Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys at Kansas Tuesday
January 11, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Next Up For Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
at No. 12/13 Kansas
Jan. 13, 2015 ► 6 p.m. CT ► Allen Fieldhouse (16,300 capacity)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPN2 (Dave Flemming and Miles Simon)
In Stillwater - Suddenlink 32/232, DirecTV 209, Dish 144, U-verse 606
In OKC - Cox 28/721, DirecTV 209, Dish 144, U-verse 606/1606
In Tulsa - Cox 26/721, DirecTV 209, Dish 144, U-verse 602
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 91, XM 91 (Kansas feed)
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (12-3 overall; 2-1 Big 12) travels to Lawrence to face No. 12/13 Kansas (13-2 overall; 2-0 Big 12) at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday in Allen Fieldhouse.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Dave Flemming and Miles Simon calling the action. The game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the call.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
Fresh off an impressive 69-58 win over No. 10 Texas in Stillwater last Saturday, Oklahoma State has won three of its last four, with those wins coming over Missouri (in Kansas City), Kansas State and the 10th-ranked Longhorns. The Cowboys are 4-2 away from home this year with neutral-site wins over Tulsa and Oregon State in Las Vegas plus road wins against Memphis and Missouri (the NCAA counts the game against the Tigers at the Sprint Center not as a neutral site game, rather as a home game for Missouri).
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Phil Forte (17.7 points per game) and Le'Bryan Nash (17.6 points per game), but get big contributions from Michael Cobbins (15 blocked shots in the last six games and 28 rebounds in the last four) and Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who has logged 33.0 minutes per game in the last five contests), as well. Forte has the hot hand lately, scoring 20 or more points in each of his last four games and shooting .550 pct. from the field and .552 pct. from three-point range during that span.
A key stat for OSU is free throws attempted. In the Cowboys' 12 wins, they average 17.6 free throws made per game. In their three losses, that number dips to 6.7 per game.
Oklahoma State is 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 and field goal percentage defense.
Kansas From a Distance
Ranked No. 12 in the country by the Associated Press and No. 13 by the coaches, Kansas's two losses this year come at the hands of Kentucky and Temple, but the Jayhawks have quality wins over Utah, Michigan State, Baylor and Georgetown. Kansas is led by Perry Ellis (12.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game), Frank Mason, III (12.1 points, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game) and Wayne Selden, Jr. (9.2 points and 3.5 assists per game). Cliff Alexander, Kelly Oubre, Jr., and Jamari Traylor also factor prominently into the KU attack.
The Jayhawks are 8-0 in Allen Fieldhouse and have won 17 straight home games dating back to a 61-57 loss to San Diego State last season. Three-point shooting and rebounding are strengths, as KU has drained .395 pct. of its three-point attempts and boasts a +6.5 average rebound margin per game.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Mark the Cowboys' fourth over Kansas since Travis Ford took over as head coach in 2008-09. No team has beaten the Jayhawks more than three times during that span.
► Be the Cowboys' second in their last three trips to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. OSU was an 85-80 winner in 2013.
► Give the Cowboys their second consecutive high-quality win. The Pokes beat No. 10 Texas last time out.
► Mark the 17th time that OSU has beaten an opponent ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll since Travis Ford took over as head coach in 2008-09.
► Mark OSU's third road win over a ranked opponent under Travis Ford. The previous two were a 73-69 victory at No. 10 Kansas State in 2010 and an 85-80 triumph at No. 2 Kansas in 2013.
► Improve the Cowboys to 3-1 in Big 12 play with early wins over Kansas, Texas and Kansas State in a year when OSU was picked to finish eighth in the league in the preseason poll.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Kansas Game
► Oklahoma State has won three of its last four games, with all of those wins coming over solid opponents (Missouri, Kansas State and Texas).
► Oklahoma State is 55-3 in its last 58 games when holding its opponent under 60 points.
► Phil Forte has scored 20 or more points in each of his last four games (21 vs. Missouri, 20 vs. Kansas State, 21 against Iowa State and 20 against Texas). During that span, he has converted on 29-of-49 field goal attempts (.592 pct.) and 13-of-24 three-point field goal attempts (.541 pct.). Forte's 17 career 20-point scoring games ranks second among all active players in the Big 12, trailing only his OSU teammate, Le'Bryan Nash.
