Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 8 Men's Hoops Heads To Missouri
February 20, 2000 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 20, 2000
No. 8/9 Oklahoma State Cowboys (21-3, 10-2 Big 12)
at
Missouri Tigers (16-8, 9-3 Big 12)
Monday, Feb. 21, 2000 * 8 p.m. * OSU Radio Network * ESPN
Columbia, Mo. * Hearnes Center (13,300)
Monday's Game
Arguably the most highly anticipated week in the short regular-season
history of Big 12 men's basketball begins Monday when Oklahoma State visits
Missouri. The Cowboys are in a three-way for first place in the league, with
the Tigers just one game behind. Monday's game opens a seven-day stretch
that features two games between teams currently tied for first.
OSU-Missouri: The Series
Missouri owns a 67-34 lead in the all-time series and a 40-5 landslide in
games played in Columbia. OSU has won in just two of its past 32 trips to
Columbia. The Cowboys did, however, win last year's meeting in Stillwater
84-68. Eddie Sutton is 8-10 lifetime against the Tigers.
OSU Coach Eddie Sutton
Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) is in his 10th year at OSU and his 30th year overall. Under his guidance, OSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament seven times. Sutton currently owns a career record of 653-255 (71.9 percent) overall and is 223-91 (71.0 percent) at OSU. Sutton is the only coach to take four different schools to the NCAA Tournament.
Probable Oklahoma State Starters
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 30 Brian Montonati 6-10 220 Sr. 12.6 7.5 22 points, 12 rebounds, two three-pointers vs. Nebraska F 34 Desmond Mason 6-5 215 Sr. 18.3 6.8 Season-high 31 points against Kansas in last Big Monday effort C 12 Fredrik Jonzen 6-10 230 So. 8.8 6.2 14 points, career-best 13 rebounds, 10-13 from line vs. Oklahoma G 44 Doug Gottlieb 6-1 180 Sr. 6.2 *8.8 14th in NCAA Division I history in career assists (865) G 35 Joe Adkins 6-1 190 Sr. 10.1 *4.5 21 points at Oklahoma, averaging 14.0 points in last six games
* - Assists per game. Probable OSU starters based on most recent game.
Probable Missouri Starters
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 24 Jeff Hafer 6-5 212 Sr. 7.4 3.7 C 33 Tajudeen Soyoye 6-9 236 Jr. 9.2 6.0 G 4 Clarence Gilbert 6-2 197 So. 13.1 3.8 G 5 Keyon Dooling 6-3 184 So. 16.0 2.9 G 12 Brian Grawer 6-0 165 Jr. 7.9 3.0
Quick notes
- OSU, Iowa State and Texas are tied for first in the Big 12, and Missouri is one game behind. The Cyclones and Longhorns square off in Ames on Wednesday, on Saturday, OSU visits Iowa State and Missouri faces Oklahoma, which entered Sunday's play one-half game behind the Tigers.
- The Cowboys have earned double-digit league wins for the third consecutive year, the school has not had a similar streak since the 1936-37 through 1939-40 teams each won 10 MVC games during a string that saw OSU win five straight Valley titles.
- Oklahoma State has won 20 games for the third straight season and the eighth time in Eddie Sutton's 10-year OSU coaching career. The Cowboys had won 20 games just twice in 32 years before Sutton took the program's reins in 1990.
- The four Division I teams in the state of Oklahoma are a combined ?73-22, the best mark of any state in the country, and Tulsa and Oklahoma join OSU in the AP Top 25.
- OSU is 7-2 on the road this season, no other Big 12 team has won more than five road contests this year. The seven away victories are OSU's most since the 1993-94 team went 7-3, the last time a Cowboy team won eight road games was 1957-58, when Eddie Sutton was a senior and helped lead OSU to an 8-5 road mark.
- OSU is 12-6 all-time on Big Monday, including its 33-point victory over Kansas on Feb. 7.
