Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare for Nebraska
April 09, 2003 | Cowboy Basketball
7:05 p.m. * Wednesday, Jan. 7, 1998 * Cowboy Radio Network Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,381) * Stillwater, Okla.
Wednesday's Game Oklahoma State, one of five undefeated teams in the country and the nation's only unbeaten and unranked squad, plays its first home conference game of the season when the Cowboys host Nebraska on Wednesday. OSU is 11-0 and off to the third-best start in school history; Saturday's victory over Texas A&M gave the Cowboys their first win in a conference opener since 1994.
OSU-Nebraska: The Series The 'Huskers lead the all-time series 57-44, but OSU has won 27 of 40 games in Stillwater. Nebraska won last year's contest 77-68 in Lincoln despiteOSU holding a 13-point second-half lead, and the Cornhuskers also won the last game in Stillwater, defeating OSU 66-57 in 1996. Probable Oklahoma State Starters
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 34 Desmond Mason 6-6 207 So. 16.5 7.8 Scored OSU's first 11 second-half points at Texas A&M C 31 Brett Robisch 6-11 255 Sr. 14.5 8.8 Five straight games with double-figure rebounds G 20 Adrian Peterson 6-4 197 Jr. 15.8 7.1 Season-high 25 points at Texas A&M G 35 Joe Adkins 6-2 185 So. 13.0 3.8 Career-high 26 points at TCU G 44 Doug Gottlieb 6-1 190 So. 6.0 2.2 Career-high 12 points at Texas A&M Probable Nebraska Starters
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG F 5 Larry Florence 6-5 220 Jr. 8.6 3.3 F 44 Andy Markowski 6-8 215 Jr. 7.1 6.9 C 4 Venson Hamilton 6-10 235 Jr. 13.9 10.3 G 10 Tyronn Lue 6-0 175 Jr. 20.7 3.8 G 30 Cookie Belcher 6-3 205 So. 11.3 3.6
OSU Head Coach Eddie Sutton Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) is in his eighth year at OSU and his 28th year of collegiate coaching. Under his guidance, OSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times. Sutton currently owns a career record of 598-234 (71.9 percent) overall and is 168-70 (70.6 percent) at OSU. Only three coaches - Dean Smith, John Wooden and Bobby Knight - won more games in their first 27 years than Coach Sutton.
1997-98 OSU Schedule/Results
Tuesday, Nov. 11 California All-Stars (Exh.) W 97-83 Saturday, Nov. 15 Texas-Pan American W 103-71 Tuesday, Nov. 18 Buducnost (Exh.) W 114-52 Saturday, Nov. 22 Creighton W 86-70 Tuesday, Nov. 25 Southern Utah W 79-58 Saturday, Nov. 29 North Texas W 98-60 Tuesday, Dec. 2 Oral Roberts W 73-66 Saturday, Dec. 6 Washington W 81-66 Wednesday, Dec. 10 vs. Arizona State* W 79-68 Saturday, Dec. 20 Jackson State W 60-58 Tuesday, Dec. 23 Arkansas State W 78-62 Tuesday, Dec. 30 at TCU (Ft. Worth Local) W 82-81 Saturday, Jan. 3 at Texas A&M* W 100-65 Wednesday, Jan. 7 Nebraska* 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 Texas Tech* (ESPN) 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Missouri* 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17 at Baylor* (Big 12 TV) 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24 Texas A&M* 12:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26 at Oklahoma* 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 at Texas* (Big 12 TV) 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3 Colorado* 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7 Baylor* (Big 12 TV) 12:45 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9 at Iowa State* (ESPN2) 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 Oklahoma* (Big 12 TV) 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18 at Texas Tech* 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 at Kansas State* 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 Texas* (Big 12 TV) 8 p.m. Sunday, March 1 Kansas* (ABC) 2:30 p.m. March 5-8 Big 12 Championship (Big 12 TV) * - Big 12 Conference games * - Game played in Oklahoma City
About the Cornhuskers The 'Huskers are 9-5 and come into Wednesday's game with a three-game losing streak, although the three losses came to No. 4 Kansas, No. 22 Hawaii and Vanderbilt. Nebraska's schedule ranks as the fifth-toughest in the country in the RPI. Tyronn Lue is one of the league's best players and is currently third in the league in scoring at 20.7 ppg. Venson Hamilton (13.9 ppg, 10.3 rpg) is one of just three Big 12 players averaging a double-double.
