Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Cyclones in GIA
January 29, 2013 | Cowboy Basketball
Jan. 29, 2013
Oklahoma State vs Iowa State
7 pm | Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)
Television — Big 12 Network
Doug Bell | play-by-play
Bryndon Manzer | analyst
Tulsa — KMYT Channel 41
Cox — 10
AT&T U-Verse — 41
Oklahoma City — KOCB Channel 34
Cox — 11
AT&T U-Verse — 34
Suddenlink (Stillwater) — 11
direcTV — check local listings
Dish — check local listings
Radio — Cowboy Radio Network
Dave Hunziker | play-by-play
John Holcomb | analyst
Satellite Radio — Sirius 138
Game notes vs Iowa State in PDF format
Game Information
Oklahoma State hosts its second-straight game as the Cowboys entertain Iowa State on Wednesday, Jan. 30, in a 7 pm matchup inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game will be televised on the Big 12 Network, with Doug Bell handling the play-by-play duties and Bryndon Manzer providing expert analysis. The radio broadcast will be available on Sirius satellite radio, channel 138.
About Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 13-5 overall this season and 3-3 in Big 12 Conference action following an 80-66 victory over West Virginia on Saturday. The Cowboys are currently ranked No. 44 according to RPIRatings.com.
Markel Brown leads OSU offensively, averaging 14.9 ppg. Le'Bryan Nash is second with his 13.3 ppg, while Marcus Smart is chipping in 13.2 ppg. Smart leads the Pokes in assists (81) and steals (49). Philip Jurick is the team leader in rebounds, averaging 7.4 per game. Phil Forte is also averaging in double figures in scoring at 11.6 points per contest and shooting 38.7 percent from long range.
The Cowboy defense is limiting its opponents to just 58.3 points per game and 37.8 percent shooting from the floor. OSU has held seven opponents under the half-century mark this year, a feat which has not been accomplished since the 1962-63 season. Five Cowboys have blocked 15 or more shots this season: Jurick has 22, Kamari Murphy has 17, Smart Michael Cobbins have each blocked 16, and Brown has 15 blocked shots.
About Iowa State
Iowa State is 14-5 overall and 4-2 in league play following a 73-67 win over Kansas State on Saturday in Ames. The Cyclones are averaging nearly 79 points per game and 9.1 three-pointers per contest. ISU is led by senior guard Will Clyburn who is averaging 14.4 ppg, leading five players who average in double figures. Junior forward Melvin Ejim is scoring 10.6 ppg and grabbing 9.5 rebounds per contest. Six different ISU players have made at least 10 treys this season. The Cyclones' two conference losses are at Kansas (97-89 in OT) and at Texas Tech (56-51). They have wins over Texas, West Virginia and KSU at home and a road victory at TCU. Iowa State is coached by Fred Hoiberg, in his third season at the helm of the Cyclones with a 53-32 record.
Cowboy Quick Hits
• OSU has won 57 of its last 59 (96.6%) against unranked teams inside Gallagher-Iba Arena and is 69-3 (95.8%) since 2007-08.
• Markel Brown dished out a career-high 11 assists against Iowa State in Ames last season.
• Oklahoma State scored 96 points against the Cyclones in Stillwater two years ago, the third-most points by the Cowboys in the series and the most by either team since 1989.
• OSU is 6-4 vs Iowa State in overtime contests.
• Oklahoma State has won 16 consecutive home games in the series, dating back to 1988.
• OSU ranks 17th nationally in field-goal percentage defense, 22nd in scoring defense and 28th in scoring margin.
• Oklahoma State is the only team in the Big 12 Conference that has three different players ranked among the league's top 10 in scoring.
• Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 14th nationally in free-throw percentage at 75.5 percent.
• Oklahoma State ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and 69th nationally in turnover margin, averaging 2.2 fewer TOs per game than its opponents.
