Oklahoma State University Athletics
Pregame Release for Southern Utah Game
July 24, 2003 | Cowboy Basketball
OSU-SUU: The Series
The Cowboys won the only previous meeting between these schools, defeating the Thunderbirds 92-68 during the 1989-90 season. Southern Utah is one of two Mid-Continent Conference opponents on the OSU schedule; the Cowboys will play host to Oral Roberts a week after the Southern Utah game. The Cowboys are 22-4 all-time against current Mid-Con members, with 18 of those games coming against ORU.
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 589-234 (71.6 percent) overall and is 159-70 (69.4 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 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 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29 North Texas 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2 Oral Roberts 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 Washington 2:05 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10 vs. Arizona State* 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 Jackson State 2:05 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23 Arkansas State 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30 at TCU (Fox) 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3 at Texas A&M* 2 p.m. 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) TBA * - Big 12 Conference games * - Game to be played in Oklahoma City
About the Thunderbirds
In direct contrast to OSU, Southern Utah is on the second game in its longest road swing of the season. The Thunderbirds opened the road skein with a loss at 16th-ranked Utah. SUU is led in scoring by Kenyatta Clyde, who has come off the bench in all three games to average 12.3 points. Southern Utah is 1-2 overall, with losses to Utah and fellow Mid-Con member Buffalo and an 85-83 overtime win over Idaho State.
Home, sweet home, sweet home, sweet home...
OSU is in the midst of a six-game homestand, the longest in Gallagher-Iba Arena history. OSU played seven consecutive home games during the 1920-21 season before moving into their current building. The Cowboys will play nine games this season before competing in a road contest, the longest such streak since the 1938-39 season began with 11 non-road games (five neutral, six home).
Streak continues as Cowboys open season
It's been over 10 years since Oklahoma State lost a home game to a non-conference opponent, and the Cowboys' streak is now the sixth-longest in Division I history. OSU's 72-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 54 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.
OSU fights off pesky Creighton
The Cowboys held off several second-half charges and pulled away late for an 86-70 victory over visiting Creighton on Saturday. The Cowboys hit 14 of 17 free-throw attempts (82.4 percent) in the second half after struggling to a 44.4 percent first half to help put the game away. Four Cowboys scored 16 or more points, and two Adrian Peterson three-pointers keyed the Cowboys' late second-half run that put the game out of reach.
Peterson shows familiar scoring touch
Junior guard Adrian Peterson was OSU's leading scorer a year ago, and he wasted no time in grabbing that honor again this season, scoring a game-high 24 points in the 1997-98 opener and tying Brett Robisch for game-high honors with 17 against Creighton. "Pete" had a strong all-around game against UTPA, shooting 50 percent from the floor and beyond the arc, grabbing five rebounds, handing out four assists and committing just one turnover. Peterson, an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection a year ago, needs just six points for 800 in his career and just two three-pointers to tie Sean Sutton for fourth in school history. If he averages 9.5 points through the regular season -- well below his current average of 20.5 -- Peterson will become the 12th OSU player to score 1,000 points in the first three years of his career.
Mason's aggressiveness pays dividends
Sophomore forward Desmond Mason has had four consecutive strong performances in OSU's contests to this point, topped by a 16-point, career-high 14-rebound performance against Creighton, the first double-double of his career. Mason, whose career scoring high was 11 entering the season, has topped that number in every game this year. He hit 14 of 24 field goal attempts and scored 32 points in the Cowboys' 114-52 exhibition win against Buducnost, most coming on thundering dunks.
Adkins continues to shine at home
Sophomore guard Joe Adkins set career scoring highs in each of OSU's last two home games a year ago, and he has continued that improvement into his second year. Adkins scored nine points in the season-opener and 16 -- 12 in the second half -- against Creighton. He hit two important threes in a key stretch early in the second half when he scored eight straight Cowboy points to help OSU pull away when Creighton had cut the Cowboys' lead to five. Adkins hit 5 of 6 three-pointers and scored 24 points in the 97-83 exhibition win over the California All-Stars. In his last four Gallagher-Iba Arena games, Adkins has averaged 14.0 points, well above his overall career average of 4.2 points per game.
Gottlieb provides stability at the point
Sophomore transfer Doug Gottlieb, who joined OSU this season after spending his freshman year at Notre Dame two seasons ago, has shown early in the season that he will provide the element the Cowboys missed last year -- a true point guard. Gottlieb has had 15 assists and just five turnovers in the first two games of the year, and he has shown an ability to beat a press on his own on the dribble. Gottlieb had 10 assists in the exhibition win over Buducnost, and he pulled down a career-high five rebounds against Texas-Pan American.
