Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Missouri State
Saturday Matinee Against Missouri State Up Next For Cowboys
December 04, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
• Oklahoma State (5-2) vs. Missouri State (1-5)
• Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 • 2:30 p.m.
• Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Okla.
• TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Mike Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer & Allison Gappa)
• Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
• Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
• Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
• OSU Game Notes
The Basics
• The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (5-2 overall; 0-0 Big 12) wraps up its three-game homestand with a matchup against regional foe Missouri State (1-5, 0-0 Missouri Valley). The Cowboys lead the overall series with the Bears, 8-0, including a 3-0 record in Stillwater and a 3-0 mark in the Travis Ford era.
On the Air
• Friday's game will be televised by the Cowboy TV Network, and will be available on Fox Sports Oklahoma with Bryndon Manzer and Mike Wolfe calling the action. Allison Gappa will provide sideline reports. 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 Cowboys are coming off a 66-56 loss to in-state rival Tulsa on Wednesday night, which was just the sixth non-conference home loss for OSU since 1987. A pair of Leyton Hammonds free throws with 5:17 remaining tied the game at 49-all, but the Golden Hurricane responded with an 8-0 run that put the game out of reach. OSU had won the previous eight meetings in Gallagher-Iba Arena against Tulsa.
• OSU ranks fifth in the nation in total blocked shots (47) and seventh in blocks per game (6.7). That interior defensive threat has helped the Cowboys hold the opposition to 38.6 percent shooting, which ranks 60th in the country. Chris Olivier ranks 42nd with 16 blocks, and Anthony Allen is right behind him with 15 blocks, which ranks 45th. OSU has blocked at least three shots in every game this year.
• The Cowboys lead the Big 12 and rank 8th nationally in free throw percentage with a mark of 78.3 percent, and their 130 makes on the year is second in the league 46th in the country. Jeff Newberry is eighth in the conference with a mark of 86.5 percent, while Jawun Evans is right behind him in ninth wit ha mark of 85.7 percent.
• Senior Phil Forte injured his elbow in the win over Towson, which snapped his streak of consecutive games played at 102. The senior hadn't missed a single game in his career until the injury forced him to miss the team's last three games. Forte was a Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honoree, and needs just 55 three-pointers to tie Keiton Page (2008-12) for the school record.
• Oklahoma State is one of just 22 school nationwide to play in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, and will look to keep that streak alive in 2015-16.
• The Cowboys were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 in a poll of the league's head coaches after finishing the 2014-15 season with an 18-14 record. Last year, the Cowboys were tabbed to finish eighth but finished the 2014-15 season in sixth place.
• Head coach Travis Ford enters his eighth season with the Cowboys, and ranks third in school history in both total wins (148) and win percentage (61.4 percent). Ford ranks behind only Eddie Sutton and Mr. Henry Iba in both categories.
Missouri State From A Distance
• The Bears were tabbed to finish eighth in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of the league's coaches, broadcasters, beat writers and SIDs. Missouri State returned all five starters from last year's squad that finished 11-20.
• Missouri State hosted Utah State on Wednesday night as a apart of the Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge, but fell, 69-68, on a pair of Aggie free throws with 3.3 seconds on the clock. The Bears led for over 27 minutes, including a 67-63 edge with 2:37 to play thanks to a Camyn Boone layup. Missouri State shot a season-high 48.1 percent from the floor, and Chris Kendrix led the way with 17 points.
• Missouri State head coach Paul Lusk is in his fifth season at the helm of the Bears, and owns a 59-76 record. Lusk finished third in the MVC Coach of the Year voting in 2014 and was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award that same year. He came to Springfield after seven seasons at Purdue (2004-11), including his last three as associate head coach there.
• Chris Kendrix and Camyn Boone lead a Bears offense that is averaging 68.0 points per game. Kendrix, a sophomore, is leading the way with 11.8 points per game. As a senior, Boone isn't far behind with 11.5 points per game. Ryan Kreklow is also in double-figures with 10.0 points per game.
• The Bears have faced a gauntlet of tough squads over the last few weeks, including Butler (L, 93-59), Minnesota (L 74-69) and Mississippi State (L 84-73) at the Puerto Rico Tipoff.
• The Bears feature a top-notch shot blocker in Obediah Church. The 6-7 freshman ranks 50th nationally with 2.2 blocks per game, and his 13 total blocks rank 61st.
Cowboy Streaks & Trends Entering Friday's Game
• Tyree Griffin has hit all 13 of his free throw attempts this season, and Jeff Newberry has also made 13 straight from the line. Both Griffin and Newberry were 2-of-2 from the stripe against Tulsa.
• The Cowboys have blocked at least three shots in every game this season, and rank fifth nationally with 6.7 blocks per game. Chris Olivier has at least one block in each of the last six games.
• OSU is 5-0 when shooting better than 40 percent from the floor, but 0-2 when that figure dips below 40 percent.
• Oklahoma State is 59-3 in its last 60 games when holding its opponent under 60 points.
• OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 491 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
• The Cowboys are 146-6 in home games vs non-league foes since 1987. All-time, Oklahoma State is 409-51 in non-conference games inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• The Cowboys are 52-4 in non-conference home games and 97-19 overall in GIA under Travis Ford. As a program, OSU is 1,598-1,112 all-time overall (107th season).
The Oklahoma State vs. Missouri State Series
• This will be the ninth meeting between Missouri State and Oklahoma State, and the Cowboys own an 8-0 mark in the series. OSU is 3-0 in Stillwater and 3-0 in the Travis Ford era against the Bears.