National ranking remains elusive for Cowboys OSU is ranked in the top 20 in both the Sagarin ratings (No. 10 through Sunday) and the unofficial RPI (No. 16), and the Cowboys have four victories against other top-64 teams, but the undefeated Cowboys have yet to crack the top 25 in either of the major wire service polls. The Cowboys have not been nationally ranked since the 1995 Final Four team finished the regular season ranked No. 14 in the AP poll. OSU is ranked 28th in the extended USA Today/ESPN poll and 26th in the AP. The Cowboys are one of five remaining unbeaten teams in the country and the only one of those five not yet ranked among the nation's top 25 teams.
Inside the numbers Here's a look at how OSU and Nebraska compare statistically (number in parentheses represents Big 12 rank):
OSU NU Record 11-0 (1) 9-5 (5) Scoring Offense 83.5 (3) 74.4 (9) Scoring Defense 65.9 (2) 69.2 (6) Scoring Margin +17.6 (1) +5.2 (6) Field Goal Pct. 51.2 (1) 45.6 (5) Field Goal Pct. Defense 41.6 (6) 40.8 (4) Free Throw Pct. 67.6 (5) 64.9 (8) Rebound Margin +6.7 (4) +2.3 (8) Three-Point FG Pct. 30.7 (10) 34.9 (5) Three-Pointers Per Game 4.6 (11) 4.7 (10) Turnover Margin +2.5 (2) -0.4 (8)
Cowboys look to reverse last season's road blues OSU tied a school record with 14 victories at home last year, but the Cowboys were just 1-12 on the road and lost their first nine games in unfriendly territory. That's obviously a trend OSU will hope to reverse in 1997-98, and signs are good after the Cowboys opened their road schedule with victories at TCU and at Texas A&M. While the Cowboys opened the 1997 Big 12 season with a 34-point road loss, they began the 1998 conference slate with a 35-point road win. OSU has already won as many games away from Gallagher-Iba Arena (three including neutral-site contests) as it did in 16 tries last season.
Cowboys getting the ball up the floor OSU averaged 69.4 points per game in 1996-97, making last season's team the lowest-scoring Cowboys in 20 years, and they were out-scored by their combined opponents for the first time since 1988. But this season, OSU is averaging 83.5 points per game and out-scoring its opponents by an average of 17.6 points. The Cowboys have reached the century mark in two games this season after failing to score 100 in each of the past two years. The Pokes have already had more 80-point games this season (six) than they had in all 32 games last year (four).
Cowboys open Big 12 season with big victory OSU shot a school-record 85 percent from the floor in the second half and hit 90.9 percent from the free-throw line in the game as the Cowboys routed Texas A&M 100-65 in College Station on Saturday. The 35-point margin of victory is OSU's biggest in a road conference game since 1949, when the Cowboys were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. It also stands as the fifth-biggest road victory margin in school history.
Peterson's scoring touch returns To say that junior guard Adrian Peterson wasn't scoring before Saturday's game isn't quite true - he's the only OSU player in double figures in every game this year - but he had struggled, hitting just 21.6 percent from three-point range. Against Texas A&M, though, Peterson busted out for a season-high 25 points, shooting 8 of 10 from the field (2 of 4 from three-point range) and 7 of 7 from the free throw line. His two three-pointers snapped a 1-for-15 string from beyond the arc and marked the first time since Nov. 22 that he had hit two treys in a game.
