Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys at No. 18 Oklahoma
January 15, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Up Next For Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
at No. 18/18 Oklahoma
Jan. 17, 2015 ► 6 p.m. CT ► Lloyd Noble Center (11,528 capacity)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPN2 (Mark Neely and Stephen Howard)
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 138, XM 200 (Oklahoma Feed)
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics
The No. 24/24 Oklahoma State men's basketball team (12-4 overall; 2-2 Big 12) travels to Norman to face No. 18/18 Oklahoma (11-5 overall; 2-2 Big 12) at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday in the Lloyd Noble Center in the first of two regular season matchups in the TEEMCO Bedlam Series.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Stephen Howard calling the action. The game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the call.
TEEMCO Bedlam Series
Oklahoma State and Oklahoma compete yearly in the TEEMCO Bedlam Series, an all-sports competition between the two schools, which are separated by only 80 miles along Interstate 35. The TEEMCO Bedlam Series champion is decided by wins and losses in head to head competition. In sports where there is no head to head matchup, the Big 12 Championship final standings are used.
Oklahoma State won last year's TEEMCO Bedlam Series, 17-14, and sports a 5-1 advantage going into Saturday's men's basketball game. The Sooners won a women's soccer game in Norman on Aug. 22, but OSU won the second soccer clash in Stillwater, then finished better than OU at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships on both the men's and women's sides, topped the Sooners in football, 38-35, and handed OU a 25-11 defeat in wrestling.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
With NBA lottery pick Marcus Smart and fellow draft pick Markel Brown departed from last year's squad, Oklahoma State has repackaged itself as a gritty, defensive-minded squad that relies on team chemistry, hustle, pressure defense, getting to the free throw line and the three-point shot to win games.
OSU has wins over
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Le'Bryan Nash (17.9 points per game) and Phil Forte (17.8 points per game), but get big contributions from Michael Cobbins (17 blocked shots in the last seven games 6.0 rebounds per game on the year) and Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who has distributed 12 assists against only one turnover in the last two games), as well. Forte has the hot hand lately, scoring 20 or more points in four of his last five games, with the lone exception an 18-point effort at Kansas.
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 four losses, that number dips to 10.5 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-25 team nationally in steals and field goal percentage defense.
Oklahoma From a Distance
Coming off consecutive losses to Kansas State and at West Virginia in its last two times out, Oklahoma owns an 11-5 overall record and a 7-1 mark at home. Defense and rebounding are strong suits for the Sooners, who rank in the top 25 nationally in defensive rebounds per game, field goal percentage defense, three-point field goal percentage defense and total rebounds per game. OU has notable wins over UCLA, Butler, Tulsa, Missouri, Texas and Baylor.
Over the span of the last five games, the Sooners have been getting the bulk of their production from Buddy Hield (20.4 ppg and 6.8 rpg), TaShawn Thomas (13.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg) and Isaiah Cousins (12.0 ppg and 5.2 rpg), but Ryan Spangler and Jordan Woodard are key parts of the equation as well.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Even the last four meetings between the two schools. The Cowboys beat the Sooners in Stillwater in 2013, but have lost the last two against OU.
► Give Oklahoma State a 6-1 advantage over Oklahoma in the 2014-15 TEEMCO Bedlam Series.
► Be the Cowboys first in Norman since 2004.
► Give the Cowboys their second win over a ranked opponent this year. The Pokes beat No. 10 Texas last Saturday.
► 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 3-2 in Big 12 play with early wins over Oklahoma, 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 Oklahoma Game
► 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 four of his last five games. During that span, he is shooting .579 pct. from the field and .538 pct. from three-point range.
► Anthony Hickey has 12 assists against just one turnover in his last two games, both of which came against teams ranked in the top-10.
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 15 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored 20 or more points in a game six times this season. He has two career 20-point games against Oklahoma (21 in Stillwater as a freshman and 26 in Stillwater as a sophomore. He scored 15 points in OSU's most recent clash with OU.
► Phil Forte has scored in double figures in 15 of his 16 games this year and 24 of his last 26 games, dating back to last season. He has reached double figures in each of his four career games against Oklahoma, highlighted by a 20-point effort in Norman last season.
► Anthony Hickey has at least one steal in 15 of 16 games this year.
► Michael Cobbins has blocked 17 shots in his last seven games.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 468 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
► Phil Forte has made at least one three-pointer in 21 straight games and 28 of his last 29 contests.
The Series
Oklahoma owns a 131-95 all-time advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, which dates back to 1908. The Sooners hold an 81-26 advantage in Norman. Things have become closer under Travis Ford, however, with the Cowboys and Sooners splitting their last 12 meetings since Ford's debut season of 2008-09.
Last Time Out - No. 9 Kansas 69, No. 24 Oklahoma State 58
Le'Bryan Nash led all scorers with 21 points and Phil Forte added 18, but it wasn't enough to lift Oklahoma State to a win over No. 9 Kansas, who claimed a 67-57 win in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 13.
The game lasted two hours and 40 minutes thanks to a barrage of foul calls that created a contest that was void of any kind of sustained flow or rhythm. The two teams combined to attempt 71 free throws. The Jayhawks actually attempted more free throws (46) than field goals (43).
Oklahoma State was the aggressor early on and held the lead for most of the first 10 minutes, however, the Jayhawks went on a 15-2 run midway through the first half to open up a 24-16 advantage. From that point on, KU kept OSU at arm's length. The Cowboys trimmed the deficit to three points right before the half, but the Jayhawks maintained a lead of 5-to-10 points for the majority of the second half to secure their victory.
While OSU made the most of its opportunities from the line (the Cowboys drained 22-of-25 attempts from the charity stripe), it had difficulty getting shots to fall from the field, converting 16-of-51 attempts from the floor (.314 pct.) Still, OSU hung around by pressuring the Jayhawks into mistakes (16 turnovers) and difficult shots (KU shot a pedestrian .372 pct. from the field.), but the Jayhawks scoring nearly half of their points from the free throw line played a significant role in the KU victory.
Frank Mason, Jr. led the Jayhawks with 16 points and nine rebounds and Kelly Oubre, Jr., added 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
