Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys at K-State Saturday
January 22, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Next Up For Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
at Kansas State
Jan. 24, 2015 ► 11 a.m. CT ► Bramlage Coliseum (12,528 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 92, XM 199 (Kansas State feed)
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (13-5 overall; 3-3 Big 12) travels to Manhattan, Kan., to take on Kansas State (11-8 overall; 4-2 Big 12) at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday in Bramlage Coliseum.
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.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
The first six 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, Kansas State and Texas Tech, but lost at Kansas, at Iowa State and at Oklahoma.
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Le'Bryan Nash (17.6 points per game) and Phil Forte (17.2 points per game), but get big contributions from Michael Cobbins (second in the Big 12 with 2.27 blocked shots per game) and Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who has distributed 23 assists against only four turnovers in the last four games and leads the team with 5.5 rebounds per game in conference play), as well. In the last four games, the 5-foot-11 Hickey averages 6.3 rebounds per game.
The free throw line is of great importance to Oklahoma State. In the Cowboys' 13 wins, they average 17.2 free throws made per game. In their five losses, that number dips to 10.0 per game. In non-conference games, the Cowboys averaged 25.0 free throw attempts per game, but that number has dropped to 14.2 in Big 12 play. OSU is 8-0 this year and 103-18 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-25 team nationally in steals, field goal percentage defense and blocked shots.
Kansas State From a Distance
Winners of four of its last five games, Kansas State finds itself just one game out of first place in the Big 12 standings after a 7-7 start to the season. The Wildcats have made their surge by winning close games, as none of their four Big 12 wins were by more than seven points. Highlighted wins for K-State this year include victories over Oklahoma in Norman and over Baylor in Manhattan.
Marcus Foster has led K-State during its recent uptick by averaging 15.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game over the last five games. During that same span, Nino Williams averages 12.0 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per contest. On the year, Foster leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at .434 pct. and is second in the league with 49 three-pointers made. Thomas Gipson trails only Le'Bryan Nash in the Big 12 with 85 free throws made and 112 free throws attempted.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Mark the Cowboys' third straight over K-State and give OSU its first regular-season home-and-home sweep of the Wildcats since 1994.
► Mark its first over Kansas State in Manhattan since pulling off a 73-69 upset win over the then-No. 10 Wildcats in 2010.
► Improve the Cowboys to 13-1 against unranked opponents this season.
► Be the third road win for OSU this year. The Cowboys earlier beat Memphis in Memphis and beat Missouri in Kansas City in a game that the NCAA considers a home game for Mizzou.
► Improve the Cowboys to 4-3 in Big 12 play with early wins over Texas, Kansas State and Texas Tech.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Kansas State Game
► Oklahoma State is 56-3 in its last 59 games when holding its opponent under 60 points.
► Oklahoma State is 8-0 this year and 103-18 under Travis Ford when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
► Anthony Hickey has 23 assists against just four turnovers in his last four games and has dished out five assists or more in three of his last four games. The 5-foot-11 Hickey is OSU's leading rebounder in conference games. He averages 6.3 rebounds per game in his last four games.
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 17 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 Kansas State (24 points in Stillwater in 2013 and 20 points in Manhattan last season).
► Phil Forte has scored in double figures in 17 of his 18 games this year and 26 of his last 28 games, dating back to last season. He has reached double figures in each of his last three games against Kansas State, highlighted by a 23-point showing in Stillwater last year and a 20-point effort against the Wildcats in Stillwater earlier this season.
► Anthony Hickey has at least one steal in 17 of 18 games this year.
► Leyton Hammonds averages 9.0 points per game in his last two games. During that span, he has made six of his 11 attempts from three-point range (.545 pct.). Prior to this two-game stretch, Hammonds averaged 2.3 points per game on .300 pct. shooting from deep.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 470 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
The Series
The series between Oklahoma State and Kansas State dates back to 1922, with the Wildcats holding a 75-51 advantage, including a 37-15 mark in Manhattan. Since Travis Ford took over as head coach for the 2008-09 season, the series is deadlocked at six wins apiece. The Cowboys have won each of the last two meetings, including a 61-47 victory in Stillwater earlier this year. OSU's last win in Bramlage Coliseum was a 73-69 triumph in 2010 over a K-State squad that was ranked 10th in the nation at the time of the game.
