Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Roadrunners In Non-Conference Action
December 03, 2003 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (3-0) hosts UTSA (1-3) in
non-conference action in Gallagher-Iba Arena
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003 • 7:05 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Okla.
radio - Cowboy Radio Network • internet - okstate.com • TV - none
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Projected Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 23 Ivan McFarlin 6-8 237 Sr. 12.0 8.3 F 33 Jason Miller 6-8 239 Sr. 4.3 2.7 G 15 John Lucas 5-11 152 Jr. 12.0 5.0 ^ G 20 Daniel Bobik 6-4 200 Jr. 8.7 4.3 G 24 Tony Allen 6-4 205 Sr. 15.0 3.3
Off the Bench
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG C 4 Frans Steyn 7-2 289 Jr. 3.0 3.0 F 14 Joey Graham 6-7 217 Jr. 12.3 6.3 G 21 Stephen Graham 6-6 213 Jr. 7.7 2.0 G 25 Janavor Weatherspoon 6-1 165 Sr. 8.7 2.7 ^ F 32 David Monds 6-7 220 Fr. 2.7 3.7
UTSA Roadrunners
Projected Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 00 LeRoy Hurd 6-7 215 Sr. 13.8 6.0 C 42 Anthony Fuqua 6-11 220 Jr. 5.5 6.8 G 10 Kurt Attaway 6-0 185 Fr. 8.8 2.8 ^ G 13 David President 6-1 200 Jr. 4.5 3.5 G 24 Rapheal Posey 6-2 195 Jr. 11.5 4.3 ^ denotes assists per game
Cowboys host Roadrunners
Oklahoma State hosts the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 7:05 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys are 3-0 this season and coming off a narrow 84-82 win over Pepperdine Saturday night in Stillwater. UTSA is 1-3 this season and coming off a 73-47 loss to Illinois-Chicago in the Roadrunners' first home game of the season Saturday.
Last Time Out
Ivan McFarlin recorded his first double-double of the season and the 15th of his career, and OSU escaped with a narrow 84-82 win over Pepperdine Saturday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena. It was the most points the Cowboys have given up at home to a non-conference opponent since Florida Atlantic stunned the Pokes with an 83-81 win on Dec. 1, 1998. McFarlin was one of five Cowboys to score in double figures with 12 points to go along with his 12 rebounds. Tony Allen led OSU with 17 points, while Joey Graham and Daniel Bobik had 12 each as well. John Lucas finished with 11. Pepperdine connected on 10 shots from beyond the arc, and led the Cowboys by three with 1-1/2 minutes remaining. After a pair of Lucas' free throws cut the lead to one, Oklahoma State took the lead for good when Lucas stole the ball and fed Allen for a fastbreak dunk. McFarlin had a steal and a dunk of his own 18 seconds later as the Cowboys escaped with the victory.
About Texas-San Antonio
The Roadrunners are 1-3 this season with their only win coming against VMI in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. UTSA is led by LeRoy Hurd, who is averaging 13.8 points and six rebounds per game. As a team, Texas-San Antonio is averaging just 55.5 points and 31.5 rebounds per contest, while shooting just 38.7 percent from the floor. The Roadrunners lost their home opener Saturday, 73-47, to Illinois-Chicago.
Series History
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with UTSA, 2-0. Both games have been played in Stillwater. The first meeting took place on Dec. 4, 1999, with the Cowboys handing the Roadrunners an 87-66 loss. On Jan. 3, 2001, the Pokes defeated UTSA, 88-63.
OSU-UTSA Connections
There are several connections between the Oklahoma State and Texas-San Antonio basketball programs. Most notably, UTSA head coach Tim Carter was an assistant coach for Leonard Hamilton at Oklahoma State from 1988-90. Kyle Keller, current Director of Basketball Operations at OSU, was an assistant coach at UTSA under Carter during the 1996-97 season. OSU assistant coach Glynn Cyprien, who earned his bachelor's degree from UTSA, began his coaching career with the Roadrunners as an assistant from 1988-90. Former Cowgirl basketball assistant Rae Rippetoe-Blair is now the head coach for the UTSA women's program. Current Cowgirl assistant coach Amy Gusso-Williams coached at Texas-San Antonio in 2000-01. Her husband, Lloyd Williams, played for Coach Carter at UTSA, and was an assistant for three years with the Roadrunners.