Series History vs Iowa State
Oklahoma State holds a 62-53 all-time series record vs Iowa State, including a 36-13 mark in Stillwater. The Cowboys are 16-5 against the Cyclones since the Big 12 formed in 1996-97.
These two teams split last year's series with each team winning at home. It was the first time since the Big Eight days that they played two regular-season games, since each was in a different division when there were 12 teams.
OSU has won five of the last six against ISU. In Stillwater, the Cowboys have not lost to Iowa State since 1988, a string of 16 consecutive home victories for the Pokes.
Current Cowboys vs Iowa State
• Markel Brown has played in three games and started two vs Iowa State. He is averaging 12 points and 4.3 rebounds vs ISU and shooting 51.7 percent from the floor. Brown is averaging 5.4 assists and 1.9 turnovers per 40 minutes against the Cyclones. He also has three blocks and four steals.
• Michael Cobbins started both games against Iowa State last season. He is averaging 6.5 points and nine rebounds per contest. He recorded 14 rebounds in the game in Stillwater last year.
• Le'Bryan Nash started both games against the Cyclones last season. He averaged 19.5 points while shooting 55.2 percent from the floor. He also dished out four assists, blocked two shots, had two steals and just one turnover in 75 minutes of play. He scored 21 points in Ames and 18 in Stillwater.
• Marek Soucek scored 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench in two games against Iowa State. He was 4-of-4 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc against the Cyclones.
Last Time vs the Cyclones
The 10 starters in the game accounted for 89.7 percent of the points scored, and OSU defeated Iowa State 69-67 in the last meeting between these two schools. Markel Brown scored a team-high 19 while Le'Bryan Nash added 18 points. Chris Allen scored 22 for ISU while Royce White added 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Michael Cobbins had 14 rebounds against the Cyclones, although ISU outrebounded the Pokes, 39-31. OSU shot nearly 59 percent inside the arc, but made just five of 20 treys. The Cowboys committed just seven turnovers in the game and made 14 of 17 (82.4%) from the charity stripe.
Balanced Scoring
Oklahoma State is the only team in the Big 12 Conference that has three different players ranked among the league's top 10 in scoring and four among the top 20. Markel Brown ranks fourth (14.9 ppg), Le'Bryan Nash ranks ninth (13.3 ppg), Marcus Smart ranks 10th (13.2 ppg) and Phil Forte ranks 17th (11.6 ppg) in the Big 12 scoring ranks. Baylor has two scorers ranked among the top 10, while the Bears, Kansas and Iowa State each have three among the top 20. Not surprisingly, all three of the Cowboys who rank among the league's 10 best scorers are also among the Big 12's top free-throw shooters (Nash ranks seventh, Brown ninth and Smart 11th in FT percentage).
Defensive Pride
Statistically, Oklahoma State is one of the top defensive teams in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys rank second in scoring defense, third in FG percentage defense, third in blocked shots, third in steals, third in rebounding defense, third in rebounding defense, third in defensive rebound percentage, and fifth in defensive rebounds. The only defensive statistical category OSU doesn't excel in is three-point FG percentage defense, where the Pokes rank seventh.
Although there are still 12 regular-season games remaining, this Cowboy defense ranks among the school's best. Not since 1968-69 has an OSU squad allowed fewer than 60 points per game in a full season. This year's team is allowing just 58.3 ppg through 18 contests. Oklahoma State has had just three seasons when the team has blocked five or more shots per game; this year's team is averaging 5.0 bpg. OSU is currently allowing a 37.8 FG percentage on defense, which would rank in the top 10 in school history.
The Cowboys have held seven opponents to less than 36 percent shooting from the floor and two below 30 percent. OSU ranks 17th nationally in field-goal percentage defense, 22nd in scoring defense and 28th in scoring margin.
