Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys host Cougars in first-ever meeting
December 03, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (4-0)
vs. Washington State (3-1)
Saturday, Dec. 4, 2004 • 3 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] • Stillwater, Okla.
Cowboys host Cougars
Oklahoma State hosts the Washington State Cougars this Saturday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys are 4-0 so far this season and coming off a 76-57 win over SMU in Dallas last Monday night. WSU is 3-1 overall this season, and coming off a narrow 37-36 victory over Idaho on Tuesday night. This will be the first meeting between the Cowboys and the Cougars. Oklahoma State is 24-23 all-time vs. the Pac-10 Conference. General admission tickets to all of OSU’s non-conference home games are available through the OSU Athletic Ticket Office.
Last game
John Lucas scored 24 points and four starters scored in double figures as Oklahoma State defeated SMU, 76-57, Monday night inside Moody Coliseum in Dallas. Joey Graham scored 14 points for the Cowboys, while Ivan McFarlin had 13 and Daniel Bobik chipped in 11. Stephen Graham provided some much needed spark off the bench, scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Oklahoma State shot 56 percent from the floor, and was a perfect 14-of-14 from the charity stripe. The Pokes also made 6-of-13 attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Meanwhile, OSU’s defense limited the Mustangs to just 37.5 percent shooting from the floor, including a dismal 2-of-9 from long range. Patrick Simpson provided most of the offense for SMU, scoring 20 points. Oklahoma State did commit 16 turnovers, but outrebounded the Ponies, 32-29. Ivan McFarlin had six of those turnovers, while Joey Graham had four. Bobik and Terrence Crawford had four assists each, leading the team. Crawford also had seven rebounds.
Cowboy continue hot shooting
After a 56.6 percent shooting average in the two exhibition games, OSU has continued its hot shooting from the floor. Despite a 36.7 percent shooting performance in the first half against Arkansas-Little Rock, the Cowboys ended up shooting 54.8 percent for the game, thanks to a blistering 71.9 percent in the second period. In four games this season, Oklahoma State is shooting 52.4 percent, connecting on 118-of-225 shots from the field. Six of OSU’s eight regulars are shooting better than 52.5 percent, and David Monds leads the team at 100 percent.
And from long range, too
The Cowboys are shooting well from beyond the three-point arc as well. In four games, OSU has connected on 25-of-63 shots from long range, good for 39.7 percent. Ivan McFarlin has made his only attempt from the arc, while Terrence Crawford and Joey Graham have each made 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point line. John Lucas has made 13-of-31, or 41.9 percent. Daniel Bobik was 3-of-4 from long range against SMU, and improved his shooting from beyond the arc to 38.5 percent.
Not hitting the glass
If there’s any area the Cowboys have faltered in this season, it’s in the rebounding department. So far, OSU has been outrebounded in two of its first four contests, and currently has a -0.6 rebounding margin. Joey and Stephen Graham lead the team with 23 rebounds each, or 5.8 per game. Terrence Crawford has 20 boards in three games, or 6.7 rebounds per contest. Ivan McFarlin, who ranks ninth in school history with 745 career rebounds, has just 12 this season and is averaging three per game. The post trio of Frans Steyn, David Monds and Aaron Pettway have combined for 14 rebounds in four games, an average of 3.5 per contest.
Forcing mistakes
One statistical category that OSU has improved on from last season is turnover margin. In four games, the Cowboys have forced their opponents into 75 turnovers, an average of 18.8 per game. Oklahoma State is averaging 25 points off those turnovers. Meanwhile, the Pokes have only committed 45 turnovers in four games, an average of 11.3 per game. That total includes an impressive six miscues against Arkansas-Little Rock, with none coming in the first 20 minutes. The last time OSU committed six or fewer turnovers was on March 24, 2000, when the Pokes had six against Seton Hall in the Sweet 16. Oklahoma State averaged just 13.4 turnovers per game all of last season, and forced an average of 15.1 per game, averaging out to a +1.71 turnover margin. Oklahoma State currently has a +7.5 turnover margin.
