Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Jayhawks Saturday
February 28, 2014 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 28, 2014
OKLAHOMA STATE vs KANSAS
Saturday, March 1 • 8 pm
Gallagher-Iba Arena
Stillwater, Okla.
Television — ESPN
Rece Davis | play-by-play
Jay Bilas | analyst
Shannon Spake | reporter
Cox (OKC) — 29
Cox (Tulsa) — 25
Suddenlink — 31
direcTV — 206
Dish — 140
U-Verse — 602
Radio — Cowboy Radio Network
Dave Hunziker | play-by-play
John Holcomb | analyst
Game notes vs Kansas in PDF format
Game Information
Oklahoma State hosts the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, March 1, at 8 pm inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN as part of its College Game Day presented by State Farm format. Rece Davis will handle the play-by-play duties while Jay Bilas will provide color commentary and Shannon Spake will serve as the sideline reporter. KU defeated OSU 80-78 earlier this season, improving to 108-54 in the series.
About Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 18-10 overall this season and 6-9 in league play following a 76-54 win at TCU on Monday evening. OSU is averaging 81.1 points per game this season with four players averaging at least 13 ppg. Marcus Smart leads the scoring attack with 17.4 ppg, among the leaders in the Big 12 Conference. Markel Brown is also among the league's top scorers, averaging 16.8 ppg, while Le'Bryan Nash (14.4 ppg) and Phil Forte (13.3 ppg) are both ranked among the league's top 20.
OSU is shooting 47% from the floor, including 36.9% from beyond the arc. The Cowboys have a scoring margin of 112.2 points per game, and eight of their 10 losses have been by two or fewer possessions (two in overtime). They also have a +3.3 turnover margin. OSU's defense is giving up 69.5 ppg, a 40.4% field-goal defense and a 33.1% three-point field-goal defense.
About Kansas
Fifth-ranked Kansas is 22-6 overall and 13-2 in league play following an 83-75 win over Oklahoma on Monday night. The Jayhawks are led by freshman Andrew Wiggins who is averaging 16.3 ppg. Perry Ellis is chipping in 13.3 ppg and Joel Embiid is averaging 11.1 ppg and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per contest. Wayne Selden is also in double figures at 10.3 ppg, while Naadir Tharpe leads the squad with 5.1 assists per contest.
As a team, KU is averaging 79.8 ppg while allowing 69.3 ppg. The Jayhawks are shooting 50.1% from the floor, including 35.4% from long range. They have a +10.5 scoring margin and a +7.4 rebounding margin. OSU alum Bill Self is in his 11th season as head coach of Kansas. He is 322-65 in Lawrence, and has a 529-170 record in 22 seasons as a head coach, with stops at ORU, Tulsa and Illinois.
Series History vs KU
Kansas leads the all-time series with Oklahoma State 108-54, including a 35-31 mark in Stillwater. Since the Big 12 formed in 1996-97, the Jayhawks hold a 19-7 edge, but are just 4-5 in Gallagher-Iba Arena. In fact, the Cowboys are 8-7 in the last 15 games against Kansas inside the historic building, dating back to 1991.
Oklahoma State has outscored Kansas by two points over the last three games, but is 1-2 in those contests. The Cowboys defeated the Jayhawks by five last season in Lawrence, and have lost the last two games by a combined three points: a one-point loss in double overtime last season in Stillwater, and a two-point loss in Lawrence earlier this season.
Last Game vs the Jayhawks
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — After beating Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse last season, and after Marcus Smart left a lasting impression with a celebratory backflip, Oklahoma State nearly pulled off the feat again.
This time, the Cowboys couldn't quite make it all the way back.
Le'Bryan Nash had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but he was stripped by the Jayhawks' Frank Mason as he went up for the shot near the 3-point line, allowing the 15th-ranked Jayhawks to hold on for an 80-78 victory over the ninth-ranked Cowboys.
Smart's layup with 24 seconds remaining had gotten OSU within 79-75, and after Mason missed a free throw, Phil Forte hit a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game.
Mason was fouled and made the first of two free throws, and the Cowboys raced up court with the rebound on the miss. But the potential winning shot never made it toward the rim.
Naadir Tharpe scored 21 points to lead the Jayhawks while Joel Embiid added 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks.
Forte hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 21 points for OSU. Smart added 16 points, but he was just 3 of 14 from the field and 0 for 6 from the 3-point arc.
Markel Brown finished with 15 points for Oklahoma State, but he also received two of the six technical fouls handed out in the game. He wound up fouling out in the closing minutes.
Naturally, most figured that Smart and Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins would be the leading characters when their teams met. Instead, they were relegated to supporting roles — Wiggins scored just three points.
The Cowboys tried to mount a comeback on the second half. Forte got hot from behind the arc, and Brown hit four 3-pointers in the span of a few minutes to make it 59-56 with 11:02 left.
Mason's 3-pointer triggered seven straight points by the Jayhawks, and when Smart finally hit his first field goal with 5:53 left, Embiid answered with a thunderous jam.
The Cowboys got within 77-73 on a basket by Smart with 1:29 left, but Tharpe answered again with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The Jayhawks then held on in the closing seconds to put some distance on one of its biggest threats in the Big 12 race.
Tournament Resumé
There is a lot of chatter about whether Oklahoma State is in the NCAA Tournament, on the bubble, or out altogether. Here are some facts to ponder when considering the Cowboys for the Big Dance:
• According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index, OSU is ranked No. 20 nationally with a strength of schedule ranked 29th (that's only going to improve with the Cowboys' last three opponents).
• That's the third-highest ranking in the best league in the country. It's also higher than the BPI of the top team in 23 different conferences, including the Mountain West (San Diego State) and the West Coast Conference (Gonzaga).
• Oklahoma State's BPI would rank in the top three of every conference in the country, excluding the Big 10 and the ACC, where it would rank fifth.
• The Cowboys are currently the 27th-best team in the country according to Ken Pomeroy's rankings. He ranks OSU 10th nationally in “bad luck”, referring to the lack of success in close games (they are 4-8 in games decided by two or fewer possessions).
• Eight of OSU's 10 losses have been by two or fewer possessions, including two in overtime. Of those eight losses, four were by one possession.
• Oklahoma State is 14-2 in games decided by 10 or more points, including victories over #35 Memphis (21 points), #39 Texas (13 points), and #58 Louisiana Tech (15 points).
• According to the College Basketball News RPI ratings, nine of OSU's 10 losses have come to teams ranked in the top 50 (the only other loss was at Texas Tech).
• Those losses include a two-point setback at #1 Kansas; a one-point, triple-overtime loss to #11 Iowa State; a three-point loss to #24 Oklahoma; a three-point loss at #39 Kansas State; and an overtime loss at #43 Baylor.
• The Cowboys are 6-6 in Big 12 Conference action with their best player in the game. OSU lost three games — one by one possession and the other in overtime — without him.
Up Next for OSU
The Cowboys will host Kansas State on Monday, March 3, on ESPN's Big Monday. It will be Oklahoma State's fourth Big Monday game of the season.
OSU will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, March 8, when the Cowboys travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones. That game is scheduled for 1 pm and will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2.
