SEC/Big 12 Challenge Brings Razorbacks To Stillwater Saturday

Game Center
Opponent: Arkansas (16-4, 5-3 SEC)
Date/Tipoff: Jan. 28, 2017 / 3 p.m. Central
Series: OSU leads 36-14 • In Stillwater: OSU leads 13-4
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNU (Mark Neely & Mark Plansky)
Webcast: ESPN3.com or WatchESPN App
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
OSU Game Notes

The Basics
• After five straight close losses in Big 12 play, a shift in defensive philosophy has resulted in a two-game win streak for Oklahoma State (12-8, 2-6 Big 12) that has the Cowboys just three games out of third place with 10 conference games remaining. However, OSU will put all that aside on Saturday to play host to a surging Arkansas (16-4, 5-3 SEC) squad in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Razorbacks have won four straight games, including Tuesday's comeback thriller at Vanderbilt. Saturday will also serve as OSU's Remember the Ten game, in which the Cowboys pay tribute to those tragically lost on Jan. 27, 2001.

On the Air
• Oklahoma State and Arkansas will face off on ESPNU with Mark Neely and Mark Plansky on the call. This is the seventh of 13 scheduled appearance on ESPNU for the Cowboys this season. OSU is 4-2 on the network this season, and 33-30 all-time on the network, which hosted its inaugural broadcast at Gallagher-Iba Arena on March 5, 2005. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call from the historic white maple floor.

Oklahoma State Snapshot
• A minor shift in defensive philosophy has been at the heart of OSU's two-game winning streak. According to KenPom, the Cowboys field the NCAA's fourth most efficient offense, but OSU had fallen short in five straight close Big 12 games (five of OSU's six Big 12 losses were one or two possession games in the final five minutes). After the tweak, OSU ended Texas Tech's 17-game homecourt win streak with an 83-64 route in Lubbock and followed it up with an 89-76 win over TCU in Stillwater. What's more, OSU never trailed in either game.
• With the win at Texas Tech, Brad Underwood picked up his 100th career victory in his 122nd game, which tied him for the 10th fastest coach to reach the century mark in college basketball history. Underwood owns an 82.1 career win percentage, which is tops among all active coaches, and his 89 wins at Stephen F. Austin tied him with Brad Stevens of Butler for the most victories by any coach after three seasons. Underwood is also tied for the ninth-best win percentage by a fourth-year head coach.
• Phil Forte III has been on fire since Big 12 play began, and is on the verge of becoming Oklahoma State's all-time 3-point king. The senior currently ranks second with 296 career 3-pointers, and needs just three more to tie Keiton Page (299, 2009-12) for the school record. He also ranks 10th in school history with 1,584 career points. In Big 12 play, Forte leads all players with 3.1 three-pointers per game, and his clip of 50.0 percent ranks third behind his teammate Jeffrey Carroll (64.0) and Frank Mason (56.8). Forte is averaging 15.0 points per conference game, which ranks 12th in the league.
• Forte can become just the seventh player in Big 12 history to reach 300 career 3-pointers. The redshirt senior is currently eighth in Big 12 history in career 3-pointers attempted. At 296-of-757 (.391) from 3-point, Forte is third among all active players nationwide in career 3-pointers made.
• With 19 points against TCU, Jeffrey Carroll narrowly missed a chance to become the first OSU player with five straight 20-plus point performances since James Anderson in 2008-09. The redshirt junior has hit 12 of his last 13 attempts from 3-point, and now leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.611) and 3-point percentage (.640) in conference play. In the last five games, Carroll has scored 112 points on 56 field goal attempts. He is averaging 22.4 points and 8.2 rebounds on 64.3 percent shooting and an 87.1 percent clip from 3-point.
• Carroll joins Bryant "Big Country" Reeves as the only players in OSU history to increase their scoring average from single digits (9.9 ppg or less) in one season to 17 points or more the next. The redshirt junior averaged 8.2 points in 2015-16, and is up to 17.7 points in 2016-17. Carroll is the Big 12's only player ranked inside the league's top seven in scoring (3rd, 17.7 ppg), rebounding (7th, 7.3 rpg) and field goal percentage (4th, .587), and he has scored 20 points or more nine times this season.
• OSU fields one of the youngest and most inexperienced lineups in the country. Even with fifth-year senior Phil Forte and his 122 career games, OSU still ranks 279th nationally in experience according to KenPom. The Cowboys entered the 2016-17 with just 15 combined years of collegiate experience, and currently have just 253 collegiate starts on the roster. OSU's average age of 20.2 years is tied with Texas for the youngest in the Big 12.
• OSU ranks second in the Big 12 and seventh nationally in scoring at 87.9 points per game, but their high-pressure defense is the main reason why. The Cowboys rank 13th in the country with 8.7 steals per game and eighth in turnovers forced at 17.15. According to KenPom, OSU is holding opponents to an average possession of just 15.2 seconds - the second shortest in the country - and they rank 20th in turnover percentage with a mark of 22.4.
• One of the nation's elite point guards, Jawun Evans ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring (18.2) and assists (5.4) and is fourth in steals (2.1). In league play, the sophomore leads all Big 12 players with 6.4 assists per game. The Naismith Trophy and Cousy Award watch list member has eight 20-point games and three 30-point games this season alone, and he also earned a spot on the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team. Evans owns two of the Big 12's top three scoring performances this season - 35 points against UConn, and 34 points against Campbell.
• The Cowboys have cleaned up on the offensive glass this year. OSU is ninth nationally with 14.4 offensive boards per game and eighth in offensive rebound percentage at 38.9 percent. A true team effort, not one player on the team ranks inside the top 100 in the country in offensive boards. The Cowboys have pulled down 15-plus offensive boards in 10 games this year, including seven of the last 13 outings.