In the polls
Ranked eighth by Associated Press and ninth by USA Today/ESPN in the Feb. 14
polls, the Cowboys have not been higher in the AP poll since the 1991-92
team climbed to No. 2 after winning its first 20 games. The rank is OSU's
first Top 10 appearance since the 1993-94 team also reached the No. 8 level
in early December. OSU has been ranked in 15 consecutive AP polls, the
longest streak since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 teams were ranked for 24
consecutive polls, including all 18 in 1991-92, just the fifth time in its
history and the first since 1957-58 that an OSU team had gone wire-to-wire
in the polls.
Inside the numbers
Here's a statistical look at Monday's opponents with Big 12 rank in
parentheses.
All Games Big 12 Games
OSU MU OSU MU
Overall Record 21-3 (1) 16-8 (6) 10-2 (1) 9-3 (4)
Scoring Offense 78.7 (3) 74.0 (6) 70.2 (7) 80.6 (1)
Scoring Defense 60.5 (1) 68.0 (6) 57.1 (1) 72.3 (6)
Scoring Margin +18.2 (1) +6.0 (6) +13.1 (1) +8.3 (4)
Field-Goal Pct. 48.9 (1) 43.0 (8) 46.3 (1) 45.6 (3)
Field-Goal Pct. Defense 37.9 (1) 44.9 (11) 37.3 (1) 45.5 (9)
Free-Throw Pct. 70.3 (3) 69.6 (4) 70.8 (3) 72.6 (1)
Rebound Margin +3.8 (5) -3.2 (12) +1.6 (6) -2.2 (9)
Three-Point FG Pct. 38.1 (4) 38.3 (3) 39.7 (3) 41.6 (1)
Three-Pointers Per Game 6.5 (5) 9.6 (1) 6.6 (5) 10.3 (1)
Turnover Margin +4.0 (1) +3.7 (2) +1.4 (7) +3.4 (2)
Cowboys back to doing it with defense
The OSU teams of the first half of the 1990s made their name with defense,
holding opponents well below 45 percent in the vast majority of games. That
trend shifted in the second half of the decade -- remarkably, OSU was last
in the Big 12 in field-goal defense in 1996-97 -- although OSU did improve
its ability to force turnovers. This season, OSU seems to have married the
best of both trends, the Cowboys have held 13 opponents under 40 percent
field-goal shooting and have forced more 20 or more turnovers in eight
games. OSU leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage defense (37.9) and
three-point field-goal percentage defense (30.2). Here's a statistical look
at OSU defense in Eddie Sutton's first five years at OSU and in each of the
past five seasons:
Year(s) FG defense TO forced 1990-95 41.3 13.3 1995-96 45.1 17.3 1996-97 44.7 12.7 1997-98 44.4 17.4 1998-99 42.3 16.3 1999-2000 37.9 17.8
OSU rediscovers an important weapon: the three
After OSU's shocking loss at Texas A&M on Jan. 22, the Cowboys ranked an
uncharacteristic last in the Big 12 in three-pointers per game (3.5) and
10th in three-point percentage (25.9) in conference games. Since then,
however, the Cowboys have re-established themselves as a strong perimeter
shooting team. In the past six games, OSU has hit 50 of 104 (.481)
three-point attempts. The Cowboys have climbed to fourth in the Big 12 in
all-games three-point percentage (38.1) and are fifth in three-pointers per
game (6.5). Three OSU players -- Joe Adkins, Desmond Mason and Glendon
Alexander -- rank among the school's all-time top 10 in three-pointers made.
Huskers no match as Cowboys roll in home respite
Playing its only home game in over three weeks, OSU celebrated Saturday by
rolling to its biggest Division I victory of the season with a 94-55 rout of
Nebraska. The victory was OSU's third straight home win of more than 30
points, and it was the Pokes' first home triumph over the Cornhuskers since
Feb. 18, 1995. OSU outshot NU 57 percent to 35 percent and forced 20
turnovers while committing just 10.
Montonati continues consistent offensive output
Senior forward Brian Montonati made a name for himself as a super sub last season, scoring in double figures 11 times off the bench and doing so five times in games when he played less than 20 minutes. As a starter for the first time in his career, he is now one of the Cowboys' most consistent performers. The only Cowboy besides Mason to start every game, he scored 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the victory over Kansas State, and he had 10 points and nine rebounds at home against Texas A&M. The team's starting big forward is fourth on the team in minutes but second in scoring (12.2) and first in rebounding (7.3). Montonati scored a career-high 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds in the Jan. 5 victory over Langston, and he is sixth in the Big 12 with six double-doubles this season.
