Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare for Wildcats
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 20, 1998
Oklahoma State Cowboys (19-4, 9-4 Big 12)
at
Kansas State Wildcats (15-8, 6-7 Big 12)
7:05 p.m. * Saturday, Feb. 21, 1998 * Cowboy Radio Network
Fred Bramlage Coliseum (13,500) * Manhattan, Kan.
Probable Oklahoma State Starters:
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG
F 34 Desmond Mason 6-6 207 So. 15.5 7.5
Sixth double-double of the season (14 pts., 10 reb.) at Texas Tech
C 31 Brett Robisch 6-11 255 Sr. 16.1 8.5
Career-high 33 points at Texas Tech
G 20 Adrian Peterson 6-4 197 Jr. 16.9 7.0
16th career 20-point game (seventh this year) at Texas Tech
G 35 Joe Adkins 6-2 185 So. 12.2 *3.2
Second in Big-12-game free-throw shooting (90 percent)
G 44 Doug Gottlieb 6-1 190 So. 5.5 *7.1
Leads Big 12 in assists and assist/turnover ratio
Probable Kansas State Starters:
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 4 Manny Dies 6-9 230 Jr. 16.1 7.6 F 34 Marcus McCollough 6-5 195 Sr. 9.1 4.0 C 35 Shawn Rhodes 6-11 225 Jr. 10.9 5.4 G 5 Chris Griffin 6-2 195 Jr. 2.5 *1.8 G 21 Aaron Swartzendruber 6-1 170 Sr. 9.3 4.3 * denotes assists per game instead of rebounds per game
Saturday's Game: Oklahoma State will try to hold onto its share of first place among Big 12 South teams when the Cowboys visit Kansas State on Saturday. The Cowboys, winners of their last five games and seven of the last eight, can clinch a Big 12 first-round bye with a victory over the Wildcats.
OSU-Kansas State: The Series Kansas State leads the all-time series 67-35, including a 32-10 bulge in Manhattan. The Cowboys have not won in Bramlage since 1994, although they had won four straight before the current losing streak. OSU coach Eddie Sutton owns a 13-11 career record against K-State, including a 12-4 mark while at OSU.
OSU Head Coach Eddie Sutton: Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) is in his eighth year at OSU and his 28th year of collegiate coaching. Under his guidance, OSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times. Sutton currently owns a career record of 606-238 (71.8 percent) overall and is 176-74 (70.4 percent) at OSU. Sutton is just the seventh coach to reach 600 wins in 28 or fewer seasons.
1997-98 OSU Schedule/Results
Tuesday, Nov. 11 California All-Stars (Exh.)...W 97-83 Saturday, Nov. 15 Texas-Pan American............W 103-71 Tuesday, Nov. 18 Buducnost (Exh.)..............W 114-52 Saturday, Nov. 22 Creighton.....................W 86-70 Tuesday, Nov. 25 Southern Utah.................W 79-58 Saturday, Nov. 29 North Texas...................W 98-60 Tuesday, Dec. 2 Oral Roberts..................W 73-66 Saturday, Dec. 6 Washington....................W 81-66 Wednesday, Dec. 10 vs. Arizona State*............W 79-68 Saturday, Dec. 20 Jackson State.................W 60-58 Tuesday, Dec. 23 Arkansas State................W 78-62 Tuesday, Dec. 30 at TCU (Ft. Worth Local)......W 82-81 Saturday, Jan. 3 at Texas A&M*.................W 100-65 Wednesday, Jan. 7 Nebraska*.....................L 62-67 Saturday, Jan. 10 Texas Tech* (ESPN)............W 66-63 Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Missouri*..................L 64-70 Saturday, Jan. 17 at Baylor* (Big 12 TV) (2 OT) L 95-97 Saturday, Jan. 24 Texas A&M*....................W 94-62 Monday, Jan. 26 at Oklahoma* (ESPN)...........W 88-84 Saturday, Jan. 31 at Texas* (Big 12 TV).........L 73-88 Tuesday, Feb. 3 Colorado*................(OT) W 86-74 Saturday, Feb. 7 Baylor* (Big 12 TV)...........W 85-72 Monday, Feb. 9 at Iowa State* (ESPN2)........W 81-66 Saturday, Feb. 14 Oklahoma* (Big 12 TV).........W 70-66 Wednesday, Feb. 18 at Texas Tech*...........(OT) W 83-81 Saturday, Feb. 21 at Kansas State*..............7:05 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 Texas* (Big 12 TV)...............8 p.m. Sunday, March 1 Kansas* (ABC)................11:30 a.m. March 5-8 Big 12 Championship (Big 12 TV)....TBA * - Big 12 Conference games * - Game played in Oklahoma City
About the Wildcats: The Wildcats have made the Big 12's biggest turnaround from 1996-97 to this season and are one of the league's toughest teams at home, going 11-1 with their only loss coming to fourth-ranked Kansas. Junior forward Manny Dies is the team's leading scorer (16.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 rpg), and senior guard Aaron Swartzendruber leads the team in assists (77) and three-point percentage (39.1).
