Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys Host Texas Tech
January 19, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Jan. 19, 2015
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Next up for Oklahoma State Men's Basketball
Texas Tech
Jan. 21, 2015 ► 8 p.m. CT ► Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611 capacity)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNU (Clay Matvick and Tim Welsh)
In Stillwater - Suddenlink 503, DirecTV 208, Dish 141, U-verse 605
In OKC - Cox 253/718, DirecTV 208, Dish 141, U-verse 605/1605
In Tulsa - Cox 253/HD 718, DirecTV 208, Dish 141, U-verse 605
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 136, XM 200
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (12-5 overall; 2-3 Big 12) hosts Texas Tech (10-8 overall; 0-5 Big 12) at 8 p.m. CT Wednesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Ticket Information
Tickets are available for as little as $15 online at okstate.com/tickets. Fans can also purchase tickets by calling toll-free at 877-ALL-4-OSU or by visiting the Gallagher-Iba Arena box office.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPNU with Clay Matvick and Tim Welsh 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
The first five games of Oklahoma State's Big 12 schedule included the top three teams in the league and five of the top six in the conference standings. The Cowboys picked up wins over Texas and Kansas State, but lost at Kansas, at Iowa State and at Oklahoma.
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Le'Bryan Nash (17.7 points per game) and Phil Forte (17.4 points per game), but get big contributions from Michael Cobbins (second in the Big 12 in blocked shots per game) and Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who has distributed 15 assists against only three turnovers in the last three games and leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game in conference play), as well. In the last three games, the 5-foot-11 Hickey averages 6.7 rebounds per game.
The free throw line is of great importance to Oklahoma State. In the Cowboys' 12 wins, they average 17.6 free throws made per game. In their five losses, that number dips to 10.0 per game. In non-conference games, the Cowboys averaged 21.7 free throw attempts per game, but that number has dropped to 13.8 in Big 12 play. OSU is 7-0 this year and 102-18 under Travis Ford when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
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-30 team nationally in steals and field goal percentage defense.
Texas Tech From a Distance
Texas Tech has lost each of its five Big 12 games and has dropped seven of its last eight overall. That said, it should be noted that four of the Red Raiders' five conference losses were defeats at the hands of Kansas, Kansas State, West Virginia and Texas and TTU fields two freshmen and a sophomore among its starting five.
Texas Tech is strong when it comes to getting to the free throw line, blocking shots, rebounding and playing defense. The Red Raiders lead the Big 12 and rank in the top 15 nationally in both free throws attempted and free throws made. They have blocked 82 shots (58th nationally), grab 12.6 offensive rebounds per game (63rd nationally) and have limited opponents to 61.4 points per game on .397 pct. shooting from the field.
The shots haven't been falling for Tech since the beginning of conference play, with TTU averaging just 55.0 points per game on .346 pct. shooting from the field, .304 pct. shooting from the three-point line and .589 shooting from the free-throw line in the last five games. Additionally, the Red Raiders commit 15.4 turnovers per game against Big 12 opponents.
Texas Tech has been led in scoring by five different players in its last five games, but Devaugntah Williams leads the team overall with 10.9 points per game. Other key contributors include Zach Smith, Robert Turner, Toddrick Gotcher, Norense Odiase, Randy Onwuasor and Justin Gray. Smith leads the team in rebounds per game and ranks second in the Big 12 with 30 blocked shots.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Mark the Cowboys' eighth in their last nine meetings with Texas Tech.
► Be the Cowboys' 12th straight over Texas Tech in Stillwater. The Red Raiders haven't beaten OSU in Gallagher-Iba Arena since 2003.
► Improve the Cowboys to 80-4 against unranked opponents in Gallagher-Iba Arena since Travis Ford took over as head coach in 2008-09. OSU has won nine straight home games over unranked opponents, dating back to a 77-74 loss to Oklahoma last season.
► Improve OSU to 91-15 in Gallagher-Iba Arena under Travis Ford.
► Improve the Cowboys to 3-3 in Big 12 play with early wins over Texas, Kansas State and Texas Tech.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Texas Tech Game
► Oklahoma State is 55-3 in its last 58 games when holding its opponent under 60 points.
► Oklahoma State is 79-4 in home games played against non-conference opponents during the Travis Ford era (since 2008-09)
► Oklahoma State is 7-0 this year and 102-18 under Travis Ford when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
► Phil Forte has scored 20 or more points in four of his last six games. During that span, he is shooting .529 pct. from the field and .452 pct. from three-point range.
► Anthony Hickey has 15 assists against just three turnovers in his last three games, all of which came against ranked opponents (Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma)
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored 20 or more points in a game six times this season. Two of his 26 career 20-point games have come against Texas Tech (21 points in Stillwater in 2012 and 21 points in Stillwater in 2014).
► Phil Forte has scored in double figures in 16 of his 17 games this year and 25 of his last 27 games, dating back to last season. He has reached double figures in each of his four career games against Texas Tech, highlighted by a 20-point effort in Stillwater last season.
► Anthony Hickey has at least one steal in 16 of 17 games this year.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 469 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
The Series
Oklahoma State has historically controlled the series against Texas Tech, owning a 40-16 advantage overall that includes a 20-3 record against the Red Raiders in Stillwater. The Cowboys have won eight of the last nine meetings between the two schools.
Last Time Out - No. 18/18 Oklahoma 82, No. 24/24 Oklahoma State 65
Oklahoma State lost an 82-65 decision at Oklahoma last Saturday. The Sooners won the game in the first half, starting the contest on an 11-2 run, then putting the game out of reach after extending their lead to 38-16. Buddy Hield scored 27 points in the game on 10-for-10 shooting from the field that included 4-for-4 from three-point range.
OU shot 14-of-23 from the field (.609 pct.) and 4-of-8 from three point line before halftime to establish itself as the aggressor. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, was 7-of-30 from the field (.233 pct.) and 0-for-13 from three point range in the first half. Additionally, the Cowboys committed 10 turnovers before halftime.
The Cowboys missed their first 15 attempts from three-point land before Leyton Hammonds connected on a trey at the 11:11 mark of the second half. Hammonds and Le'Bryan Nash scored 15 points apiece for the Cowboys, with Anthony Hickey adding 14 and eight rebounds and Phil Forte contributing with 11.
Oklahoma's 82 points were the most given up by Oklahoma State this season. The previous high was 75 at South Carolina. The Sooners' .557 pct. shooting from the field was also the best for an OSU opponent this year.
