Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys vs Jayhawks in Lawrence
February 01, 2013 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 1, 2013
Oklahoma State at Kansas
3 pm | Saturday, February 2, 2013
Lawrence, Kan. | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Television — Big 12 Network
Dave Armstrong | play-by-play
Chris Piper | analyst
Cox (OKC) — 11
Cox (Tulsa) — 10
Suddenlink (Stillwater) — 11
direcTV — *
Dish — *
* check local listings
Radio
Dave Hunziker | play-by-play
John Holcomb | analyst
Satellite Radio — Sirius 91 • XM 91
Game Information
Oklahoma State travels to Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday, Feb. 2, for a 3 pm matchup with the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks inside Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be televised on the Big 12 Network, with Dave Armstrong handling the play-by-play duties and Chris Piper providing expert analysis. The radio broadcast will be available on satellite radio (Sirius 91 • XM 91).
About Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 14-5 overall this season and 4-3 in Big 12 Conference action following a thrilling 78-76, come-from-behind victory over Iowa State on Wednesday. The Cowboys are currently ranked No. 37 according to RPIRatings.com and No. 21 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.
Markel Brown leads OSU offensively, averaging 14.8 ppg. Marcus Smart is second with his 13.6 ppg, while Le'Bryan Nash is chipping in 13.5 ppg. Smart leads the Pokes in assists (88) and steals (53). Philip Jurick is the team leader in rebounds, averaging 7.2 per game. Phil Forte is also averaging in double figures in scoring at 11.9 points per contest and shooting 38.6 percent from long range.
The Cowboy defense is limiting its opponents to just 59.2 points per game and 38.6 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, Michael Cobbins and Kamari Murphy each have 17, Smart has blocked 16, and Brown has 15 blocked shots.
About Kansas
Kansas is 19-1 overall this season and 7-0 in league play, and is currently the top-ranked team in the country according to the USA Today/Coaches poll. The Jayhawks are No. 2 in the Associated Press poll. KU is led by redshirt freshman Ben McLemore, who is averaging 16.1 points per game. However, the Jayhawks have four senior starters, led by Jeff Withey in the middle. He is averaging 13.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game. Kansas is allowing just 58.7 points per contest and just 35 percent shooting from the floor. KU actually has a -0.4 turnover margin, the only chink in the armor. OSU alum Bill Self is the head coach of the 'Hawks, and is 285-54 in his 10th season.
Cowboy Quick Hits
• 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.
• OSU ranks 31st nationally in field-goal percentage defense, 38th in scoring defense and 31st in scoring margin.
• Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks 20th nationally in free-throw percentage at 75.1 percent.
• Oklahoma State ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and 51th nationally in turnover margin, averaging 2.6 fewer turnovers per game than its opponents.
• True freshman Marcus Smart leads the league in steals, ranks sixth in assists, is ninth in scoring, and ranks 16th in rebounding.
• Smart's 53 steals this season are the second-most among all-time freshmen in school history.
• Markel Brown is averaging 10.5 points in four meetings with the Jayhawks.
• Brian Williams, who saw his first game action of the season against Iowa State on Wednesday after suffering a broken wrist in the preseason, scored 20 points against KU last season in Stillwater.
Series History vs Kansas
Kansas leads the all-time series vs Oklahoma State 106-53, including a 57-10 mark in Lawrence. The Jayhawks have won the last four meetings, dating back to OSU's 85-77 victory over top-ranked KU in Stillwater on Feb. 27, 2010.
As the No. 2 team nationally in the AP poll, Kansas will have been ranked in the top 10 at game time in 13 of the last 17 meetings, including Saturday. OSU has won three of those games, as well as a win over a 12th-ranked Jayhawk squad in 2004.
Oklahoma State's last victory over KU in Lawrence came on Feb. 8, 1989, when OSU handed the Jayhawks an 87-81 defeat. The Cowboys have lost in their last 16 trips to Allen Fieldhouse.
Current Cowboys vs Kansas
• Markel Brown has played in four games and started three vs Kansas. He is averaging 10.5 ppg, including 21 at Lawrence last season. He also has 15 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals against the Jayhawks.
• Michael Cobbins started both games against Kansas last season. He recorded 10 rebounds, four points, three assists, three blocks, three steals and just one turnover in 75 minutes of play.
• Philip Jurick played in both games last season, starting in Stillwater.
• Le'Bryan Nash only played in Lawrence last season, starting vs KU. He scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.
• Marek Soucek played both games last season, grabbing one rebound.
• Brian Williams started both games last season vs Kansas. He averaged 15.5 points, scoring 20 in Stillwater. He shot 52.9 percent from the floor and 10-of-13 from the line in the two meetings.
