Cowboys Host Florida Atlantic in Season Opener

Oklahoma State (0-0)
vs. Florida Atlantic (0-0)
Friday, November 10, 2006 • 8:07 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] • Stillwater, Okla.

Radio — Cowboy Sports Network
Dave Hunziker & Tom Dirato
Flagship Station - KSPI 93.7 FM (Stillwater)
internet - www.okstate.com

Television — Cowboy Sports Network/ESPN FullCourt
Play-by-Play • John Holcomb
Analyst • Bryndon Manzer

Stillwater
KOCB SuddenLink Channel 11
Oklahoma City
KOCB Cox Channel 11
Tulsa
KMYT Cox Channel 10

Cowboys Open 2006-07 Season

OSU opens the 99th season of Cowboy Basketball with a non-conference game vs. Florida Atlantic on Friday night.
The game will be produced by Cox Communications and will be broadcast on the Cowboy Sports Network. The network includes stations in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Stillwater, Lawton and Woodward.
The game is also tentatively scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN’s FullCourt.
John Holcomb will handle the play-by-play duties, while former Cowboy Bryndon Manzer will provide analysis.
Ths will be the season opener for both teams.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. However, the contest will follow the Cowgirls’ game vs. UC-Riverside, so there’s a possibility it will be delayed shortly.

Game Rewind Highlights

Oklahoma State won its second and final exhibition of the preseason, defeating Oklahoma Baptist 99-55.
OSU began the game on a 18-0 run and started the second half on a 16-2 spurt.
JamesOn Curry led all scorers with 23 points, going 8-of-9 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from long range.
Mario Boggan added a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Terrel Harris started at a guard spot and scored 22 points and grabbed seven boards.
The Cowboys commited just eight turnovers, compared to 23 by the Bison; OSU scored 33 points off those OBU turnovers.

More Notes on the Season and Season Opener

Friday night’s game will mark the earliest start in school history for a basketball game. The Nov. 10 date is five days earlier than the previous earliest start which occurred on Nov. 15, 1997, when the Cowboys hosted Texas-Pan American.
This season, OSU will play 17 home games, more home contests than any other single season in school history. The previous most home games in a season was 16 on four occasions — 1988-89, 1991-92, 1996-97 and 1997-98.
This season, the Cowboys will play 31 regular-season games, the most in school history. It will mark the third time that OSU has played 30 or more regular-season games. Oklahoma State played 30 regular-season games in 1991-92 and 2005-06.
Oklahoma State will have 12 nationally televised games this season, marking the third-consecutive year that the Cowboys have been on national TV at least 10 times (13 in 2004-05, 11 in 2005-06).
OSU has just one first-time opponent this season — Southern.

About Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic won its exhibition game over Florida Tech 87-70.
The Owls were led by sophomore forward Carlos Monroe who scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Florida Tech, both game highs.
FAU shot nearly 52 percent from the floor while allowing FTU to shoot just under 36 percent.
Florida Atlantic also made 31 trips to the free-throw line, connecting on 24, compared to just 13-of-17 for Florida Tech.
The Owls are coached by Rex Walters, former guard for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Florida Atlantic went 15-13 last season under Matt Doherty and with Walters as an assistant coach.
The Owls are entering their first season in the Sun Belt Conference after 11 seasons as a part of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Series History with the FAU Owls

The series history between Oklahoma State and Florida Atlantic is brief, and memorable.
In the only game on the hardwood between these two teams, the Owls pulled off one of the biggest upsets over OSU in school history.
On Dec. 1, 1998, a 1-3 FAU squad came into Gallagher-Iba Arena to face the 11th-ranked and 4-0 Cowboys.
The Owls left Stillwater with an 83-81 victory, led by the duo of Gary Durrant and Damon Arnette.
Durrant scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Arnette added 24 points of his own.
The Cowboys had four players score in double figures, led by Joe Adkins’ 19 points. Alex Webber scored 17 for the Pokes, while Desmond Mason and Adrian Peterson each scored 15.
Doug Gottlieb established a school record with 18 assists in that game.
The loss ended a streak of 79 consecutive wins by OSU in games vs. non-conference opponents at home.
It was Oklahoma State’s only loss in those types of games over an 18-season period that spanned 124 games up until OSU’s loss to Northwestern State last season.

