Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys face Aggies for first time this season
February 13, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (18-3, 8-2)
at Texas A&M (15-5, 4-5)
Saturday, February 12, 2005 • 5 p.m.
Reed Arena [12,500] • College Station, Texas
Cowboys face Aggies for first time this season
Oklahoma State travels to College Station, Texas, this weekend for the first of two matchups with the Texas A&M Aggies. Game time on Saturday afternoon is set for 5 p.m., and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Southwest. OSU is 18-3 overall and 8-2 in Big 12 Conference action, coming off a 79-57 win over bedlam-rival Oklahoma Monday night in Stillwater. The Cowboys are ranked No. 10 nationally in both the Associated Press poll and USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Aggies are 15-5 overall, 4-5 in league play and coming off a 91-63 victory over Missouri in Reed Arena Saturday evening. Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with A&M, 23-8, although the Aggies own a 9-6 record vs. OSU in College Station. The Cowboys have won the last nine meetings, including a 70-41 win in the last game between these two schools.
Last game
JamesOn Curry and Joey Graham each scored 22 points and the Cowboys held off a late-game surge with a 79-67 win over Oklahoma Monday night. OSU shot 52.6 percent from the floor, including 8-of-14 from long range. The Pokes also made 11-of-15 free throws. The Sooners, which outshot (53.7 percent) and outrebounded (30-27) the Cowboys, were just 5-of-12 from the charity stripe and committed 15 turnovers to OSU's 10. John Lucas scored 15 points for Oklahoma State, while Ivan McFarlin added 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. OSU, which led by just two at 35-33 at intermission, scored seven consecutive points to lead by 11 with 5:35 remaining. Graham and Curry were a combine 17-of-26 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Lucas and Daniel Bobik each dished out five assists.
OSU-A&M on television
Oklahoma State's game at Texas A&M will be televised by Fox Sports Net Southwest. Greg Lucas will handle the play-by-play duties, while Jim Haller will provide color commentary. It is the Cowboys' first game on FSN this season, and their 18th appearance on television this season, with all five remaining games also scheduled to be televised.
Series vs. the Aggies
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Texas A&M, 23-8, including a 15-1 mark since the Big 12 Conference formed in 1996-97. The Cowboys only loss since 1981 was on Jan. 22, 2000, when the Aggies handed OSU a 64-59 loss in College Station. The Pokes have won the last nine games since that loss by an average of nearly 31 points per game. The games in College Station have been much closer, with OSU winning seven by an average of 14 points per contest since the Big 12 formed.
Down the road
Oklahoma State takes a full week off following the Texas A&M game before hosting the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 2:30 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. That game will be televised by CBS Sports. The Cowboys will then travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Nebraska Huskers on Tuesday, Feb. 22, in a 7 p.m. game at the Devaney Sports Center. OSU will play its final road game of the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 27, as the Pokes travel to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. Tipoff for the nationally televised game will be 3 p.m. on CBS.
Lucas, Graham on Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30
John Lucas and Joey Graham are two of 30 players listed on the Naismith Trophy's Midseason Top-30 list, it was announced Tuesday, Feb. 8, by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The Cowboy duo are two of just three players named to the list from the Big 12 Conference, as Wayne Simien of Kansas is also on the list. OSU is one of six teams to have multiple players listed on the sheet. North Carolina and Illinois each have three players, while Arizona, Syracuse and Duke each have two as well. Since 1969, when UCLA's Lew Alcindor received the inaugural Male College Player of the Year Award, the Naismith Awards have honored the top men's college basketball players in the nation.
And on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 30
John Lucas and Joey Graham are two of 30 players listed on the Wooden Award's Midseason Top-30 list. The Cowboy duo are also two of just four players named to the list from the Big 12 Conference. Wayne Simien and Keith Langford of Kansas are the other two. OSU is one of six teams to have multiple players listed on the sheet. North Carolina has three players, while Wake Forest, Kansas, Syracuse and Illinois are the others. Lucas is one of three players listed that was named a Wooden Award All-American a year ago, joining Ryan Gomes of Providence and Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts.
Cowboy schedule ranks as one of the toughest
According to RPIRatings.com, provided by Collegiate Basketball News, Oklahoma State has one of the toughest schedules in the nation. OSU's strength of schedule ranks as the third-hardest in the Big 12 Conference and the fifth-toughest in the country. Kansas, which ranks No. 1 in the RPI ratings, also has the top-ranked strength of schedule. Providence ranks No. 2, while the Big 12's Missouri is third. Wake Forest has the fourth-toughest schedule, with OSU rounding out the top five. These rankings are through games of Sunday, Feb. 6.
Wins against ranked opponents
Oklahoma State has won six straight games against top-10 opponents, and is 2-3 against foes ranked in the top 25 this season. The Cowboys defeated fourth-ranked Syracuse, 74-60, in their last meeting with a top-10 team. The Cowboys were 5-0 against teams ranked in the top-10 last season. Their last loss to a top-10 team was on March 1, 2003, when the Pokes fell to seventh-ranked Kansas in Lawrence. In fact, OSU is 16-8 in its last 24 games against foes ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll at game time.
