OSU Basketball Hosting Big 12 Leaders Texas Tech Wednesday

Wednesday, February 21

Stillwater, Okla.

6 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Texas Tech

OSU Basketball Hosting Big 12 Leaders Texas Tech Wednesday

February 20, 2018 | Cowboy Basketball

Game Center
Opponent: No. 6/7 Texas Tech (22-5, 10-4 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Feb. 21, 2018 / 6 p.m. Central
Site: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Capacity: 13,611)
Series: OSU leads 43-20 (OSU leads 22-4 in Stillwater)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPNU (Anish Shroff, Dino Gaudio)
Webcast: ESPN3.com or WatchESPN app
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 132, XM 199 (OSU radio call)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
OSU Game Notes

The Basics
Oklahoma State (15-12, 5-9 Big 12) began the season 11-2 at home, including a thrilling overtime Bedlam victory against then No. 4 Oklahoma, but has since dropped its last three games in Gallagher-Iba Arena and is looking to avoid its first four-game home losing streak since 2005-06. Texas Tech rolls into Stillwater tied atop the Big 12 standings and ranked No. 6/7 in the national polls thanks to one of the country's toughest defensive units. Led by senior Keenan Evans, the Red Raider rank fifth nationally in scoring defense (62.5) and seventh in field goal percentage defense (39.1). In the last meeting, the Red Raiders overcame OSU's 12-point halftime advantage to beat the Cowboys, 75-70, in Lubbock, Texas.

On the Air
The matchup between the Cowboys and Red Raiders will air Wednesday on ESPNU at 6 p.m. Central. Anish Shroff and Dino Gaudio will handle the on-air duties. ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app will carry the webcast. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call.

Running The Point
Kendall Smith is on an eight-game tear that has seen him soar up the Big 12 scoring and 3-point charts. Over this span, the graduate transfer has averaged 17.5 points on 47.4 percent shooting from the floor and 51.6 percent from beyond the arc. In Big 12 play, Smith is now shooting 47.5 percent from 3-point, which ranks third behind only TCU's Desmond Bane (51.0 percent) and K-State's Cartier Diarra (50.0 percent), and he's also averaging 13.6 points, which ranks 16th in the league.

Double Threat Cowboy
Against TCU on Saturday, Cowboy Jeffrey Carroll moved into the top 25 in school history in career rebounding, which made the senior one of just 14 OSU players to rank in the top 25 in both career scoring and rebounding, and one of just eight players to accomplish that feat listed at 6-6 or under. Carroll now ranks 23rd in school history with 1,269 career points - third among all active Big 12 players behind only Jevon Carter (1,573) and Devonte Graham (1,530) - and 24th in rebounding with 519 boards. Carroll is only 30 rebounds behind teammate Mitchell Solomon (549 boards) for 23rd place in school history.

Cowboy Quick Hitters
• In Big 12 play, OSU is 5-1 when playing on Saturdays, including the wins Kansas at West Virginia. Conversely, the Cowboys are 0-8 on weeknight games during league play.
• OSU appears to have a magic number when it comes to 3-pointers. The Cowboys are 12-1 when they make nine or more 3-pointers in a game, and 3-11 when they hit eight or less.
• OSU ranks 32nd nationally with a 76.2 percent clip from the free throw line. Every Cowboy with at least 30 attempts is shooting 71.4 percent or better from the stripe on the year.

The Series With Texas Tech
Texas Tech's comeback win over the Cowboys on Jan. 23 in Lubbock ended OSU's two-game win streak over the Red Raiders. Oklahoma State still leads the overall series, 43-20, including a 22-4 mark in Stillwater. OSU has won 13 of the last 14 meetings with the Red Raiders in Gallagher-Iba Arena with the only loss coming in 2016.

Leading The Red Raiders
The Red Raiders are under the direction of second-year head coach Chris Beard, who was the architect of Little Rock's magical 30-win season that included a first round NCAA Tournament double-overtime upset over Purdue, 85-83, in 2016. Originally from The Woodlands, and a 1995 graduate of the University of Texas, Beard spent time on the coaching staffs at Texas, Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian and North Texas before joining Bob Knight at Texas Tech in 2001. He remained on staff in Lubbock through 2011 before getting head coaching gigs with the South Carolina Warriors (semi-pro), Angelo State and Little Rock.

Suttons In The House
Former Cowboy player (1990-92), assistant coach (1993-06) and head coach (2006-08) Sean Sutton joined the Texas Tech staff as an advisor to head coach Chris Beard. In 15 seasons in all capacities in Stillwater the Cowboys racked up 11 seasons of 20 or more wins during Sutton's time, including a 39-29 mark as the OSU head coach. Sutton spent the past six seasons with his brother, Scott Sutton, at Oral Roberts. Scott joined Mike Boynton's coaching staff prior to the season.

Red Raider Defense
Texas Tech has a Big 12-best 6-1 record against AP top-25 opponents, including a pair of top-10 victories, thanks to a stingy defense. The Red Raiders ranks fifth nationally with a scoring defense that allows just 62.5 points per game.