Oklahoma State University Athletics
Texas at #25 Oklahoma St. Men's Basketball Preview
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 23, 1998
8 p.m. * Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1998Cowboy Radio Network * Big 12 TV
Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,381) * Stillwater, Okla.
Probable Oklahoma State Starters Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG Notes F 34 Desmond Mason 6-6 207 So. 15.0 7.6 10 rebounds in each of the past two games C 31 Brett Robisch 6-11 255 Sr. 15.9 8.2 Career-high 33 points at Texas Tech G 20 Adrian Peterson 6-4 197 Jr. 17.3 7.2 17th career 20-point game (eighth this year) at Kansas State G 35 Joe Adkins 6-2 185 So. 12.3 *3.0 First in Big-12-game free-throw shooting (90.5 percent) G 44 Doug Gottlieb 6-1 190 So. 5.4 *7.2 43 assists, eight turnovers in last five games Probable Texas Starters Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 3 Nnadubem Muoneke 6-7 245 So. 11.2 5.7 F 15 Kris Clack 6-5 215 Jr. 17.7 6.8 C 4 Chris Mihm 7-0 245 Fr. 12.5 7.8 G 31 DeJuan Vazquez 6-4 215 Jr. 7.7 3.3 G 44 Luke Axtell 6-9 200 Fr. 13.9 4.6 * denotes assists per game instead of rebounds per game
Tuesday's Game
Oklahoma State will try to inch closer to clinching first place in the Big
12 South Division when the Cowboys face Texas on Tuesday. A victory Tuesday
would nail down at least a third-place league finish for the Cowboys and
would clinch the division's top seed if Oklahoma loses at Kansas on Monday.
OSU-Texas: The Series
The Longhorns have had OSU's number in the past two seasons, although OSU
leads the all-time series 24-22. Texas has won seven straight games in the
series, including three double-digit victories since the inaugural Big 12
season last year. The 'Horns won this year's first meeting 88-73 in Austin.
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
607-238 (71.8 percent) overall and is 177-74 (70.5 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*..............W 64-61 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 Longhorns
Texas has had several key injuries this season, keeping the talented
Longhorns from being one of the league's regular-season title contenders.
The Runnin' Horns lost at Baylor on Saturday despite a 30-point, 14-rebound
effort from junior guard Kris Clack, who leads the team in scoring at 17.7
ppg, and a 21-point outing from DeJuan Vazquez.
Inside the numbers
Here's a look at how OSU and Texas compare statistically (number in
parentheses represents Big 12 rank):
All Games Big 12 Games
OSU UT OSU UT
Overall Record 20-4 (2) 12-14 (10) 10-4 (2) 6-8 (7)
Scoring Offense 80.4 (3) 82.0 (2) 79.4 (3) 81.1 (2)
Scoring Defense 69.8 (6) 82.5 (12) 72.6 (6) 83.9 (12)
Scoring Margin +10.6 (2) -0.5 (7) +6.8 (2) -2.8 (7)
FG Pct. 47.7 (2) 43.7 (8) 46.2 (2) 43.1 (8)
FG Pct. Defense 44.4 (10) 43.9 (8) 46.1 (9) 45.7 (8)
Free-Throw Pct. 70.3 (2) 68.3 (8) 74.4 (2) 67.7 (9)
Rebound Margin +3.2 (4) -0.3 (9) -0.1 (6) -0.1 (6)
3-Point FG Pct. 33.5 (10) 34.3 (7) 36.7 (4) 32.9 (8)
3-Pointers Per Game 5.8 (7) 8.1 (1) 6.9 (4) 7.7 (3)
Turnover Margin +3.3 (1) -1.0 (10) +3.4 (1) -1.2 (9)
Cowboys re-enter AP top 25
For the second time this season, OSU has cracked into the Associated Press
top 25. The Cowboys, unranked in the USA Today/ESPN ratings this season,
are ranked 25th in the latest AP poll. The Cowboys were also No. 25 in the
poll released Jan. 12, then earning their first national top-25 recognition
for the first time since the end of the 1995 Final Four season.
OSU jockeys for position as postseason play nears
With two 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 23rd in the RPI ratings through Saturday's
games and have a 12-3 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 (18-7) 86-70 Home 63 Second in Missouri Valley Dec. 6 Washington (15-9) 81-66 Home 47 Fourth in Pac-10 Dec. 10 Arizona St. (17-10) 79-68 Neutral 50 Fifth in Pac-10 Dec. 23 Arkansas St. (20-7) 78-62 Home 75 First in Sun Belt Dec. 30 TCU (24-4) 82-81 Away 18 No. 15 AP; Only WAC unbeaten Jan. 10 Texas Tech (13-11) 66-63 Home 78 Tied for fifth in Big 12 Jan. 26 Oklahoma (19-8) 88-84 Away 70 Tied for first in Big 12 South Feb. 3 Colorado (12-12) 86-74 Home 88 Tied for seventh in Big 12 Feb. 7 Baylor (12-12) 85-72 Home 67 Tied for fifth in Big 12 Feb. 14 Oklahoma (19-8) 70-66 Home 70 First series sweep since 1994 Feb. 18 Texas Tech (13-11) 83-81 Away 78 Third sweep of Big 12 South team Feb. 21 Kansas St. (15-9) 64-61 Away 69 Only OSU & Kansas won at KSU
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 six-game skein
(the best in league play since 1995) that has improved the team's record to
20-4 overall and 10-4 in league play. OSU has reached the 20-victory
plateau for the sixth time in eight years under head coach Eddie Sutton and
has won 10 league games for the third time in Sutton's tenure. Before
Sutton's first OSU team went 10-4 in the Big Eight, the Cowboys had not won
10 league games in a single season since 1951.
1998 proves a successful road season
OSU won 14 games 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
reversed that trend in 1997-98, though, finishing with a 6-3 road record
that includes victories at TCU, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. OSU has won five
conference road games for the first time since 1965 and has recorded its
first overall winning road record in four years. Surprisingly, the Cowboys'
road three-point shooting percentage (40.4 percent) is better than their
home percentage (28.8).
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 80.4 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 10.6 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.
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 10th. 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 17.5 takeaways per game, the third-best average in school
history. In addition, the Cowboys have committed just 14.2 turnovers per
game, the third-best mark on the school charts. OSU has committed an
average of 9.2 turnovers in the past four games while forcing an average of
13.6.
Free-throw shooting helps OSU to close victories
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 also missed just one FT attempt at
Kansas State, sinking 15 of 16 charities. The Cowboys hit 18 of 18
second-half attempts against the Red Raiders and went 8-for-8 against the
Wildcats in the second period; they now rank second in the Big 12 in
free-throw percentage in conference games (74.4). OSU has attempted 138
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. The axiom that free-throw shooting helps win close games
appears to be coming true for OSU, which is 7-2 in games decided in
overtime or by a five-point or smaller margin.
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.
Peterson gets hot as Cowboys reach Big 12 play
Junior guard Adrian Peterson has scored in double figures in all but two of
OSU's conference games - and that's just been after halftime. Peterson, who
averages 6.1 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 and half his game-high 26 against Kansas State in the second
frame.