Alexander continues to get hot in spurts
Senior guard Glendon Alexander continues to show a knack this season for
scoring bunches of points in short time spans. Alexander scored 10 points in
a two-minute stretch at UNLV, eight points in one minute, 10 seconds at
Washington, 15 points in the last 11 minutes against Texas, all 10 of his
points against Kansas State in a game-turning four-minute stretch, and his
10 first-half points at Oklahoma in a six-minute span. Alexander is fifth in
school history in career three-point percentage (42.1) and, despite playing
just two years, eighth in three-pointers made (107). His career-high 25
points against Langston included a career-best seven three-pointers, the
most by an OSU player since Randy Rutherford hit a school-record 11 against
Kansas in 1995. Alexander scored 25 points at home against Texas A&M, going
eight-for-nine from the field and six-for-seven from three-point range. He
hit six threes against Nebraska and scored 18 points.
Adkins' scoring prowess returns
Senior guard Joe Adkins has once again become one of OSU's top scoring
threats. In OSU's first six conference games, the Oklahoma City native
averaged just 6.7 points while hitting 28.9 percent of his shots and 28.6
percent of his three-point tries. But in the past five games, he's averaged
14.0 points, hit 29 of 69 (.420) of his field-goal tries and 15 of 36 (.417)
long-range attempts, topped by his vital 21-point effort against Oklahoma.
With OSU's top two scorers and rebounders on the bench with foul trouble,
Adkins took control, setting a season scoring high and hitting four
three-pointers. His jumper in the lane with 32 seconds left was the
thrilling game's most memorable moment. Adkins also hit four of seven
three-point attempts and scored 18 points against Kansas on Feb. 7. His
performance against the Jayhawks made him OSU's 22nd 1,000-point scorer. On
the OSU career records lists, Adkins now ranks 20th in scoring (1,054),
sixth in assists (401), eighth in steals (144) and fourth in three-pointers
made (164).
Cowboy hot streak ends in Austin
Texas built a double-digit lead early in the second half and then held off
several OSU rallies to defeat the Cowboys 68-57 Wednesday night and move
into a tie for second place in the Big 12. OSU, which had shot at least 45
percent from beyond the arc in its previous four games, managed just a
two-for-12 performance from three-point land against the Longhorns and saw
its six-game winning streak come to an end.
Mason continues push for postseason honors
Senior forward Desmond Mason continues to dazzle game in and game out,
continuing a hot streak that began with his 30-point game against Texas on
Jan. 19. After his 31-point effort against Kansas -- Mason shot 10-for-14
from the field (despite missing two dunks) and five-for-five from the
three-point arc -- he is just the sixth player in OSU history to tally 30
points four times in his career.
Mason is making his mark in several areas of the OSU records book. With 1,531 points in his career, he now ranks seventh in OSU career scoring. He also ranks eighth in OSU history in rebounds (734), sixth in steals (148), sixth in blocked shots (80), sixth in three-pointers made (114), seventh in minutes played (3,487), fifth in games started (99), ninth in games played (119) and fourth in double-doubles (21). His current streak of 94 consecutive starts is a school record.
OSU is 23-3 in Mason's career when the Waxahachie, Texas, native leads the Cowboys in scoring. Using at least this reckoning, Mason is one of the most important Cowboys in recent memory. Here is a comparison of the last five players to lead OSU in season scoring. The chart lists the player (his years of competition at OSU), the Cowboys' overall record during his career, the team's record in games when he led it in scoring, the team's record in games when he didn't lead it in scoring, and the difference between the last two numbers.
W-L (Pct.) W-L (Pct.) W-L (Pct.)
Player (Years) Overall Leading Not Leading Diff.
