Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys at Texas Tech Saturday
February 26, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 26, 2015
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Up Next For Cowboy Basketball
at Texas Tech
Feb. 28, 2015 ► 3 p.m. CT ► United Supermarkets Arena (15,000 capacity)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNEWS (Dave Armstrong and Paul Biancardi)
In Stillwater - Suddenlink 502, DirecTV 207, Dish 142, U-verse 604
In OKC - Cox 254/HD 719, DirecTV 207, Dish 142, U-verse 604
In Tulsa - Cox 254/HD 719, DirecTV 207, Dish 142, U-verse 604
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 113, XM 200 (Texas Tech feed)
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (17-10 overall; 7-8 Big 12) travels to Lubbock to face Texas Tech (12-17 overall; 2-14 Big 12) at 3 p.m. Saturday in United Supermarkets Arena.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPNEWS with Dave Armstrong and Paul Biancardi on the call. The game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the call.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
Fresh off a portion of the schedule in which it faced seven ranked opponents in a span of eight games, 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 15, 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 (16.8 points per game) and Phil Forte (16.2 points per game), but get big contributions from defensive specialist and rim protector Michael Cobbins (second in the Big 12 with 1.96 blocked shots per game), Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who has recorded double-figure scoring totals in six of his last seven games) and Jeff Newberry (double-figure scorer in four of the last five games) as well.
While most conversations about OSU start with Forte and Nash, it should be noted that over the span of the last five games, four Cowboys (Nash, Forte, Hickey and Newberry) average double-figure scoring totals. Not surprisingly, with added production from Hickey and Newberry, OSU is shooting .440 pct. from the field in the last five games, which is an improvement from the .423 pct. mark the Cowboys have converted at against Big 12 opposition this season.
Though OSU is shooting better of late, that improvement has been negated by rebounding, as the Cowboys have been outrebounded by an average of 9.4 boards per game in the last five games and an average of 16.5 rebounds per contest in their last two outings.
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 blocked shots.
Texas Tech From a Distance
A look at Texas Tech's season record paints a much different story than a look at the scores of its games - especially when playing at home. The Red Raiders are 2-14 against Big 12 opposition this season, but with the exception of a 73-51 loss to Kansas on Feb. 10, have more than held their own in Lubbock. TTU's last five home scores:
Texas Tech 78, No. 9 Iowa State 73 | Texas Tech 64, Kansas State 47 | No. 8 Kansas 73, Texas Tech 51 | No. 20 Baylor 54, Texas Tech 49 | No. 17 Oklahoma 79, Texas Tech 75
Shooting has been an issue for the Red Raiders, who have converted on .398 pct. from the field, .298 from three-point range and .652 pct. from the line this season. Turnovers (14.1 per game) have also been a concern. Consequently, Texas Tech averages 60.7 points per game. While TTU has struggled in those areas, it has been effective in getting to the free throw line, where its ranks among the top 25 teams nationally with 689 attempts and in blocking shots (4.1 per game).
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Give the Cowboys their 10th win in the last 11 meetings with Texas Tech and their third in the last four over the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
► Mark the Cowboys' third in their last four road games. OSU's three most recent road games resulted in wins at Texas and Baylor and a loss at TCU.
► Improve the Cowboys to 13-2 against unranked opponents this season.
► Improve the Cowboys to 8-1 against teams from the state of Texas this season.
► Improve the Cowboys to 42-16 all-time against Texas Tech.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Texas Tech Game
► The Cowboys have won nine of their last 10 against Texas Tech and two of their last three over the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
► 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 converted 19 of his last 24 field goal attempts against Texas Tech the past two seasons (.792 pct.)
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 26 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Phil Forte averages 16.2 points per game in his career vs. Texas Tech and has converted on 23-of-45 attempts from three-point range against the Red Raiders over the span of his career (.511 pct.) He drained five-of-seven from beyond the arc when the two teams met in Stillwater earlier this year.
► In his last two games against Texas Tech, Amarillo native Michael Cobbins has converted on 8-of-12 from the field (.667 pct.) and averages 10 rebounds per game.
► Michael Cobbins has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 11 of his last 12 games.
► Michael Cobbins has blocked at least one shot in 22 of his 24 games this year and in 28 of his last 31 games, dating back to last season.
► Jeff Newberry is averaging 10.2 points per game in his last five games. Prior to that, he averaged 5.7 points per game on the year.
► Anthony Hickey has reached double-figure scoring totals in six of his last seven games.
► In the last six games, Anthony Hickey has converted on 14 of his last 28 from three-point range (.500 pct.), a significant upgrade from the .322 pct. conversion rate he averaged before his current hot streak.
► Phil Forte has made only 10 three-pointers in his last six games, but has made 36 free throws during that same timeframe.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 479 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
The Series
Oklahoma State has historically controlled the series against Texas Tech, owning a 41-16 advantage overall. OSU has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two schools.