Mason's super sophomore season continues Sophomore forward Desmond Mason, already having an outstanding start to his second season, turned in his top scoring performance of the year in the Dec. 10 victory over Arizona State. Mason scored 20 of his career-high 25 points in the second half to lead the Cowboys' comeback. Mason's career scoring high after his freshman year was 11 points, but this year, he has topped that number in all but two games; he scored OSU's first 11 points of the second half at Texas A&M and finished with 21. He currently leads the Cowboys in scoring (16.5 ppg, 10th in the Big 12) and is second in rebounding (7.8 rpg, 11th in the league).
Gottlieb's free throw lifts OSU over TCU Doug Gottlieb hit a free throw with 8.9 seconds left to break an 81-all tie, and OSU prevented TCU from scoring the winning bucket as the Cowboys picked up an important 82-81 victory over the previously ranked Horned Frogs on Dec. 30. OSU led by as many as 10 in the first half and by six with just over a minute remaining, but a furious TCU rally made the game close. The Cowboys forced TCU into 23 turnovers and won despite being out-rebounded for the second time this season.
Cowboys rediscover the three-point shot OSU entered the TCU game hitting just 26.2 percent of its three-point attempts for the season and just 18.1 percent for the previous three games. But the Cowboys seem to have ended their long-range shooting slump after downing 7 of 18 threes at TCU and 10 of 18 at Texas A&M for a 47.2 percentage in the two games. The Cowboys hit 7 of 9 treys in the second half of Saturday's game to help pull away from the Aggies.
Adkins' fast start leads to big game at TCU Sophomore guard Joe Adkins scored 12 of OSU's first 16 points against TCU on his way to a season-high 18 points - and that was just the first half. Adkins finished the game with a career-high 26 points, including a career-high four three-pointers. Adkins had struggled offensively against Arizona State and Jackson State, hitting just 2 of 14 shots and scoring just nine points. But the scoring he had shown early in the season returned in the Arkansas State game as he scored 17 points in that contest. Adkins, averaging 13.0 points and leading the team in three-pointers made (19), has made a remarkable improvement from his freshman season, when he averaged 3.8 points and hit just 18 threes all year.
Robisch turns in consistent strong performances Senior center Brett Robisch had turned in four straight double-doubles after scoring a season-high 23 points (hitting 11 of 15 field goals for the third 20-point game in his career) and leading OSU in rebounding (10) at TCU. Although his streak was snapped at Texas A&M, he did record 10 rebounds to extend his double-figure rebounding string to five games. Robisch pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in addition to scoring 16 points in the victories over Arizona State and Jackson State. He currently ranks 15th in the Big 12 in scoring (14.5 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (8.8 rpg), and he is second in the league in offensive rebounds (4.5).
Gottlieb passes his way into the record books Sophomore guard Doug Gottlieb has so far this season provided the element the Cowboys missed last year - a true point guard. Gottlieb has 84 assists and just 30 turnovers, a 2.80 assist/turnover ratio (second in the Big 12), and he has shown an ability to beat a press on his own on the dribble. Gottlieb had a career-high 12 assists against North Texas, tying for the seventh-best single-game mark in school history. He had 10 assists against Oral Roberts and 11 against Washington, becoming the first OSU player to record double-figure assist totals in three consecutive games. After hitting the game-winning free throw at TCU, Gottlieb had a career-high scoring day at Texas A&M, tallying 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Alexander records top scoring day of season Senior guard Chad Alexander has been known for his three-point shooting throughout his Cowboy career, but he struggled early this season. Through seven games, Alexander hit just 3 of 14 threes (21.4) percent, but in the past four games he has hit 7 of 12 (58.3 percent). He has also recorded season scoring highs in two of those four games, tallying nine points against Jackson State and 11 at Texas A&M. Alexander ranks ninth in school history in three-pointers made (74) and eighth in three-point percentage (74 for 194, 38.1 percent).
