Cowboy Basketball Hosting Rematch With TCU Monday

Monday, February 18

Stillwater, OK

8 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

TCU

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February 17, 2019 | Cowboy Basketball

• Game Center
Opponent: TCU (17-8, 5-7 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Feb. 18, 2019 / 8 p.m. CT
Site: Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or 877-ALL-4-OSU
Series: OSU leads 25-7 (9-2 in Stillwater)
TV: ESPNU (Kevin Connors, Chris Spatola)
Webcast: ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN app
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 135, XM 199
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes

• The Basics
Just 12 days ago in Fort Worth, Oklahoma State erased a 13-point TCU lead and tied the game on a Thomas Dziagwa 3-pointer from the left corner with 5.6 seconds remaining. That's when Horned Frog forward J.D. Miller drove the length of the court and hit a contested baseline jumper to give TCU a 70-68 win. Miller's shot gave TCU a third straight victory over OSU and set up an anticipated rematch in Stillwater. Cowboy freshmen Yor Anei and Isaac Likekele had standout performances in the first meeting, notching 20 points and 17 points, respectively. The Cowboys are 9-2 all-time at home against TCU, but the Horned Frogs won last year's meeting in Stillwater, 79-66.

• On the Air
The matchup will air on ESPNU at 8 p.m. Central. The crew of Kevin Connors and Chris Spatola will handle the on-air duties. The webcast is available at ESPN3.com or via the WatchESPN app. Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call, which can also be heard on TuneIn Radio or on satellite radio Sirius 135 or XM 199.

• Cowboy Quick Hitters
• Thomas Dziagwa knocked down seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 23 points on Saturday at Texas. The last time a Cowboy hit more 3-pointers in a single game was when Keiton Page connected on nine 3-pointers at Oklahoma on Feb. 22, 2012.
• Thomas Dziagwa (season: 5th, 44.6 • career: 7th, 41.7) and Lindy Waters (season: 4th, 45.1 • career: 8th, 41.4) are neck-and-neck on the program's single-season and career 3-point percentage charts.
• Yor Anei posted three blocks at Texas to give him 52 rejections on the year. That total ranks 12th in OSU for a single season, and helped him pass teammate Cameron McGriff for 22nd in career blocks. Anei only needs 13 more blocks to tie Byron Houston's freshman record of 65 blocks in 1988-89.
• OSU has fallen in eight straight Big 12 games, which is the longest league losing streak in one season in the Big 12 era. OSU fell in a school record 12 straight Big 12 games between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

• Dizzy-ing 3-Point Pace
Thomas Dziagwa, nicknamed "Dizzy" by his teammates, has a chance to become just the fifth OSU player to ever knock down 100 3-pointers in a single season. The junior, who has 79 makes from deep to his credit already this year, leads the Big 12 with an average of 3.16 3-pointers per game, and his 44.6 percent clip ranks fifth. His 79 makes rank 12th in school history, and he can join the top 10 with just one more 3-pointer. Dziagwa now has 149 career 3-pointers to his credit, which is 13th in OSU history, and his 41.7 percent career mark is seventh. Dziagwa has 18 games with at least a trio of 3-pointers this year, including a career-high seven makes at Texas.

• Likekele Story
Isaac Likekele has been asked to be more aggressive by the OSU coaches and the freshman has complied. In fact, he's averaging 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game on 51.2 percent shooting over the last four games. Likekele has 94 assists on the year and needs just three more to tie for the fifth most ever by an OSU freshman. The 94 dimes are the most by a Cowboy freshman since Jawun Evans had 108 in 2015-16, and are 45 behind Marcus Smart's freshman record of 139 set in 2012-13. Likekele is one of just two Big 12 players - and the only freshman - averaging 8.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, and his 3.8 assists rank fourth in the Big 12. The former Texas 5A state champion and all-state guard from Mansfield Timberview High School has a vocal leadership style to go with length and versatility. Boynton has been quick to describe Likekele as "in the mold of" Cowboy greats Tony Allen and Marcus Smart.

• The Series With TCU
This will be the 33rd all-time meeting between Oklahoma State and TCU, and the 14th as Big 12 foes. The Cowboys are 25-7 all-time against the Horned Frogs and 8-5 against TCU since they joined the league in 2013, but TCU earned its first sweep of OSU last season. In all, the Cowboys are 9-2 against the Horned Frogs at home, but one of those two losses came last season in GIA, 79-66, after the Horned Frogs shot 55.6 percent as a team, including 8-of-12 (.667) from 3-point.

• Leading The Frogs
The Horned Frogs are led by third-year head coach Jamie Dixon, who is a 1987 graduate of TCU and won a pair of Southwest Conference titles as a player under Jim Killingsworth. Dixon returned to Fort Worth after a 13-year stay as the head coach at Pittsburgh, where he was the author of 328 wins, 11 NCAA Tournament bids and three Big East championships. Dixon was the 2009 Naismith National Coach of the Year. In all, Dixon is 5-5 against the Cowboys in his time as a head coach.

• Scouting the Horned Frogs
The Horned Frogs boast an efficient offense that is among the most assist-minded in the country. TCU tallies an assist on 62.8 percent of its made field goals, which ranks 11th in the country according to KenPom. Senior point guard Alex Robinson is the key to that success. He is currently sixth in the nation with 7.1 assists per game and has seven double-doubles on the season, which is tied with OSU's Cameron McGriff for second in the Big 12. KenPom has Robinson's assist rate at 38.3 percent, which ranks 11th in the NCAA.

• Freshman Success Against TCU
Cowboy freshmen Yor Anei and Isaac Likekele both had success in their first career meeting against the Horned Frogs. Just 12 days ago in Fort Worth, Anei posted a career-high 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting and Likekele had 17 points and seven assists to keep the Cowboys in the game until the end. Likekele grew up in Arlington, Texas, and attended Timberview High School, which is just 15 minutes from TCU's campus.