Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Face Fourth-Straight Ranked Foe
March 02, 2010 | Cowboy Basketball
March 2, 2010
Game Info vs Texas A&M
Date — Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Tipoff — 8:05 p.m.
Location — College Station, Texas
Venue — Reed Arena (12,292)
Series History with A&M — OSU leads, 30-13
Last Meeting — Jan. 27, 2010 in Stillwater
Result — Oklahoma State won 76-69
Last Meeting in College Station — Jan. 31, 2009
Result — Texas A&M won 76-64
Television — ESPN2 HD
Play-by-Play • Ron Franklin
Analyst • Stephen Bardo
Oklahoma City • Cox Channel 28
Stillwater • Suddenlink Channel 32
Tulsa • Cox Channel 26
Radio — Cowboy Radio Network
Play-by-Play • Dave Hunziker
Analyst • John Holcomb
Flagship Station • KSPI 93.7 FM
Game Notes vs. Texas A&M in PDF Format 
About Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 20-8 overall this season and 8-6 in Big 12 action following an 85-77 win over top-ranked Kansas on Saturday. The Cowboys are tied with Texas for sixth place in the Big 12 Conference and just one game out of third place. OSU has four victories over top-25 opponents this season. James Anderson lead the Big 12 in scoring at 22.6 points per game. Three Cowboys rank in the top 20 in the league in rebounding — Marshall Moses (5th at 8.7), Matt Pilgrim (9th at 6.8) and James Anderson (14th at 6.1). In league-games only, OSU leads in three-pointers made per game (9.1) and ranks third in the league in free-throw percentage (73.2%). OSU ranks No. 26 in the RPI ratings.
About Texas A&M
Texas A&M is 20-8 overall this seasonand 9-5 in league play following an 74-58 win over Texas on Saturday. The Aggies are ranked 23rd in the Associated Press poll and 24th in the ESPN/Coaches poll. Texas A&M is led by senior guard Donald Sloan who is averaging 18.1 points per game. Senior center Bryan Davis is chipping in 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds per contest. In league games only, the Aggies lead the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing just 66.9 points per game. They're allowing just 64.9 ppg over the course of the season. A&M is ranked No. 13 in the RPI ratings.
Individual Notes
James Anderson has 811 career points against Big 12 teams and needs just 19 to become the OSU career scoring leader in Big 12 games only — Adrian Peterson owns the record with 829 points ... Obi Muonelo moved past Peterson and into second place on the OSU all-time list for career three-pointers made ... Marshall Moses has 251 career rebounds against Big 12 foes, needing three to move past Peterson and into 5th place on the school list ... Matt Pilgrim is averaging 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds over his last seven games while shooting 85.7% (36 of 42) from the floor ... Keiton Page is averaging 16.8 points and 3.7 assists in the last six outings ... Page has connected on 21 consecutive free throws and 37 of his last 38 (97.4%).
Team Notes
Oklahoma State is playing its fourth-straight ranked opponent and is 2-1 during the stretch ... OSU is shooting 46.7% from long range in the last five games, making 58-of-124 ... the Cowboys have won 31 of their last 34 games (91.2%) when shooting 50% from the floor ... Oklahoma State is 35-1 in the Ford era when shooting better than their opponent ... OSU is 4-3 against top-25 foes this season ... the Cowboys are 0-4 on the road at Big 12 South Division opponents this season.
Anderson, Pilgrim Garner Big 12 Weekly Awards
For the fifth time this season, players from the same team have received the Big 12 Weekly Player and Rookie of the Week Awards. James Anderson has been named the POW, while Matt Pilgrim has been named the Rookie of the Week. It is the first time in school history that two Cowboys won the awards in the same week. Anderson scored 27 points in leading the Cowboys to an 85-77 win over top-ranked Kansas. Meanwhile, Pilgrim was a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line for 18 points while adding six rebounds.
OSU vs. A&M Notes
• Despite Oklahoma State's commanding 30-13 record in the series with Texas A&M, the Aggies have won five of the last nine meetings, including three of the last four in College Station.