Peterson adds rebounding to familiar scoring touch Peterson has been one of OSU's top scorers over his two-plus seasons at OSU, but he has added a new dimension to his game this season - rebounding. "Pete" pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds against Arizona State, and he has the first three double-doubles of his career this season. Peterson's career rebounding high (seven) prior to this year is below his current average (7.1), which ranks 12th in the Big 12. Peterson was OSU's leading scorer a year ago, and he is currently third on the team this season. An honorable mention All-Big 12 selection a year ago, he already ranks 26th in career scoring at OSU and is fourth in school history in three-pointers made. At his current scoring pace (15.8 ppg), Peterson would become OSU's 20th 1,000-point scorer in OSU's Jan. 24 game against Texas A&M.
Streak intact as OSU closes non-league home season OSU's home-court non-conference streak is now nearly 11 years old, and barring a postseason home loss, it will extend to the 1998-99 season. OSU's 78-game non-league win streak at Gallagher-Iba Arena is the longest such current streak in the country; Maryland has the second-longest streak at 58 games. The Cowboys' last non-conference loss in Gallagher-Iba was an 81-75 setback against Missouri Southern on Jan. 7, 1987, and the last Division I non-conference opponent to win in Stillwater was Tulsa in a 67-58 decision Dec. 21, 1985.
Sutton nears 600th victory Cowboy coach Eddie Sutton needs just two victories for the 600th win of his career as well as his 100th coaching victory in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The victory over Texas A&M was Sutton's 598th, moving him past one-time rival Abe Lemons into 21st place on the all-time list. Assuming he crosses the 600-win plateau this season, he would be the 20th coach in Division I history to reach that mark, and he would be 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.
Cowboy frosh of 1997 are top sophs in 1998 Much was made of OSU's freshman class last season, and although three of the five freshmen suffered season-ending injuries, the remaining two - Adkins and Mason - showed promise, particularly at the end of the year. Both have played well as sophomores, and they are currently the second- and third-ranked sophomore scorers in the Big 12, with Mason averaging 16.5 points and Adkins 13.0.
Head Coach Eddie Sutton Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) has coached for seven-plus years at his alma mater with a 168-70 record at the school as well as a 598-234 overall mark in his 28th year of collegiate coaching. Sutton began the 1997-98season ranked ninth in total victories and 15th in winning percentage among active Division I coaches with at least five years' experience. Under his guidance, OSU has advanced to postseason play in six of the last seven years and has won 17 games or more each season. Only three coaches - Bobby Knight, Dean Smith and John Wooden - won more games than Eddie Sutton in their first 27 years as head coaches.
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 1991-98 Oklahoma State (eighth) 168-70 .706 59-39 10-5 Totals 28th year (832 games) 598-234 .719 246-98 27-18
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 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 11-0 3rd-best start in OSU history
Looking ahead The Cowboys will host Texas Tech on Jan. 10 at 8:30 p.m. in the Cowboys' first televised game of the year; the game will be shown on ESPN with Dan Schulman and Jon Sundvold calling the action. The Cowboys will then hit the road for a pair of games the following week, at Missouri on Jan. 14 and at Baylor on Jan. 17.
Coaches vs. Cancer Cowboy coach Eddie Sutton is joining his NABC colleagues in participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer program this season. The Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Three-Point Attack is a fund-raising program that recruits fans to help fight cancer. Fans can contribute by making a one-time donation or by pledging any amount from $.01 to $10 or more for every three-point basket the Cowboys make during the season. For information, fans may call the Men's Basketball Office at 405-744-5845.
On the Air Wednesday's game will be broadcast on the OSU Radio Network with Tom Dirato and Bill Teegins providing commentary. Dirato and Teegins are in their seventh year as the Cowboys' basketball radio team, and Dirato is calling OSU men's basketball for the 21st season in 1997-98. While head coach Eddie Sutton is nearing his 600th career victory, Dirato is just five games awayfrom the 600th broadcast of his OSU career.
Postgame procedure The Oklahoma State locker room is closed to the media. However, selected OSU players and head coach Eddie Sutton will be available for postgame interviews. If you have any questions, please contact OSU coordinator of athletic media relations Will Hancock.
