Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Cyclones In Big 12 Matchup
January 28, 2003 | Cowboy Basketball
Jan. 28, 2003
Oklahoma State Cowboys
(16-1, 5-0) host the Iowa State Cyclones (11-5, 1-4)
in Big 12 Conference action inside Gallagher-Iba Arena
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003 *?7 p.m. (CST)
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] * Stillwater, Okla.
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Oklahoma State Cowboys
Probable Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 23 Ivan McFarlin 6-8 237 Jr. 12.1 8.0 F 40 Andre Williams 6-8 225 Sr. 4.4 5.5 G 5 Victor Williams 5-10 187 Sr. 14.2 3.4 ^ G 24 Tony Allen 6-4 205 Jr. 16.3 5.2 G 34 Melvin Sanders 6-5 210 Sr. 13.5 4.2
Off the Bench
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG C 4 Frans Steyn 7-2 306 So. 0.6 1.0 G 25 Janavor Weatherspoon 6-1 165 Jr. 3.8 1.3 G 30 Cheyne Gadson 6-3 190 Sr. 5.8 3.2 ^ F 33 Jason Miller 6-9 245 Jr. 2.8 3.4
Iowa State Cyclones
Probable Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 51 Jared Homan 6-9 245 So. 7.8 7.0 C 4 Jackson Vroman 6-10 220 Jr. 11.3 8.7 G 0 Jake Sullivan 6-1 200 Jr. 18.0 3.8 G 2 Adam Haluska 6-5 210 Fr. 11.4 4.1 G 12 Tim Barnes 6-0 160 Jr. 9.6 5.8 ^^ denotes assists per game
Quickly
Oklahoma State returns home after back-to-back road contests to host the Iowa State Cyclones on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Game time is set for 7 p.m. OSU is 16-1 overall, 5-0 in Big 12 Conference action after a 79-70 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock Sunday afternoon. Iowa State is 11-5 overall, 1-4 in league play after a 71-61 win over Nebraska at home Saturday afternoon. This will be the 102nd meeting between these two schools on the hardwood, with the Cowboys holding a narrow 51-50 margin in the series.
Records/Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked ninth in the latest Associated Press poll, and 11th in the most recent USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Cowboys are ranked third in the Ratings Percentage Index according to Collegiate Basketball News. Iowa State is not ranked in either poll, and is 93rd in the RPI according to CBN.
Last Time Out For OSU
Victor Williams scored 24 points and Tony Allen added 21 as the Cowboys picked up a 79-70 Big 12 road win Sunday afternoon in Lubbock, Texas, against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. That duo combined to shoot 17-of-32 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. OSU shot 52.6 percent as a team and limited the Raiders to 44.8 percent. The Cowboys outrebounded Tech, 36-29, and despite committing 20 turnovers, forced 17 as well. Melvin Sanders added 17 points for the Pokes, including the first nine of the game via the long ball.
About Iowa State
Iowa State is 11-5 overall this season, but just 1-4 since league play began. The Cyclones are led by junior Jake Sullivan, who is averaging 18 points per contest while connecting on 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from beyond the arc. Jackson Vroman is averaging 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while another juco transfer, Tim Barnes, is averaging 9.6 points and 5.8 assists per contest. ISU is shooting 47.5 percent from the floor, and nearly 40 percent from long range. Iowa State broke a four-game skid with a 71-61 win over Nebraska Saturday in Ames.
Last Time Out for ISU
Jake Sullivan scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and the Cyclone defense limited Nebraska to just 37.3 percent shooting as ISU won its first league game of the season Saturday afternoon in Ames. Tim Barnes added 17 points for the `Clones, while jackson Vroman had 10 points, nine rebounds and eight blocked shots, nearly half of ISU's 17 blocks in the game. The Cyclone's shot 51.8 percent from the floor, including 7-of-16 from beyond the three-point line.
Series With ISU: the Narrowest of Margins
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 51-50, including a 30-13 mark in Stillwater. The Cowboys have won the last two games, including an 88-80 overtime victory in the grand opening of the renovated Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU has won six of the last eight and 13 of the last 16. The only ISU victories since Big 12 play began was a pair of contests during the 1999-2000 season. Oklahoma State is 16-6 vs. the Cyclones in the Eddie Sutton era. A complete look at the series can be found on page 4-62 of the 2002-03 Oklahoma State Men's Basketball Media Guide.
