Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys In KC For Final Non-Conference Test
December 28, 2014 | Cowboy Basketball
Missouri (5-6; 0-0 SEC) ► Head Coach: Kim Anderson (1st year)
vs.
Oklahoma State (9-2; 0-0 Big 12) ► Head Coach: Travis Ford (7th year)
Game Center
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPN2 (TBD and Miles Simon)
In Stillwater - Suddenlink 32/HD 232, DirecTV 209, Dish 144, U-verse 606
In OKC - Cox 28/HD 721, DirecTV 209, Dish 144, U-verse 606/1606
In Tulsa - Cox 26/HD 721, DirecTV 209, Dish 144, U-verse 602
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 91
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (9-2 overall) travels to Kansas City to take on Missouri (5-6) at the Sprint Center Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPN2 and can also be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the call.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
OSU is coming off its second loss of the season, a 73-64 setback against 17th-ranked Maryland on Dec. 21, and is 9-2 on the year. The Cowboys started the season 9-1 for the third-straight year and the fifth time in seven seasons under head coach Travis Ford and were also 7-0 for the second consecutive year, winning those first seven games by an average margin of 23.4 points per game.
Through 11 games, coach Travis Ford has fielded five different starting lineups and has gone deep into his bench, with 10 different Cowboys averaging 11.2 minutes played per game or more.
The Cowboys' lineup includes two of the Big 12's top-four leading scorers in senior Le'Bryan Nash, a 6-foot-7 forward, and junior Phil Forte, a 5-foot-11 guard. Nash leads the conference with 17.6 points per game to go along with 6.7 rebounds per outing, while Forte's 16.7 points per game is third in the league and he ranks seventh nationally with a Big 12-best 33 steals.
Missouri From a Distance
Missouri is 5-6 in its first season under head coach Kim Anderson and enters Tuesday's game looking to snap a two-game losing streak after setbacks against Xavier and Illinois.
The Tigers are led by a pair of underclassmen, with sophomore forward Johnathan Williams III averaging 12.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest and freshman guard Montaque Gill-Caesar contributing 12.2 points per outing.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► See the Cowboys complete the non-conference portion of their regular season schedule with a 10-2 mark.
► Improve OSU to 28-20 all time in neutral site games under Travis Ford and 18-10 in regular season neutral site games under their current head coach.
► Snap OSU's two-game losing streak against Missouri.
Notable Streaks Entering the Missouri Game
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 463 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
► Le'Bryan Nash has started in his last 64 games - the 17th-longest streak in school history.
► Phil Forte has made at least one three-pointer in 16-straight games and 23 of his last 24 contests.
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
The Series
Tuesday's matchup renews a pair of old conference rivals who last met on the hardwood during the 2012 season. Mizzou owns a 77-41 all-time advantage in the series, including an 11-5 edge in neutral site contests, and won its last two games against the Cowboys.
Last Time Out - Maryland 73, Oklahoma State 64
The Cowboys had their nine-game home winning streak snapped by Maryland in a 73-64 loss on Dec. 21. Some notes from that game:
►OSU had a its 13-game winning streak over non-conference opponents in Gallagher-Iba Arena snapped.
► Le'Bryan Nash led OSU in scoring for the fourth-straight game with 17 points.
► Michael Cobbins tied a season high by recording four blocked shots for the second consecutive game.
Defensive Minded
Two months into the season, Oklahoma State is establishing itself as a formidable defensive team. The Cowboys rank in the top 50 nationally in many of the prominent defensive statistical categories and are a top-20 team nationally in steals, steals per game and field goal percentage defense. The Cowboys have held eight of their 11 opponents to under 39 percent shooting from the field and have allowed more than 68 points just twice.
Dynamic Duo
There are several productive scoring duos throughout the Big 12 Conference, but none packs a more explosive 1-2 punch than Oklahoma State's Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte III. The Nash-Forte duo combines for 34.3 points per game and 44 percent shooting from the field. Iowa State's combo of Georges Niang and Bryce Dejean-Jones ranks just behind Nash and Forte at 32.9 ppg.
For the Cowboy duo, it's a contrast of styles, with the 6-foot-7 Nash doing the majority of his damage inside and at the free-throw line, where he ranks 15th nationally in free-throw attempts (88) and 11th in free throws made (69). In Forte, the Cowboys have one of the nation's top long-range shooters who has drained 29 three pointers on the season and is shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc.
Nash has scored in double figures in all 10 games he has played this season, including three 20-plus point efforts, while Forte has hit double digits in 10 of 11 games and poured in a career-high 32 points earlier this month against North Texas.
Either Nash or Forte has led OSU in scoring in every game this season, with Nash pacing the Cowboys seven times and Forte leading the way on four occasions.
Forte's 184 points this season are the second most in the Big 12, trailing only West Virginia's Juwan Staten.