National Rankings Here's a look at Oklahoma State's week-by-week appearance in the Associated Press and USA Today polls, Jeff Sagarin's basketball ratings and the unofficial RPI compiled by Jim Sukup:
Week AP USAT Sag. RPI Preseason (64) --- 48 Nov. 17 (61) 59 Nov. 24 (65) (60) 52 Dec. 1 (56) (44) 50 Dec. 8 (36) (45) 24 Dec. 15 (37) (45) 17 25 Dec. 22 (34) (34) 27 Dec. 29 (33) (32) 25 32 Jan. 5 (26) (28) 10 16
Here's how the other Big 12 teams stack up in the current rankings: Team AP USAT Sag. RPI Baylor --- --- 112 119 Colorado --- --- 187 180 Iowa State --- --- 131 128 Kansas 4 4 5 3 Kansas St. (35) (36) 45 83 Missouri --- --- 106 73 Nebraska --- (39) 21 21 Oklahoma --- --- 95 104 Texas --- --- 108 91 Texas A&M --- --- 129 164 Texas Tech --- --- 87 76 Big 12* 6 8 * - Ranked among the nation's 31 conferences. The Record Books Career Scoring 1. Byron Houston, 1989-90-1-2 2,379 23. Don Johnson, 1950-1-2 945 Ed Odom, 1979-80 945 25. Clayton Carter, 1954-5-6 939 26. Adrian Peterson, 1996-7-Pres. 927 Career Three-Pointers Made 1. Randy Rutherford, 1993-4-5 279 3. Corey Williams, 1989-90-1-2 118 4. Adrian Peterson, 1996-7-Pres. 111 8. John Potter, 1990-91 91 9. Chad Alexander, 1995-6-7-Pres. 74 Double-Figure Assist Games 1. Andre Owens, 1995-6 9 2. Eddie Hannon, 1981-2 5 Bill Self, 1982-3-4-5 5 4. Randy Wright, 1978-9-80-1 4 Doug Gottlieb, Present 4 Best OSU Season Starts Year Start Finish 1991-92 20-0 28-8 1950-51 16-0 29-6 1997-98 11-0 --- Current Big 12 Standings through Jan. 5 Big 12 All Games W L Pct. W L Pct. Oklahoma St. 1 0 1.000 11 0 1.000 Kansas St. 1 0 1.000 10 1 .909 Kansas 1 0 1.000 17 2 .895 Oklahoma 1 0 1.000 10 4 .714 Texas Tech 1 0 1.000 7 4 .636 Baylor 1 0 1.000 6 5 .500 Missouri 1 1 .500 8 5 .615 Nebraska 0 1 .000 9 5 .643 Colorado 0 1 .000 6 5 .545 Texas A&M 0 1 .000 6 5 .545 Iowa State 0 1 .000 7 7 .500 Texas 0 2 .000 6 7 .462 Around the Big 12
Wednesday, January 7 *Texas A&M at Baylor, 7 p.m. *Kansas State at Oklahoma, 7 p.m. *Nebraska at Oklahoma State, 7:05 p.m. *Colorado at Kansas, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, January 10 *Kansas at Texas, 11 a.m. *Oklahoma at Texas A&M, 12:45 p.m. *Missouri at Iowa State, 3 p.m. *Kansas State at Baylor, 7 p.m. *Texas Tech at Oklahoma State, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 11 *Colorado at Nebraska, 12 p.m.
