Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Travel to College Station to Face Aggies
February 25, 2008 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (12-12, 3-7)
at Texas A&M (20-4, 6-3)
Saturday, Feb. 16 • 2:30 p.m.
Reed Arena • College Station, Texas
Series History • OSU leads, 27-12
Last Meeting • Jan. 26, 2008 in Stillwater
Outcome • Texas A&M won, 63-61
Last Meeting in C.S. • Jan. 20, 2007
Outcome • Texas A&M won, 67-49
Television — ABC
Play-by-Play • Bob Wischusen
Analyst • Bob Wenzel
Stillwater
KOCO Channel 5
Oklahoma City
KOCO Channel 5
Tulsa
KTUL Channel 8
Radio — Cowboy Radio Network
Play-by-Play • Dave Hunziker
Analyst • John Holcomb
Sideline Reporter • Bryndon Manzer
Flagship Station — KSPI (93.7 FM)
XM satellite radio — Ch. 242
Quick Notes
• Of Oklahoma State’s nine players seeing regular court time, five are freshmen, and another, sophomore Obi Muonelo, has played just 41 games in his career after missing half of last season with an injury. Nearly 40 percent (47 of 120) of the starts this season have been by true freshmen.
• Guard James Anderson became just the ninth Cowboy in school history to record at least 300 points as a freshman. He currently has 358 points, the fourth-most points by a frosh in school history. He needs just 14 points to move past Corey Williams and into third place.
• Guard Byron Eaton was 14-of-16 from the free-throw line against Baylor. It was the most free-throws made in a game since March 12, 1994, when Bryant Reeves connected on 15 against Kansas. It was the most attempts since Fredrik Jönzén’s 16 vs. Iowa State on Jan. 8, 2001.
• Oklahoma State is looking to end a 19-game losing streak on the road, tied for the third-longest skid in school history. OSU has lost 16 straight league road games, the second-longest streak in school history.
Series with the Aggies
• This will mark the 40th meeting between Oklahoma State and Texas A&M on the hardwood, including the 17th meeting in College Station.
• Since the Big 12 formed in 1996-97, Oklahoma State is 19-5 against A&M, including a victory in the Big 12 Tournament.
• Texas A&M has won four of the last five meetings. Prior to that, OSU had won 20 of 21 games against the Aggies.
• Senior forward Marcus Dove has started five games against the Aggies and has 21 rebounds, 10 assists, seven steals and five blocked shots against A&M. He has yet to connect on a three-point shot vs. Texas A&M (0-of-6).
• Junior Terrel Harris is 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) shooting from the free-throw line against A&M. He has 39 points in six games vs. the Aggies, including 21 on Jan. 11, 2006.
• Junior guard Byron Eaton has scored 36 points against Texas A&M in six contests, including 11 in both of last year’s regular-season contests.
Defense Stepping Up
• Comparatively speaking, Oklahoma State’s “D” has improved dramatically since Big 12 Conference play started.
• Although OSU’s scoring defense for all games (66.9 points allowed per game) is nearly two points lower than its scoring defense for conference-games only (68.8), the rankings don’t lie.
• The Cowboys’ scoring defense for all games ranks ninth in the league, while it’s scoring defense for league games only ranks fourth.
• Oklahoma State allowed an average of 76 points in 16 Big 12 games last season, 7.2 points higher than this year’s average.
Pick Pockets
• Oklahoma State had 18 steals during the Prairie View A&M game, the second most in school history. The Pokes had 12 at halftime, establishing a school record for steals in a single period.
• The Cowboys are currently averaging 8.9 steals per contest. The school record is nine thefts per game, set during the 1988-89 season.
Eaton Establishes New Record
• With two steals at Kansas State, Byron Eaton has taken over sole possession of the most steals in a career in school history.
• He is just the fifth Cowboy in school history to have at least 10 games with four or more steals.
• Eaton is only the seventh Cowboy to have recorded at least 300 assists and 150 steals in a career.
From Long Range
• Oklahoma State is averaging 21.5 attempts from beyond the three-point arc this season. The school record is 18.9 attempts per game in 1998-99.
