Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Look to Extend Streak vs. Huskers
March 01, 2008 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (15-12, 6-7)
vs Nebraska (17-9, 6-7)
Saturday, March 1 • 12:45 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Okla.
Series History • Nebraska leads, 62-50
Last Meeting • March 8, 2007 in Okla. City
Outcome • OSU won, 54-39
Last Meeting in Stillwater • Jan. 31, 2006
Outcome • Nebraska won, 59-57
Television — ESPN Plus
Play-by-Play • Bob Carpenter
Analyst • Jon Sundvold
Stillwater
KOCB Channel 34
Oklahoma City
KOCB Channel 34
Tulsa
KJRH Channel 2
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
• After winning five of its last six games, Oklahoma State is now just one game out of fourth place and two games out of third in the Big 12 standings. Three weeks ago, OSU was on a six-game losing streak and tied with Colorado for last place.
• Of Oklahoma State’s nine players seeing regular court time, five are freshmen, and another, sophomore Obi Muonelo, has played just 44 games in his career after missing half of last season with an injury. Nearly 40 percent (52 of 135) of the starts this season have been by true freshmen.
• OSU has won 107 of its last 124 games at home, good for a 86.2 winning percentage. The Cowboys have won 24 of their last 29 games against Big 12 North Division schools inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• Saturday’s game vs. Nebraska is just the second OSU game this season to be televised by ESPN Plus. The Cowboys lost at Iowa State in the other contest.
Series with the Huskers
• Saturday’s game will mark the 113th battle between these two teams on the hardwood, including the 46th in Stillwater.
• OSU broke a three-game skid against the Huskers last season at the Big 12 Championship.
• The Cowboys have won 11 of the last 14 meetings in Stillwater, but lost two seasons ago when Jamel White rebounded an airball by Wes Wilkinson and layed it up at the buzzer for the 59-57 win.
• OSU’s returners have shot well vs. the Huskers. Marcus Dove is 4-of-5 from the floor against Nebraska, while Byron Eaton has shot 62.5 percent and Obi Muonelo 52.6 percent.
• From long range, Eaton is 7 of 9 (77.8 percent) while Muonelo is 9 of 15 (60 percent) against the Huskers.
• Eaton and Muonelo combined to score 49 of OSU’s 73 points in the last regular-season matchup with Nebraska, connecting on 13-of-18 three-pointers.
• In a dramatic turnaround last season, OSU lost to Nebraska by 12 in Lincoln, only to defeat the Huskers by 15 three days later in the first round of the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.
Over the Last Five Games
• Oklahoma State has won five of its last six games, including a one-point victory over No. 4 Kansas, a five-point win at No. 16 Texas A&M and a victory at Missouri where the Cowboys have only won seven times in school history.
• The A&M win in College Station ended a 19-game road-losing streak.
• In the last six games, the Cowboys have nearly made as many free throws (109) than the opponents have attempted (117).
• During that time span, OSU is shooting 74.1 percent from the free-throw line and 46-of-105 (43.8 percent) from three-point range.
• Excluding the Kansas State loss, the Cowboys have made more free throws (92) than the opponents have attempted (91) since the Colorado game.
• They have also outrebounded the foes by nearly a rebound per game and forced five more turnovers than they’ve committed.
• In the last five victories, OSU has shot 45.2 percent (38 of 84) from beyond the arc while allowing the opponents to shoot just 33.7 (28 of 83) percent.
Defense Stepping Up
• Comparatively speaking, Oklahoma State’s “D” has improved dramatically since Big 12 Conference play started.
• OSU’s scoring defense for all games (66.4 points allowed per game) is nearly one point lower than its scoring defense for conference-games only (67.3), yet the Cowboys’ ranking has improved during league games.
• The Cowboys’ scoring defense for all games ranks ninth in the league, while it’s scoring defense for league-games only ranks fifth.
• Oklahoma State allowed an average of 76 points in 16 Big 12 games last season, 8.7 points higher than this year’s average.
• OSU has given up 80 points or more just twice in the last 18 games, and one of those was in a 93-83 win over Baylor in Stillwater.
• Twelve of the last 17 opponents have been held to under 70 points.
Pick Pockets
• Oklahoma State is averaging 8.44 steals per game this season which currently ranks as the fifth-highest average in school history.
• The school record is 9.03 set during the 1988-89 season. The 2002-03 Cowboys averaged 8.94 steals per game.
• The Pokes had 18 steals during the Prairie View A&M game, the second most in school history. They had 12 at halftime, establishing a school record for steals in a single period.
Eaton Establishes New Record
• Junior guard Byron Eaton has established a new school record for career steals. Entering the Missouri game, he has 180 career thefts.
• He is just the fifth Cowboy in school history to have at least 10 games with four or more steals in a career.
• Eaton is only the seventh Cowboy to have recorded at least 300 assists and 150 steals in a career.
