Battle In The Little Apple Awaits Cowboy Basketball Saturday

Saturday, February 23

Manhattan, KS

3 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Kansas State

Battle In The Little Apple Awaits Cowboy Basketball Saturday

February 21, 2019 | Cowboy Basketball

• Game Center
Opponent: at No. 23/21 Kansas State (20-6, 10-3 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Feb. 23, 2019 / 3 p.m. CT
Site: Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)
Tickets: kstatesports.com
Series: K-State leads 82-53 (40-16 in Manhattan)
TV: ESPN2 (Chuckie Kempf, Bryndon Manzer)
Webcast: ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN app
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 136 (K-State call), XM 388 (OSU call)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes

• The Basics
Oklahoma State picked up a hard-fought win over TCU on Monday night thanks to another sharpshooting performance from Thomas Dziagwa. Now the Cowboys (10-16, 3-10 Big 12) will look to keep that momentum going against arguably the most challenging portion of its 2018-19 schedule. OSU's next three games are against the three teams atop the Big 12 standings, with two of those games coming on the road. The Cowboys will start this stretch at No. 23/21 Kansas State (20-6, 10-3 Big 12), which is coming off its fourth straight road win. The Wildcats are led by super seniors Barry Brown, Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes, and currently lead the conference standings by a full game with just over two weeks to play.

• On the Air
The matchup will air on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. Central. The crew of Chuckie Kempf and Bryndon Manzer 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 XM 388.

• Cowboy Quick Hitters
• The Cowboys lead the Big 12 in both 3-pointers made (224, 8.6 per game) and 3-point percentage (38.2). That percentage also ranks 30th nationally.
• Of all active players nationally with 350+ career 3-point attempts, Thomas Dziagwa ranks 18th in career 3-point percentage with a mark of 42.1. That clip is also tied for fourth in OSU history.
• Yor Anei posted five blocks against TCU to give him 57 rejections on the year. He only needs eight more blocks to tie Byron Houston's freshman record of 65 blocks in 1988-89.

• 6-10 And Growing
At 6-10 with a 7'0 1/2" wing span, Yor Anei is a natural shot blocker, and ranks third in the Big 12 and 26th nationally with 2.2 blocks per game. He ranks 10th in school history for blocks in a single season with 57, and the freshman already ranks 19th in OSU history in career blocks. Anei sent back five shots in the win over TCU on Monday to give him 10 games with at least three blocks. In the last 10 games, and is averaging 8.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. In that span he's also shooting 73.3 percent from the line after beginning the season 6-of-15 (.400).

• The Series With The Wildcats
This will be the 136th meeting between the Cowboys and the Wildcats in a series that dates back to 1922. Prior to last year's K-State sweep of OSU, these two programs split the regular season series in each of the previous five seasons. K-State leads the overall series, 82-53, including a 40-16 edge in Manhattan. Oklahoma State has a 33-27 edge in Stillwater, although K-State has won the last three meetings in GIA.

• Always A Ballgame When These Two Meet
Since 2013, Oklahoma State and Kansas State have faced off 15 times, and a grand total of 39 points scored has separated the two schools in those meetings. In those 15 games OSU has scored 1,043 points and K-State has 1,082 points. The two teams have split the regular season series in five of the last six seasons.

• Success In The Octagon
Since Kansas State moved into Bramlage Coliseum in 1988, OSU has had its fair share of success in the "Octagon of Doom". Despite falling in six of their last seven games in the Little Apple, the Cowboys are 10-12 all-time in Bramlage.

• Scouting The Wildcats
After falling in their first two Big 12 contests, Kansas State has vaulted to the top of the Big 12 standings. The Wildcats are the first team in the league to reach 10 Big 12 wins, and lead the field by a full game with five games remaining. Barry Brown is leading the way offensively with 15.9 points per game on 46 percent shooting, while Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, Dean Wade, is pouring in 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.