Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Golden Eagles
December 21, 2012 | Cowboy Basketball
Dec. 21, 2012
No. 24 Oklahoma State vs Tennessee Tech
12 pm | Saturday, December 22, 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 92 • XM 190
Game Notes vs Tennessee Tech in PDF format
Game Information
Oklahoma State will host its fifth of six-straight home games, entertaining the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Saturday, Dec. 22 at noon. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Plus, with Mike Wolfe handling the play-by-play duties and Bryndon Manzer providing expert analysis. This will be the first meeting between Oklahoma State and Tennessee Tech on the hardwood.
About Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 9-1 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 15.9 ppg and ranking third in the Big 12 Conference. Markel Brown is second on the squad at 14.3 ppg and Marcus Smart is averaging 12.7 points and a team-high 5.2 assists per contest. Phil Forte is averaging 9.8 ppg off the bench and has made a team-high 21 three pointers. Philip Jurick is first and Kamari Murphy third on the team in rebounding, averaging 7.2 and 6.3 boards per game, respectively.
The Cowboy defense is limiting its opponents to just 56.8 points per game and 35.6 percent shooting from the floor. OSU has held four opponents under the half-century mark this season, a feat which has not been accomplished since 2003-04.
About Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Tech is 6-5 this season, with wins over UW-Milwaukee (69-58), UW-Green Bay (74-68), Berea (69-45), East Tennessee State (65-62), Coastal Carolina (71-69) and Crowley's Ridge (107-32). The Golden Eagles' losses are to Evansville (62-50), Loyola (81-78), Lipscomb (80-64), Gardner-Webb (61-41) and most recently, Auburn (81-62). Tech is led by senior guard Jud Dillard who is averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Jeremiah Samarrippas leads the team with 4.4 assists per game. As a team, the Golden Eagles are shooting 45.5 percent from the floor, including 67 made threes per contest. Tennessee Tech is coached by Steve Payne, in his second season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles. He was an assistant coach at Tech for nine years before taking over in 2011.
Cowboy Quick Hits
• Oklahoma State has given up 56.8 points per game thus far. The last time the Cowboys gave up fewer points in the first 10 games of the season? That would be 1965-66, when OSU allowed 56.5 points through the first 10 contests.
• The Cowboys rank second in the Big 12 behind TCU in scoring defense.
• Oklahoma State is the only school in the Big 12 that has three players ranked among the top 15 in rebounding.
• 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.
• Since 1994-95, Oklahoma State has had three-consecutive games with 40 or more rebounds on only four occasions, including twice this season.
• OSU leads the Big 12 Conference in free-throw shooting at 77.9 percent.
• 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 179 of its last 183 non-conference home games, dating back to 1987, good for a .978 winning percentage.
OSU-TTU Ties
Oklahoma State assistant coach Chris Ferguson was on the staff at Tennessee from 1997-2005, during which time Golden Eagle assistant Brian Kloman was a student assistant for the Volunteers (1998-2002).
Against the Ohio Valley Conference
Oklahoma State is 5-0 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cowboys have defeated each of the following once: Austin Peay, Morehead State, Murray State, Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee State.
Team Rebounding
Oklahoma State is the only school in the Big 12 that has three players ranked among the top 15 in rebounding. Philip Jurick ranks ninth at 7.2 rebounds per game, while Marcus Smart ranks 12th (6.6 rpg) and Kamari Murphy 14th (6.3 rpg). Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas each have two players among the top 15.
Six Cowboys are currently averaging at least 4.7 rebounds a game. Along with the aforementioned trio, Michael Cobbins has grabbed eight rebounds in each of his last three games and is averaging 5.4 boards per game. Le'Bryan Nash is grabbing 4.9 rebounds per contest, and Markel Brown is averaging 4.7 rpg.
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 10 games. Last season, the Cowboys record 40 or more rebounds in a single game just five times.
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 is tied for third in the league, Markel Brown ranks sixth and Marcus Smart is tied for 15th. Baylor (Pierre Jackson is first, Isaiah Austin is eighth and Cory Jefferson is 12th) and Kansas (Ben McLemore is tied for third, Jeff Withey is seventh and Travis Releford is 14th) 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 six of the last eight games. The Pokes held South Florida and Missouri State below 50 points back-to-back, 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 third in the Big 12 in FG percentage defense at 35.6 percent (Texas has a 33.0 FG percentage defense to lead the league). The Cowboys have held eight of their last nine 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. Entering the holiday season, OSU ranks 11th nationally in field-goal percentage defense.
Free-Throw Shooting
Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 13th nationally in free-throw percentage at 77.9 percent. The next-closest team in the league is Kansas at 75.3 percent, nearly 30 percentage points lower than OSU. Five different Cowboys are shooting better than 75 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 7.3 FTA/game, which ranks second nationally behind Virginia Tech's Erick Green (8.8 FTA/game). Smart has the fourth-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.
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 319-45 record on the white maple court, good for a .876 winning percentage. In fact, Oklahoma State has won 179 of its last 183 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).
Top Shot-Blocking Guard
With two blocked shots against UT Arlington on Wednesday night, junior Markel Brown tied James Anderson for the most career blocks ever by a Cowboy guard. Brown now has 60, tying Anderson's three-year mark. Anderson accomplished the mark in 101 games, while Brown has reached that mark in 77 contests. The current Cowboy also has the most blocked shots ever by a Cowboy under 6-5.
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, fifth in assists, tied for eighth in blocked shots, 12th in rebounding and tied for 15th in scoring. He is also sixth in minutes played, eighth in defensive rebounds, tied for sixth in free-throw percentage and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio. That's nine different statistical categories in which he ranks among the Big 12's top 15.
Equal Distribution
Marcus Smart has scored 127 points in his 10-game OSU career. However, Smart's assists have led to nearly as many points by his teammates. Smart has handed out 52 assists this season, leading to a total of 126 points by his teammates, just one fewer than he's scored. His 52 assists have led to seven jumpers, eight layups, 15 dunks and 22 three pointers. Smart has been involved in 253 of OSU's 715 points, or more than 35.4 percent.
The expectation would be that most of Smart's assists have gone to Phil Forte, his teammate since the third grade. That assumption would be accurate. Of Smart's 52 assists, 15 have gone to Forte, leading to 43 points, including 13 three-pointers. Markel Brown has been on the receiving end of 14 Smart assists, leading to 32 points, while Le'Bryan Nash has scored 20 points off nine Smart assists. Kamari Murphy has scored 15 points off seven assists by Smart, and Michael Cobbins has scored eight points off four Smart assists.
Stop, Thief!
Marcus Smart has 26 steals through just 10 games this season, an average of 2.6 per game. That average ranks as the second-highest in school history, behind only Brooks Thompson's 2.9 steal-per-game average in 1993-94. As a freshman, Smart's total is just three away from breaking into the top-five category in school history. He's on pace to challenge the Big 12 freshman record of 89, set by Kansas' Mario Chalmers in 2005-06. Cookie Belcher of Nebraska had 87 in 1996-97.
Freshmen Making Immediate Impact
So far this season, all four scholarship newcomers have played in every game for Oklahoma State, including all three freshmen. Those three have made an immediate impact for the Cowboys. Forward Kamari Murphy and guard Marcus Smart are both starting for OSU, and guard Phil Forte is averaging nearly 26 minutes off the bench.
Smart is averaging 12.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game this season. In 10 starts, Murphy is averaging nearly 26 minutes per game, grabbing 6.3 rebounds per contest and chipping in 6.1 points while blocking 12 shots on defense. Forte is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game, and is shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc. He was key in the win over Akron, scoring six of the Cowboys' eight points in overtime.