OSU Tops Longest Win Streaks
Oklahoma State's current 14-game win streak is currently the longest in the country. The Cowboys will look to extend that streak on Wednesday vs. Texas Tech. Here is a look at the top-five active winning strings:
Rk Team Streak Next Game (Date)1. Oklahoma State 14 vs. Iowa State (Jan. 29) 2. Louisville 13 at Southern Miss (Jan. 29) Michigan 13 at Illinois (Jan. 29) 4. Florida 12 at LSU (Jan. 28) Stephen F. Austin 12 at Northwestern State (Feb. 1)
OSU's Homecourt Streak at 15
Oklahoma State's current 15-game homecourt winning streak ranks ninth nationally. The Cowboys have a chance to extend that string to 16 on Wednesday night vs. Iowa State. Here is a look at the top 10 home winning streaks:
Rk Team Streak Next Game (Date)1. Oklahoma 32 Texas A&M (Jan. 28) 2. Western Kentucky 29 Florida International (Jan. 30) 3. Marquette 25 Eastern Carolina (Jan. 29) 4. Hawaii 22 Rice (Jan. 30) 5. Southern Illinois 21 Bradley (Jan. 29) 6. Valparaiso 19 Oral Roberts (Jan. 30) 7. Hampton 18 Delaware State (Feb. 1) 8. Louisiana-Lafayette 17 South Alabama (Feb. 6) 9. Oklahoma State 15 Iowa State (Jan. 29) 10. Florida 14 Arkansas (Feb. 1)
And Then There Were Four
Three of the seven teams with just one lose suffered defeat last week, leaving only four teams that can boast having lost just one game this season. Oklahoma State has the best record in NCAA Division I at 16-1. Pittsburgh and Arizona are both close behind at 15-1, while Louisville is 14 -1.
Stifling Defense
Eddie Sutton has always preached solid defense, and while OSU's offense has struggled at times this season, the defense has been outstanding. Through 17 games, OSU is allowing just 59.9 points per game (second-best in the Big 12) and has allowed an opponent to score in the 70s just twice this season. OSU is allowing its opponents to shoot just 37.5 percent from the floor, best in the conference. On the defensive glass, OSU is outrebounding its opponents by an average of 10.4 boards per game. OSU is also averaging 9.53 steals per game (fourth-best in Big 12 behind Texas Tech, Kansas and Baylor) and 5.5 blocks per contest (third-best in league behind Iowa State and Colorado).
Coming up Big on Offense
While Oklahoma State is well-known for its unbreakable defense, the Cowboy offense has been coming into its own lately. In all games, OSU is the only team to have four players rank in the Big 12's top 30 scorers. Tony Allen ranks 14th at 16.3 points per game, while Victor Williams is 18th at 14.2 points per contest. Melvin Sanders is 22nd at 13.5 ppg, and Ivan McFarlin is 28th, averaging 12.1 points per contest. Five other schools have three players ranked in the top 30 individually. In Big 12 Conference games, Oklahoma State joins Kansas State as the only two teams with three players ranked in the top 15 for field-goal percentage, and OSU is the only school with three individuals ranked in the top 15 in three-point field-goal percentage. Check out these rankings since league play began:
Statistical Category Big 12 rank BehindField Goal Percentage first -- Three-Point Field Goal Percentage first -- Scoring Offense third Texas, Kansas Scoring Margin third Texas, Kansas
Vic Williams Making the Plays
Victor Williams was the Cowboys' leading scorer a year ago, and the senior guard has come up big for the Cowboys this season, but none bigger than the Bedlam game vs. Oklahoma. With the score tied and the shot clock winding down, Williams drove towards the basket and pulled up for what turned out to be the game-winning jumper. Vic followed up his performance against OU with a season-high 24 points vs. Missouri. For his effort that week, he was named the Big 12 Conference's Player of the Week. Williams has been solid this season, averaging 14.2 points and 3.4 assists per game. He's second on the team in free-throw shooting, connecting on 75.6 percent of his shots. Vic has has 38 steals and 33 rebounds. He also likes the friendly confines of Gallagher-Iba Arena, leading the team in scoring in home games at 15.9 points per contest, and shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, including 46.2 percent from three-point range. Victor is averaging 19 points per game over the last six contests.
