Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys host Indians in final home non-conference game
December 30, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Arkansas State (5-8)
at Oklahoma State (8-4)
Saturday, December 31, 2005 • 3:08 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] • Stillwater, Okla.
Television — Cowboy Sports Network
Play-by-Play • John Holcomb
Analyst • Bryndon Manzer
Reporter • Mike Wolfe
Stillwater
Cox Communications Ch. 37
Heartland Wireless Ch. 16
Oklahoma City
Cox Communications Ch. 37
Tulsa
Cox Communications Ch. 10
Heartland Wireless Ch. 29
Radio — Cowboy Sports Network
Dave Hunziker & Tom Dirato
Flagship Station - KSPI 93.7 FM (Stillwater)
SIRIUS Satellite Radio — Channel 117
internet - www.okstate.com
Cowboys Host Indians
Oklahoma State returns to Eddie Sutton Court this Saturday as the Cowboys host the Arkansas State Indians on New Year’s Eve at 3:08 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys are 8-4 this season and coming off a 90-71 loss at the hands of the UAB Blazers Wednesday night, one of the biggest losses in the Sutton era. Arkansas State is 5-8 overall this year and fresh off a 69-60 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday night. The game Saturday will be televised within the state of Oklahoma by Cox Communications on the Cowboy Sports Network. The game will also be nationally broadcast on the radio on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Channel 117.
On Television
Saturday’s game will be televised within the state of Oklahoma by the Cowboy Sports Network and Cox Communications. John Holcomb of KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa will handle the play-by-play duties while former Cowboy Bryndon Manzer will provide color commentary. Mike Wolfe of KOTV will serve as the courtside reporter. It will be aired on KTFO-UPN TV-41 in Tulsa, KSWO (cable only) in Lawton, and on Fox Sports Southwest in Oklahoma City, Stillwater and the southern half of the state of Oklahoma.
Last Time Out
Oklahoma State suffered one of the worst losses in the Eddie Sutton era Wednesday night when UAB defeated the Cowboys 90-71 in Birmingham, Ala. Mario Boggan and JamesOn Curry each scored 16 points while Torre Johnson added 15 off the bench, but the Pokes could not contain UAB’s fastbreaks and three-point shooting. The Blazers were 10-of-20 from beyond the three-point arc and scored 31 points off 24 Cowboy turnovers. It marked the second-biggest loss to a non-conference opponent since Sutton became head coach in 1990. The worst was an 87-66 loss at San Diego State on Dec. 30, 2000. OSU shot 51 percent from the floor and outrebounded UAB 31-22, but the Blazers shot 62.5 percent, including 73.1 percent in the second half. Marvett McDonald scored 27 points, connecting on 10-of-14 shots from the floor, including 7-of-11 from long range.
About the Indians
Arkansas State is 5-8 overall this season and coming off a 69-60 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, ending a four-game losing streak. The Indians are led by junior guard Jim Jones, a native of Beaufort, N.C. He is averaging 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Senior guard Dereke Tipler, who missed the game vs. Missouri State, is averaging 13.5 points and 4.2 assists per game. ASU is 0-5 on the road this season, having lost at Mississippi State (68-63), at Tennessee-Martin (80-77 in ot), at Louisville (67-55) at Ole Miss (85-78) and at Missouri State (84-55). The Indians are coached by Dickey Nutt, in his 11th year at the helm of Arkansas State. He owns a 155-145 record as a head coach. He is a former OSU Cowboy, having played four years at Oklahoma State under Jim Killingsworth and Paul Hansen. He was also an assistant coach at OSU during the 1986-87 season under Leonard Hamilton. Dickey is the son of Houston Nutt, Sr., and the brother of Houston Nutt, Jr. All three played basketball for Oklahoma State.
Series History with Arkansas State
Oklahoma State owns the all-time series history with Arkansas State 8-2, including a 7-0 mark in Stillwater. The last time these two teams played was on Dec. 23, 1997, when OSU handed the Indians a 78-62 loss in Gallagher-Iba Arena. That was the final game of a three-game series between the two teams under Sutton. Ironically, all three games under that contract were all played on Dec. 23 in three consecutive seasons. Arkansas State defeated OSU 56-53 in the previous meeting, and the Indians’ only other win in the series came on Jan. 3, 1972, when ASU defeated OSU 88-76.
OSU in the Big 12 Statistics
Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 Conference in field goal percentage, shooting 50.8 percent from the floor. Colorado is second at 49 percent. The Cowboys are second in both free-throw percentage at 73.2 percent and in three-point percentage at 37.8 percent. Individually, Byron Eaton leads all players in the league in steals, averaging 2.6 per game. JamesOn Curry is fourth in assists, averaging five per contest. Mario Boggan is fourth in field goal percentage at 62.6 percent.
From the Line
As a team, the Cowboys are currently shooting 73.2 percent from the free-throw line, ranking among the top seasons in school history. Nine of the 11 players that see regular court time are shooting 70 percent or better from the floor. Only JamesOn Curry (65.6 percent) and Torre Johnson (61.1 percent) are shooting below 70 percent. Both Kenny Cooper (8-of-8) and Terrel Harris (4-of-4) are perfect from the line. Marcus Dove is shooting 85.7 percent (18 of 21), while Byron Eaton has made 29 of 37, good for 78.4 percent. Roderick Flemings has connected on 17 of 22 (77.3 percent) from the charity stripe, while Mario Boggan is shooting 34 of 46 (73.9) from the line and David Monds is 31 of 43 (72.1) from the charity stripe.
Cowboy Backcourt Stepping Up
Despite the fact that OSU’s starting backcourt of JamesOn Curry and Byron Eaton are both still under 20 years of age, they have been putting up some pretty good numbers statistically. Curry and Eaton are averaging 13.4 and 9.5 points per game, respectively and are 1-2 in assists with 60 and 49. They have combined for 109 assists and just 80 turnovers, a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. In the last four games, the duo has combined for 47 assists and just 27 turnovers. They have combined to shoot 58.6 percent from the floor in the last three contests.
Curry from Long Range
Cowboy sophomore JamesOn Curry has found his touch from beyond the three-point arc. This season, he is shooting 44.4 percent from long range, connecting on 24 of his 54 attempts from beyond the arc. He has hit at least one three pointer in nine games this season and has made multiple treys on seven occasions. His career high is six, which he matched against Mercer. Curry ranks fourth among the Big 12 leaders in three-point percentage and seventh in three-pointers made per game.