Keeping it Under 50
Oklahoma State has held its opponent under the half-century mark seven times this season, the most since 1962-63 when the Cowboys held 10 opponents under 50 points. The Pokes limited South Florida and Missouri State to fewer than 50 points in back-to-back games, and accomplished that same feat against UT Arlington and Tennessee Tech. Three times since 2001-02 has OSU held consecutive opponents to under 50 points, and all three have occurred in the last two seasons.
Free-Throw Shooting
Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 14th nationally in free-throw percentage at 75.5 percent. The next-closest team in the league is Oklahoma at 74.2 percent. Five different Cowboys are shooting better than 75 percent from the line: Phil Forte (90.2%), Le'Bryan Nash (79.8%), Markel Brown (77.5%), Michael Cobbins (76.2%) and Marcus Smart (75.8%). Oklahoma State has shot better than 75 percent as a team just three previous times, and just once since 1958. The Cowboys shot 78 percent from the line in 2004-05.
Turnover Margin
Oklahoma State ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and 69th nationally in turnover margin, averaging 2.2 fewer turnovers per game than its opponents. Kansas State leads the league with a +2.3 turnover margin. The current turnover margin for OSU would rank seventh in school history. Oklahoma State has had a plus turnover margin greater than 2.0 just eight times in school history, including the school record +3.5 turnover margin created during the 1997-98 season.
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 323-46 record on the white maple court, good for a .875 winning percentage. Of OSU's last 13 losses at home, 10 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). With the victory over West Virginia, Oklahoma State has now won at least 10 home games in 25 consecutive seasons.
Team Rebounding
Six Cowboys are currently averaging at least 4.3 rebounds a game. Philip Jurick leads the team with 7.4 rpg, while Marcus Smart is averaging 5.6 rpg. Michael Cobbins is grabbing 5.1 rpg and Kamari Murphy is averaging 4.7 rebounds per contest. Le'Bryan Nash is averaging 4.4 rpg and Markel Brown is grabbing 4.3 per game.
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 eight of 18 games this year. Last season, the Cowboys recorded 40 or more rebounds in a game just five times.
Block Party
As a team, Oklahoma State is averaging five blocked shots per game, good for third in the Big 12 and 36th nationally. That average currently ranks as the fourth-highest average in school history.
Three current players also rank among the top-15 shot blockers in school history. With two blocked shots against West Virginia and 22 on the season, Philip Jurick moved ahead of Markel Brown and into sole possession of 11th place on the career blocks list. Brown ranks 12th with 67 career blocks. As a sophomore, Michael Cobbins already has 65 blocked shots, tying Richard Dumas for 13th. He is averaging 1.41 blocks per game in his career, which would rank fifth in school history with enough games played.
Jurick is ranks ninth, while Kamari Murphy is tied for 11th and Marcus Smart is tied for 15th individually in the Big 12 for blocked shots.
Top Shot-Blocking Guard
With a blocked shot against Tennessee Tech, Markel Brown surpassed James Anderson for the most career blocks ever by a Cowboy guard. With one vs Texas Tech, Brown now has 67 in his 2-1/2 year career. Anderson had 60 blocked shots in 101 games, while Brown reached that mark in 77 contests. The current Cowboy also has the most blocked shots ever by a player 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 league's top-16 leaders statistically in all five major categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots). Smart leads the league in steals, is sixth in assists, is 10th in scoring, is tied for 15th in blocked shots and ranks 16th in rebounding. He is also eighth in minutes played, ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio, 11th in free-throw percentage and 13th in defensive rebounds. That's nine different statistical categories in which he ranks among the Big 12's top 16.
Stop, Thief!
Marcus Smart has 49 steals through 18 games this season, an average of 2.72 thefts per game which leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks seventh nationally. That average ranks as the second-highest in school history, behind only Brooks Thompson's 2.9 steal-per-game average as a senior in 1993-94. Smart's total is tied for the second-most among all-time freshmen in school history. He's on pace to challenge the Big 12 freshman record of 89, set by Kansas' Mario Chalmers in 2005-06 in 33 games (2.70 spg).
