Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys head for the mountains and battle with Buffs
January 28, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (14-3, 4-2)
at Colorado (10-7, 2-4)
Sunday, January 30, 2005 • 3 p.m. (CST)
Coors Conference/Events Center [11,064] • Boulder, Colo.
Cowboys face Buffaloes in Boulder
Oklahoma State travels to Boulder, Colo., this weekend to face the Colorado Buffaloes. Game time on Sunday, Jan. 30, is set for 3 p.m., and the game will be televised by ESPN Regional. OSU is 14-3 overall this season and 4-2 in Big 12 Conference action, coming off a 67-57 loss at Oklahoma on Monday night. Colorado is 9-7 overall, 1-4 in league play and coming off a 64-62 win over Missouri Wednesday night in the Coors Events Center. The Cowboys lead the all-time series with the Buffs, 55-45, although CU has a commanding 30-15 lead in the series in games played in Boulder. OSU’s last win in Boulder was a 66-64 squeaker on Feb. 24, 1996.
Last game
Oklahoma State missed nine of its first 10 shots and had five turnovers before converting its second basket of the game as the Cowboys fell behind early to the Oklahoma Sooners and were unable to recover. By the time OSU took a timeout at the 12:40 mark, OU was leading, 19-2, and the game was practically over. The Pokes went on a 12-4 run over the final five minutes of the half to cut the lead to single digits and trailed 29-20 at intermission. The lead was cut to six just 1:44 into the second stanza, but a 10-0 Oklahoma run put the game out of reach. The Sooner inside duo had their way with the Cowboy interior, scoring a combined 45 points on 21-of-29 shooting from the field. Ivan McFarlin scored 16 points and Joey Graham added 15, but as a team, the Pokes were just 4-of-17 from long range and shot 44 percent from the floor. The Cowboys also committed 14 turnovers, including four each by Graham and Daniel Bobik. OSU did outrebound OU, 34-28, and limited the Sooners to just 2-of-11 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
OSU-CU on television
OSU’s game at Colorado on Sunday will be televised by ESPN Regional. Dave Armstrong will handle the play-by-play duties, while Matt Doherty will provide expert analysis. It will mark OSU’s second appearance of the season on ESPN Regional, and the 14th Cowboy game televised this season.
Series vs. the Buffaloes
Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Colorado, 55-45, but CU leads the all-time series in games played in Boulder, 30-15. The Buffs have won the last four games on their home court against OSU, the last by a 68-56 margin two years ago. The Cowboys defeated Colorado, 71-62, last season in Stillwater. Oklahoma State is 15-5 vs. the Buffs in the Eddie Sutton era, and the series is tied since the Big 12 formed in 1996-97.
Down the road
Oklahoma State plays its next four games in nine days. OSU has two days off following the Colorado game before hosting Kansas State on Wed., Feb. 2, at 6 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys take off two more days before traveling to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears on Sat., Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. Two days later, OSU will host the Oklahoma Sooners in a Big Monday matchup on Feb. 7.
Not that rare
The current stretch of four games in nine days is not very common in scheduling, but it does happen on occasion. The Pokes played four games in nine days twice last season, all during the month of March. Oklahoma State played four games in eight days down the stretch of the 2000-01 season. Because of the tragedy on Jan. 27, 2001, the Big 12 assisted Oklahoma State in rearranging its schedule that also included three games in five days. OSU ended up playing at Texas A&M on Feb. 21, Kansas State at home three days later on the 24th, at Texas Tech on the 26th, and hosted Baylor on the 28th. Oklahoma State was 4-0 during all three of those four-game stretches. The last time OSU was actually scheduled to play four games in no more than nine days during the regular season was the 1998-99 year, when OSU played Texas at home on Feb. 14, at Nebraska on Feb. 17, hosted Missouri on Feb. 20, and played at Kansas on Feb. 22. That year, the Cowboys even played four games in four days in the Big 12 Tournament, March 4, 5, 6 and 7.
