Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys host Tigers in home league opener
January 10, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (11-1, 1-0 Big 12)
vs. Missouri (9-5, 1-0 Big 12)
Tuesday, January 11, 2005 • 8 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] • Stillwater, Okla.
Cowboys host Tigers in home conference opener
Oklahoma State will host the Missouri Tigers in the Cowboys home Big 12 opener on Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN Regional. OSU is 11-1 overall and 1-0 in league play after opening conference action with a 76-66 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock Saturday afternoon. The Tigers are 9-5 overall, 1-0 in Big 12 action after a 62-59 come-from-behind victory over Iowa State Saturday afternoon in Columbia. MU leads the all-time series with Oklahoma State, 70-37, although OSU is 26-19 all-time vs. Mizzou in Stillwater.
Last game
Oklahoma State overcame a 13 point deficit and a hostile crowd as the Cowboys won their Big 12 Conference opener with a 76-66 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock last Saturday afternoon. Joey Graham scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, marking his first double-double of the season. Ivan McFarlin added a double-double of his own with 14 points and 10 boards. John Lucas scored 20 points, including six treys, and also dished out five assists. The Pokes trailed by as many as 13 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, and trailed, 36-29, at intermission. OSU chipped away at the Red Raiders lead, and tied the game at 47-47 with 11:46 remaining on one of Graham’s 10 free throws. The game went back and forth until the Cowboys went on an 8-0 run to take a 60-53 lead. Tech cut the lead back to two with 2:54 left in the game, but a key three pointer by Stephen Graham and some free throws put the game away for good. Stephen scored 13 points, including 12 in the second half, despite picking up his fourth foul at the 6:14 mark of the first period.
The next one ties
Coach Eddie Sutton needs just one more win to match his mentor, Mr. Iba, for seventh place on the all-time wins list for Division I. Mr. Iba had 767 career victories and sits in seventh place on the all-time wins list. Coach Sutton currently has 766 victories. It will be quite an achievement for Coach Sutton, who played for Mr. Iba from 1955-58, and was a graduate assistant coach for the Iron Duke during the 1958-59 season.
Series vs. Missouri
Missouri leads the all-time series with Oklahoma State, 70-37, although OSU is 26-19 vs. Mizzou in Stillwater. The Tigers are on a current two-game winning streak against the Cowboys, having won last year’s matchup in Columbia, 93-92, in double overtime, and a 60-58 victory over OSU in the Big 12 Tournament in 2003. In fact, four of the last five games have been decided by three or fewer points. Oklahoma State is 5-4 vs. Missouri since the Big 12 formed in 1997, and has won six of the last 10 games. Eddie Sutton is 11-13 all-time against the Tigers, including a 10-13 mark since returning to Stillwater.
Home League Opener Notes
Oklahoma State has won five of its last six home conference openers, including the past two over Oklahoma ... the last time OSU opened the home portion of its league schedule with Missouri was 1993-94, when the Tigers handed the Cowboys a 68-73 loss in Gallagher-Iba Arena ... Oklahoma State has won the last four meetings with Missouri in Stillwater, including a 76-56 win over the Tigers in the last meeting on Jan. 18, 2003.
OSU-Mizzou on television
Oklahoma State’s game vs. Missouri will be televised regionally by ESPN Regional. Dave Armstrong will handle play-by-play duties, while Reid Gettys will provide expert analysis. It will mark OSU’s first regionally televised contest of the season, and the ninth Cowboy game televised this season. Every Oklahoma State game from this point on will be televised this season, either nationally, regionally or on the Cowboy Sports Network, which is part of ESPN’s Full Court package.
Miscellaneous Notes
All 11 of Oklahoma State’s wins have come by double figures. The lowest margin of victory for OSU was the Texas Tech contest, which the Cowboys won by 10 ... The Pokes are averaging 6.7 three-pointers per game, the most by an OSU squad since 1998-99, when that squad averaged 6.8 treys per contest. In fact, the Cowboys’ current average ranks as the third highest in school history (the 1994 squad averaged 7.6 threes per game) ... Oklahoma State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 33.5 points per game in the friendly confines of Gallagher-Iba Arena ... This year’s Cowboys have 13 20-point games between them through 12 contests. Last year’s squad had only one at this point in the year, a 22-point effort by Tony Allen against Arkansas.
Down the road
Oklahoma State will continue play at home this weekend with a matchup against Iowa State Saturday afternoon in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by ABC. OSU will travel to Austin, Texas, next week to face the Texas Longhorns in a Big Monday matchup on Jan. 17. That game will be televised by ESPN.
