Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - OSU Hosts Baylor
January 26, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Jan. 26, 2015
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Next up for Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
vs. Baylor
Jan. 27, 2015 ►8 p.m. CT ► Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611 capacity)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNEWS (Dave Armstrong and Bryndon Manzer)
In Stillwater - Suddenlink 502, DirecTV 207, Dish 142, U-verse 604
In OKC - Cox 254/719, DirecTV 207, Dish 142, U-verse 604
In Tulsa - Cox 254/719, DirecTV 207, Dish 142, U-verse 604
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius Channel 91, XM Channel 91
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (13-6 overall; 3-4 Big 12) is home to take on Baylor (15-4 overall; 3-3 Big 12) at 8 p.m. CT on Tuesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased for as little as $17.50 online at okstate.com/tickets, toll-free at 877-ALL-4-OSU or at the box office.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPNEWS with Dave Armstrong and Bryndon Manzer calling the action. The game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the call.
Remember the Ten
Tuesday's game marks the 14th anniversary of the Jan. 27, 2001 plane crash that took the lives of 10 members of the Oklahoma State basketball family. In addition to a permanent banner hung in Gallagher-Iba Arena as well as a permanent memorial located in the southwest lobby of the Athletics Center, OSU honors those who went down in the plane crash each year at the home game that hits closest to Jan. 27. This year's recognition includes the following:
► Fans will be allowed into the Athletics Center all day to drop off flowers and pay their respects to the Ten at the memorial located in the southwest corner of the building.
► Fans will be given Remember the Ten stickers at every entrance.
► A moment of silence will be observed immediately prior to the national anthem and photos of those who went down - Kendall Durfey, Bjorn Fahlstrom, Nate Fleming, Will Hancock, Daniel Lawson, Brian Luinstra, Denver Mills, Pat Noyes, Bill Teegins and Jared Weiberg - will be shown on the arena video board.
► At halftime, the Remember the Ten committee will present a check to OSU Counseling Services. Additionally, this year's recipients of the Pat Noyes and Will Hancock Memorial Scholarships will be recognized.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
The first seven games of Oklahoma State's Big 12 schedule included three games played against the top two teams in the league and four games against teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. The Cowboys picked up home wins over Texas, Kansas State and Texas Tech, but lost road contests at Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kansas State.
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Phil Forte (17.5 points per game) and Le'Bryan Nash (17.3 points per game), but get big contributions from Michael Cobbins (second in the Big 12 with 2.19 blocked shots per game) and Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per game in conference play), as well.
OSU is tough to beat in Gallagher-Iba Arena, where the Pokes are 9-1 this year and winning by an average of 19.6 points per game. The Cowboys have home wins over Texas, Kansas State and Texas Tech, among others this season. When playing at home, the Pokes shoot .475 pct. from the field and .367 from three-point range - substantially better than the .377 pct. shooting from the field and .276 pct. shooting from beyond the arc marks that OSU has posted on the road. Additionally, the Cowboys are a much better rebounding team in Gallagher-Iba Arena, owning a +6.4 margin over opponents on the glass as compared to the -7.6 margin they have on the road.
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-35 team nationally in steals, scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and blocked shots. A look at some of the areas where OSU has established a strong identity this season:
Baylor From a Distance
Owners of a 15-4 overall record that includes a 3-3 mark in Big 12 play, Baylor has won four of its last five games, highlighted by impressive home victories over Iowa State and Oklahoma. The Bears have a Big 12 road win at TCU. In the non-conference portion of the schedule, Baylor scored victories at South Carolina, against Memphis, at Vanderbilt and at home against Texas A&M.
Three Bears average double-figure scoring totals - Taurean Prince (12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game), Kenny Chery (11.4 points and 3.9 assists per game) and Rico Gathers (10.7 points per game, 11.9 rebounds per game and 1.4 steals per game.) Gathers' 11.9 rebounds per game ranks second in the country, as does his 5.53 offensive rebounds per contest. Other key players include Royce O'Neale, Johnathan Motley and Lester Medford.
Rebounding and defense are significant parts of BU's identity, as Baylor ranks third nationally in both rebounding margin (+10.8) and offensive rebounds per game (16.1) and is fifth nationally with 41.47 rebounds per game. The Bears are a top 30 team in the country in scoring defense (19th by limiting opponents to 57.8 points per game), three-point field goal percentage defense (21st by limiting opponents to .293 shooting from beyond the arc) and scoring margin (29th at +11.4 points per game).
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Mark the Cowboys' third over a team with an RPI in the top 50. OSU has previously beaten Texas (RPI No. 26) and Tulsa (RPI No. 46).
► Mark the Cowboys' third in their last five meetings with Baylor.
► Improve OSU to 26-5 all-time against the Bears in Stillwater.
► Improve the Cowboys to 10-1 in Gallagher-Iba Arena this season.
► Improve OSU to 92-15 in Gallagher-Iba Arena under Travis Ford.
► Improve the Cowboys to 4-4 in Big 12 play with wins over Texas, Kansas State, Baylor and Texas Tech.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Baylor Game
► Oklahoma State is 56-3 in its last 59 games when holding its opponent under 60 points.
► Oklahoma State is 8-1 this year and 103-19 under Travis Ford when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
► Oklahoma State has recorded at least five steals in 17 of its 19 games this year.
► Phil Forte has made 26 consecutive free throws, dating back to OSU's win over Texas on Jan. 10. This is the 10th-longest single-season streak in school history. Forte drained 43 straight free throws during one stretch from Feb. 13-Nov. 28, 2013, which tied Joe Smith (1967) for the longest consecutive free throws made streak in school history.
► Michael Cobbins is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game in his last four games played against Baylor.
► Anthony Hickey has 25 assists against just seven turnovers in his last five games. The 5-foot-11 Hickey is OSU's leading rebounder in conference games with 5.3 boards per contest.
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored 20 or more points in a game six times this season. One of his 26 career 20-point games came against Baylor (24 points in Waco his sophomore season).
► Phil Forte has scored in double figures in 18 of his 19 games this year and 27 of his last 29 games, dating back to last season.
► Anthony Hickey has at least one steal in 18 of 19 games this year.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 471 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
The Series
The series between Oklahoma State and Baylor dates back to 1918, but didn't hit stride until the Big 12 was formed in 1996-97. The Cowboys own a 52-22 all-time advantage over the Bears, including a 25-5 mark in Stillwater. Baylor swept last year's two meetings and has won two of its last three in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys are 5-8 against the Bears since Travis Ford took over as coach in 2008-09.