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Phil Forte has scored in double figures in 14 of his 15 games this year and 23 of his last 25 games, dating back to last season.
► Since joining the starting lineup for the first time against Missouri, Jeff Newberry is averaging 7.3 points per game.
► Phil Forte has struck for double-figure scoring totals in four of his five career matchups with Kansas, highlighted by a 23-point outburst against the Jayhawks in 2014 in which he connected on 7-of-10 attempts from three-point range.
► Le'Bryan Nash has increased his scoring total in each of his last four outings against Kansas. He scored seven points against the Jayhawks in Lawrence in 2013, then scored eight against them in Stillwater later in the year. In 2014, he scored 10 points in Allen Fieldhouse and upped that total to 16 in Gallagher-Iba Arena and then to 19 at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
► In his four career meetings with Kansas, Michael Cobbins averages 2.5 blocked shots per game. He has grabbed 22 rebounds in his last two outings against the Jayhawks (11.0 per game).
► Anthony Hickey has at least one steal in 14 of 15 games this year.
► Michael Cobbins has blocked 15 shots in his last six games (2.5 per game).
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 467 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
► Phil Forte has made at least one three-pointer in 20 straight games and 27 of his last 28 contests.
The Series
Kansas leads the all-time series between two long-time foes, 109-55, including a 58-11 advantage over the Cowboys in Lawrence. None of the last five meetings between the two schools was decided by more than seven points. How entertaining have those five games been? Two went to overtime and the total combined score is Oklahoma State 372, Kansas 370.
Last Five Meetings
Feb. 2, 2013 in Lawrence, Kan. - Oklahoma State 85, No. 2 Kansas 80
Feb. 20, 2013 in Stillwater, Okla. - No. 9 Kansas 68, No. 14 Oklahoma State 67 (2OT)
Jan. 18, 2014 in Lawrence, Kan. - No. 15 Kansas 80, No. 9 Oklahoma State 78
March 1, 2014 in Stillwater, Okla. - Oklahoma State 72, No. 5 Kansas 65
March 13, 2014 in Kansas City, Mo. - No. 10 Kansas 77, Oklahoma State 70 (OT)
Last Time Out - Oklahoma State 69, No. 10/10 Texas 58
The trio of Phil Forte, Le'Bryan Nash and Anthony Hickey powered Oklahoma State to an impressive 69-58 win over Texas in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Jan. 10.
The Cowboys led for most of the game, but Hickey sparked a key stretch midway through the second half in which OSU was able to create separation. Forte and Hickey then figured prominently in the closing minutes to seal the victory.
Nash and Forte tied for game-high honors with 20 points apiece and Hickey scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and distributed seven assists against only one turnover.
Texas held a striking height advantage over OSU and owned a 24-16 rebounding edge over the Cowboys in the first half that included 12 offensive rebounds resulting in 11 second-chance points. OSU turned the tide in the second half however, and held a 21-13 rebounding advantage over the Longhorns after halftime to minimize their second-chance opportunities.
Also helping the cause for OSU was the fact that the Cowboys shot .538 pct. from the field after halftime. The Pokes finished the game by draining 26-of-55 field goal attempts (.473 pct.). To put that into perspective, Texas entered the game ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense by limiting its previous 15 opponents to .342 pct. shooting from the field. Entering Saturday's game, no team had shot better than .433 pct. in a game vs. the Longhorns this year (Stanford).
Oklahoma State's Wins over Top-10 Opponents, Travis Ford Era
March 12, 2009: vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (in OKC) - W, 71-70
Jan. 23, 2010: at No. 10 Kansas State - W, 73-69
Feb. 27, 2010: No. 1 Kansas - W, 85-77
Jan. 25, 2012: No. 2 Missouri - W, 79-72
Nov. 18, 2012: vs. No. 6 N.C. State (in Puerto Rico) - W, 76-56
Feb. 2, 2013: at No. 1 Kansas - W, 85-80
March 9, 2013: No. 9 Kansas State - W, 76-70
March 1, 2014: No. 5 Kansas - W, 72-65
Jan. 10, 2015: No. 10 Texas - W, 69-58
