Cowboy Basketball Draws Jayhawks In Big 12 Quarterfinals

Game Center
• The Game: [1] 9/9 Kansas (24-7, 13-5 Big 12) vs [8] Oklahoma State (19-13, 8-10 Big 12)
• Date / Tipoff: March 8, 2018 / 1:30 p.m. CT
• Site: Sprint Center (Kansas City, Mo.)
• Series: Kansas leads 113-59 (16-12 on neutral courts)
• Streak: OSU won both regular season meetings
• TV: ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla, Holly Rowe)
• Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)

Cowboy Quick Hitters
• Cameron McGriff continued his run of hot play. The sophomore posted a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds in 33 minutes of play against the Sooners on Wednesday. It marked his fourth game with at least 18 points in the last 10 games. Over this span, McGriff has averaged 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds on 49.3 percent shooting from the floor and 52.0 percent from 3-point.
• With 13 points and 13 rebounds, Jeffrey Carroll recorded his fourth double-double of the season (ninth of his career) in the opening round win over Oklahoma. The 13 rebounds tied a career high set in the Bedlam matchup in Stillwater on Jan. 20. The senior was named a third team All-Big 12 Conference selection after leading OSU with 15.1 points per game in the regular season.
• After Wednesday, the Cowboys are now 16-2 when they make nine or more 3-pointers in a game, and 3-11 when they hit eight or less. The Cowboys entered the Big 12 Championship ranked ninth in the league with a 3-point percentage of 34.7 percent, but have made 60 of 146 (41.1 percent) over the last six games.

• The Ever-Growing Postseason Resume
• Oklahoma State entered Wednesday night's game against the Sooners tied for 17th nationally with five Quadrant 1 victories, but picked up a sixth Q1 win by downing the Sooners (RPI 36).
• The Cowboys are tied for the national lead with four wins over top-10 opponents and six total ranked victories.
• OSU is one of just eight teams to take down multiple ranked opponents in true road games.
• OSU has faced the nation's 21st toughest schedule according to KenPom, and has eight wins over current top-50 squads and 11 wins over teams ranked 103 or better.
• The NCAA RPI rates OSU's conference schedule as the fourth toughest nationally.
• Every loss on OSU's schedule is to a team currently among the projected NCAA Tournament field according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. Conversely, the Cowboys have six wins over projected tournament teams. The "worst" loss on OSU's schedule is to RPI No. 62 Kansas State.
• OSU has faced eight Quadrant 4 opponents, but there is a bit of bad luck involved in that figure. The Cowboys faced Pittsburgh in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn and couldn't have estimated the Panthers would have an RPI of 210. Pitt's five-year RPI average entering the 2017-18 season was 58.4. Oral Roberts (180.4), Charlotte (180.8) and Pepperdine (181.1) also showed much higher five-year RPI averages than their current ranking.
• The Cowboys finished the regular season with eight Big 12 wins. Since the conference expanded to the double-round robin format, four of the five teams to finish 8-10 in Big 12 play earned an at-large big to the NCAA Tournament.

• OSU is now 24-19 (.558) in its history at the Big 12 Championship, including the 2004 and 2005 titles. The 24 wins rank third behind only Kansas (41) and Texas (25), while their .558 win percentage trails only Kansas (.788).
• The Cowboys are 7-13 all-time in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship. OSU's last quarterfinal victory came in 2009 when the No. 7 seed Cowboys took down No. 2 seed Oklahoma, 71-70, in Oklahoma City to advance to the semifinals.

The Matchup Against the Jayhawks
• The Cowboys took both regular season meetings with Kansas this season, which is a first in the Bill Self era at KU. The last time a team swept the regular season meetings with the Jayhawks was in 2003 (Iowa State).
• The last time Kansas lost to one opponent three times in a season was 1983, when Oklahoma State defeated the Jayhawks three times. Bill Self was a junior on that Cowboy basketball squad, and averaged 7.0 points per game on 61.5 percent shooting against KU.
• Despite the regular season sweep the Jayhawks lead the overall series against the Cowboys, 113-59, including a 16-12 edge on neutral courts. OSU is 2-6 all-time against the Cowboys in the Big 12 Championship, including wins in the last four meetings. OSU last defeated KU in the big 12 Championship in 2005.
• Kendall Smith scored a game-high 25 points in the win over No. 6 Kansas last week and was rewarded with Big 12 Player of the Week honors. Smith's 25 points were a Cowboy career high, and came on 9-of-15 shooting. He also added four steals, three rebounds and three assists. The graduate transfer has scored in double-figures in 10 of the last 13 games, including six 20-point performances. In Big 12 play, Smith shot a scoring 47.3 percent from 3-point, which ranks second in the conference. He also averaged 14.2 points, which ranks 13th in the league.
• In the two meetings with Kansas this season Kendall Smith averaged 24.5 points on 61.3 percent shooting, including a 6-of-9 (.667) clip from 3-point. In those games, OSU shot 50.9 percent as a team, including a 43.1 percent clip from 3-point, while holding the Jayhawks to 44.2 percent.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jeffrey Carroll

Cameron McGriff

Kendall Smith

Oklahoma State University Athletics