Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Play Zags on New Year's Eve
December 29, 2010 | Cowboy Basketball
Dec. 29, 2010
Game Notes vs Gonzaga
Friday, December 31, 2010 • 9 pm CT
Spokane, Wash. • McCarthey Center (6,000)
Television — ESPN2
Satellite Radio — Sirius 122, XM 143
Game Notes vs Gonzaga in PDF Format 
Oklahoma State (11-1)
Probable Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht Wt Cl. PPG RPG
F 31 Matt Pilgrim 6-8 255 Sr. 4.6 5.3
F 33 Marshall Moses 6-7 255 Sr. 17.3 8.4
G 12 Keiton Page 5-9 165 Jr. 15.8 2.3*
G 14 Ray Penn 5-9 165 So. 8.9 2.9*
G 15 Nick Sidorakis 6-4 195 Sr. 3.5 1.7
Off the Bench
Name Ht Wt Cl. PPG RPG
F 0 Jean-Paul Olukemi 6-5 215 So. 9.6 3.8
F 1 Jarred Shaw 6-10 235 So. 0.9 1.3
G 5 Reger Dowell 6-1 180 So. 0.8 0.6
G 22 Markel Brown 6-3 190 Fr. 3.0 1.0
F 25 Darrell Williams 6-8 255 Jr. 7.1 8.6
F 32 Roger Franklin 6-5 215 So. 0.7 1.0
Gonzaga (7-5)
Probable Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht Wt Cl. PPG RPG
F 10 Mangisto Arop 6-6 208 So. 5.5 3.3
F 20 Elias Harris 6-7 245 So. 11.2 5.4
C 00 Robert Sacre 7-0 260 Jr. 13.3 6.6
G 2 Marquise Carter 6-4 178 Jr. 3.5 1.3*
G 3 Demetri Goodson 6-0 175 Jr. 4.4 3.1*
* assists per game
Game Information
Oklahoma State travels to Spokane, Wash., this week to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-5) on Friday, Dec. 31, at 9 pm CT inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Cowboys are 0-3 all-time against Gonzaga, all three games played on neutral courts. Friday night's game will be televised on ESPN2, with Dave Flemming handling the play-by-play duties and Sean Farham providing expert analysis. This will be the final collegiate basketball game of the 2010 calendar year.
About Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 11-1 this season entering the Gonzaga game. The Cowboys have won 11 of their first 12 games for the second-straight season and for the sixth time in the last 10 years.
The Pokes have a +10.5 scoring margin this season and are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 6.9 boards per game. Excluding the two overtime periods against La Salle, OSU is giving up an average of just 60.3 points this season during regulation. Offensively, the Cowboys are shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, including 33.1 percent from three-point range. OSU's bench is averaging 25 points per game, more than 11 points better than the opponent per game.
OSU's inside-outside duo of senior forward Marshall Moses (17.3 ppg) and junior guard Keiton Page (15.8 ppg) are averaging a combined 33.1 points per contest. Three Cowboys are shooting better than 50 percent from the floor (Moses at 57.6%, Jéan-Paul Olukemi at 54.4% and Matt Pilgrim at 53.2%) and OSU's top-four scorers are all shooting better than 71 percent from the free-throw line. Nine different Cowboys have six or more steals this season.
About Gonzaga
Gonzaga is 7-5 overall this season and currently on a three-game winning streak which included a 68-64 win over Baylor in Dallas on Dec. 18. Three of the Bulldogs' five losses came at the hands of teams that were ranked at the time of the game (San Diego State, Kansas State, Illinois). The Zags are 5-1 at home, the lone loss being to the Aztecs. Gonzaga is led by senior guard Steven Gray who is averaging 15.5 points and 4.9 assists per game. He missed the Xavier game due to back spasms which flared up in the Baylor contest. Junior center Robert Sacre is chipping in 13.3 points and grabbing 6.6 rebounds per contest. Sophomore forward Elias Harris is scoring 11.2 points per game. As a team, the Zags are shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range and 76.2 percent from the free-throw line. The Zags play Lafayette on Wednesday night at home.
Up Next
The Cowboys will head home and complete the non-conference portion of their schedule on Monday, Jan. 3, as Oklahoma State hosts the UTSA Roadrunners (6-4). Tipoff is set for 7 pm and the game will be televised by the Cowboy Sports Network. OSU will open Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 8, as the Cowboys host Kansas State at noon in a game televised by ESPN2.