Cowboys top century mark in season opener
Oklahoma State extended its season-opener winning streak to 23 games with a 103-71 victory over Texas-Pan American on Saturday. The Cowboys topped 100 points for the first time since the 1995 squad defeated Alaska-Anchorage 112-72 on Jan. 2, 1995. The Cowboys scored 90 points or more only three times in the past two seasons and had not scored over 90 since Feb. 18, 1996. OSU held the statistical edge in nearly every category, out-rebounding the Broncs 55-32, out-shooting them 56.5 to 39.4 percent and out-assisting them 25-12.
Elder Robisch opens season with double-double
Senior center Brett Robisch played the best basketball of his career over the last half of 1996-97, averaging 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds, and his play in the team's first game indicated that his improvement is ongoing. With 12 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes of action, Robisch recorded his third career double-double in the season opener. Robisch tied Peterson for game-high honors with 17 points against Creighton.
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. But if the first four games of this season are any indication, that trend is changing drastically. In its two regular-season games and two exhibitions, OSU has averaged 100 points per game. The team's 103 points in the Texas-Pan American win marked the first time in three seasons that a Cowboy team has topped the century mark. The 114-point performance against Buducnost would rank as the third-highest-scoring game in school history had it come in a regular-season contest. In the regular season, OSU is averaging a Big 12-leading 94.5 points per game.
Inside the numbers
Here's a look at how OSU and Southern Utah compare statistically (OSU's Big 12 rank in parentheses):
OSU SUU Record 2-0 1-2 Scoring Offense 94.5 (1) 69.3 Scoring Defense 70.5 (9) 78.0 Scoring Margin +24.0 (2) -8.7 Field Goal Pct. 55.3 (2) 40.2 Field Goal Pct. Defense 43.3 (11) 47.5 Free Throw Pct. 63.6 (7) 65.3 Rebound Margin +12.5 (3) -2.3 Three-Point FG Pct. 33.3 (7) 23.1 Three-Pointers Per Game 5.5 5.0 Turnover Margin +3.0 (4) -1.7
Looking ahead
The Cowboys will continue their Tuesday-Saturday routine for the next couple of weeks. OSU faces North Texas a week from Saturday; Oral Roberts will be in town Tuesday, Dec. 2, and the Cowboys will play host to Washington on Dec. 6. The UNT and ORU games tip off at 7:05 p.m., while the Washington game is OSU's first afternoon game of the year, beginning at 2:05 p.m.
- Redshirt freshman forward Scott Robisch recorded career highs in points (eight) and rebounds (five) in Saturday's victory.
- The Cowboys' +23 rebound margin against Texas-Pan American was the OSU's best performance on the boards since the Pokes out-rebounded Appalachian State 48-20 Dec. 2, 1994, in an 85-58 victory.
Head Coach Eddie Sutton Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State, 1958) has coached for seven-plus years at his alma mater with a 159-70 record at the school as well as a 589-234 overall mark in his 28th year of collegiate coaching. Sutton finished the 1996-97 season ranked ninth in total victories and 18th in winning percentage among active Division I coaches with at least 10 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) 159-70 .694 59-39 10-5 Totals 28th year (823 games) 589-234 .716 246-98 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 2-0
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
Saturday's game will be broadcast on the OSU Radio Network with Tom Dirato and Bill Teegins providing commentary. Dirato 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.
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 (RPI rankings have not yet been released):
Week AP USAT Sag. Preseason (64) --- 48 Nov. 17 (61) 59 Nov. 24 (60) 52
Here's how some of OSU's opponents stack up in the current rankings: Team AP USAT Sag. Baylor --- --- 126 Colorado --- --- 129 Iowa State (43) (39) 73 Kansas 2 2 2 Kansas State --- --- 66 Missouri --- --- 60 Nebraska --- (51) 37 North Texas --- --- 235 Oklahoma 19 17 67 Southern Utah --- --- 229 Texas (47) (33) 42 Texas A&M --- --- 127 Texas Tech --- --- 55 Big 12* 5 * - Ranked among the nation's 31 conferences.
The Record Books Career Three-Point Percentage 1. Sean Sutton, 1991-92 .445 7. Marlon Dorsey, 1996-97 .394 8. Adrian Peterson, 1996-Present .394 9. John Starks, 1988 .380 10. Chad Alexander, 1995-Present .379
Career Three-Pointers Made 1. Randy Rutherford, 1993-95 279 4. Sean Sutton, 1991-92 108 5. Adrian Peterson, 1996-Present 106 6. Darwyn Alexander, 1989-92 102 -- Chad Alexander, 1995-Present 66
Conference FG Pct. Leaders
An OSU player has led the Big Eight or Big 12 in field goal percentage for each of the last five years.
