Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare For Baylor Bears
April 09, 2003 | Cowboy Basketball
Baylor's Probable Starters Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 30 Chad Elsey 6-6 210 Sr. 9.6 3.5 F 32 Greg Davis 6-9 230 Sr. 8.6 6.9 F 44 Lawrence Roberts 6-8 220 Fr. 15.8 8.1 G 13 Matt Sayman 6-3 180 So. 5.3 2.4^ G 15 John Lucas 5-11 165 Fr. 14.3 4.4^ ^ denotes assists per game
Tuesday's Game Oklahoma State travels to Waco, Texas, this week to face the Baylor Bears on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center. OSU is 13-1 overall, 0-1 in the Big 12 after suffering its first loss of the season, a 70-61 setback to the Texas Longhorns on Saturday afternoon in Gallagher-Iba Arena. BU is 11-3, 1-0 after a 79-74 victory over the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday in Waco. The game will be televised back to Oklahoma by Cowboy Sports Properties.
Last Time Out For Oklahoma State Oklahoma State suffered its first loss of the season, a 70-61 loss at the hands of the Texas Longhorns on Saturday afternoon in the conference opener. The Cowboys shot just 32.8 percent from the floor, including a dismal 20.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc. OSU missed 10-of-11 to start the game and 11-of-12 at the end of the contest. Victor Williams led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, making up for some of the slack lost without Maurice Baker on the floor. Baker did score six points in 11 minutes in the second half, but it was quite obvious that the groin injury he suffered earlier in the week hampered his play. OSU trailed by as many as 10, but tied the game four times before falling behind for good at the 6:32 mark on the clock. Ivan McFarlin had a game-high 10 boards.
OSU-Baylor on Television Tuesday's game at Waco will be televised back to Oklahoma as part of Cowboy Sports Properties. John Holcomb of Tulsa's KOTV-Channel 6 will handle the play-by-play duties, while James Dickey, former assistant coach to Coach Sutton at Kentucky, will provide color analysis. The game can be seen on KSBI-52 in Oklahoma City, KWBT-19 in Tulsa and KSBI-7 in Stillwater.
Last Time Out For Baylor Baylor had four players score in double figures and the Bears defeated the Iowa State Cyclones, 79-74, Saturday afternoon in Waco. John Lucas scored 16 points for BU, while Lawrence Roberts added 15 for the Bears. Wendell Greenleaf chipped in 14 points off the bench, while Greg Davis added 11. The difference in the game was long-range scoring, as Baylor connected on 10-of-24 shots from behind the three-point arc, compared to just 4-of-7 for ISU. Baylor was outrebounded, 37-26, but outscored the Cyclone bench, 27-9.
OSU-Baylor: The Series Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Baylor, 36-11, including a narrow 10-9 edge in Waco. The Cowboys have won the last eight games vs. the Bears, and are 10-2 vs. BU since the Big 12 formed in 1996. Oklahoma State won 21 of the first 25 meetings between the two schools, dating back to 1917-18. During that span, the two teams played eight times in the All-College Classic. From 1958 until 1992, the series was tied, 5-5. Here is a look at the all-time series:
Year Winner Score Location 1917-18 W 24-20 Waco 1921-22 L 11-29 Waco 1921-22 L 21-24 Waco 1922-23 W 23-19 Stillwater 1922-23 W 39-22 Stillwater 1922-23 L 20-21 Waco 1922-23 W 27-17 Waco 1923-24 W 42-13 Stillwater 1923-24 W 35-30 Stillwater 1924-25 W 24-16 Waco 1924-25 W 15-11 Waco 1937-38 W 38-24 Okla. City 1938-39 L 28-30 Okla. City D27, 1941 W 40-29 Okla. City D27, 1944 W 63-16 Okla. City D28, 1945 W 65-46 Okla. City M22, 1946 W 44-29 Kansas City D30, 1947 W 22-21 Okla. City D20, 1948 W 56-40 Stillwater D29, 1948 W 39-36 Okla. City D29, 1950 W 75-38 Okla. City D12, 1955 W 59-48 Waco D23, 1955 W 70-51 Stillwater D1, 1956 W 68-45 Stillwater D4, 1956 W 52-51 Waco D11, 1958 L 37-43 Waco D5, 1959 L 50-53 Waco D12, 1970 W 79-74* Waco J5, 1972 L 64-68 Stillwater D11, 1972 L 60-63 Waco J7, 1974 W 70-51 Stillwater J3, 1975 W 79-72 Waco D1, 1986 W 86-79 Stillwater D5, 1987 L 55-67 Waco D12, 1992 W 93-75 Stillwater J25, 1997 W 89-61 Stillwater F1, 1997 L 77-78 Waco M6, 1997 W 80-66 Okla. City J17, 1998 L 95-97** Waco F7, 1998 W 85-72 Stillwater J9, 1999 W 76-63 Waco J20, 1999 W 75-47 Stillwater M4, 1999 W 83-57 Kansas City J15, 2000 W 56-41 Waco J30, 2000 W 67-51 Stillwater J17, 2001 W 76-65 Waco F28, 2001 W 71-68 Stillwater * overtime
