Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys face Red Raiders in league opener
January 07, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (10-1, 0-0)
at Texas Tech (8-3, 0-0)
Saturday, January 8, 2005 • 1 p.m.
United Spirit Arena [15,050] • Lubbock, Texas
Cowboys open Big 12 play in Lubbock
Oklahoma State travels to Lubock, Texas, this weekend for the Big 12 Conference opener for both schools. OSU is 10-1 overall this season, and coming off an 86-61 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Monday night in Corpus Christi. Texas Tech is 8-3 overall, and fresh off an 88-68 win over Northern Colorado Tuesday night in Lubbock. The Cowboys are ranked sixth in the most recent USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, and seventh in the latest Associated Press poll. Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with the Red Raiders, 22-10, including a 5-4 mark in Lubbock. OSU has won the last two meetings, but fell to Tech, 83-62, the last time the Cowboys visited Lubbock.
Last game
Oklahoma State led by only three at halftime, but opened the second stanza with a 13-0 run as the Cowboys disrupted Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s attempt at an upset and defeated the Islanders, 86-61. John Lucas scored 21 points and Joey Graham scored 20 as the All-America duo combined to shoot 16-of-22 from the floor. Graham also added nine boards to his linescore. OSU’s offensive firepower proved to be too much for TAMUCC as the Pokes shot 65.4 percent for the game, including 71 percent (22 of 31) in the second half. Oklahoma State also outscored the Islanders, 14-0, on fastbreak points, outhustling the home team. Daniel Bobik added 12 points and five assists for OSU, while Ivan McFarlin chipped in 11. The Cowboys outrebounded TAMUCC, 32-25, and played good team defense, limiting the Islanders to just 23.5 percent from beyond the arc and grabbing 10 steals. OSU outscored TAMUCC, 55-33, in the second period, even though the Islanders did shoot 52 percent for the half.
Cowboy continue hot shooting
Oklahoma State is shooting 52.3 percent as a team this season, leading the Big 12 Conference and ranking fifth nationally in that category. The Cowboys’ 65.4 percent shooting vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was the highest by OSU since Jan. 3, 1998, when the Pokes shot 68.6 percent vs. Texas A&M in a 100-65 victory. Oklahoma State shot a school-record 85 percent in the second half of that game, going 17-of-20 from the floor. As of this week’s NCAA statistical rankings released on Tuesday, OSU was fifth in the country in field goal shooting at 52.3 percent.
And from long range, too
The Cowboys are shooting well from beyond the three-point arc as well. OSU has connected on 72-of-171 shots from long range, good for 42.1 percent. Joey Graham leads the team with a 58.3 percent shooting average (7-of-12) from long range, while Daniel Bobik has connected on 17-of-40 shots (42.5 percent) from downtown. John Lucas is shooting 41.9 percent (31-of-74), and JamesOn Curry has made 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from beyond the three-point line.
Two records fall
Oklahoma State established a new school record for three-pointers made in a game against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Cowboys connected on 15-of-23 shots from long range, good for 65.2 percent. That total broke the previous school record of 13 treys made, set against Providence in overtime on Nov. 26, 1993, and matched on March 2, 1994, against Nebraska. OSU also broke the school record for three pointers made in a half with 10 in the second period. The previous mark was eight, set vs. Oklahoma on Feb. 7, 1994, and equalled against Baylor on March 4, 1999. Against Gonzaga, the Pokes broke another long-range record. OSU attempted 31 shots from beyond the three-point arc vs. the Zags, a school record. The previous high was 30, shot against Florida on Dec. 28, 1993. In that game, the Cowboys made 11 of their 30 attempts.
Charity stripe appealing to Cowboys
Oklahoma State has gotten considerably better at the free-throw line this season, shooting 73.1 percent from the charity stripe. That includes a perfect 14-of-14 against SMU. The Pokes have ended the season shooting better than 70 percent only five times in the last two decades, the last time in 1999-2000 when OSU shot 70.1 percent from the line.
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 85 games in his four years in a Cowboy uniform. That win total ranks third among active players nationally. Kansas’ Aaron Miles sits atop that list with 94 wins, while Craig Forth of Syracuse ranks second with 86. Ivan is currently tied with Desmond Mason for the fourth-most starts in school history. Mason started 109 games in his career from 1996-2000. Ivan needs 11 more starts to tie Adrian Peterson for the third-most all-time in school history. McFarlin has also started 80 consecutive games, dating back to his freshman season.
Joining an elite group
With four rebounds against TAMUCC, senior forward Ivan McFarlin became just the fifth player in school history to record 800 rebounds in a career. McFarlin currently has 802 career rebounds, joining Byron Houston as the only two Cowboys to ever record 1,000 points, 800 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in a career. Ivan is only the fourth Cowboy in school history to record 1,000 points and 800 boards, joining an elite group of big men.
McFarlin ties Jönzén on career scoring chart
With 11 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, senior forward Ivan McFarlin now has 1,236 career points, tying him for 14th place on the Oklahoma State all-time career scoring list. Ivan has tied Fredrik Jönzén, who had 1,236 points in his four-year career from 1998-2002. Ivan needs 25 points to tie Victor Williams for 13th place on the all-time school scoring list. McFarlin played with both Jönzén and Williams during the first two seasons of his career.
Speaking of points
With 20 points against TAMUCC, Joey Graham now has 1,278 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 1,500 points as a collegian. That total ranks 22nd among all-time Big 12 players. Next up is Texas Tech’s Rayford Young, who had 1,515 points from 1996-2000 and sits in 21st place.
Needing two
Coach Eddie Sutton needs just two wins 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 765 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. Texas Tech
Oklahoma State is 22-10 all-time vs. the Red Raiders, including a 5-4 mark in Lubbock ... the Cowboys have won the last two meetings by a combined nine points ... Tech won the last meeting in United Spirit Arena, 83-62 ... OSU won nine straight from 1998 until 2001 ... the Red Raiders won five consecutive from 1975-97.
League Opener Notes
Oklahoma State opens conference play for the third-consecutive season on the road, including the second-straight year in Lubbock (OSU started league play in 2003 at College Station) ... in fact, this will mark the sixth time the Pokes have begun league play on the road in nine seasons ... the Cowboys are 4-4 in Big 12 Conference openers.
Sutton & Knight: Coaching Legends
Saturday’s game will mark the 13th time that coaches Eddie Sutton and Bob Knight have coached against one another. The all-time series between the two is tied at 6-6, including a 4-4 mark since Knight took over at Texas Tech. Both were mentored by the legendary Coach Henry Iba. Sutton played for Mr. Iba at Oklahoma A&M, while Mr. Iba served as an honorary coach for Knight during the 1984 Olympics. The duo has combined for 74 years of head coaching experience at the Division I level. They have had a combined seven 30-win seasons, and made eight appearances at the Final Four.
Down the road
Oklahoma State will play its first home conference game of the season next Tuesday, Jan. 11, as the Cowboys host the Missouri Tigers in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised by ESPN Regional. The Pokes will remain at home for its next game, a Saturday afternoon contest with Iowa State on Jan. 15. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by ABC.
OSU-Tech on television
Oklahoma State’s game vs. Texas Tech on Saturday will be televised nationally on ESPN. Ron Franklin will handle the play-by-play duties, while Fran Fraschilla will provide expert analysis and Stacey Dales-Schulman will add sideline commentary. It will mark OSU’s fifth nationally televised contest of the season, all on either ESPN or ESPN2. Every Oklahoma State game from this point on will be televised this season, either nationally or on the Cowboy Sports Network, which is part of ESPN’s Full Court package.
