,” Drummond said.
Swadley trial ends in guilty verdict, AG Drummond ‘proud’ of prosecution
A jury unanimously found Brent Swadley guilty of defrauding the state, sentencing him to five years in prison and $25,000 fine.
“I think we in state government have a tendency to trust Oklahomans,” he added. “I think it’s a lesson for state actors. We need to not trust as we have before.”
In a news release, the attorney general said, “Today is a win for Oklahoma and for the rule of law.”
Swadley signed a contract with the state in March 2020 to remodel and operate state park restaurants. The agreement was finalized weeks before COVID-19 shutdowns began across the world.
Swadley went ahead with the remodeling, completing work at four of the parks in months. His restaurants became a huge hit as Oklahomans spent more time outdoors because of the pandemic.
Jurors heard testimony that many of the invoices sent to the state for reimbursement of construction and other costs were marked up. Some were inflated as much as 300%.Swadley operated the state park restaurants under the company name Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen. The last one opened in 2022.
The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department in April 2022 canceled its contract with Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen due to “suspected fraudulent activity and questionable business practices.”Much of the testimony centered around meat smokers sold to the state in 2021. The cancelation of the contracts came after tourism officials learned the smokers were used.
Swadley put the smokers in at Robbers Cave State Park and Quartz Mountain State Park. They had been in storage after he removed them from a Swadley’s Bar-B-Q in Ardmore.
He paid $23,680 each for the smokers in 2018, according to evidence in the case. He billed the state $51,346 each for the smokers in 2021.
A restaurant supplier testified at trial that he faked paperwork that Swadley used to support the bill to the state. “He told me to make them as expensive as I could,” Mike McWhorter told jurors.
Swadley’s defense attorneys maintained at trial that it was an understood standard business practice to inflate invoices.
“Their case is − and this is no joke − Brent Swadley was supposed to do all of this construction work and not make a dime,” Smith told jurors in his closing argument.
The attorney said Swadley became the fall guy for a mess created by Jerry Winchester, the executive director of the Tourism Department at the time, and Gino DeMarco, the deputy director.
Smith argued that Winchester knew the smokers were used and lied at trial. Winchester told jurors he thought the state was buying brand new smokers.
The defense attorney also told jurors, “What we’ve got here is a paperwork dispute, not fraud.”
Prosecutors told jurors Brent Swadley was greedy and had said the state contract might save his business during the pandemic.
“Brent Swadley believes the rules do not apply to him,” Assistant Attorney General McKenzie McMahan said in his closing argument.
The key witnesses against Swadley were former employees.
His former vice president, Curtis Breuklander, and former chief operating officer, Tim Hooper, testified invoices were marked up at Swadley’s direction.
Breuklander, 51, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count and four of the fraudulent claim counts. “I did all of this at the direction of Brent Swadley,” he said in his plea paperwork.
Under a deal with prosecutors, Breuklander was sentenced to probation for 10 years. He stopped working for Swadley in September 2021.
Hooper, 57, also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count. He pleaded guilty to one fraudulent claim count and no contest to another fraudulent claim count.
Under his deal, Hooper was put on probation for five years. He was fired by Swadley in 2023.
Under the state contract, Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen was reimbursed for the costs of improvements to the restaurants, up to a limit. The state also covered the company’s operating losses, at first up to $1 million a year and later up to $2,116,900 a year.
The state further paid the company management fees, at first $571,808 per year and later $1,332,000 per year.
Swadley is expected to appeal. His defense attorneys are expected to complain about the judge’s refusal to let two expert witnesses testify at trial.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
The roof of a home in Oklahoma City collapsed following a fire early Thursday morning, according to firefighters.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department says firefighters were called around 2 a.m. to the scene of a fire at a home near Southeast 29th Street and South Shields Boulevard.
After arriving at the scene, firefighters reported flames coming from the home and serious structural damage, including the roof, which had collapsed due to the fire.
Additionally, OKCFD reported this was not the first emergency services response to the home, with a call for medical services being placed to the same address only a few hours earlier.
“We know that earlier today, they’d made a medical call over here,” OKCFD Battalion Chief Greg Lindsay said. “Somebody was staying in that building, so we’re being extra careful to check and make sure that everybody got out.”
No injuries were reported. Fire investigators believe the cause was related to a cooking incident.
-
Technology4 minutes agoAcer’s launching a Linux handheld for streaming your PC games
-
World10 minutes agoPentagon hosts first-ever Israeli–Lebanese military talks aimed at curbing Hezbollah
-
Politics16 minutes agoFederal judge orders Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center, says only Congress can rename it
-
Health22 minutes agoSingle infusion of controversial drug changed severe depression symptoms within hours, study finds
-
Sports28 minutes ago2026 World Cup Odds: Spain Narrowly Favored Over France
-
Technology34 minutes agoFake grant email promises $4.5 Million but could steal your identity
-
Business40 minutes agoAnother tech company says it will cut hundreds of jobs amid pivot to AI
-
Entertainment46 minutes agoThis Puerto Rican filmmaker honored his family with an unconventional movie called ‘TheyDream’