Inside the numbers: Here's a look at how OSU and Kansas State compare statistically (number in parentheses represents Big 12 rank):
All Games Big 12 Games
OSU KSU OSU KSU
Overall Record 19-4 (2) 15-8 (4) 9-4 (2) 6-7 (5)
Scoring Offense 81.1 (3) 77.0 (5) 80.5 (3) 72.2 (7)
Scoring Defense 70.2 (6) 68.1 (3) 73.5 (6) 66.8 (6)
Scoring Margin +10.9 (2) +8.9 (3) +7.0 (2) +5.4 (3)
FG Pct. 48.1 (2) 46.5 (3) 46.9 (2) 46.5 (4)
FG Pct. Defense 44.3 (10) 39.8 (1) 46.1 (9) 39.9 (2)
Free-Throw Pct. 69.7 (3) 68.7 (6) 73.4 (3) 75.1 (1)
Rebound Margin +3.5 (4) +4.6 (3) +0.2 (6) +0.5 (5)
3-Point FG Pct. 33.1 (10) 35.9 (4) 36.4 (4) 32.6 (10)
3-Pointers Per Game 5.6 (7) 6.3 (4) 6.8 (4) 5.5 (8)
Turnover Margin +3.3 (1) +0.1 (5) +3.5 (1) -0.3 (5)
OSU jockeys for position as postseason play nears: With three regular-season games to play, the Cowboys are in the thick of the battles for the South Division's top seed and for NCAA Tournament at-large berths. The Cowboys are ranked 25th in the RPI ratings through Wednesday's games and have a 11-4 record against other top-100 teams. The Cowboys' total of four losses ranks ninth-fewest in the nation. As the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee prepares to meet to decide the field, here's a look at OSU's victories over top-100 teams this season:
Date Team (Record) Score Site RPI Notes on opponent Nov. 22 Creighton (18-6) 86-70 Home 62 Second in Missouri Valley Dec. 6 Washington (15-8) 81-66 Home 37 Fourth in Pac-10 Dec. 10 Arizona St. (16-10) 79-68 Neutral 45 Sixth in Pac-10 Dec. 23 Arkansas St. (20-6) 78-62 Home 66 First in Sun Belt Dec. 30 TCU (23-4) 82-81 Away 23 No. 19 AP; only WAC unbeaten Jan. 10 Texas Tech (12-11) 66-63 Home 79 Tied for fourth in Big 12 Jan. 26 Oklahoma (18-8) 88-84 Away 78 Tied for first in Big 12 South Feb. 3 Colorado (12-11) 86-74 Home 85 Tied for fourth in Big 12 Feb. 7 Baylor (11-12) 85-72 Home 74 Tied for fourth in Big 12 Feb. 14 Oklahoma (18-8) 70-66 Home 78 First series sweep since 1994 Feb. 18 Texas Tech (12-11) 83-81 Away 79 3rd sweep of Big 12 South team
Victory total continues to build for Cowboys: OSU opened the 1997-98 season with an 11-game winning streak, the third-best streak to open a season in school history. As the season begins to wind down, the Cowboys are on another streak, this time a five-game skein that has improved the team's record to 19-4 overall and 9-4 in league play. OSU has won 19 of its first 23 games for only the second time since 1954 and is guaranteed its first winning conference record since the 1995 Final Four team went 10-4 in Big 12 games.