Up Next: Iowa State and Kansas Oklahoma State will travel to Ames, Iowa, this coming weekend for a nationally-televised matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones (8-7 overall, 0-1 Big 12). Game time on Saturday is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN. Next Tuesday, the Cowboys will host the Kansas Jayhawks (12-1, 1-0) in a game that will be regionally televised by ESPN-plus. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
Injury Report Senior guard Maurice Baker suffered a strained groin during practice on Dec. 30, and sat out the entire week. He played 11 minutes vs. Texas, all in the second half, and did not start. His status is day-to-day.
Last Time vs. Baylor Victor Williams made two free throws with 9.3 seconds remaining as OSU, fighting for an NCAA tournament bid, held off Baylor 71-68 for its fourth-straight victory. The Cowboys twice led by as many as 15 in the first half, but had to hang on to win. Baylor rallied to tie the score at 55, then nearly pulled off the victory after falling behind by eight with 2-1/2 minutes left. Maurice Baker scored 20 points and Fredrik Jönzén had 17 for OSU. After a timeout, Jönzén made four free throws and Baker scored in close during an 8-3 run that pushed the lead to five. A basket by Matt Sayman made it 63-60 before the Cowboys scored five in a row to take a 68-60 lead. But Minor hit three free throws after being fouled on a three-point shot, and Sayman sank a trey to get the Bears within 68-66. After Jönzén made one of two free throws, Minor scored on a tip to make the score 69-68 with 47 seconds left. The Cowboys missed on their next trip, but Williams grabbed the loose ball and was fouled. He sank both free throws, then Logan Kosmalski missed a 3-point try in the closing seconds. OSU finished its home season with an 11-1 record in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Last Time in Waco OSU's best three-point shooting of the season sparked a 35-11 run in the first half as the Cowboys picked up their first conference road victory of the season. The Bears, who had entered the game 10-0 at home, mounted several rallies but could get no closer than seven points. Baylor came into the game holding its opponents to 56.5 points per game and 36.4-percent field-goal shooting, but OSU easily bested those numbers. Baker attempted just one shot in the first seven minutes; he missed that shot but finished with a career scoring high and six three-pointers, more than the Cowboys had hit as a team in any previous game. Baker, Jönzén and Victor Williams all played 40 minutes, marking the first time in 17 years that a trio of Cowboys played every minute of a game. Joe Atkinson, Win Case and Raymond Crenshaw all played 40 minutes in a 62-61 loss at Oral Roberts on Dec. 5, 1983. OSU missed seven straight free throws at one point in the second half - including all three front ends of one-and-one opportunities - but hit 10 of their last 12 tries to seal the victory.
Cowboy Noteworthy * Oklahoma State ranks in the top 15 in all three major ratings percentage indices. The Cowboys are fourth behind Duke, Cincinnati and Kansas in the Sagarin ratings, 13th in the College Basketball News RPI ratings, and 14th according to collegerpi.com. * Oklahoma State's 13-0 start to the season was the third-best in school history. The 1991-92 Cowboys started the year off 20-0, while the Aggies of 1950-51 began the year with 16 wins before a loss.
