Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State Men's Hoops To Face Nebraska
February 06, 2001 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 6, 2001
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Oklahoma State will get back on road for the first time since the tragic airplane accident on Jan. 27, which claimed 10 members of the Oklahoma State family. Everyone in the Oklahoma State family mourns the loss of Kendall Durfey, Bjorn Fahlstrom, Nate Fleming, Will Hancock, Dan Lawson, Brian Luinstra, Denver Mills, Pat Noyes, Bill Teegins and Jared Weiberg. These men were the best.
OSU-Nebraska: The Series
Nebraska leads the all-time series 58-46, including a 32-12 record in Lincoln. The Cowboys have won the last two meetings, including a 94-55 win in Stillwater last season. OSU has captured 17 of the last 24 matchups dating back to 1987-88 and seven of the last 11 in the Devaney Center.
OSU Coach Eddie Sutton
Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) is in his 11th year at OSU and his 31st year overall. Under his guidance, OSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times. Sutton currently owns a career record of 673-263 (71.9 percent) overall and is 243-99 (71.0 percent) at OSU. Sutton is the only coach to take four different schools to the NCAA Tournament.
A quick look at Wednesday's game
* Oklahoma State's win over Missouri Monday night propelled the team into third place in the Big 12 standings. The Cowboys 5-2 conference record trails Iowa State's 8-2 ledger and Kansas' 7-2 mark.
* With Monday's victory, OSU is now 8-0 in the new Gallagher-Iba Arena, which was expanded to hold 13,611 seats during the off-season. The Cowboys have averaged 11,574 fans through the first eight games, a total ranked third in the Big 12 behind only Kansas and Iowa State. Last year, OSU ranked ninth in the league in average home attendance (5,907).
Cowboys triumph in emotional contest against Missouri
Oklahoma State relied on the dynamic duo of Maurice Baker and Fredrik J?nz?n to upend Missouri in an emotional 69-66 win Monday night. The game was OSU's first since the tragic plane crash on Jan. 27 which claimed 10 members of the Oklahoma State family. Baker propelled a Cowboy second-half run with two three pointers while J?nz?n tied a career-high with 26 points while also grabbing nine boards. Melvin Sanders had a chance to put the game away in the final seconds with two free-throws, but he missed them giving Missouri a chance to tie the game with 3.4 seconds left. Sanders atoned for the misses at the stripe however, when he intercepted MU's inbounds pass, sealing the Cowboys win.
Baker and J?nz?n, one of OSU's all-time top tandems
Maurice Baker and Fredrik J?nz?n are shaping up as one of the top one-two scoring punches in OSU history and the best since the Final Four combo of Bryant Reeves and Randy Rutherford. Baker and J?nz?n average a combined 36.2 points per game, currently the fourth-best combination in school history and the best since Reeves and Rutherford averaged a combined 41.1. See page seven of this release for a list of the top five.
Andre Williams, strong on and off the court
Andre Williams has shown recently that he has matured on and off the court. Over the last three contests, Williams is averaging 12 points and 14 rebounds, including 15 against Missouri Monday night. The sophomore forward has had his two best games as a Cowboy against Texas A&M and Colorado, games in which he has combined to rack up 33 points and pull down 27 rebounds. Williams scored 15 points and pulled down 16 boards in the Cowboys loss to the Buffaloes but his most impressive performance came off of the field. Williams was one of the first Cowboys to speak publicly speak about the tragic plane crash and he represented the players with a speech at the memorial service for the people lost in the accident last Wednesday. Williams has proven to be a man on and off of the court over the last two weeks.
Awards keep coming in for Baker
Junior guard Maurice Baker has bolted toward the top of the list of early contenders for the Big 12's newcomer-of-the-year and player-of-the-year awards as well as other postseason honors. The 6-1 guard, who had been the Big 12 player of the week Dec. 5 and the rookie of the week Dec. 12 and Jan. 15, was named the league's rookie of the week for the third time Jan. 22 after averaging 27.5 points in two games. He leads OSU in scoring (20.1 ppg, second in the Big 12, his 23.3-ppg average in conference games is first in the league), assists (4.5 apg) and steals (2.4 spg). Baker scored a career-high 29 points against Baylor, hitting six of 10 three-pointers -- OSU's previous team high for a single game this season was five treys. He then hit seven threes against St. Gregory's and four against Texas A&M, giving him 17 in his last three games after he hit 19 in the first 13 games of the year. Baker's 22-point, 10-rebound effort against Texas A&M gave him his fourth double-double, all of which have come since Jan. 1. The junior led the team with 27 points in the loss to Colorado, his fourth straight game of 20 or more points.