Sean Sutton Era Begins

The Sean Sutton era of Cowboy Basketball officially begins on Friday night when OSU hosts Florida Atlantic.
In his father’s absence last year, Sean led the Cowboys to a 5-6 record, including an impressive 81-60 victory over No. 6 Texas in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Feb. 19.
Sean has been a part of the Oklahoma State program for 15 seasons, including 13 as a staff member. The Cowboys are 348-142 with Sean a part of the team.
OSU has made 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament during that time, including six Sweet 16 appearances and two trips to the Final Four.

Curry Moving up the Charts

Cowboy junior JamesOn Curry is listed on several of the Cowboy career charts despite having played just two seasons in an OSU uniform.
He currently ranks 18th on the career assists list and needs 12 more to pass Victor Williams, who had 236 in his three-year career. Curry needs 15 assists to surpass current assistant strength & conditioning coach Randy Rutherford, who had 239 assists in his three-year career.
Curry also ranks No. 9 on the career three-point field-goal shooting list. While he could move either up or down the list, his .398 shooting from long range is right among the best in school history.
Speaking of three pointers, Curry has made 109 in his two-year career. That total ranks 11th in school history. He needs just 10 to move past Corey Williams and into the top 10.

Cowboys Preseason No. 3

In the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll, Oklahoma State was predicted to finish third in this year’s conference race.
Kansas was the overwhelming favorite to win the league title, garnering 11 first-place votes and 121 points.
Texas A&M was second, receiving one first-place vote and 109 points.
Oklahoma State received 97 points, narrowly surpassing Texas, which received 95 points.
Kansas State (76 points) and Texas Tech (68) rounded out the upper half of the conference.

Boggan, Curry Named All-Big 12

Senior Mario Boggan and junior JamesOn Curry were both named preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention by the league coaches.
Both players were named All-Big 12 honorable mention following the conclusion of last season as well.

Curry Among Wooden Award Candidates

Junior JamesOn Curry was one of 50 players listed on the preseason list of candidates for the Wooden Award.
He is one of just eight players on the list that were also considered for last year’s Award.
Only six other players from the Big 12 Conference were listed.

Oklahoma State in the Polls

Oklahoma State is receiving votes in both of the preseason national polls.
The Cowboys received 19 points in the preeason USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, which would rank them No. 36 if the poll were extended.
OSU received 13 points in the preseason Associated Press poll, which would rank them No. 39 if the poll were extended.
Oklahoma State has an opportunity to play seven games this season against teams ranked in the preseason top-25 polls: No. 3/3 Kansas (in Lawrence), No. 4/5 Pittsburgh (in the All-College Classic), No. 9/9 Wisconsin (possible opponent in the South Padre Invitational), No. 13/13 Texas A&M (in Stillwater and in College Station), No. 21/19 Texas (in Stillwater and in Austin), No. 20/20 Syracuse (the Jimmy V Classic), and No. 25/24 Tennessee (in Nashville).
Kansas State, a Big 12 Conference foe, and Missouri State, a possible opponent in the South Padre Invitational, are receiving votes in the Associated Press poll.

Super Mario

Mario Boggan led the team in two very significant statistical categories last season.
He led the team in both field-goal percentage (58.1 percent) and free-throw percentage (82.1 percent).
It is just the seventh time in school history that the same player led the team in both categories.
The last time that occurred was during the 1977-78 season. That year, Mark Tucker shot 54 percent from the floor and 91.2 percent from the charity stripe.
Boggan also led the Big 12 Conference in both categories for conference-games only, the first player in league history to do so.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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