Cowboys scoring at highest rate in eight years:
OSU averaged 69.4 points per game in 1996-97, making last season's team the
lowest-scoring Cowboys in 20 years, and they were out-scored by their
combined opponents for the first time since 1988. But this season, OSU is
averaging 81.1 points per game (which would be the highest scoring average
under Eddie Sutton and third-best in school history) and out-scoring its
opponents by an average of 11.3 points.
The Cowboys have reached the
century mark in two games this season after failing to score 100 in the
past two years and have had more 80-point games this season (13) than in
the past two seasons combined.
OSU's high-scoring offense features a
balanced group of players; four average at least 12 points per game. Only
one team in school history (1988-89) finished a season with four players
averaging 12 points.
OSU reverses 1997's road blues: OSU tied a school record with 14 victories at home last year, but the Cowboys were just 1-12 on the road and lost their first nine games in unfriendly territory. The Cowboys have reversed that trend in 1997-98, though, with a 5-3 road record that includes victories at TCU, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. OSU has won four conference road games for the first time since 1994 and has clinched its first overall winning road record in four years as well. Surprisingly, the Cowboys' road three-point shooting percentage (40.4 percent) is better than their home percentage (28.8).
Turnovers spark OSU defensive effort: A quick check of the Big 12 field-goal defense list may surprise observers accustomed to the defense played by Eddie Sutton's teams as his Cowboys are ranked 11th. But the field goal percentage doesn't tell the entire defensive story. OSU leads the Big 12 in turnover margin (+3.3) and is averaging 17.8 takeaways per game, the second-best average in school history. In addition, the Cowboys have committed just 14.5 turnovers per game, the fourth-best mark on the school charts. OSU has committed an average of 9.5 turnovers in the past four games while forcing an average of 14.0.
Free-throw shooting helps Cowboys to OT win:
OSU hit 22 of 23 free-throw attempts (95.7 percent) against Texas Tech,
coming within four charities of the school single-game record of 26 for 27
(96.3 percent), set in 1961. The Cowboys hit all 18 of their free throws
after halftime and now rank third in the Big 12 in free-throw percentage in
conference games (73.4).
OSU has attempted 133 more free throws than its
opponents, a major turnaround from last season, when the Cowboys shot fewer
charities than their opponents for the first time since 1988.
Record offensive board play leads to OU victory: After OSU's key victory over archrival Oklahoma, coach Eddie Sutton said that rebounding was clearly the most important statistic in the game. The Cowboys held a 35-24 advantage on the boards but had the most success in the offensive rebounding category, pulling down 20 offensive caroms to Oklahoma's four. The plus-16 margin on the offensive glass is a school record.
Robisch picks up the scoring pace:
Senior center Brett Robisch has averaged 21.7 points in the past six games,
capped by a career-high 33-point performance against Texas Tech. Robisch's
performance, in which he matched Tech star Cory Carr point-for-point,
included two three-pointers and the game-winning free throws with 3.5
seconds remaining in overtime. Robisch's scoring output marked the first
time an OSU player had scored 30 points since Randy Rutherford tallied 45
against Kansas on March 5, 1995.
Despite playing just two seasons, Robisch
already ranks sixth in school history with 10 double-doubles. He leads OSU
in rebounding (8.5 rpg, third in the Big 12) and is second on the team in
scoring (16.1 ppg, 10th in the Big 12). Robisch has started all 50 games
during his OSU career.
Peterson gets hot as Cowboys reach Big 12 play:
Junior guard Adrian Peterson has scored in double figures in 11 of OSU's 13
conference games - and that's just been after halftime. Peterson, who
averages 5.5 points in the first half and 12.9 in the second period in
conference games, scored 15 of his 23 points against Texas Tech in the
second period.