Desmond Mason (1996-2000) 83-36 (69.7) 23-3 (88.5) 60-33 (64.5) +24.0
Jerome Lambert (1995-96) 17-10 (63.0) 9-2 (81.8) 8-8 (50.0) +31.8
Bryant Reeves (1991-95) 99-37 (72.8) 42-10 (80.8) 57-27 (67.9) +12.9
Byron Houston (1988-92) 86-43 (66.7) 50-19 (72.5) 36-24 (60.0) +12.5
Adrian Peterson (1995-99) 79-43 (64.8) 24-24 (50.0) 55-21 (72.4) -22.4
Jonzen turns in career performance against Sooners
Swedish native Fredrik Jonzen has started the past 11 games after replacing
an ailing Alex Webber, and although he has played well since joining the
starting five, the best performance of his career came Feb. 12 in OSU's
victory at Oklahoma. The Swedish import scored 14 points and pulled down a
career-high 13 rebounds, most seeming to come at critical junctures in the
game, to help lead the Cowboys to their Bedlam victory. He hit a career-best
10 free throws -- the most by an OSU player since Bryant Reeves hit 10
against Nebraska on Feb. 18, 1995 -- on 13 attempts, including four in the
game's final three minutes. Jonzen, who had 10 rebounds at Texas for his
second straight double-digit-carom game, averaged 2.3 points and 2.7
rebounds as a freshman, hitting 46.9 percent of his field-goal attempts and
42.9 percent of his free-throw tries. This season, he's at 8.8 points, 6.2
rebounds, 56.5 percent from the field and 72.4 percent from the line. He
leads OSU in rebounding in conference games with 7.0 per game.
Up next
OSU visits fellow league co-leader Iowa State on Saturday in a 3 p.m. game
that will be televised along the Big 12 network. The Cowboys return home to
close out the season with games against Colorado (March 1 at 7:05 p.m.) and
Oklahoma (March 4 at 8 p.m.).
Gottlieb moves into all-time top 20 in assists
Senior guard Doug Gottlieb led the nation last season in assists and
recorded the 13th-best single-season assist total in NCAA Division I
history. This year, he threatening his school-record assist average from
last season. Gottlieb is currently averaging 8.8 assists this season, and
with 865 assists in his career including one season at Notre Dame, Gottlieb
ranks 14th in Division I history (next on the list is Taurence Chisholm, who
recorded 877 assists at Old Dominion in the late 1980s). His current career
average of 7.59 per game ranks 14th on the NCAA D-I chart. Duke's Bobby
Hurley holds the total career assists record with 1,076, and Avery Johnson
of Southern set the D-I record for career average with 12.00 per game.
Gottlieb's OSU career total of 711 assists is a Big 12 record, and he owns
three of the top four single-season assist totals in the league's history,
his 211 assists this season already rank third on the conference chart and
in OSU history.
Other Cowboys can dish it, too
In addition to Gottlieb's prowess as a passer, as well as Adkins' -- this
season marks the only time in school history that two active players have
300 or more career assists -- the entire OSU team has made a name for itself
as a strong passing team in the past couple of seasons. The NCAA
statisticians' manual states that as a rule of thumb, 50 to 60 percent of
field goals should be accompanied by assists. But in 1998-99, OSU's
assist/field-goal ratio was 67.9 percent, compared with 60.7 percent in
1997-98. This season is little different, as 68.7 percent of the Cowboys'
field goals have been assisted. OSU dished out a school-record 36 helpers
against Langston (including assists on the first 15 baskets) and is fifth in
the nation with 19.5 assists per game, a school-record pace.
Head Coach Eddie Sutton
Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) is in his 10th year at his alma mater
with a 222-91 record at the school as well as a 652-255 overall mark in his
30th year of collegiate coaching. Under his guidance, OSU has advanced to
postseason play in eight of nine years and has won 20 games or more eight
times. Sutton is the 20th coach in Division I history to reach the
600-victory mark, and he is just the seventh coach to reach it in 28 years
or less, joining Denny Crum, Bob Knight, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, Jerry
Tarkanian and John Wooden.
Only two active coaches (Knight and Tarkanian) rank ahead of Sutton in both victories and winning percentage, and Sutton on Saturday will become the 26th person overall and the sixth active boss to coach 900 NCAA games. Sutton, who previously coached at Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky, is the only coach in NCAA history to lead four different schools to the national tournament. With Sutton and Henry P. Iba among the 600-win club, OSU is one of only three schools -- joining Illinois and Kentucky -- with two coaches among the all-time top 20.