Non-Conference Record in Gallagher-Iba Arena
Oklahoma State will coninue the non-conference home portion of its schedule when the Cowboys host Texas-San Antonio Wednesday night inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Pokes are riding a current 30-game home non-conference winning streak that dates back to 1998. OSU has won 109 of its last 110 non-conference games held in Gallagher-Iba Arena since Jan. 7, 1987. The only loss during that span was an 83-81 loss to Florida Atlantic on Dec. 1, 1998, when the Cowboys were ranked 11th in the nation. That loss broke a string of 79-consecutive home non-league wins for OSU. Dating back to 1981, Oklahoma State is 138-7 (.952) in those types of games. The Cowboys have not allowed more than 66 points in 25 of their last 26 home non-conference contests.
OSU vs. Non-Conference Opponents
Oklahoma State's Cowboys have enjoyed considerable success at home vs. non-conference opponents. However, OSU has also been successful overall vs. non-league foes. Since the 1997-98 season, Oklahoma State has a 66-9 (88 percent) record in regular-season non-Big 12 contests. That includes a 10-0 record in 1997-98, a 9-3 mark in 1998-99, an 11-1 record in 1999-2000, a 9-2 mark in 2000-01, a 13-1 record in 2001-02 and an 11-2 finish last year. The Cowboys are 3-0 in non-league games so far this season.
Sutton Nearing Top 10
Oklahoma State's head coach currently ranks 12th on the all-time career wins list in NCAA history. That spot will change quickly over the next few games. With 727 wins, Coach Sutton is just one victory away from tying Norm Stewart, longtime Missouri coach, for 11th place on the all-time list. Two more wins will tie Coach Sutton with Jerry Tarkanian for 10th place on the list. With three more victories, Coach Sutton will sit in sole possession of 10th place on the NCAA's all-time coaching victories list.
McFarlin Achieves 500 Rebounds
With eight rebounds against Northwestern State, Cowboy senior Ivan McFarlin became the 19th player in school history to grab at least 500 rebounds in his career. McFarlin, who will in all likelihood regain a year of eligibility when he graduates in May, currently has 522 rebounds in his career. Ivan currently sits in 16th place on the school career rebounding list, and needs 40 to move into 15th place. A season resembling his first two would put him in the top 10 by season's end.
I-Mac Moving up the Career Lists
McFarlin also broke the career 700 point plateau with 15 against the Demons. He began the season with 688 points, and now has 724 in his career. With three blocked shots vs. Northwestern State, Ivan also moved into the top 10 on the career deflections list. He deflected a career-best four shots against Colorado State, and now has 71 career blocked shots and sole possession of 10th place on that list. He needs one more block to move into a tie for ninth place with Andrew Jones, who had 72 blocks from 1977-78.
Allen Returns
Senior Tony Allen picked up this year right where he was last season. In the Cowboys' season opener against Northwestern State, Tony scored a game-high 18 points, his 27th career double-figure scoring game in 33 contests. He got his 28th with 10 vs. Colorado State. He also had four assists and just one turnover in that game. Tony is averaging 15 points (leading the team), 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor. The 6-4 guard from Chicago was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year last season, and received mention for the preseason All-Big 12 squads this year.
Seeing Double
Twins Joey and Stephen Graham haven't disappointed any Cowboy fans in their first three games in OSU uniforms. Joey is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per contest. He's also grabbing 6.3 rebounds per game, second best on the team to Ivan McFarlin. Stephen, who plays mostly on the perimeter, is averaging 7.7 points per contest while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor. The duo is averaging 32.7 minutes on the court.
‘Spoon Steps up his Game
Senior Janavor Weatherspoon has improved a great deal on his defensive skills during the offseason. But, he has apparently worked on his offensive abilities as well. ‘Spoon scored 13 points in 16 minutes against Northwestern State, and was a pefect 6-of-6 from the field. He also connected on his only attempt from long range. The 6-1 guard also dished out three assists vs. the Demons in his play off the bench. Against Colorado State, Janavor had seven points in 12 minutes. He's shooting 73.3 percent from the floor in three games this season and is averaging 8.7 points per game.
Lucas Dishing the Rock
Junior John Lucas has dished out 15 assists in his first three games as a Cowboy, an average of five per game. He also has just seven turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.14-to-1. John is also averaging 2.3 steals per contest.
CSP selects games to be televised
Cowboy Sports Properties, a division of Learfield, Inc., has selected three games to be televised this season. It will begin this weekend, as OSU travels to Salt Lake City, Utah, to face the BYU Cougars. Other games that will be televised by CSP are the games at Arkansas (Dec. 20) and at Texas A&M (Feb. 3).
Coming up
Oklahoma State will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, this weekend to play the BYU Cougars. Tipoff for Saturday's game is set for 5 p.m. CST. The game will be played in the Delta Center, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz. The game will also be televised by Cowboy Sports Properties. The Cowboys will then take off 10 days for finals before hosting NCAA Division II school Southeastern Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. in Stillwater.