Baker had 19 points and career highs of 14 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals in the Jan. 3 victory over Texas-San Antonio. The performance made him just the second Cowboy to record a triple-double. Joe Atkinson was previously the only OSU player with a triple-double, he had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots against New Orleans on Jan. 5, 1985. Baker is also only the third player in Big 12 history with a triple-double. The Iowa State game marked the third time this season that Baker has led OSU in points, rebounds, assists and steals in the same game (he also did so at Wichita State and against Texas-San Antonio), before this season, no player had accomplished that feat since the 1996-97 season.
J?nz?n responding well to preseason expectations
Swedish import Fredrik J?nz?n, whose breakout performance in last year's postseason earned him All-East Region honors in the NCAA Tournament, has picked up his scoring numbers in the past month. J?nz?n, who turned in a career-high-tying 26-point effort against Iowa State, appears to like the surroundings of the new Gallagher-Iba Arena, where he averages a team-high 18.4 points per game. Despite a subpar shooting night, he scored 17 points against Texas A&M and pulled down 12 rebounds for his second double-double this season and the sixth of his career. J?nzen scored in double-digits in his fourth straight contest with 10 points in the loss to Colorado on Jan. 27.
OSU discovers outside shooting touch
Heading into the Jan. 17 visit to Baylor, OSU averaged 2.9 three-pointers per game and was hitting just 27.5 percent from beyond the arc. But in the past four games, the Cowboys -- more specifically Maurice Baker and Melvin Sanders -- have unleashed a more effective outside-shooting weapon. OSU went 32-for-74 (43.2 percent) from three-point range in its past four games, with 27 of the 32 treys coming from Baker and Sanders, who both set career highs in three-pointers made against St. Gregory's. Baker hit seven treys against the Cavaliers, no OSU player has had more in a game since Randy Rutherford dropped a school-record 11 on Kansas in 1995.
Victor Williams heating up in 2001
Transfer guard Victor Williams, who came to OSU after a year at Illinois State, has opened up his scoring since the start of the new year. In the first nine games of the season, Williams averaged 10.1 points per game and hit 38 percent of his field-goal attempts, 18.8 percent from three-point range. But since the start of the true new millennium, Williams has hit 43.6 percent from the field (34 of 78) and has drained 36.7 percent (11 of 30) of his threes while averaging 13.7 points. Williams scored a season-high-tying 20 points against both Iowa State and Texas Tech and hit eight of 12 field-goal tries against Texas Tech.
Cowboys rally late In loss To Buffaloes
Oklahoma State cut a 23-point deficit to 10 in the final two minutes against Colorado, but time ran out on the Cowboys as the Buffaloes snapped OSU's five-game winning streak with a 81-71 victory on Jan. 27. Maurice Baker scored nine of the Cowboys 13 points in the final two minutes to end up with 27 points, his fourth straight contest of 20 or more points. OSU trailed only by two at halftime (48-46) but that would be as close as the team would get as the Buffaloes broke the contest open with a 12-4 run to open up the second half. The loss dropped the Cowboys to 15-30 in Boulder where the Cowboys have not won since Feb. 24, 1996.
Head Coach Eddie Sutton
Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) is in his 11th year at his alma mater with a 242-99 record at the school as well as a 672-263 overall mark in his 31st year of collegiate coaching. Under his guidance, OSU has advanced to postseason play in nine of 10 years and has won 20 games or more eight times. Sutton recently passed John Wooden and Denny Crum into 14th place (fifth among active coaches) in career victories.
Only one active coach (Tarkanian) ranks ahead of Sutton in both victories and winning percentage, and OSU's boss ranks behind only Tarkanian, Dean Smith and Bob Knight in victories through 31 or fewer years of coaching. 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.
Player Thumbnails
15 * David Anderson * F * 6-7 * 190 * Fr.
Played just two minutes against UMKC but scored seven points thanks to a 7-for-8 showing from the line ... earned a starting nod against Texas-San Antonio, responded with four points and career-high six rebounds ... played 17 minutes against Lamar and scored two points ... saw his first OSU action in the second exhibition, played seven minutes and pulled down two rebounds ... originally from Levittown, Puerto Rico, Anderson moved to the U.S. in summer 1998 ... McDonald's All-American.
1 * Maurice Baker * G * 6-1 * 175 * Jr.