Vic Hits Magical 1,000 Point Mark
With 24 points vs. Texas Tech, senior Victor Williams became the 24th player in school history to record 1,000 points in a career. He surpassed Brooks Thompson, who had 996 points in his two-year career. Vic needs just 16 points to move past K.C. Kincaide and into 23rd place on the scoring list. Victor has 1,251 points in his career at the Division I level, including 245 as a freshman at Illinois State.
Williams Ranks in Top 15
With two assists vs. Texas Tech, Victor Williams has 293 dishes in his three-year career at Oklahoma State. That ranks him 12th on the OSU career assists list. Next on the list is No. 11 Bill Self, who had 317 assists for OSU from 1982-85. Vic has 396 career assists, including a game-high nine vs. Texas A&M on Feb. 21, 2001, and a season-high 126 last season. He had a season-high eight dishes vs. Texas A&M. Victor currently has 57 assists this season, an average of 3.4 per game.
Allen Living up to Expectations
Junior transfer Tony Allen is doing it all for Oklahoma State. The 6-4 guard leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game this season, and is an all-around player for the Cowboys. He had a career-high 29 points vs. Texas A&M. Over the last 10 games, Allen has connected on 67-of-120 shots from the floor, or 55.8 percent, and averaged 18.1 points in those 10. He has made at least one three pointer in 12 of OSU's 17 games, and is shooting 47.7 percent (21-of-44) from beyond the arc. He had a career-high nine rebounds vs. Texas A&M in College Station, and had career bests in assists (7) and steals (5) vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Chicago native is averaging 5.2 rebounds, three assists and 2.2 steals per contest. Defensively, Tony is joining Melvin Sanders as one of the top stoppers on the squad. He limited A&M freshman phenom Antoine Wright to just 15 points on 14 shot attempts, and held OU's Ebi Ere to six points, 12 below his average, on 2-of-10 shooting. Tony was the Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the period ending Jan. 12.
Honors Again for Allen
This past week, Tony Allen stepped it up another notch for the Cowboys, performing admirably in two conference road wins. In the game against Baylor, he scored eight of the teams' final 14 points in regulation. With the Cowboys down by one, he then stole the ball and converted a three-point play with 39.6 seconds remaining. A Victor Williams free throw put OSU ahead by three, and Allen forced Terrance Thomas into an errant shot at the buzzer. After Texas Tech narrowed the game to 65-64 with 3:09 remaining, Tony scored six-straight points and eight of OSU's final 14 for the 79-70 victory. For his efforts, Allen was named the Big 12 Conference's Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks, and was also named the ESPN.com Player of the Week.
Sanders the Stopper
Senior guard/forward Melvin Sanders is one of the top defensive players in the league and perhaps the country. He is typically assigned to the opposing team's top offensive player, regardless of height. That was evident two weeks ago, when in two games, Melvin stopped two of the top-12 scorers in the Big 12 dead in their tracks. He held Oklahoma's Hollis Price, a 6-0 guard, to just six points, a dozen below his average, on 2-of-14 shooting. One game later, he limited Missouri's Rickey Paulding, who was averaging 17.3 points per game, to a season-low 10. Coach Sutton has stated that Sanders is one of the top-two defenders he's had, joining Corey Williams in that elite duo.
McFarlin a Warrior
Ivan McFarlin is the prototypical Coach Sutton player, a "warrior". I-Mac is the toughest player on the team, and certainly one of the hardest workers in the league. He scored a career-high 24 points vs. UMKC and, three games later, broke that with a 27-point performance against BYU. In the UMKC game, McFarlin also had 14 rebounds, recording the eighth double-double of his career. Ivan leads the conference with a 62 shooting percentage from the floor. He is averaging just over 12 points and eight rebounds per contest, including 59 boards on the offensive glass.
A Trio of Thieves
Oklahoma State has 162 steals this season, led by Victor Williams' and Tony Allen's 38, while Melvin Sanders has 28. Those three Cowboys rank tied for second and eighth, respectively, in the Big 12 in steals per game. Kansas is the only other school in the league that has two in the Top Eight. As a team, OSU is fourth in the league, averaging 9.53 thefts per contest.
