Oklahoma State University Athletics
Game Notes - Cowboys Travel To Baylor
February 08, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
Feb. 8, 2015
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Up Next For Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball
at No. 19/19 Baylor
Feb. 9, 2015 ► 6 p.m. CT ►Ferrell Center (10,284 capacity)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or toll-free 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNU (Dave Armstrong and Stephen Howard)
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 84, XM 84 (Baylor Feed)
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.com
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's basketball team (16-7 overall; 6-5 Big 12) battles No. 19/19 Baylor (18-5 overall; 6-4 Big 12) at 6 p.m. CT Monday in the Ferrell Center.
On the Air
The game will be televised by ESPNU with Dave Armstrong and Stephen Howard 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
Fresh off back-to-back wins over No. 25 Texas in Austin and No. 8 Kansas in Stillwater last week, Oklahoma State has now has two wins over teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll, four wins over teams ranked in the AP top 25, five wins over teams with an RPI in the top 50 and eight wins over teams with an RPI in the top 100 this season.
The Cowboys are led in the scoring column by Phil Forte (17.0 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 2.15 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 three 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 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.
Baylor From a Distance
A winner in five of its last six games and owner of a 13-1 record at home, Baylor is about as good as it gets in college basketball when it comes to rebounding, especially on the offensive end. The Bears rank third nationally with 15.7 offensive rebounds per game, third nationally with a +10.1 rebound margin and fourth nationally with 41.4 total rebounds per game. Baylor is also good defensively, limiting opponents to .389 percent shooting from the field (34th nationally) and .294 percent shooting from three-point range (20th nationally).
With four players averaging double-figure scoring totals and two more averaging more than eight points per game, Baylor gets its scoring from a variety of sources. Kenny Chery has the hot hand lately, averaging a team-best 13.2 ppg and 4.2 apg in the last five games. During that same span, Taurean Prince averages 12.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg and Rico Gathers averages 11.6 points and a behemoth 13.6 rpg. On the year, Gathers ranks second nationally with 5.5 offensive rebounds per game and second nationally with 12.5 total rebounds per game.
An Oklahoma State Win Would...
► Mark its fourth in the last six meetings with Baylor and its first in Waco since a 66-48 victory in 2006.
► Give the Cowboys their first regular-season sweep of the Bears since 2006.
► Improve the Cowboys to 7-0 against teams from the state of Texas this season.
► Be its fifth over an opponent ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll this season. The Cowboys previously beat No. 8 Kansas, No. 10 Texas and No. 20 Baylor in Stillwater and went on the road to top the No. 25 Longhorns in Austin.
► Mark just the third time in school history that the Cowboys have beaten opponents ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll in three consecutive games. The previous two times came during NCAA Tournament runs to the 1995 and 2004 Final Fours, respectively. It has never happened for OSU in three consecutive regular season games.
► Mark the fourth time in school history and the first time since 2003-04 that OSU has beaten at least five teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 in the same season. The Cowboys beat five ranked teams in 1950-51, seven in 1991-92, eight in 1994-95 and nine in 2003-04.
► Mark the Cowboys' sixth over a team with an RPI in the top 50 and their ninth over a team with an RPI in the top 100 this season.
► Mark the 20th 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.
Streaks and Trends Entering the Baylor Game
► Oklahoma State has won three of its last four games against teams ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll. During that span, the Cowboys have limited those four ranked opponents to 81-of-205 shooting from the field (.395 pct.) and have forced those four ranked squads into committing 15.5 turnovers per 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.
► Oklahoma State has recorded at least five steals in 21 of its 23 games this year and has 41 steals in its last four games (10.3 per game).
► Oklahoma State is averaging 5.7 blocked shots per game in its last six games.
► Oklahoma State has lost the points in the paint battle in 10 of its last 12 games.
► Phil Forte has made 47 of his last 51 free throw attempts, dating back to OSU's win over Texas on Jan. 10 (.922 pct.)
► Le'Bryan Nash has scored in double figures in 22 consecutive games (all of his games this season).
► Phil Forte has scored in double figures in 22 of his 23 games this year and 31 of his last 33 games, dating back to last season.
► Phil Forte has converted on 50 percent or better from the field in five of his last six games.
► Phil Forte has made only three three-pointers in his last three games, but has made 19 free throws during that same timeframe.
► Anthony Hickey has at least one steal in 22 of 23 games this year and has nine steals in the last three games.
► Anthony Hickey has made five of his last nine three-point attempts (.556 pct.), which is a significant improvement from the .322 percent that he had been shooting from beyond the arc prior to his current hot streak.
► Michael Cobbins has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven of his last eight games.
► Michael Cobbins is averaging 10.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game in his last three matchups with Baylor.
► Michael Cobbins has blocked at least one shot in 19 of his 20 games this year and in 25 of his last 27 games, dating back to last season.
► Mitchell Solomon has grabbed 13 rebounds in his last three games (4.3 per game), well up from the 2.6 rebounds per game he was averaging before this current flurry of activity.
► OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 475 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 53-22 all-time advantage over the Bears and have taken three of the last five. The series is deadlocked at 16 wins apiece in Waco. The Cowboys are 6-8 against the Bears since Travis Ford took over as coach in 2008-09.