1992-93 Bryant Reeves .621 1993-94 Bryant Reeves .585 1994-95 Bryant Reeves .586 1995-96 Jerome Lambert .544 1996-97 Chianti Roberts .625
Current Big 12 Standings through Nov. 23 Big 12 All Games W L Pct. W L Pct. Kansas 0 0 ---- 4 0 1.000 Nebraska 0 0 ---- 3 0 1.000 Oklahoma 0 0 ---- 3 0 1.000 Kansas St. 0 0 ---- 2 0 1.000 Oklahoma St. 0 0 ---- 2 0 1.000 Missouri 0 0 ---- 1 0 1.000 Texas A&M 0 0 ---- 1 0 1.000 Colorado 0 0 ---- 2 1 .667 Baylor 0 0 ---- 1 1 .500 Texas 0 0 ---- 1 2 .333 Iowa State 0 0 ---- 0 1 .333 Texas Tech 0 0 ---- 0 1 .000
Around the Big 12 Monday, November 24 Missouri vs. DePaul, 11 a.m. UMKC at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, November 25 Northwestern State at Baylor, 7 p.m. TCU at Texas Tech, 7 p.m. Colorado State at Nebraska, 7:05 p.m. Southern Utah at Oklahoma State, 7:05 p.m. Missouri vs. Duke/Chaminade, 2/9 p.m. North Carolina A&T at Colorado, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, November 26 Missouri in Maui Invit. Final Round Liberty at Texas, 7 p.m. Kansas vs. Arizona State, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 27 Norfolk at Colorado, 8 p.m.
Home non-league streaks Active streaks School No. Next game Oklahoma State 72 Southern Utah 11/25 Maryland 54 Fla. Internat'l 11/25 Tulane 37 Southeastern La. 11/29 Kentucky 36 Georgia Tech 12/13 Washington St. 30 Gonzaga 12/4
All-time streaks School No. Years UCLA 97 1966-77 Duke 95 1983-95 Marquette 81 1967-73 DePaul 81 1942-56 Oklahoma 74 1982-90 Oklahoma State 72 1987-Present
Player Information#35 * Joe Adkins
6-2 * 185 * So. * G
Scored 24 points in exhibition opener against the California All-Stars ... hit 5 of 6 three-pointers and also led the team in assists (three) and steals (three) despite playing just 19 minutes ... 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half, against Creighton ... keyed an important second-half run against the Bluejays by scoring eight straight points, including two three-pointers ... nine points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals vs. UTPA.
#12 * Chad Alexander6-3 * 193 * Sr. * G
The only remaining letterwinner from OSU's 1995 Final Four team ... scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds after coming off the bench against Texas-Pan American ... one of seven Cowboys in double figures in the victory over Buducnost, hitting 3 of 7 three-point attempts ... also had a would-be career-high-tying four steals in the exhibition against the Yugoslavians.
#44 * Doug Gottlieb6-1 * 190 * So. * G
Dished out eight assists (three below his career high) while committing just two turnovers in 26 minutes against Texas-Pan American's pressing defense ... pulled down a career-high five rebounds against the Broncs ... seven more assists and just three turnovers in 29 minutes vs. Creighton ... the ninth four-year transfer at OSU during Eddie Sutton's tenure here, joining such other players as Sean Sutton, Brooks Thompson and current Cowboy Brett Robisch.
#33 * Michael Johnson6-7 * 220 * Fr. * F
OSU's only true freshman in 1997-98 ... has seen action in three games, scoring four points in the Texas-Pan American contest ... 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 Laster6-2 * 172 * Fr.-RS * G
Played 16 minutes against Texas-Pan American, scoring two points and handing out three assists ... 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 Mason6-6 * 207 * So. * F
Has had an outstanding start to his sophomore season ... 16 points and career-high 14 rebounds against Creighton for the first double-double of his career ... had six dunks on the way to his 19-point outing against Texas-Pan American ... hit 14 of 24 field goals and scored 32 points against Buducnost, most coming on dunks ... an instant OSU celebrity last season when he shattered a backboard during the preseason Basketball Bash.
#30 * Brian Montonati6-9 * 220 * So. * F
Scored 12 points and grabbed 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 Peterson6-4 * 197 * Jr. * G
Began the season with his 10th career 20-point game, tallying 24 against Texas-Pan American ... also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists against the Broncs ... 15 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists vs. Buducnost ... needs just six points for 800 in his career, which moves him onto the OSU career charts.
#31 * Brett Robisch6-11 * 255 * Sr. * F/C
Recorded double-doubles in two of the three games so far, including a 14-point, 14-rebound (three above his career high) performance against the California All-Stars ... 12 points, 10 rebounds in victory over Texas-Pan American ... averaged 12.4 points, 7.5 rebounds over the second half of 1996-97 after joining the Cowboys in mid-December ... has started 29 straight games -- every contest since he officially joined the Cowboys in December 1996.
#40 * Scott Robisch6-10 * 196 * Fr.-RS * F/C
Career highs of eight points and five rebounds in Texas-Pan American game ... 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.
#22 * Tommy Warner6-0 * 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 three games (including a first-half stint against Buducnost), scoring two points against Texas-Pan American and against the California All-Stars.
#45 * Alex Webber6-10 * 257 * So. * F
Scored seven points before fouling out against the California All-Stars ... 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 ... scored 22 points in a December game last year.
