Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Mavericks
December 18, 2012 | Cowboy Basketball
Dec. 18, 2012
No. 24 Oklahoma State (8-1)
vs UT Arlington (5-2)
7 pm | Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)
Television -- Fox Sports Plus
Mike Wolfe | play-by-play
Bryndon Manzer | analyst
Cox (OKC) -- 68
Cox (Tulsa) -- 68
Suddenlink -- 75
direcTV -- 677
Dish -- 449
Radio -- Cowboy Radio Network
Dave Hunziker | play-by-play
John Holcomb | analyst
Satellite Radio -- Sirius 104
Notes vs UT Arlington in PDF format
Game Information
Oklahoma State will host its fourth of six-straight home games, entertaining the UT Arlington Mavericks on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7 pm. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Plus, with Mike Wolfe handling the play-by-play duties and Bryndon Manzer providing expert analysis. The last time OSU played six straight at home was to start the 1997-98 season.
About Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 8-1 this season and ranked in both the national polls. The Cowboys are ranked No. 24 in both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today Coaches poll.
Le'Bryan Nash leads the Cowboys in scoring, averaging 16.6 ppg and ranking second in the Big 12 Conference. Markel Brown is second on the squad at 14 ppg and Marcus Smart is averaging 13 points and team highs in rebounds (7.0) and assists (5.2). Phil Forte is averaging 9.4 ppg off the bench and has made a team-high 18 three pointers. Kamari Murphy and Philip Jurick are tied for second on the team, averaging 6.9 rebounds per contest.
The Cowboy defense is limiting its opponents to just 58.2 points per game and 35.3 percent shooting from the floor. OSU has not given up more than 65 points in any of its wins. The Pokes are also outrebounding their opponents by nearly six rebounds a game.
About UT Arlington
UT Arlington is 5-2 this season with a 4-1 mark on the road. The Mavericks have already played two Big 12 Conference foes, falling to Oklahoma 63-59 in Arlington and 70-54 to Texas in Austin. UTA is led by senior guard/forward Karol Gruszecki who is averaging a team-high 10.7 points per game and is shooting nearly 46 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Senior forward Jordan Reves is averaging a double-double with 10.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest. The Mav defense is limiting its opponents to just 58 points per game while allowing a 33.4 field-goal percentage and 28.3 three-point percentage. The Mavericks are also outrebounding their opponents by nearly eight boards a game.
Cowboy Quick Hits
• Oklahoma State is one of three teams in the Big 12 Conference that has three different players ranked among the league's top 15 in scoring.
• Oklahoma State is the only school in the Big 12 that has three players ranked among the top 10 in rebounding.
• Since 1994-95, Oklahoma State has had three-consecutive games with 40 or more rebounds on only four occasions, including twice this season.
• OSU ranks second in the Big 12 and 11th nationally in field-goal percentage defense.
• Oklahoma State is one of six schools that are currently ranked in both the men's and women's Associated Press polls.
• Oklahoma State has won 178 of its last 182 non-conference home games, dating back to 1987, good for a .978 winning percentage.
Series History vs the Mavericks
OSU is 10-1 all-time against UT Arlington on the hardwood, the lone loss a 69-58 decision on Dec. 3, 1987. The Cowboys have rattled off four wins since, including a 69-64 victory in the last meeting on Dec. 22, 2007. OSU is 6-0 at home against UTA, 3-1 in Arlington, and 1-0 in the only neutral-site meeting, a 61-53 win in Fort Worth in the first meeting of the series in 1969.
Last Time vs UT Arlington
OSU's last meeting against UT Arlington was on Dec. 22, 2007, when the Cowboys handed the Mavericks a 69-64 loss. Five different OSU players reached double figures, led by James Anderson's 15. Despite shooting just 39 percent from the floor, and being outrebounded by 16, the Pokes scored 25 points off turnovers and made eight treys. OSU took a 42-30 lead into halftime and led by as many as 14 in the first period. However, UTA outscored the Cowboys 34-27 in the second period. Marcus Dove fell one shy of the school record with seven steals against the Mavericks, and Byron Eaton added seven assists with just one turnover.
OSU-UTA Ties
The only direct tie between Oklahoma State and UT Arlington is the Mavericks' junior guard Reger Dowell, who began his career at Oklahoma State. During 2-1/2 years with the Cowboys, Dowell played in 53 games and started 11, averaging 3.9 points per game. He is redshirting this season. Jamel Outler, UTA's sophomore guard, spent 2010-11 at Texas Tech of the Big 12, but did not play in either of the games against OSU that season. Maverick senior Jordan Reves is from Jeffersontown, Ky., while Cowboy freshman Ford Stuen is from Henderson, Ky. Reves played AAU basketball for Stuen's grandfather.
Against the Western Athletic Conference
Oklahoma State is 37-2 (.949) all-time against current members of the Western Athletic Conference. That includes a 10-1 mark against UT Arlington and a 7-1 mark vs New Mexico State. OSU is undefeated against UTSA (9-0), Idaho (4-0), Louisiana Tech (3-0), Denver (2-0) and Seattle (2-0). The Cowboys have never played Utah State, San Jose State or Texas State.