Dove Swatting Shots
• Senior Marcus Dove has 97 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 129 and 97, respectively.
• Should Dove reach 100 blocked shots (he needs three more entering Saturday’s game vs. Nebraska), he would become just the fourth Cowboy in school history to have 100 steals and 100 blocked shots.
From Long Range
• Oklahoma State is averaging 21.2 attempts from long range this season. The school record is 18.9 attempts per game in 1998-99.
• The Cowboys are averaging 7.48 makes 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.
• OSU made 14 treys at Missouri, one shy of the school record and tied for the most against a Division I school in school history.
• 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.
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 (59) and attempted (151) by a frosh in school history. JamesOn Curry was 45-of-104 in his inaugural season and held the previous record for both categories.
• With 13 points at Missouri, Anderson moved past Corey Williams for third place on the school freshman scoring list. He needs 10 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.
Other Rookies Stepping Up
• Freshmen posts Ibrahima Thomas and Martavius Adams have been stepping up for the Cowboys.
• Over the last 17 games — all starts — Thomas is averaging 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
• In his first 10 games, the Senegal native was averaging 4.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest.
• Adams played a career-high 30 minutes against Kansas.
• In the last six games, he is averaging 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
• Prior to the last six games, he was averaging just 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
Harris, Eaton Like the Freebies
• Terrel Harris leads the Big 12 Conference in free-throw shooting, connecting on 84 percent of his shots from the charity stripe.
• Byron Eaton is third in the league in free-throw shooting, connecting on 83 percent of his freebies.
• Eaton was 14 of 16 from the free-throw line against Baylor and 16 of 18 vs. Kansas.
• It was the most free-throws made in a game by a Cowboy since Rick Anderson made 17 at Kansas on Feb. 6, 1985. It was the most attempts by a Poke since Bryant Reeves attempted 19 vs. Missouri on Jan. 22, 1995.
Cowboys No. 3 in Big 12 in Steals
• Oklahoma State averages 8.44 steals per game, the third-highest average of any Big 12 team this season.
• Kansas leads the league, averaging 8.96 per contest.
• Three schools — Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Missouri — are bunched up between 8.4 and 8.5 steals 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 2.37 steals per game.
• Byron Eaton is second with 2.19 steals per game. Marcus Dove is fifth at 1.89 per game.
• Terrel Harris ranks eighth with 1.52 per contest.
Cowboys Third in Long-Range Shooting
• Oklahoma State averages nearly 7-1/2 three-pointers made per game, the third-highest average of any Big 12 team this season.
• Baylor leads the league, averaging 8.74 treys per contest.
• Texas is second in the Big 12, averaging 7.71 three-pointers per game.
• Missouri is fourth, averaging 6.86 treys per game.
Sutton Wins and Wins Big
• Sean Sutton won four games over ranked opponents in his first season as the head coach, including victories over two top-10 foes. He is now 6-9 vs. ranked teams, including 3-4 vs. top-10 opponents.
• His Cowboys were ranked as high as No. 9 in the polls in his initial season.
• Among eight Big 12 head coaches in either their first or second season, Sutton ranks first in victories with 37. He is third when sorted by winning percentage, behind Mark Turgeon at Texas A&M and Kansas State’s Frank Martin, both in their first year as head coach.
• Sutton has been involved with the Cowboy Basketball program for 17 seasons, including two as a player, 13 as an assistant to his father and two as the head coach.
• During that span, OSU has compiled a 385-167 record.
• While Sutton has been a member of the coaching staff, Oklahoma State has turned out three All-Americans, 44 all-conference selections and 20 academic all-league honorees.
• OSU has made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including six Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights and two Final Fours.
Cowboys in the NBA
• Desmond Mason, a first-round pick of the Seattle Supersonics in 2000, is currently in his second stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. He has played in 540 games in seven NBA seasons.
• Tony Allen, a first-round draft pick in 2004, is in his fourth year with the Boston Celtics. He has played in 161 career games, including 61 starts.
• Joey Graham, a first-round pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2005, is in his third season with the Raptors. He has 159 career games played with 45 starts.
• Stephen Graham is in his third season in the NBA and is currently with the Indiana Pacers.
• JamesOn Curry was drafted in the second round with the 51st pick overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2007 draft. He was averaging 22 points a game with the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League before being called up by the Bulls on Dec. 14. He has since returned to the Energy.
• Two other former Cowboys are currently playing in the NBADL. Maurice Baker is with the Dakota Wizards, while Terrence Crawford is playing with the Colorado 14ers.
OSU Among Best in Big 12
• Oklahoma State is one of three school in the Big 12 that has won at least 100 games over the past five seasons.
• Only Kansas and Texas have more victories.
• OSU’s .681 winning percentage ranks third in the league as well.
• The Cowboys’ 2004 Final Four appearance is the last by a Big 12 squad.
• Only OSU, Kansas and Texas have two Sweet 16 appearances in the last five seasons.