Years School (No. of Years) Record Pct. Conf. NCAA 1970-74 Creighton (five) 82-50 .621 --- 2-1 1975-85 Arkansas (11) 260-75 .776 139-35 10-9 1986-89 Kentucky (four) 88-39 .693 48-24 5-3 1991-2000 Oklahoma State (10th) 222-91 .710 91-52 12-7 Totals 30th year (908 games) 652-255 .719 278-111 29-20
Sutton at Oklahoma State
Year Record Conf./Finish NCAA Final AP Notes 1990-91 24-8 10-4/First 2-1 14th OSU's second Big 8 championship 1991-92 28-8 8-6/T-Second 2-1 11th Second straight Sweet 16 1992-93 20-9 8-6/T-Second 1-1 23rd Big Eight Coach of the Year 1993-94 24-10 10-4/Second 1-1 19th NCAA Second Round 1994-95 27-10 10-4/Second 4-1 14th Final Four/Nat'l Coach of the Year 1995-96 17-10 7-7/T-Fourth --- --- 1996-97 17-15 7-9/T-Sixth --- --- First career NIT appearance 1997-98 22-7 11-5/T-Second 1-1 --- Big 12 Coach of the Year 1998-99 23-11 10-6/T-Fifth 1-1 --- NCAA Second Round 1999-2000 21-3 10-2 Third straight 20-win season
Quotes on the Cowboys
"He is a great player. He is definitely, I think, one of the top 10 players
in the country." -- Kansas forward Nick Bradford on Desmond Mason, who
scored 31 against the Jayhawks.
"They were as a good a team as I've ever seen or played against. They're a (heck) of a team, and they showed it tonight." -- Kansas forward Nick Collison after OSU's victory.
"Tonight, they were the NBA and we were high school." -- Kansas coach Roy Williams.
"I told Roy, as a team we played a little over our heads tonight. But if you can play like that, you can play with most teams in the country. I thought our defense was outstanding. It was just a good team victory for us. Mason had a tremendous game, I think he showed us why he's one of the best players in college basketball." -- Eddie Sutton following the KU victory.
"Joe Adkins had one of the outstanding games he's had. A lot of times, if Desmond doesn't have a terrific scoring game, we struggle. ... For the first 17 minutes, we can't play any better than we did today." -- Sutton after OSU's victory at Oklahoma.
"He's played with some great players before. He's just realizing that he's a great player himself and the more confidence he gets, the better he gets and the more it helps our team." -- OSU senior Brian Montonati on teammate Fredrik Jonzen after the Swede had 14 points and 13 rebounds against Oklahoma.
"They're probably one of the outstanding perimeter shooting teams in the country, which was very evident today [Saturday]. I've never heard of anybody hitting 12 treys in 20 minutes of basketball like they did against the Wildcats. I think that Quin [Snyder] has really done a great job with his ballclub." -- Eddie Sutton on Missouri.
"While the polls don't mean much to coaches or the selection committee, the Cowboys can rest on the fact that they are now one of the challengers for the Final Four. Oklahoma State proved Saturday that its defense is as unforgiving on the road as it is in Gallagher-Iba Arena. ... They're playing unselfish with as much chemistry as any top-five team." -- ESPN.com writer Andy Katz in a Feb. 13 column.
"Check out the Cowboys. They're 19-2 after a 33-point rout of Kansas this week, dealing one of the nation's bellwether programs its worst defeat in a quarter-century. They're playing the best defense in the Big 12 Conference, feature one of its best players in forward Desmond Mason, and are closing in on the Top 10 in both major polls." -- USA Today's Steve Weiberg in a Feb. 11 column on basketball at Oklahoma's four Division I schools.
"This is [Eddie] Sutton's best team west of the Arkansas River. Better than the 1991 Big Eight champions. Better than the 1992 Cowboys who started 20-0. Better than the 1995 Final Four squad. The best of 10 renaissance seasons at Gallagher-Iba Arena." -- Daily Oklahoman sports editor Berry Tramel in a Feb. 20 column.