Arkansas Connections & Snapshot
• Mike Anderson is in his sixth season at the helm of the Razorback basketball program, and is one of just 10 active Division I head coaches with 10-plus years of experience without a losing season. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Anderson played his final two years of college ball at Tulsa for Nolan Richardson, then joined Richardson's Tulsa coaching staff for three seasons. Anderson followed Richardson to Arkansas in 1985 and worked for him as either an assistant coach or associate head coach for the next 17 seasons. After four years at UAB and five at Missouri, Anderson returned to Arkansas as the head coach in 2011.
• The Razorbacks are coming off a 71-70 come-from-behind victory at Vanderbilt - the fourth straight win for Arkansas. Vanderbilt led by 15 with 6:02 remaining, but Dusty Hannahs and Daryl Macon combined to go 11-of-12 from the free throw line over the final four minutes to help the Razorbacks get back into the game. Arkansas used a 7-0 run over the final 49 seconds to earn the win. Hannahs led five Razorbacks in double-figures scoring with 17 points.
• With 24 points against LSU, Moses Kingsley became the 40th player in program history to score 1,000 points as a Razorback. He joins Arkansas legend Oliver Miller as the only players to reach 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 200 blocks in a career. Kingsley is on pace to finish among the top 25 scorers in Razorback history.
• The Cowboys and Razorbacks both have six Final Four appearances apiece, which ties them with Cincinnati and Syracuse for 10th among all programs nationwide. Arkansas went to the Final Four in 1941, 1945, 1978, 1990, 1994 and 1995, while Oklahoma State went in 1945, 1946, 1949, 1951, 1995 and 2004.
• The Cowboys and Razorbacks have another thing in common - Eddie Sutton. Sutton spent 11 seasons in Fayetteville (1975-85), and piled up a 260-75 record that included five Southwest Conference titles, nine NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 1978. After four seasons at Kentucky, Sutton returned to Oklahoma State and spent the next 16 seasons (1991-06) racking up a 368-151 record, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and trips to the Final Four in 1995 and 2004.
• The Cowboys and Razorbacks are two of eight high-major teams in the country to score 90-plus points in seven or more games this season. OSU has scored over 90 nine times this year, including five 100-point games.
• The two programs are separated by less than 180 miles, but have not met on the hardwood since Dec. 20, 2003 (73-58 OSU win in Fayetteville). The Cowboys have won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Razorbacks, and lead the series, 36-14, overall, including a 12-1 edge inside historic GIA.

The SEC/Big 12 Challenge
• OSU is 2-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, including last year's 74-63 win at Auburn thanks in part to 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Jawun Evans. In the first year of the Challenge, No. 9 OSU took down the South Carolina, 79-52, at Gallagher-Iba Arena in 2013. USC returned the favor in Columbia, 75-49, the following year.
• The Big 12 is 20-10 (.667) in the Challenge, having won the series in each of its first three years of existence. Last year and in 2013-14, the Big 12 won seven of the 10 matchups. The Big 12 has posted a 48-30 (.615) record in the last two conference challenge series it has played (vs. Pac-10, SEC) dating back to 2007.
• Arkansas is 1-1 in the Challenge, including last year's 75-68 overtime win over Texas Tech in Fayetteville. In 2014-15, No. 20 Iowa State took down No. 18 Arkansas, 95-77, in Ames, Iowa.

SEC/Big 12 Challenge Brings Razorbacks To Stillwater Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Jeffrey Carroll

Jawun Evans

Oklahoma State University Athletics