• Oklahoma State has a lengthy and storied history with the Missouri Valley Conference. The Cowboys own a 220-114 (.659) all-time record in MVC conference games as a member of the league from 1925-26 until 1956-57, and OSU still owns the most outright MVC championships with 11 (Kansas ranks second with 10). The Cowboys also shared four MVC titles.
• The Cowboys are 93-35 (.767) all-time against current members of the Missouri Valley Conference. Here's the breakdown; Bradley (9-9), Drake (40-11), Evansville (1-0), Illinois State (Never Met), Indiana State (Never Met), Loyola Chicago (4-2), Missouri State (8-0), Northern Iowa (0-1), Southern Illinois (2-4), Wichita State (29-8).
Cowboy Quick Hitters - Team Notes
• Oklahoma State ranks 22nd nationally with just 10.3 turnovers per game, but the Cowboys have averaged 14.0 giveaways and 16.0 points allowed off turnovers over the last three games. OSU averaged 7.5 turnovers and 7.0 points allowed off turnovers through the first four games of the year, including a five-turnover outing in the opener against UT Martin.
• Paint touches and team basketball are the goals for OSU, and so far they've been able to accomplish both. The Cowboys are averaging 35.4 points in the paint per game (while holding their opponents to 25.1) and have 10 players on the roster averaging at least 5.1 points per game.
• OSU has topped the 50 percent shooting mark three times this season. The Cowboys hit 55.9 percent from the floor against UT Martin, which is the team's best outing since shooting 56.9 percent against Texas Tech in 2014. They also topped that plateau twice against Long Beach (55.1 and 52.7 percent).
• The Cowboys are one of only 22 programs to play in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. Only 33 teams have played in the NCAA Tournament in at least five of the last seven years. The Cowboys reached the Big Dance in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
• Scoring depth is a key for the Cowboys. Under Travis Ford, OSU has averaged more than 70 points per game in four of his seven seasons. In those four seasons of more than 70 points per game, the third and fourth leading scorers on the team averaged a combined 24.4 points per game. In Ford's three seasons scoring under 70 points per game the third and fourth scorers averaged 18.3 points per game - a difference of 6.1 points each game.
• Dating back to 1987, Oklahoma State is 146-6 in non-conference home games. During that span, the Pokes won 80 straight over non-conference opponents in Gallagher-Iba Arena from 1987-98, which is the fifth-longest streak in NCAA history. All-time, the Cowboys are 409-50 in non-conference play in GIA.
Cowboy Quick Hitters - Player Notes
• Jeff Newberry is Oklahoma State's Swiss Army Knife, meaning he can do-it-all. The senior is the only player in the Big 12 to rank among the league's top 15 players in rebounding (9th, 6.7 RPG), blocks (15th, 0.86 BPG) and steals (14th, 1.43 SPG). He also ranks third on the OSU roster with 12.7 points per game.
• With a depleted roster, OSU needed veterans to step up in Charleston and Anthony Allen, Joe Burton and Jeffrey Carroll did just that. All three of them established new career-high scoring performances at the Charleston Classic. Allen blocked 13 shots in Charleston and tallied a career-high 13 points against LBSU. Burton scored a career best 15 points against George Mason, including the 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime. Carroll piled up a career-high 17 points in the win over Towson.
• Phil Forte is coming off the best season of his career, and was named Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention heading into his senior season. Forte was a Third-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2014-15 after racking up 15.0 points per game, which ranked fourth in the Big 12. Known for his relentless work ethic, Forte enters his senior year with a 38.9 percent 3-point mark for his career.
• Jawun Evans became the third McDonald's All-American to sign with OSU under Travis Ford's watch, and this summer he became the third Cowboy to win gold with USA Basketball at the U19 FIBA World Championships. Evans ranked second on the team with 2.7 assists per game, and the Americans were +68 points with Evans on the court over the tournament's seven games. Evans joined Marcus Smart (2013) and Matt Clark (1979) as OSU players with gold at the games.
• Igor Ibaka, the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Serge Ibaka, joined the Cowboys from Northeastern Oklahoma this summer. Listed at 6-9, 240-pounds, Igor has proven to be a bruiser in the paint. He averaged 14.0 points and ranked 27th in the NJCAA with 9.8 rebounds per game for NEO in 2013-14. Igor also ranked 14th in the NJCAA with a 64.0 field goal percentage.
• Head coach Travis Ford was in need of a veteran paint presence, and he got just that with the signing of Chris Olivier in June. A 6-8, 230-pound forward, Olivier graduated from Eastern Illinois in the spring with a degree in Organizational Professional Development. He averaged 13.0 points on 54.2 percent shooting for EIU last year, but led the Panthers in league play with 15.9 points per Ohio Valley Conference game. Olivier is a 52.6 percent shooter for his collegiate career.
• It's not uncommon to hear about a multi-sport star in football and baseball (see Brandon Weeden), but OSU walk-on Codey McElroy is attempting a college basketball career after a stay in minor league baseball. A native of Frederick, Okla., McElroy played baseball in college at Eastern Oklahoma State, Texas and Cameron, when was drafted in the 19th round by the Atlanta Braves. He played two years in the Braves system, and advanced as far as Single A play for the Rome Braves. After batting .210 with an OPS of .588 in 80 minor-league games, McElroy hung up his cleats in favor of basketball shoes, and the OSU coaches have been impressed with his motor and work ethic.
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