Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys Host No. 14 Iowa State Wednesday
February 17, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Up Next For Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
No. 14/14 Iowa State
Feb. 18, 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/HD 718, DirecTV 208, Dish 141, U-verse 605/HD 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 108, XM 200
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics
The No. 22/24 Oklahoma State men's basketball team (17-8 overall; 7-6 Big 12) hosts No. 14/14 Iowa State (18-6 overall; 8-4 Big 12) at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Ticket Info
Tickets are available for as little as $15 online at okstate.com/tickets, toll-free by calling 877-ALL-4-OSU or in person at the 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
A winner in three of its last four, Oklahoma State has two wins over teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll and five wins over teams ranked in the AP top 25. Using this week's RPI rankings according to the NCAA, OSU has three wins over teams with an RPI in the top 16, six wins over teams with an RPI in the top 50 and nine wins over teams with an RPI in the top 100.
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Le'Bryan Nash (17.2 points per game) and Phil Forte (16.6 points per game), but get big contributions from defensive specialist and rim protector Michael Cobbins (second in the Big 12 with 2.00 blocked shots per game) and Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who has recorded double-figure scoring totals in three of his last four games), as well.
While most conversations about OSU start with Forte and Nash, an argument can be made that Hickey is just as important to the Cowboys' fate as those two. In OSU's 16 wins, Hickey averages 9.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game and shoots .451 pct. from the field and .387 pct. from three-point range. In OSU's eight losses, Hickey averages 7.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game and shoots .333 pct. from the field and .238 pct. from deep.
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-50 team nationally in steals, blocked shots, field goal percentage defense and scoring defense.
Iowa State From a Distance
Iowa State is one of the top offensive teams in the nation. The Cyclones are the Big 12's top scoring team and ninth nationally at 80.0 points per game. ISU's 49.1 percent field goal shooting also leads the conference and is ninth nationally. Georges Niang (14.7) leads ISU and is fourth in the Big 12 in scoring. Bryce Dejean-Jones is 10th with 12.5 points per contest and Naz Long is 16th with 11.4 points. Long battled a hip pointer and played just 12 minutes against WVU and was held scoreless for the first time in 32 games. ISU is the only team in the nation with six players scoring in double figures. Jameel McKay has been a difference maker for the Cyclones, bringing energy on both ends of the floor. McKay broke into the starting lineup against Texas Tech and hasn't looked back. He's averaged a team-high 15 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks since joining the starting lineup. He's hit 17-of-22 field goals (77.3 percent) in the three games. McKay has 34 blocks in 15 games. Before McKay entered the lineup, ISU had 26 blocks as a team in nine games.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Mark the Cowboys' fourth over a team with an RPI in the top 20, their sixth over a team ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll, their seventh over a team with an RPI in the top 50 and their 10th over a team with an RPI in the top 100.
► Mark just the third time in school history and the first time since 2003-04 that OSU has beaten at least six teams ranked in the AP top 25 in the same season. The Cowboys beat seven in 1991-92, eight in 1994-95 and nine in 2003-04.
► Mark the Cowboys' 19th in their last 20 meetings with the Cyclones played in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
► Snap Iowa State's four-game winning streak over the Cowboys.
► Mark the 21st 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.
► Improve the Cowboys to 12-2 overall and 6-1 against Big 12 opponents in Gallagher-Iba Arena this season.
► Improve OSU to 94-16 in Gallagher-Iba Arena under Travis Ford.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Iowa State Game
► Oklahoma State is 57-3 in its last 60 games when holding its opponent under 60 points.
► Oklahoma State is 10-1 this year and 105-19 under Travis Ford when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
► Le'Bryan Nash has averaged 16.1 points per game in his seven career meetings with Iowa State.
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 24 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Le'Bryan Nash has averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game on .536 pct. shooting from the field in Oklahoma State's last two games
► Jeff Newberry is averaging 12.0 points per game in his last three games. Prior to that, he averaged 5.7 points per game on the year.
► Anthony Hickey has reached double-figure scoring totals in four of his last five games.
► Anthony Hickey has 12 assists against just one turnover in his last two games.
► Phil Forte has made only seven three-pointers in his last five games, but has made 24 free throws during that same timeframe.
► Michael Cobbins has shot 50 percent or better from the field in nine of his last 10 games.
► Michael Cobbins has blocked at least one shot in 20 of his 22 games this year and in 26 of his last 29 games, dating back to last season.
► Mitchell Solomon has grabbed 19 rebounds in his last five games (3.8 per game). His minutes have also skyrocketed of late, as he has averaged 15.2 minutes played per game in his last five games, well up from the 10.1 minutes per game he averaged prior to this current span.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 477 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
The Series
Oklahoma State holds a 63-57 advantage in the all-time series against Iowa State, including a 37-14 lead in Stillwater. Iowa State has won each of the last four meetings between the two schools, but OSU has won 18 of the last 19 played in Gallagher-Iba Arena, dating back to 1986. The last three overall meetings between the Cowboys and Cyclones have been decided by a grand total of seven points. Oklahoma State and Iowa State have gone to overtime in two of their last three meetings.
