Cowboys Hosting Hillcats On N7 Night In GIA Wednesday

Game Center
• Opponent: Rogers State (4-2, 0-0 Heartland)
• Date/Tipoff: Nov. 30, 2016 / 7 p.m. Central
• Tickets: $5 at okstate.com/tickets with promo code "N7MB"
• TV: FSSW+ (MIke Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer & Allison Gappa)
• Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
• Satellite Radio: None
• Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
• Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
• OSU Game Notes

The Basics
• Oklahoma State returned home from the Maui Jim Maui Invitational with a third-place finish after a pair of wins against UConn and Georgetown, and earned the No. 25 spot on this week's ESPN Power Rankings. The Cowboys collected nine votes in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll. OSU will now turn its attention to in-state neighbor Rogers State, the defending Heartland Conference (Division II) champion.

On the Air
• Fox Sports Southwest-Plus will carry the matchup between the Cowboys and Hillcats, with Mike Wolfe and Bryndon Manzer on the call. Allison Gappa will provide sideline commentary. As always, the game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb.

Oklahoma State Snapshot
• The Cowboys will honor the state's rich Native American heritage by wearing special turquoise Nike N7 uniforms against Rogers State. The color turquoise represents harmony, friendship and fellowship in the Native American culture. Cowboy freshman Lindy Waters III is from the Kiowa and Cherokee nations, and his given name "Pao" means "Three" in the Kiowa language.
• OSU ranks second in the country in scoring with 98.5 points per game, but their high-pressure defense is the real story. After posting 18 steals against UConn and a school record-tying 19 steals against Georgetown, OSU now leads the nation with 13.0 steals per game. The 19 steals against the Hoyas are the most by any team this season against another Division I opponent. The Cowboys are forcing 20.5 turnovers per game, which ranks third in the country. Jawun Evans is 11th nationally with 2.83 steals per game.
• Jawun Evans was named to the NCAA's "All-Week Team" after his performances in Maui. The Naismith Trophy and Cousy Award watch list member posted 35 points against UConn and 30 points against No. 3 North Carolina to earn a spot on the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team. Evans now has three 30-point games this season, which is tied for second most in the country this year. He leads the Big 12 in scoring (24.7 PPG), is second in steals (2.8 SPG) and 3-point percentage (.563), fifth in assists (5.3 APG) and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9 A/TO).
• Freshmen proved the difference for OSU in Maui. Lindy Waters III led all players at the Maui Invite with nine total steals, while Cam McGriff earned SportsCenter's Top Play on Wednesday night with his ferocious dunk against Georgetown. Lucas N'Guessan was 4-of-5 shooting for the tournament and earned his first career start at center and posted eight points and four rebounds in the win over Georgetown. Thomas Dziagwa posted a pair of steals and eight points against the Hoyas, including a momentum-building 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. Brandon Averette hosted a coming-out party in the Georgetown game with 12 points, four assists and four steals in the win.
• Phil Forte is just one point shy of becoming just the 17th player in school history to score 1,400 career points. The senior has been steady from the free throw line, and currently ranks 11th in the country with a 96.3 free throw percentage. At 258 career makes, Forte needs just 41 more 3-pointers to tie Keiton Page for the school's career 3-point record.
• At 17.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest, Jeffrey Carroll is the only player in the Big 12 among the top five in the league in both stat categories. Carroll entered the season with a career scoring high of 19 points, but has three 20-point games this season.

Rogers State Snapshot
• The Hillcats went on the road and took down Central Oklahoma, 86-81, on Saturday night to improve their season record to 4-2. RSU opened the second half with a 20-8 run in the first seven minutes of play, and never looked back. JD Tisdale led the way with 20 points, while Jeylyn Sharpe wasn't far behind with 15. RSU shot 53.8 percent from the floor, including a 45.5 percent clip from 3-point.
• JD Tisdale leads four RSU players in double-digit scoring at 14.7 points per game this season. Jeylyn Sharpe isn't far behind at 14.7 points, while Baron Smith Jr. averages 13.5 and Travis Hester is at 12.2 per contest. Hester is 21-of-42 (.500) from 3-point this season, which has him ranked sixth among Division II players in 3-pointers per game.
• Rogers State, the defending regular-season champion of the Heartland Conference, was tabbed to finish fourth conference's preseason poll. Arkansas-Fort Smith was the overwhelming preseason pick to win the league.
• Justin Barkley is the head coach of the Hillcats, and is the reigning Heartland Conference Coach of the Year. He has five 20-win campaigns in his six seasons at Rogers State, including each of the last two. As a player, the Inola, Oklahoma native led Northeastern State to a Division II national title in 2003, and later served as an graduate assistant for the Redmen. He spent two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before joining the staff at RSU as an assistant coach in 2008.
• The Hillcats must replace last year's Heartland Player of the Year in J.C. Hartzler, who led them to a 23-5 record and the Heartland Conference regular-season title - the first by any RSU sports since moving up to NCAA Division II as a provisional member in 2015-16. Hartzler scored a career-high 38 points - 29 in the second half - in his final collegiate game, which the Hillcats won in double overtime at Dallas Baptist, 97-94.
• This will be just the second meeting between Oklahoma State and Rogers State despite just 95 miles separating the two campuses. The Hillcats came to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Jan. 7, 2008 and wouldn't go away in a 62-53 Cowboy win. Freshman James Anderson scored 15 points and Byron Eaton had 14. See the full box score in the lefthand column.
• That game against RSU in 2008 is the only matchup Oklahoma State has had against the current membership of the Heartland Conference.

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Players Mentioned

Brandon Averette

Jeffrey Carroll

Thomas Dziagwa

Jawun Evans

Lucas N'Guessan

Oklahoma State University Athletics