Sutton tied for eighth
With a 76-57 win over SMU on Monday night, Coach Sutton tied Ed Diddle for eighth place on the all-time coaching victories list for Division I. Diddle had 759 career wins, culminating in 1964 at Western Kentucky. Next up for Coach Sutton will be his mentor, Mr. Iba, who had 767 career victories and sits in seventh place on the all-time wins list.
Pokes riding homecourt winning streak
With a 73-57 win over Sam Houston StateSaturday night, Oklahoma State extended its homecourt winning streak to 19 games, the sixth-longest streak in school history. OSU won its final home game of the 2002-03 season with a 77-52 win over Texas A&M on March 8. The Cowboys went undefeated in Gallagher-Iba Arena last season, winning all 15 home contests. The current streak includes a 77-56 win over sixth-ranked Oklahoma on Jan. 14, A 70-66 victory over No. 13 ranked Texas Tech on Jan. 31, an 80-60 win over 13th-ranked Kansas pm Feb. 9, and a 76-67 victory over No. 10 Texas on March 1. With those four wins over ranked opponents last season, Oklahoma State ran its string of victories over ranked opponents at home to nine games.
Non-league record in Gallagher-Iba
Oklahoma State will continue the non-conference home portion of its schedule when the Cowboys host Washington State on Saturday afternoon inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Pokes are riding a current 37 game home non-conference winning streak that dates back to 1998. OSU has won 116 of its last 117 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 145-7 (.954) in those types of games. The Cowboys have not allowed more than 66 points in 32 of their last 33 home non-conference contests.
OSU-WSU on television
Oklahoma State’s game Saturday afternoon with Washington State will be televised in Oklahoma as part of the Cowboy Sports Network. John Holcomb will handle the play-by-play duties, while Bryndon Manzer will provide expert analysis. The game can be seen in Oklahoma City on Cox Cable 7, and in Tulsa on UPN. In Stillwater, the game will be televised on KWEM-TV31, or Cox Cable 3.
McFarlin ranks among nation’s leaders
Ivan McFarlin, who gained a year of eligibility by graduating in 3-1/2 years, ranks among the nation’s leaders. With Ivan in the starting lineup, Oklahoma State has won 79 games in his three years in a Cowboy uniform. That win total ranks third among active players nationally. Kansas’ Aaron Miles sits atop that list with 87 wins, while Craig Forth of Syracuse ranks second with 80.
McFarlin moves into 19th place
With 13 points vs. SMU, senior forward Ivan McFarlin now has 1,158 career points, placing him in 19th place on the Oklahoma State all-time career scoring list. He is currently 31 points behind Joe Adkins, who had 1,189 points from 1997-2000. With 42 points, McFarlin will become the 16th player in school history to record 1,200 points in a career as a Cowboy.
Speaking of points
While all of McFarlin’s 1,158 points have been scored for OSU, there are a few other Cowboys that have quite a few points in their collegiate careers. With 14 points against SMU, Joey Graham now has 1,155 points in his career with stops at Central Florida and Oklahoma State. John Lucas, who spent two years at Baylor before transferring to OSU, has 1,380 points as a collegian. That total ranks 25th among all-time Big 12 players. Lucas needs just 25 points to move past Chris Mihm and into 24th place on the Big 12 list.
Curry has good debut
Freshman guard JamesOn Curry looked pretty good in his first game as a Cowboy. He scored 12 points and had four steals in just 23 minutes off the bench. It was the most points scored by a true freshman since Adrian Peterson had 12 against St. Mary’s of Texas in in his debut game in 1995. In his second game, Curry had nine points in 22 minutes of play
Up next for OSU
The Cowboys will travel to New York City to face the Syracuse Orange in the Jimmy V Classic next Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Central Time, and the game can be seen on ESPN. The other contest is Memphis vs. Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Doris Burke will provide the analysis for the game. Tickets are available on the web at www.jimmyv.org or www.thegarden.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-7171.