Leads the Big 12 in scoring (23.1 ppg) ... career-high 29 points at Baylor, hitting six three-pointers in 10 attempts ... 19 points, career highs of 14 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals vs. UTSA, recorded only the second triple-double in OSU history and only the third by a Big 12 player ... dropped in 22 points in win over Missouri, his fifth straight contest over 20 points ... 27 points including nine in final two minutes in loss to Colorado ... 26 points, career-high seven three-pointers against St. Gregory's ... 26 points despite career-low 29 minutes at Texas ... 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists vs. Iowa State ... 25 points, including a layup that gave OSU the lead for good, against Arkansas ... 24 points, 19 in the first half, at San Diego State ... 24 points vs. Northwestern State ... 24 points (10 of 12 from the field) vs. North Texas ... 23 points against UNLV, six in overtime ... Big 12 player of the week Dec. 5, Big 12 rookie of the week Dec. 12 and Jan. 15 ... led OSU in points, rebounds, assists, steals vs. Wichita State, UTSA and Iowa State.
21 * Antoine Broxsie * F * 6-10 * 235 * Jr.
Season-high six points and six rebounds against St. Gregory's, also blocked three shots ... saw his first action as a Cowboy vs. UTSA, played nine minutes and had two points and four assists ... got into the game late against Baylor and scored a key bucket with the shot clock winding down ... had been academically ineligible this season and had sat out the 1999-2000 season as a four-year transfer ... played in 57 games in two years for Minnesota, averaging over four blocks per 40 minutes of playing time ... second on the team in blocked shots in both 1997-98 and 1998-99 despite averaging 10 minutes of playing time.
14 * Terrence Crawford * F * 6-6 * 235 * Fr.
Suffered a knee injury Dec. 19 and missed eight games ... returned to the lineup Jan. 24 and did not attempt a shot but played 14 minutes and had two rebounds and two assists ... has seen limited action in two games back ... only scored two points in win over Missouri, it was a dunk that got the crowd into the game. 12 points, four assists, three steals vs. North Texas ... scored eight points against UALR before being injured ... received starting assignment against California All-Stars and had 12 points, seven rebounds ... averaged 21.0 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game as a senior while leading McGuinness to its third consecutive class 4A state championship ... Tulsa World and Gatorade Player of the Year.
11 * Nate Fleming * G * 5-11 * 185 * Fr.
Scored the first field goal of his career with a driving layup against Lamar ... got into the game late against UMKC and scored the first point of his career ... played with the game in doubt for the first time in his career at Texas, also saw action against North Texas, Northwestern State and Texas-San Antonio ... played in four games last season but eventually took a medical redshirt ... lettered three years in basketball under coach Garret Mantle and four in tennis while at Edmond North ... helped lead Edmond North to a state semifinal appearance and was a member of the national eighth-place AAU team.
13 * Guy Ikpah * G * 6-0 * 165 * Fr.
Team captain who helped lead Williamstown (N.J.) HS to the Tri-County Championship in 2000 ... hit the game-winning shot against Pitman High School ... scored career-high 37 points in a game as a junior ... averaged 8.0 assists and hit 68 percent of his three-pointers as a senior ... also competed in cross country for one year ... full name is Kwaghhange Orngu Ikpah.
12 * Fredrik J?nz?n * F * 6-10 * 230 * Jr.
Tied his career high of 26 points vs. Missouri ... career-high 26 points vs. Lamar, also had 11 rebounds for his fifth career double-double ... has reached double figures in scoring in his last four contests ... also scored 26 against Iowa State and hit at least 10 free throws for the third time in his career ... 22 points vs. Arkansas-Little Rock ... 19 points, 15 in second half, vs. Arkansas ... 17 points, 12 rebounds vs. Texas A&M ... 16 points, eight rebounds at San Diego State ... 17 points, nine rebounds in season opener ... earned Big 12 all-improved and all-underrated honors last year ... also an Academic All-Big 12 first-team honoree and the only OSU player to earn All-East Region status ... last name is pronounced "zyahn-ZEE-un."
43 * Jason Keep * C * 6-10 * 280 * Jr.
Already a Gallagher-Iba Arena fan favorite, Keep became at least a cult hero with his backboard-shattering dunk to cap a 13-2 run against Arkansas-Little Rock ... scored six points against the Trojans, all during the decisive run and all on dunks, including two after he ran through UALR passes at midcourt ... 11 points, three more dunks against Lamar ... career-high 10 rebounds vs. Texas-San Antonio ... started for the first time in his career against UMKC, responded with a career-high 14 points in just 14 minutes ... averaged eight points, seven rebounds, 13 minutes in exhibition games ... played in 20 games and hit two-thirds of his field-goal attempts last year.
24 * Ellis Kidd Jr. * G * 6-4 * 180 * Fr.
