The Oklahoma State Cowboys are preparing for their first road test and their first power conference game of the season.

The Cowboys (2-0) will be in College Station, Texas, to face the Texas A&M Aggies (3-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m. as Oklahoma State hopes to avenge last year’s loss to the Aggies in Stillwater.

The Cowboys are coming off a huge blowout victory over Queens on Friday night and it’s been a week since they played. Head coach Steve Lutz told reporters on Tuesday that this is a “Quad 1 test” that will help Oklahoma State throughout the season.  

Here is how to watch Thursday's game, plus the matchup to watch.

Oklahoma State at Texas A&M

Thursday, Nov. 12

Time: 7 p.m. CT

Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

TV: SECN+ (Will Johnson, Al Pulliam)

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network/Varsity App (Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb)

Records

Texas A&M: 3-0 (Last Game: def. ULM, 108-67, Monday)

Oklahoma State: 2-0 (Last Game: def. Queens, 118-68, Friday)

Head Coaches

Texas A&M: Bucky McMillan

Oklahoma State: Steve Lutz

About Texas A&M

The Aggies haven’t played a power conference team yet and have blown out all three of their opponents — Alabama State, Northern Kentucky and ULM. Texas A&M has scored at least 97 points in all three games and more than 100 in the last two. Lutz said that the Aggies are a mirror image of his team in that they want to play fast and can score plenty of points. The question is defense. The Aggies haven’t allowed more than 67 points in each of their first three games.

The Aggies made the NCAA Tournament in their first season under Bucky McMillan and has able to land one of the best offensive players in the transfer portal — guard PJ Haggerty, who was with Kansas State last season. He’s averaged 18 points per game in the first three contests of the season.

About Oklahoma State

Lutz said that he liked “stretches on the defensive end” in the season’s first two games, but the premium was on offense given the opponents. The Cowboys rolled through both opponents and Lutz was able to run plenty of different rotations, play freshmen and now has five players in double figures through two games. But that’s the part he knows his team can do. It’s the defense that will remain an open question.

Another open question entering the contest is the status of guard Kanye Clary, who played a few minutes in the win over Queens and is still working back from a groin injury he suffered during the exhibition season. Lutz said that he’s hopeful that Clary will be able to play more against Texas A&M. He only played seven minutes last season against the Aggies last season. Getting him back for a complete game will help against the Aggies.

Matchup to Watch

OSU forward Andrija Grbovic vs. Texas A&M Mackenzie Mgbako

Grbovic has quickly given the Cowboys a differentiator — a 6-11 forward that can work inside and shoot from distance. He leads Oklahoma State in scoring (13.5 ppg) and is tied for third on the team in rebounds with 10. The intriguing thing is that Grbovic is coming off the bench right now while Julius Halaifonua starts. Grbovic is getting slightly more playing time early this season.

Mackenzie Mgbako is 6-9 and figures to be the chief defender on Grbovic when he’s in the game. Mgbako has started all three games for the Aggies and is averaging 10.3 points per game. The defense likely falls to him because the other bigs are logging much time right now. He’s played double the minutes of 6-11 junior Jamie Vinson. Mgbako is going to have to keep up with Grbovic all over the floor. It should be both players’ toughest matchups so far this season.