Cowboys Host Block Parties
On two occasions this season, Oklahoma State has blocked 13 shots in a single game, the third-best mark in school history. OSU had 13 deflections vs. Hartford, and did the same at Wichita State. In three games at the Great Alaska Shootout, OSU had 18 blocked shots. This season, OSU has 94 blocked shots as a team, an average of 5.5 per game and the third-most in the Big 12 Conference behind Iowa State and Colorado.
Williams Ranks Among Elite Shot Blockers
With three blocked shots vs. Texas Tech, senior forward Andre Williams now has 174 career blocks, and is in fourth place on the school career blocked shots list. He leads the team with 46 deflections so far this season, and next on the list is Bryant Reeves, who had 194 blocked shots in his OSU career. Andre had a career-high eight deflections vs. Wichita State, and has had at least four blocks in four games this season. The only game this year in which he failed to block a shot was vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He is currently averaging 2.7 blocks per game this season, and is second in the league behind Colorado's David Harrison (three blocks per game).
Sanders Has String of Starts
Cowboy senior Melvin Sanders has started every game of his Cowboy career, and has moved into fifth-place on the consecutive starts list. Sanders needs eight more starts to tie Bryant Reeves, who started 87 consecutive contests from 1993-95, and nine starts to tie Darwyn Alexander. Eleven starts would move Melvin into second-place on the consecutive-starts list.
Sutton Coaches in 400th Game at OSU
Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton coached in his 400th game at OSU when the Cowboys defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 48-46, in Gallagher-Iba Arena. He's already coached in more games for OSU than the 10 previous coaches combined, and ranks second only to Mr. Iba, who coached in 971 career games at OSU over a span of 36 years. Sutton is 287-115 in his 13 years at Oklahoma State.
Sutton Nears 1,000th Career Game
Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton has coached in 997 career Division I games, the fourth most by an active coach. He is just three games away from his 1,000th game, and will coach that game on next Wednesday against the Kansas State Wildcats in Gallagher-Iba Arena. There are 16 coaches in NCAA history that have achieved that mark, including Sutton's mentor, Henry Iba, who coached in 1,105 games.
Cowboys in the National Rankings
As a team, Oklahoma State ranks nationally in several statistical categories. OSU's highest ranking is in win-loss percentage, where the Cowboys rank third nationally. OSU has a highly ranked field-goal percentage defense, coming in at fourth nationally. Oklahoma State's scoring defense ranks ninth, and the scoring margin is 14th, as well as blocks per game. Offensively, OSU's field-goal percentage ranks 27th. Senior forward Andre Williams is the only individual in the rankings, as he ranks 11th in blocked shots per game.
Miscellaneous Notes
OSU's 16-1 record is the best since a 20-0 mark in 1991-92 ... The Cowboys' 5-0 record in league play is the best start since 1964-65, when Oklahoma State started 6-0, and ties for the 10th best conference start in school history ... OSU had seven players score in double figures vs. Alaska-Anchorage, the first time for that to happen in the Eddie Sutton era at OSU ... the Cowboys have shot better from the charity stripe away from Gallagher-Iba Arena (76.3 percent) than at home (57.7 percent) ... Oklahoma State has 54 dunks this season, led by Melvin Sanders' 16 ... OSU has taken 11 charges in 17 games, led by Iva McFarlin's four ... Oklahoma State has won 16-straight home games, dating back to last season, the ninth-longest streak in the nation ... The Cowboys rank third in the Ratings Percentage Index, according to both the Collegiate Basketball News, and CollegeRPI.com.
Speaking of RPI
Oklahoma State ranks third in the Ratings Percentage Index, according to Collegiate Basketball News, and has beaten three top-20 teams and is 8-1 vs. the top 100. However, with 12 games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Cowboys may have their toughest road ahead of them. According to the RPI posted on Jan. 28, OSU has six of its 12 games remaining vs. teams in the top 40, and four of those six are as the visiting team. Oklahoma State has six games vs. teams ranked between No. 50 and 131, and four of those six are in the friendly confines of Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Up Next: the Texas Longhorns
Oklahoma State will travel to Austin, Texas, this weekend for a matchup with Big 12 South foe Texas on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside the Erwin Events Center. The No. 3 ranked Longhorns are 13-3 overall, and 4-1 in league play after a 90-87 loss at Kansas Monday night.
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