Cowboys In The Polls Oklahoma State is currently ranked sixth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cowboys dropped a spot after falling to Texas last week. The Associated Press poll was unavailable at print time. OSU's No. 5 ranking over the last two weeks is the highest ranking OSU has achieved since the Cowboys were ranked second nationally in mid-February of 1992. OSU was ranked No. 2 for two weeks before dropping back to eighth that year. Four of Oklahoma State's opponents this season are ranked in the top 25 of both polls (Kansas, Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Missouri), while four more are receiving votes in at least one of the polls. Here is a look at where OSU has ranked in each poll this season:
Date Pre N12 N19 N26 D3 D10 D17 D24 D31 J7 AP 18th 18th 15th 14th 10th 8th 6th 5th 5th N/A ESPN 18th 18th 16th 12th 10th 9th 6th 5th 5th 6th
Baker Earns Phillips 66/Big 12 Player of the Week Oklahoma State's Maurice Baker was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 31. Baker averaged 21.8 points in four games over the holiday break. He opened the holidays with 22 points in OSU's 79-44 win over Northwestern State. He scored all 22 in the first half of the contest. The Madison, Ill., native matched that 22 points with 22 more in the 62-50 win over UMKC on Dec. 19. Baker had all of those points in the second half. In the come-from-behind 85-76 win against Arkansas, Baker scored 21 points. OSU trailed Arkansas by as many as 22 in the game and Baker scored six of his 21 in the final minute of the game. In the 82-70 win over previously-ranked Ball State, Baker scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half. A first-team All-Big 12 selection last season and a preseason Wooden Award candidate, Baker is fourth in the Big 12 in scoring with an 18.5 ppg average. He is third in three-point field-goal percentage, fifth in steals, ninth in rebounding and 11th in assists per game.
Baker Nearing Top 30 All-Time Cowboy senior Maurice Baker has 839 points in his career at Oklahoma State, putting him at 33rd on the career-scoring chart. He needs just 50 points to move past James King's 888 and into the top 30 all-time. If he does so, he will be just the third player in the top 30 with just two years in a Cowboy uniform, joining current Director of Basketball Operations Brooks Thompson (996 points in 1993-94) and Ed Odom (945 points in 1979-80).
Jönzén, Sanders Consistently in the Starting Lineup Fredrik Jönzén and Melvin Sanders have started 50 and 44 straight games, respectively, for OSU, ranking eighth and 11th on the Cowboy consecutive starts list. Jönzén needs seven more to move past Brett Robisch (56) while Sanders needs four more to surpass Matt Clark (47).
Gadson Coming On Strong Junior college transfer Cheyne Gadson was hampered by knee surgery in the preseason, but the point guard is getting stronger every game. His playing time is up to over 19 minutes per game. He is averaging 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He also has 37 assists, an average of 2.6 per game. He started the New Orleans game and vs. Texas at guard, and will see more action with Maurice Baker injured.
Victor Williams Showing Leadership Qualities With fellow starting guard Maurice Baker hampered by injury, junior Victor Williams stepped up with 18 points vs. Texas. It was his third-straight game with 17 or more points, and his 10th double-figure scoring game of the season. Vic is second on the team in scoring with a 13.4 ppg average, and is also second on the team in free-throw percentage (.828) and three-point percentage (.382). He has 54 assists, leading the team, and 30 turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8.
McFarlin Posting Big Numbers Oklahoma State sophomore Ivan McFarlin is showing the league what the coaching staff has known all along - he's a prime-time player. In his first season with the Cowboys (he was a partial qualifier last season), he has nine double-figure scoring games with a season-high of 19 points. He also recorded his first double-double in the second game of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds vs. Austin Peay. He had back-to-back double-doubles with 10 and 10 vs. Arkansas and 11 and 11 vs. Ball State. He now has three-straight double-figure rebounding games. In the first exhibition game of the season, I-Mac had 20 rebounds, including 10 on each end of the court. He is second on the team in steals with 23 and is also second on the team with his 15 blocked shots. He is fifth in the Big 12 Conference in field-goal shooting, connecting on 57.3 percent of his shots.
OSU in the Big 12 Statistics Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 Conference in every defensive statistical category. The Cowboys are first in scoring defense (60.1 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (36.8 percent) and three-point field-goal defense (26.2 percent). OSU is second in the Big 12 in scoring margin, outscoring its opponents by an average of 18.6 points per contest, trailing Oklahoma which has a 23 scoring margin average. Oklahoma State (42.5 rpg) is third in rebounding offense, fourth in rebounding defense (33.8), and third in rebounding margin (+8.7). The Cowboys are fifth in steals, averaging 8.36 thefts per contest.
