Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Face Volunteers in All-College Classic
December 21, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (7-3)
vs. Tennessee (6-0)
O’Reilly All-College Classic
Thursday, December 22, 2005 • 5 p.m.
Ford Center [17,380] • Oklahoma City, Okla.
Television — ESPN2
Play-by-Play • Brad Nessler
Analyst • Fran Fraschilla
Stillwater
Cox Communications Ch. 32
Heartland Wireless Ch. 38
Oklahoma City
Cox Communications Ch. 28
Tulsa
Cox Communications Ch. 26
Radio — Cowboy Sports Network
Dave Hunziker & Tom Dirato
Flagship Station - KSPI 93.7 FM (Stillwater)
internet - www.okstate.com
Cowboys Face Volunteers
Oklahoma State returns to action this week as the Cowboys face undefeated Tennessee in the first game of the O’Reilly All-College Classic. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. from Oklahoma City’s Ford Center. The second game will feature Oklahoma and West Virginia. The Cowboys are 7-3 this season and coming off their biggest win of the season, a 97-61 victory over Mercer. The Volunteers are 6-0 this season and coming off a huge win over the Texas Longhorns in Austin on Saturday. Tennessee is ranked No. 23 in the latest Associated Press poll. OSU and UT have never met on the hardwood, although Coach Sutton was 6-2 vs. the Volunteers as the head coach at Kentucky.
On Television
Thursday’s game will be televised nationally on espn2. Brad Nessler will handle the play-by-play duties, while Fran Fraschilla will provide expert analysis. This will be OSU’s first true nationally televised game of the season, and the first of three games on espn2. Oklahoma State is 8-2 all-time in games broadcast on the deuce. The Cowboys’ game next Wednesday against UAB will also be televised on espn2, as will the game against Texas A&M on January 11.
Last Time Out
Sophomore JamesOn Curry scored a career-high 30 points and led six Cowboys that scored in double figures as the Pokes broke a two-game losing streak with a convincing 97-61 win over Mercer Sunday afternoon. Curry was 11-of-15 from the floor, including a 6-of-8 outing from beyond the three-point arc. Point guard Byron Eaton recorded his first collegiate double-double with 11 assists and 10 points in the game. Sophomore Marcus Dove scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, while Roderick Flemings scored a career-high 11 points off the bench. Mario Boggan scored a quiet 11 points as well, while Terrel Harris scored a career-high 10 points off the bench. OSU shot 59.3 percent from the floor and forced 25 turnovers by Mercer.
About the Volunteers
Tennessee is 6-0 this season and enters the week ranked No. 23 in the latest Associated Press poll. The Volunteers defeated Texas in Austin 95-78 on Saturday. Tennessee is led by Chris Lofton who is averaging 17.8 points per game. C.J. Watson is adding 17 points per contest, while three other players are averaging double-figure scoring. As a team, the Volunteers are averaging 88.2 points per game, nearly 17 points more than their opponents. Four of UT’s wins have come at home over East Tennessee State (106-83), Louisiana-Lafayette (83-76), Eastern Kentucky (92-58) and Appalachian State (89-81). The Vols also defeated Murray State 64-53. Tennessee is coached by Bruce Pearl who is in his first year at the helm of the Vols. He had an 86-38 record in four years at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Cowboys Sweep Weekly Honors
JamesOn Curry and Byron Eaton were named the Big 12 Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for the period ending Dec. 18. Curry scored 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 6-of-8 from long range, in OSU’s only game last week vs. Mercer. Eaton recorded his first-career double-double with 11 assists and 10 points against the Bears. It was the third time in five weeks that a different OSU player has garnered the Rookie of the Week honor, and the first time this season that a Cowboy received the Player of the Week accolade from the league office. It is also the first time since Dec. 2, 2002, that the Player and Rookie of the Week came from the same team. That week, Bernard King and Antoine Wright of Texas A&M won the awards.
OSU in the All-College
Since Oklahoma State’s return to the All-College Classic in 2001, the Cowboys have a 3-1 record. The Pokes defeated Ball State 82-70 in 2001, and defeated BYU 78-65 in 2002. In 2003, Oklahoma State defeated SMU 89-54, the Cowboys largest margin in the All-College. Last season, OSU picked up its first loss, a 78-75 defeat at the hands of Gonzaga.