Home non-league streaks
Active streaks School No. Next home game Oklahoma State 78 Finished Maryland 58 Temple 2/28 North Carolina 47 Appalach. St. 1/17 Kentucky 39 Finished
All-time streaks School No. Years UCLA 97 1966-77 Duke 95 1983-95 Marquette 81 1967-73 DePaul 81 1942-56 Oklahoma State 78 1987-Present
Unbeaten teams Team Record AP Rank North Carolina 15-0 1 Stanford 12-0 7 Utah 12-0 3 Oklahoma State 11-0 (26) Marquette 10-0 20
Statistical Leaders Here's a look at where the Cowboys rank among the Big 12's and NCAA's statistical leaders:
Big 12 (All Games)
Scoring 10. Desmond Mason 16.5 12. Adrian Peterson 15.8 15. Brett Robisch 14.5 21. Joe Adkins 13.0
Rebounding 5. Brett Robisch 8.8 11. Desmond Mason 7.8 12. Adrian Peterson 7.1
Field Goal Pct. 2. Desmond Mason .593 3. Brett Robisch .557
Free Throw Pct. 4. Adrian Peterson .812 11. Brett Robisch .738
Assists 1. Doug Gottlieb 7.6
Steals 5. Desmond Mason 2.1 7. Doug Gottlieb 1.9 10. Adrian Peterson 1.8 14. Joe Adkins 1.7
Three-Point FG Pct. 12. Joe Adkins .345
Three-Point FG Made 14. Joe Adkins 1.7
Assist/Turnover Ratio 2. Doug Gottlieb 2.80
Offensive Rebounds 2. Brett Robisch 4.5
Defensive Rebounds 6. Desmond Mason 5.4 8. Adrian Peterson 4.8
NCAA Individuals (through Jan. 5; provided by STATS, Inc.)
Assists 4. Doug Gottlieb 7.6
NCAA Teams (through Dec. 15; provided by the NCAA ... rankings are OSU's standing in the listed categories.) 21. Scoring Offense 85.6 14. Scoring Margin 20.0 1. Winning Percentage 1.000 8. Field Goal Percentage 52.1
#35 * Joe Adkins 6-2 * 185 * So. * G Career-high 26 points, including 18 in the first half, against TCU ... hit a career-high four three-pointers against the Horned Frogs ... three more threes and 15 points at Texas A&M ... also tied a career high with six assists at Texas A&M while committing just one turnover ... 17 points and career-best six steals vs. Southern Utah ... six steals ties for fifth-best in school history ... also scored 17 against Arkansas State ... 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half, against Creighton ... 13 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals vs. North Texas.
#12 * Chad Alexander 6-3 * 193 * Sr. * G The only remaining letterwinner from OSU's 1995 Final Four team ... season-high 11 points, hitting three three-pointers, at Texas A&M ... nine points against Jackson State ... hit both his three-point attempts and all three of his foul shots vs. JSU ... scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds after coming off the bench against Texas-Pan American ... seven points and a key second-half three-pointer against Washington ... ninth in school history in three-pointers made and eighth in three-point percentage.
#44 * Doug Gottlieb 6-1 * 190 * So. * G Fourth in the nation with 7.6 assists per game ... career-high 12 points at Texas A&M ... hit two three-pointers and scored 10 points against TCU, including the game-winning free throw with 8.9 seconds left ... career-high 12 assists, the seventh-best mark in school history, against North Texas ... the first OSU player to record three straight double-figure assist games and just the fifth to record four 10-assist games in a career ... second in the Big 12 with a 2.80 assist/turnover ratio.
#33 * Michael Johnson 6-7 * 220 * Fr. * F OSU's only true freshman (excluding football player B.J. Tiger) in 1997-98 ... has seen action in six games, scoring four points vs. UTPA ... was called "Too Much in the Clutch" by the Kansas City Star during his senior year at Shawnee Mission (Kan.) East High School after he hit numerous buzzer-beating shots to win games or send them into overtime.
#25 * Estell Laster 6-2 * 172 * Fr.-RS * G Career-high 10 points, hitting all five of his field goal attempts, against North Texas ... career highs of three rebounds and seven free throws against Southern Utah ... played 18 minutes vs. UNT and vs. Washington, his most substantial playing time this year ... medical redshirt in 1996-97 after suffering a broken arm in the fourth game of the year ... showed promise in his small amount of action last year, scoring eight points in his one full regular-season effort and 10 in an exhibition.
