Cowboys Hosting No. 2 Sooners Wednesday Night

Wednesday, January 13

Stillwater, OK

8 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma

January 11, 2016 | Cowboy Basketball

Game Center
Oklahoma State (9-6, 1-2 Big 12) vs. No. 2/2 Oklahoma (13-1, 2-1 Big 12)
Date/Tipoff: Jan. 13, 2016 / 8 p.m. Central
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or call 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNU (Clay Matvick & Tim Welsh)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 & XM 84
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes

The Basics
• Oklahoma State (9-6 overall; 1-2 Big 12) returns to Gallagher-Iba Arena after a two-game road trip to face Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma Bedlam Series rival No. 2/2 Oklahoma (13-1, 2-1 Big 12). The Sooners have taken the last five meetings in the series, but the Cowboys are 51-26 inside GIA against OU.

On the Air
• ESPNU will have all the action between the Cowboys and Sooners starting at 8 p.m. Central. Clay Matvick and Tim Welsh will have the call. As always, the game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb. The Cowboy Radio Network call can be heard on Sirius and XM channel 84.

Oklahoma State Snapshot
• The Cowboys enter Wednesday's matchup against the Sooners on a two-game losing streak that featured uncharacteristic rebounding efforts. After 13 games, OSU had been out-rebounded by just three of its opponents, and owned a +2.9 rebounding margin. However, Baylor out-boarded the Cowboys by 26 and turned 23 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points. West Virginia pulled down 18 offensive boards and turned them into 17 second-chance points while out-rebounding the Cowboys by seven.
• The Cowboys field a solid defensive unit that ranks second in the Big 12 and 35th nationally in scoring defense at 64.4 points per game. OSU is holding its opponents to 38.7 percent shooting, which also ranks second in the league and 25th in the country. The Cowboys defense starts at the rim, where they rank second in the Big 12 and 32nd in the NCAA with 5.33 blocked shots per game. The Cowboys have held their Big 12 opponents to 38.5 percent shooting, which leads the league.
• Freshman Jawun Evans is only a game removed from a career-high nine assist performance at Baylor, which is tied for the third best performance by an OSU freshman in school history. The Dallas native ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 4.67 assists per game, which is sixth among all freshmen nationwide. At 3.9 rebounds per game, Evans is also second in rebounding among Big 12 point guards behind only K-State's Justin Edwards (5.8 RPG).
• The Cowboys rank second the league and 37th nationally with a free throw mark of 73.7 percent. Jeff Newberry leads the OSU efforts from the free throw line. At 53-of-64 (.828), Newberry ranks eighth in the league from the stripe.
• Senior Phil Forte injured his elbow in the first half of 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 up to that point. 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. At the time, he ranked third in the Big 12 in career scoring and third in the country in career 3-pointers.
• Even counting the injured Forte, OSU fields one of the least experienced lineups in the country. In the Big 12, only Kansas State (1.52 years per player) and TCU (1.46) have fewer years of Division I experience than the Cowboys (1.59), who rank 225th in the country in Division I experience.
• Head coach Travis Ford enters his eighth season with the Cowboys, and ranks third in school history in both total wins (152) and win percentage (61.0 percent). Ford ranks behind only Eddie Sutton and Mr. Henry Iba in both categories.

Oklahoma Snapshot
• The Sooners bring a 13-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking into this year's first Bedlam meeting. OU ranks third in the country with a scoring average of 88.3 points per game, and is holding its opponents to a league-low 37.6 percent shooting on the year.
• OSU will once again have its hands full on the glass. The Sooners lead the Big 12 with 44.4 rebounds per game, and rank 31st in rebounding margin at +7.0. Ryan Spangler is joined by Baylor's Rico Gathers as the only Big 12 players averaging a double-double. The senior is averaging 11.5 points and ranks second in the conference with 10.5 boards per game.
• The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and conference Player of the Week, Buddy Hield leads the league and ranks second in the nation with a scoring average of 26.6 points per game. He is coming off a 31-point performance in the win over Kansas State, and dropped 46 points in the triple overtime loss at Kansas, which is tied for the most by any player in the country this season. The senior has scored at least 20 points in eight straight games.
• As a team, Oklahoma leads the country in 3-point field goal percentage at 46.4 percent. Three Sooners rank among the Big 12's top 3-point shooters; Jordan Woodard (1st, 55.6), Buddy Hield (3rd, 52.0) and Isaiah Cousins (6th, 42.9).

Inside the Bedlam Series
• Oklahoma State and Oklahoma compete yearly in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma Bedlam Series, an all-sports competition between the two schools, which are separated by only 80 miles along Interstate 35. The series champion is decided by wins and losses in head to head competition. In sports where there is no head to head matchup, the Big 12 Championship final standings are used. Oklahoma State has won the Bedlam series each of the last two years.
• On the hardwood, the Sooners have taken the last five Bedlam meetings and lead the overall series, 134-95. Oklahoma State has the edge in Stillwater, 61-44, including a 51-26 mark inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• A venue built on upsets, Oklahoma State is 9-10 all-time when facing ranked Oklahoma teams inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys have three wins over OU when the Sooners are ranked in the top five (3-7 overall).
• The biggest of those upsets came when an unranked OSU squad topped No. 1 Oklahoma, 77-73, on Feb. 4, 1989 in Gallagher-Iba Arena. A trio of Cowboys - Richard Dumas (19 & 13), Thomas Jordan (15 & 10) and Byron Houston (11 & 12) - posted double-doubles to help OSU overcome a four-point halftime deficit. OSU shot 50 percent in the second half and forced 33.3 percent shooting from the Sooners. Tony Martin (22 points), Stacey King (18 points, 11 rebs) and Mookie Blaylock (14 points, 7 assts) led the OU efforts that day.
• Without Phil Forte, the Cowboys field a roster without much experience in the Bedlam series. The remaining active OSU players have combined for three starts and just 48 total points in 22 appearances against the Sooners.

An Oklahoma State Win Would ...
• Give Travis Ford his 21st win over a ranked opponent in his time at OSU, including his sixth win over a top five squad.
• Snap OU's five game win streak in the Bedlam Series, and improve the Cowboy's record against the Sooners to 96-134.
• Keep the Cowboys perfect at home in Big 12 play this season. OSU opened conference play with a win over TCU, and is 6-2 at home overall this year.