Last Time vs the Jayhawks
Keiton Page and Brian Williams combined to score 49 of OSU's 58 points, but Tyshawn Taylor (27 points) and Thomas Robinson (17 points, 11 rebounds) had more offensive support as Kansas defeated the Cowboys 70-58 in Stillwater.
Page was 10-of-18 from the floor, including 7-of-14 from beyond the arc. Williams was equally effective, connecting on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from long range. However, the rest of the Cowboys shot just 17.6 percent (3 of 17).
The Jayhawks forced just 11 OSU turnovers, but those resulted in 14 points. KU also outscored the Cowboys 10-0 on fastbreak points. Oklahoma State scored just eight points in the paint.
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 fifth (14.8 ppg), Marcus Smart ranks ninth (13.6 ppg), Le'Bryan Nash ranks 10th (13.5 ppg) and Phil Forte ranks 16th (11.9 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 eighth, Smart ninth and Brown 11th in FT percentage).
Defensive Pride
Statistically, Oklahoma State is one of the top defensive teams in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys rank 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, fourth in scoring defense, 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 eighth.
Although there are still 11 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 59.3 ppg through 19 contests.
The Cowboys have held seven opponents to less than 36 percent shooting from the floor and two below 30 percent.
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 20th nationally in free-throw percentage at 75.1 percent. The next-closest team in the league is Oklahoma at 73.8 percent. Five different Cowboys are shooting better than 75 percent from the line: Phil Forte (89.1%), Le'Bryan Nash (78.4%), Marcus Smart (76.2%), Markel Brown (75.7%) and Michael Cobbins (75.0%). 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 51st nationally in turnover margin, averaging 2.6 fewer turnovers per game than its opponents. Kansas State leads the league with a +2.8 turnover margin. The current turnover margin for OSU would rank sixth 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.
Against Ranked Opponents
Oklahoma State is 40-102 all-time against top-10 teams, including a 23-52 mark against top-five teams and a 5-6 mark against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll at tipoff. OSU has twice defeated a No. 2 team while unranked — a 56-54 victory over Kansas on Feb. 21, 1957, and a 79-72 win over Missouri on Jan. 25, 2012. The Cowboys defeated sixth-ranked N.C. State 76-56 earlier this season.
Against Top-Five Teams on the Road
Oklahoma State has not defeated a top-five team on the road since Jan. 2, 1958, when the Cowboys defeated No. 2 Kansas 52-50 in overtime. In fact, three of OSU's four wins over top-five teams on their home court have gone into overtime, and two of the four wins have come against the No. 4-ranked team. Here is a look at those four games:
Date Opponent Score
Jan. 2, 1958 No. 2 Kansas 52-50 ot
Dec. 21, 1953 No. 4 Illinois 65-60 ot
Jan. 26, 1951 No. 4 Bradley 49-48 ot
Feb. 26, 1949 No. 2 St. Louis 40-37
Team Rebounding
Six Cowboys are currently averaging at least 4.4 rebounds a game. Philip Jurick leads the team with 7.2 rpg, while Marcus Smart is averaging 5.6 rpg. Michael Cobbins is grabbing 5.1 rpg and Kamari Murphy is averaging 4.5 rebounds per contest. Markel Brown is averaging 4.5 rpg and Le'Bryan Nash is grabbing 4.4 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 19 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 4.8 blocked shots per game, good for third in the Big 12 and 46th 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 a team-high 22 on the season, Philip Jurick has 69 in his career and sits in 11th place on the career blocks list. Markel Brown, the top shot-blocking guard in school history, ranks 12th with 67 career blocks. As a sophomore, Michael Cobbins already has 66 blocked shots, passing Richard Dumas for 13th place. Cobbins is averaging 1.40 blocks per game in his career, which would rank fifth in school history with enough games played.
Jurick ranks eighth while Kamari Murphy is tied for 13th 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 and KU's Ben McLemore are the only players in the Big 12 Conference who ranks among the league's leaders statistically in four major categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks). Smart leads the league in steals, is sixth in assists, ninth in scoring, and 16th in rebounding. McLemore is second in scoring, 12th in blocks, 14th in steals and 18th in rebounding. Smart is also seventh in minutes played, eighth in assist-turnover ratio, ninth in free-throw percentage and 13th in defensive rebounds. That's six different statistical categories in which he ranks among the Big 12's top 10.
Stop, Thief!
Marcus Smart has 53 steals through 19 games this season, an average of 2.79 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 2.91 steal-per-game average as a senior in 1993-94. Smart's total is 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).