#34 * Desmond Mason 6-6 * 207 * So. * F Career-high 25 points (20 in second half) against Arizona State ... 22 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals vs. North Texas ... 21 points, including OSU's first 11 of the second half, at Texas A&M ... 14 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots and a career-high four steals against Washington ... 16 points and career-high 14 rebounds against Creighton for the first double-double of his career (he now has two) ... 24 of his 70 field goals (34.3 percent) have come on dunks, including six dunks vs. UTPA ... second among Big 12 sophomores in scoring (16.5).
#30 * Brian Montonati 6-9 * 220 * So. * F Scored career-high 12 points, hitting 4 of 5 field goals and all four of his free throw attempts, against North Texas in just eight minutes of action ... 12 points and seven rebounds against Buducnost in 21 minutes of action ... hit 4 of 9 from the field and made all four of his free throw attempts ... scored four points in just five minutes of action against Texas-Pan American ... the Grand Rapids Free Press Player of the Year as a high school senior ... transferred to OSU from Fullerton (Calif.) College.
#20 * Adrian Peterson 6-4 * 197 * Jr. * G Began the season with his 10th career 20-point game, tallying 24 against Texas-Pan American ... picked up the 11th with 25 points at Texas A&M ... 13 points, career-high 11 rebounds vs. Arizona State ... fourth in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (81.2) ... has three double-doubles this season after having none in his first two years ... has doubled his rebounding output, now averaging 7.1 boards per game after his previous career average had been 3.2 rpg ... 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, five steals, no turnovers against Arkansas State ... 26th in career scoring (927) and fourth in career three-pointers (111) despite being only midway through his junior year.
#4 * Joe Phears 6-1 * 209 * Jr. * G Joined the program this week after completing the season with the OSU football team ... number three quarterback who saw action in four games in 1997 for the Cowboys ... completed three of three passes for 55 yards, including a 50-yard pass to Tony Lindsay in the Missouri game ... lettered three years in basketball at Pomona (Calif.) HS.
#31 * Brett Robisch 6-11 * 255 * Sr. * F/C Had four straight double-doubles after 23-point, 10-rebound effort vs. TCU ... streak was snapped at Texas A&M although he did record 10 rebounds ... 16 points, career-high 13 rebounds against Arizona State and again vs. Jackson State ... fifth in the Big 12 in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and second in offensive rebounds (4.5) after pulling down 10 offensive boards vs. Arizona State and eight vs. Jackson State ... has started 38 straight games - every contest since he officially joined the Cowboys in December 1996.
#40 * Scott Robisch 6-10 * 196 * Fr.-RS * F/C Career-high eight points in Texas-Pan American game ... missed the last two games with a thigh bruise ... career-high six rebounds vs. North Texas ... 11 points (hitting all five of his FTs) and seven rebounds vs. Buducnost ... along with Brett, makes up first brother tandem at OSU since Dickey and Houston Nutt, who played in 1980 ... he and Brett are sons of former All-American Dave Robisch, who played at Kansas ... medical redshirt in 1996-97 with tendinitis and a broken hand.
#32 * B.J. Tiger 6-3 * 195 * Fr. * G Joined the program this week after redshirting his freshman season with the OSU football team ... played on both sides of the football at Booker T. Washington HS in Tulsa, passing for 1,785 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing just nine interceptions as a quarterback ... all-state and all-district QB for Booker T.
#22 * Tommy Warner 6-0 * 162 * Sr. * G On scholarship for the first time in his career ... expects to graduate in May and is a hot prospect in area accounting firms ... has played in five games (also had a first-half exhibition stint against Buducnost), scoring two points against Texas-Pan American and one against Texas A&M.
#45 * Alex Webber 6-10 * 257 * So. * F Eight points (4 for 4 shooting), four rebounds and two steals vs. Arizona State ... seven points, all in the first half, against Texas A&M ... seven points and four rebounds against North Texas ... scoring total vs. the Sun Devils was his best since his 22-point outing against Mississippi Valley State last year ... one of OSU's most promising freshmen last season when a ruptured disk ended his season in mid-January ... had become one of only four OSU freshmen (including Peterson the year before) to start their debuts.