• The Cowboys won 12 straight games with A&M from 2000-06, winning those 12 contests by an average of 14.8 points per game.
• Since the Big 12 formed in 1996-97, Oklahoma State leads the series 22-6, with just one game played in the postseason league tournament.
• The trio of James Anderson, Obi Muonelo and Keiton Page have combined to shoot 44.9 percent from beyond the three-point arc against Texas A&M, connecting on 31-of-69 shots from long range.
• Marshall Moses is averaging 9.3 rebounds in his last three games against the Aggies.
• Oklahoma State shot 57.9 percent from the floor against Texas A&M in the earlier meeting in Stillwater, including 12-of-18 (66.7%) from behind the three-point line. The Cowboys also outrebounded the Aggies 30-19, including a game-high 11 by Moses. No Texas A&M player had more than four rebounds in the game.
• Obi Muonelo scored 24 points in the game, going 9-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. James Anderson dished out a career-high seven assists in the game.
Recap of the Kansas Game
• For just the third time in school history, Oklahoma State defeated the No. 1 team in the country, dropping Kansas 85-77.
• The last time the Cowboys defeated a top-ranked team was on Feb. 4, 1989, when OSU defeated No. 1 Oklahoma 77-73.
• Oklahoma State is now 3-6 all-time against No. 1 teams, including a 3-1 mark in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• James Anderson scored 27 points against the Jayhawks, despite suffering from severe back spasms during Friday's afternoon practice.
• Matt Pilgrim scored 18 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the floor.
• Obi Muonelo scored 17 points while Keiton Page add 15, including 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.
• As a team, OSU shot 60.4 percent, the highest percentage by the Cowboys against a Big 12 opponent since Jan. 30, 2005, when the Pokes shot 60 percent at Colorado.
• It was the highest shooting percentage that an opponent has shot against a Kansas squad since the 1990 Big Eight Tournament.
Huge Upsets
Oklahoma State has defeated two teams that are currently ranked in the top-five nationally this season, both from the state of Kansas. OSU picked up one of its biggest upsets ever over a ranked opponent on Jan. 23 when the Cowboys defeated No. 10/9 Kansas State 73-69 on the Wildcats' home court. It was the first victory over a top-10 team in a true road game since 1958, when Oklahoma A&M defeated Kansas 52-50 in overtime in Allen Fieldhouse. The Wildcats are currently ranked fifth nationally.
Just last Saturday, OSU defeated the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks 85-77. It was the Pokes' first victory over a No. 1 team since Feb. 4, 1989, when Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma 77-73 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. It was also just the third win over a No. 1 team in school history.
Since Travis Ford became the head coach at OSU, the Cowboys have six wins over ranked teams, including three over top-10 opponents. Oklahoma State defeated No. 6 Oklahoma last season in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals. The Cowboys are now 38-92 (29.2 percent) all-time against top-10 teams.
Big 12 Player of the Year?
There's no doubt that James Anderson deserves to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year. He has averaged 19 points or more against every team in the Big 12 this season and is a leader on the youngest team in the league. He's averaging 23.8 points in conference games only, the fifth-highest average by a Big 12 player in league history.
He enters the Texas A&M game with a 17.8 career scoring average, the second-highest average in school history with Byron Houston's 18.7 ppg average the only one ahead of him.
Anderson currently has 1,710 career points, making him the fourth-most prominent scorer in school history. He's also scored more points through his first three years in a Cowboy uniform than any other player in school history. Houston held the top spot for 19 years with 1,691 points.
Only four other players in Big 12 history — Texas' Kevin Durant (28.9 ppg in 2006-07), Kansas State's Michael Beasley (28.4 in 2007-08), Iowa State's Marcus Fizer (24.8 in 1999-2000) and Oklahoma's Corey Brewer (24.4 in 1997-98) — have averaged more in league-games only in a single season.
Up Next
The Cowboys close out the regular season on Saturday, March 6, when OSU hosts the Nebraska Huskers (14-15, 2-12) in a 12:45 p.m. game that will be televised by the Big 12 Network. Then, its off to Kansas City as Oklahoma State participates in the 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Seeds have yet to be determined.