On the air
OSU games are broadcast on the OSU Radio Network with KWTV's Bill Teegins
handling play-by-play duties and Tom Dirato, OSU coordinator of radio & TV,
providing commentary. Dirato and Teegins are in their ninth year as the
Cowboys' basketball radio team, and Dirato is calling OSU men's basketball
for the 23rd season. The OSU radio network can be accessed through the
Internet (www.okstate.com) or on Teamline. Fans wishing to use Teamline
should call (800) 846-4700 and use team code No. 1750. Use of Teamline
requires a Visa or MasterCard.
Monday's game will also be telecast on ESPN, with Ron Franklin and Jon Sundvold handling commentary duties.
National Rankings
Here's a look at Oklahoma State's week-by-week appearance in the Associated
Press and USA Today/ESPN/NABC polls as well as Jeff Sagarin's computer
rankings and Collegiate Basketball News' approximation of the RPI:
Date AP USAT Sag. RPI Preseason 22 25 Nov. 15 23 Nov. 22 21 23 27 Nov. 29 21 22 21 196 Dec. 6 17 17 22 86 Dec. 13 14 15 27 103 Dec. 20 13 13 8 61 Dec. 27 11 11 4 36 Jan. 3 16 12 8 39 Jan. 10 14 13 11 30 Jan. 17 12 12 10 21 Jan. 24 15 16 17 45 Jan. 31 13 14 16 26 Feb. 7 14 13 16 27 Feb. 14 8 9 8 12
Here's a look at how the rest of the Big 12 stacks up in the current rankings:
Team AP USAT Sag. RPI Baylor --- --- 136 107 Colorado --- --- 70 69 Iowa State 14 17 19 15 Kansas 24 21 16 13 Kansas State --- --- 151 106 Missouri --- --- 42 36 Nebraska --- --- 149 117 Oklahoma 20 19 18 11 Texas 17 14 14 7 Texas A&M --- --- 182 162 Texas Tech --- --- 115 121 Big 12 5 3
Big 12 Standings
Big 12 All Games thru Feb. 19 W L Pct. W L Pct. OSU 10 2 .833 21 3 .875 Iowa State 10 2 .833 22 4 .846 Texas 10 2 .833 19 6 .760 Missouri 9 3 .750 16 8 .667 Oklahoma 8 3 .727 20 4 .833 Kansas 7 4 .636 18 7 .720 Colorado 5 7 .417 15 10 .600 Baylor 3 9 .250 12 11 .522 Nebraska 3 9 .250 10 15 .400 Texas A&M 3 9 .250 7 16 .304 Texas Tech 2 10 .167 11 12 .478 Kansas State 1 11 .083 8 15 .348
The OSU Athletic Center
Oklahoma State will play its home games in a construction zone this year as
massive Gallagher-Iba Arena renovations get into full swing. Here is a quick
look at the facts of the construction:
Facility name: The arena itself will continue to be called "Gallagher-Iba Arena," but the entire facility is currently known as "The OSU Athletic Center."
Architects: Gary Sparks Companies
Contractor: Manhattan Construction
Projected capacity: 13,025
Projected completion date: Dec. 1, 2000
For current construction information, see the "Facility Update" section of OSU's Web site (http://www.okstate.com).
On tap this week
Here's a look at what is planned for construction during the week of Feb.
14:
- Renovation work in Gallagher-Iba
- Renovation of coaches' building
- Work on metal stairs (stair 2, stair 3, stair 9 and stair 10)
- High roof decking (west to east)
- Masonry work at stairs 9 & 10 and start washdown of west elevation
- MEP rough-in work on west concourse & mezzanine areas
- EIFS (stucco) system west elevation
- Window installation west side concourse
- MEP rough-in east side ground & concourse level
- Stair 1 concrete wall construction lifts 7 & 8
- Stair 4 concrete walls lift 2 & 3
- Masonry & steel stud partition work west side all levels
- North side steel & precast work (will affect northwest & southwest suite areas)
- MEP work in stairs 2 & 3
- Onsite fabrication of window wall system
- Masonry work at stairs 2 & 3
- Steel and precast work south side (will affect the southeast suite area)
- Interior renovation of players' locker/training building (complete demolition and new layout)