• The Cowboys are averaging 7.21 makes from long range this year. The school record is 7.59 during the 1993-94 season.
• The Cowboys attempted 34 three-point shots against North Texas, the most in school history.
• As a team, Oklahoma State has attempted 30 or more shots from beyond the arc on five occasions all-time, including three times this season.
• On the flip side, OSU limited Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to just 1-of-18 shots from three-point range, establishing a Gallagher-Iba Arena record with at least 10 attempts. The previous low was 1-of-17 by Baylor on Jan. 20, 1999.
• The Pokes held Northwestern State to 1-of-16 makes from long range and limited Texas Tech to just 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Dove Swatting Shots
• Senior Marcus Dove has 93 career blocked shots and moved past Desmond Mason and into seventh place on the school list.
• Dove is just the fifth Cowboy in school history to record at least 100 steals and 75 blocked shots in a career. He has 128 and 93, respectively.
• Should Dove reach 100 blocked shots (he needs seven more entering Saturday’s game vs. Texas A&M), he would become just the fourth Cowboy in school history to have 100 steals and 100 blocked shots.
Freshman Phenom
• With 12 points at Texas Tech, James Anderson became just the ninth Cowboy freshman in school history to score 300 points in his rookie season.
• He has already secured the record for most treys made (56) and attempted (143) by a frosh in school history. JamesOn Curry was 45-of-104 in his inaugural season and held the previous record for both categories.
• Anderson moved past Ivan McFarlin and into fourth place on the season scoring list for freshmen. He did it in eight fewer games. Anderson needs 14 points to move past Corey Williams and 34 to surpass Byron Houston for second place on the list.
• In his first official game in an OSU uniform, Anderson scored a game-high 29 points, tying the school record for most points by a freshman. Byron Houston had 29 against Kansas State on Jan. 25, 1989.
• Anderson’s 29 points were also the fourth-most by any Cowboy in a season opener, regardless of class.
Another Rookie Stepping Up
• Freshman post Ibrahima Thomas has been stepping up for the Cowboys as well. Over the last 14 games — all starts — the 6-11 rookie is averaging 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
• In his first 10 games, the Senegal native was averaging 4.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest.
• He recorded his first-career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds at Texas Tech, matching his career high and setting a career high in rebounds.
• He recorded back-to-back double-figure rebounding games against Tech and Colorado.
• The versatile forward is shooting 53.3 percent for the season from the floor, including 56.6 percent in Big 12 Conference contests.
• Thomas also leads the team in charges taken with 15 this season, including two in the Oklahoma contest.
Harris, Eaton Like the Freebies
• Terrel Harris connected on 8-of-9 shots from the charity stripe at KSU, returning to the Big 12 rankings as the top free-throw shooter in the league. He is shooting 84.8 percent.
• Byron Eaton is second in the Big 12 Conference in free-throw shooting, connecting on 82.4 percent.
• Eaton was 14-of-16 from the free-throw line against Baylor. It was the most free-throws made in a game by a Cowboy since March 12, 1994, when Bryant Reeves connected on 15 against Kansas. It was the most attempts since Fredrik Jönzén attempted 16 vs. Iowa State on Jan. 8, 2001.
Cowboys No. 2 in Big 12 in Steals
• Oklahoma State averages 8.88 steals per game, the second-highest average of any Big 12 team this season.
• Kansas leads the league, averaging 9.44 per contest.
• Missouri is third in the Big 12, averaging 8.68 thefts per game.
Three Cowboys Rank in the top-10
• Three Cowboys are ranked in the top-10 individually in the Big 12 Conference in steals per game.
• Kansas’ Mario Chalmers leads the league, averaging 2.46 steals per game.
• Byron Eaton is second with 2.25 steals per game. Marcus Dove is fourth at 2.08 per game.
• Terrel Harris ranks 10th with 1.57 per contest.
Cowboys Third in Long-Range Shooting
• Oklahoma State averages 7.21 three-pointers made per game, the third-highest average of any Big 12 team this season.
• Baylor leads the league, averaging 8.70 treys per contest.
• Texas is second in the Big 12, averaging 7.83 three-pointers per game.
