Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys Host No. 8 Kansas Saturday
February 06, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Next up for Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
No. 8/9 Kansas
Feb. 7, 2015 ►1 p.m. CT ►Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611 capacity)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPN (Dave Flemming, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson)
In Stillwater - Suddenlink 31/HD 231, DirecTV 206, Dish 140, U-verse 602
In OKC - Cox 29/HD 720, DirecTV 206, Dish 140, U-verse 602/HD 1602
In Tulsa - Cox 25/HD 720, DirecTV 206, Dish 140, U-verse 602
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 91, XM 91
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (15-7 overall; 5-5 Big 12) battles No. 8/9 Kansas (19-3 overall; 8-1 Big 12) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased for as little as $30 online at okstate.com/tickets, by calling toll-free at 877-ALL-4-OSU or at the box office.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPN with Dave Flemming, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson calling the action. The game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb on the call.
Oklahoma State Honoring Its Past Greats
Travis Ford and the Oklahoma State basketball program welcome back the 1994-95 Cowboy squad to recognize the 20th anniversary of its run to the 1995 Final Four. Coach Eddie Sutton, All-American Bryant "Big Country" Reeves and other members of that remarkable OSU team will sit behind the Cowboy bench during the game and will be honored at halftime.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
Fresh off a 65-63 overtime road win over No. 25 Texas in Austin on Wednesday, The Cowboys own four wins over teams with RPIs currently in the top 50 and seven wins over teams with RPIs currently in the top 100.
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Phil Forte (17.1 points per game) and Le'Bryan Nash (16.9 points per game), but get big contributions from defensive specialist and rim protector Michael Cobbins (second in the Big 12 with 2.21 blocked shots per game) and Anthony Hickey (a career 1,000-point scorer who has recorded double-figure scoring totals in each of the last two 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 15 wins, Hickey averages 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game and shoots .458 pct. from the field and .393 pct. from three-point range. In OSU's seven losses, Hickey averages 8.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game and shoots .333 pct. from the field and .270 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-35 team nationally in steals, blocked shots, field goal percentage defense and scoring defense.
Kansas From a Distance
Sitting atop the Big 12 standings and the NCAA's national RPI ratings, Kansas has won its last five games and 10 of its last 11. Of those 10 recent wins, five came over teams ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll. Oklahoma State graduate Bill Self and his Jayhawks are versatile enough to win games in a variety of ways, but primarily get it done with defense and rebounding. KU doesn't have any one area where it is overwhelmingly dominant, but the sum of its pieces and the balance of its attack have been very effective.
The same applies when looking at individual players. Perry Ellis leads the squad with 13.0 points per game, but on any given night, Frank Mason (12.7 ppg and 4.1 apg), Wayne Selden (9.5 ppg and 3.0 apg), Kelly Oubre (8.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg) or Cliff Alexander (8.0 ppg and 5.8 rpg) can do considerable damage.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Mark the Cowboys' fourth over Kansas since Travis Ford took over as head coach in 2008-09. No team has beaten the Jayhawks more than three times during that span.
► Mark the 10th time that the Cowboys have beaten a team ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll in six-plus years under Travis Ford. Among OSU head coaches, only Eddie Sutton (16 in 16 years as head coach) has more wins over top-10 opponents than Ford. Henry Iba won nine over top-10 teams in the 22 years during his tenure that the Associated Press ranked teams.
► Mark the Cowboys' fifth over a team with an RPI in the top 50 and their eighth over a team with an RPI in the top 100 this season.
► Be its fourth over an opponent ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll this season. The Cowboys previously beat No. 10 Texas and No. 20 Baylor in Stillwater, then went on the road to top the No. 25 Longhorns in Austin.
► Mark the 19th 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.
► Mark the third straight season and the fourth in the last six under coach Travis Ford that OSU has beaten at least three teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 in the same season.
► Improve the Cowboys to 11-2 in Gallagher-Iba Arena this season.
► Improve OSU to 93-16 in Gallagher-Iba Arena under Travis Ford.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Kansas Game
► Oklahoma State is 57-3 in its last 60 games when holding its opponent under 60 points.
► Oklahoma State is 9-1 this year and 104-19 under Travis Ford when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
► Oklahoma State has recorded at least five steals in 20 of its 22 games this year and has 29 steals in its last three games.
► Oklahoma State has lost the points in the paint battle in 10 of its last 11 games.
► Oklahoma State has shot less free throws than its opponent in eight of its last 12 games.
► Oklahoma State has been outrebounded by six of its last seven opponents.
► Phil Forte has struck for double-figure scoring totals in five of his five career matchups with Kansas, highlighted by a 23-point outburst against the Jayhawks in 2014 in which he connected on 7-of-10 attempts from three-point range.
► Le'Bryan Nash has steadily increased his scoring total in each of his last six outings against Kansas. He scored seven points against the Jayhawks in Lawrence in 2013, then scored eight against them in Stillwater later in the year. In 2014, he scored 10 points in Allen Fieldhouse and upped that total to 16 in Gallagher-Iba Arena and then to 19 at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. He scored 21 against the Jayhawks in Lawrence earlier this season.
► In his four career meetings with Kansas, Michael Cobbins averages 2.4 blocked shots per game.
► Phil Forte has made 41 of his last 44 free throw attempts, dating back to OSU's win over Texas on Jan. 10 (.932 pct.)
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 21 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored 20 or more points in a game six times this season.
► Phil Forte has scored in double figures in 21 of his 22 games this year and 30 of his last 32 games, dating back to last season. He scored 18 points against Kansas in Lawrence earlier this season.
► Anthony Hickey has at least one steal in 21 of 22 games this year.
► Michael Cobbins has blocked at least one shot in 18 of his 19 games this year and in 24 of his last 26 games, dating back to last season.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 474 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
Oklahoma State's Wins over Top-10 Opponents, Travis Ford Era
March 12, 2009 vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (in OKC) ........................ W, 71-70
Jan. 23, 2010 at No. 10 Kansas State ........................ W, 73-69
Feb. 27, 2010 No. 1 Kansas ........................ W, 85-77
Jan. 25, 2012 No. 2 Missouri ........................ W, 79-72
Nov. 18, 2012 vs. No. 6 N.C. State (in Puerto Rico) ........................ W, 76-56
Feb. 2, 2013 at No. 1 Kansas ........................ W, 85-80
March 9, 2013 No. 9 Kansas State ........................ W, 76-70
March 1, 2014 No. 5 Kansas ........................ W, 72-65
Jan. 10, 2015 No. 10 Texas ........................ W, 69-58
The Series
Kansas leads the all-time series between two long-time foes, 110-55, including a slight 35-32 edge over the Cowboys in Stillwater. OSU won last year's meeting in Stillwater, 72-65, and has taken three of the last five from the Jayhawks in Gallagher-Iba Arena. How even has the series been recently? The last six head-to-head meetings between the two teams have been decided by a grand total of eight points, with Kansas holding a 437-429 edge.