Tough at Home
Gallagher-Iba Arena is a very formidable place to play for opposing teams. Since the beginning of the 1988-89 season, the Cowboys have a 318-45 record on the white maple court, good for a .876 winning percentage. In fact, Oklahoma State has won 178 of its last 182 non-conference home games, dating back to 1987, good for a .978 winning percentage.
Of OSU's last 12 losses at home, nine have been to ranked opponents. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, the Cowboys have eight wins over ranked opponents inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, including three victories over top-five teams (defeated fourth-ranked Kansas 61-60 on Feb. 23, 2008; defeated the top-ranked Jayhawks 85-77 on Feb. 27, 2010; and defeated No. 2 Missouri 79-72 on Jan. 25, 2012).
Team Rebounding
Oklahoma State is the only school in the Big 12 that has three players ranked among the top 10 in rebounding. Marcus Smart is tied for eighth, with Kamari Murphy and Philip Jurick are both tied for 10th. Iowa State and Baylor, Kansas and Oklahoma each have two players ranked among the top 15.
Five Cowboys are currently averaging at least five rebounds a game. Smart leads the squad with his seven rebounds per game. Murphy and Jurick are both grabbing 6.9 boards per contest, while Le'Bryan Nash and Markel Brown are both averaging 5.2 rpg. Michael Cobbins, who has played just four games due to an injury, isn't far behind at 4.8 boards per contest.
Since 1994-95, Oklahoma State has had three-consecutive games with 40 or more rebounds on only four occasions, including twice this season. The others were in 1996-97 and 1997-98. OSU has grabbed at least 40 rebounds in six of nine games. Last season, the Cowboys record 40 or more rebounds in a single game just five times. The last time OSU had four-consecutive 40-rebound games was during the 1993-94 season.
Balanced Scoring
Oklahoma State is one of three teams in the Big 12 Conference that has three different players ranked among the league's top 15 in scoring. Le'Bryan Nash ranks second, Markel Brown is seventh and Marcus Smart is 14th. Baylor (Pierre Jackson is first, Isaiah Austin is eighth and Cory Jefferson is 13th) and Kansas (Ben McLemore is third, Jeff Withey is ninth and Travis Releford is tied for 11th) both also have three players ranked among the top-15 scorers.
Stifling Defense
While Oklahoma State has added some serious firepower to the offensive end of the court, it's on defense where the Cowboys have been flourishing. OSU has allowed more than 65 points only once this season, and has held its opponents to under 60 points in five of the last seven games. This season, the Pokes have held back-to-back opponents under 50 points, the second-consecutive season OSU has done that under Ford, and just the second time since the 2001-02 season.
Equally stifling is the opponents' field-goal percentage. OSU ranks second in the Big 12 in FG percentage defense at 35.3 percent (Texas has a .332 FG percentage defense to lead the league). The Cowboys have held seven of their last eight opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor, and only Virginia Tech has shot better than 42 percent so far this season against the Pokes. OSU ranks 11th nationally in field-goal percentage defense.
Team Free-Throw Shooting
Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 13th nationally in free-throw percentage at 77.4 percent. The next-closest team in the league is Kansas at 75.7 percent, nearly 20 percentage points lower than OSU. Five different Cowboys are shooting better than 74 percent from the line and three are shooting better than 80 percent. Le'Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart have been frequent visitors to the charity stripe. In fact, Nash leads the Big 12 Conference in free-throw attempts per game at 7.7 FTA/game, which ranks second nationally behind Virginia Tech's Erick Green (8.8 FTA/game). Smart is tied with Oklahoma's Romero Osby for the third-most free-throw attempts per contest.
National Rankings
For the fifth-consecutive week, the Cowboys are ranked in both the national polls. Oklahoma State is currently 24th in both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today Coaches poll. It is OSU's first mention in the polls since the 2006-07 season. Oklahoma State is one of six schools that are currently ranked in both the men's and women's Associated Press polls. The others are: Duke, Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame.
There are only three schools nationally that, when combining their men's and women's team, have just one loss between them. Duke's squads are a combined 17-0 (men 9-0, women 8-0) and Syracuse's teams are a combined 20-1 (men 10-0, women 10-1). The Cowboys are 8-1 and the Cowgirls are 8-0 for a 16-1 mark between the two teams.
The Stat Sheet Stuffer
Marcus Smart fills the stat sheet better than anyone else in the league. He is the only player in the Big 12 Conference who ranks among the top-15 statistically in all five major categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots). He is second in steals, third in assists, tied for eighth in rebounding, tied for ninth in blocked shots and 14th in scoring. He is also sixth in minutes played, sixth in defensive rebounds, tied for sixth in free-throw percentage and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio. That's eight different statistical categories in which he ranks among the Big 12's top 10.
Equal Distribution
Marcus Smart has scored 117 points in his nine-game OSU career. However, Smart's assists have led to nearly as many points by his teammates. Smart has handed out 47 assists this season, leading to a total of 113 points by his teammates, just four fewer than he's scored. His 47 assists have led to six jumpers, eight layups, 14 dunks and 19 three pointers. Smart has been involved in 230 of OSU's 646 points, or more than 35 percent.