Battled a sprained knee throughout preseason and made his first appearance as a Cowboy at Wichita State and played against Arkansas as well, however, the knee has not responded well, and Kidd is expected to pursue a medical redshirt ... Dallas Morning News All-Area selection ... helped lead Madison HS to a 32-3 record and the Texas 4A championship game ... coached by his father, Ellis Sr., who led the Trojans to three state-final appearances in the past five years.
3 * Daniel Lawson * G * 6-5 * 215 * Jr.
Career highs of seven points, 19 minutes vs. Northwestern State ... had two key rebounds (both after missed OSU free throws) and a steal in the final minute to help seal OSU's victory over Iowa State ... tied career high with seven points at Texas ... scored eight points in 13 minutes of backup backcourt play in Enid ... played twice last year but ended up taking a medical redshirt season ... second-team NJCAA Division II All-American at Mott (Mich.) CC ... earned Michigan community college player-of-the-year honors ... helped lead Mott to a 26-6 overall record and a final No. 2 national ranking.
55 * Jack Marlow * C * 7-0 * 330 * Fr.
Career-best 10 points against Lamar ... earned first career start at Baylor and scored OSU's first two points, also started against Texas A&M ... started against Colorado, finishing with two points and five rebounds ... career-high six rebounds against UTSA ... four points, five rebounds in Cowboy debut vs. UMKC ... earned starting spot against California All-Stars ... listed by some publications as the No. 2 prospect in Oklahoma, second only to Terrence Crawford ... averaged 17.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a senior, helping Union to a 21-5 record and a state quarterfinal appearance for the second straight year ... second-team All-Metro according to the Tulsa World ... coached by Rudy Garcia.
23 * Ivan McFarlin * F * 6-7 * 210 * Fr.
Sitting out the 2000-01 season as a partial qualifier ... all-state selection after leading Willowridge to the class 5A state championship, its third straight ... averaged 15.9 points, 14.9 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 3.2 steals ... MVP of the state tournament ... helped Willowridge finish the year ranked No. 5 nationally by USA Today and No. 2 by HoopsUSA ... named as a top-40 recruit nationally.
34 * Melvin Sanders * G/F * 6-5 * 205 * So.
Career-high 18 points against St. Gregory's, also hit a career-best three three-pointers ... 16 points vs. UTSA, hit his first four shots of the game ... 13 points at Texas and has averaged 11.3 points in the past four games ... 12 points vs. Lamar ... 10 points, four rebounds vs. UMKC ... 10 points, four assists, five steals vs. North Texas ... 10 rebounds vs. UNLV ... hit for double figures in both exhibition games, including a 14-point, seven-rebound effort against the California All-Stars ... helped lead Seward County Community College to a 23-9 record in 1999-2000 ... stellar track athlete who recorded a high jump of 7-2 to go with a 52-foot triple jump and a 25-foot long jump.
40 * Andre Williams * F * 6-7 * 210 * So.
Has scored 36 points with 42 boards in last three games ... four blocked-shots against Missouri pushed him into seventh place on the OSU shot block list with 74 ... pulled down 16 caroms and scored 15 points vs. Colorado while also blocking three shots ... Career-high 18 points, 11 rebounds vs. Texas A&M ... notched 16 points, 11 rebounds vs. Northwestern State ... 11 points, career-high 13 rebounds vs. Arkansas ... 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks vs. UNLV ... 12 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks against Texas Tech for his third double-double this season and the fourth of his career ... 10 points, six rebounds, three blocks, three steals at North Texas ... already ninth in OSU history in career blocks (65).
5 * Victor Williams * G * 5-10 * 185 * So.
20 points (10 in first 16 minutes) against Iowa State and 20 more (14 in the first half) against Texas Tech ... 17 points vs. Texas-San Antonio, hit three three-pointers ... 13 points vs. Arkansas, 11 coming in the second half, hit the game-tying three-pointer with under five minutes remaining ... season-high 20 points at North Texas ... 11 points vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, 13 and seven assists against Lamar ... 18 points, four assists against the California All-Stars ... Illinois State's starting point guard as a freshman in 1998-99 and named the top freshman in the MVC.
On the air
OSU games are broadcast on the Cowboy 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 10th year as the Cowboys' basketball radio team, Dirato is calling OSU basketball for the 24th 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. Saturday's game will be aired on the ESPN Regional network, including KFOR (channel 4) in Oklahoma City and KJRH (channel 2) in Tulsa. Dave Armstrong (play by play) and Reid Gettys (color analysis) will handle the television commentary duties.
Up next: OSU takes on Jayhawks on the road
Oklahoma State will play No. 5 Kansas in Lawrence Saturday afternoon. The Jayhawks will be out for revenge after the Cowboys took two from KU last season, including a 86-53 victory in Stillwater.
