Cowboy Basketball On Verge Of Breakout, Visiting Iowa State

Tuesday, January 21

Ames, IA

7 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Iowa State

Cowboy Basketball On Verge Of Breakout, Visiting Iowa State

January 19, 2020 | Cowboy Basketball

• Game Center
Oklahoma State (9-8, 0-5 Big 12) at Iowa State (8-9, 1-4 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Jan. 21, 2020 / 9 p.m. CT
Site: Hilton Coliseum (14,356)
Tickets: cyclones.com
Series: Tied 65-65 (ISU leads 40-15 in Ames)
Last: Iowa State won 72-59 on Jan. 19, 2019 in Ames
Streak: Iowa State won last two meetings
Webcast: ESPN+ (Clay Matvick, Bryndon Manzer)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: XM 389
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes

• The Basics
Oklahoma State had No. 2/2 Baylor on the ropes on Saturday in Stillwater, but fell just short in a heartbreaker to drop to 0-5 in Big 12 play. The signs of progress were obvious for the Cowboys, who will look to grab their first conference win at Iowa State on Tuesday. In that matchup, former U19 USA Basketball standouts Isaac Likekele and Tyrese Haliburton will go head-to-head in a showdown of the Big 12's top do-it-all guards. Those two won gold together over the summer at the FIBA World Cup in Greece.

• On the Air
The game will appear on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, the new digital platform that will serve as the home for thousands of live Big 12 and ESPN events, on-demand content and original programing. ESPN+ is available via the ESPN App, ESPN.com or espnplus.com, as well as on most major mobile and connected TV platforms for just $4.99 per month. The announcing team of Clay Matvick and Bryndon Manzer will have the ESPN+ call. Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have Cowboy Radio Network call.

• Big 12's Best Do-It-All Guards
They go about it in different ways, but OSU's Isaac Likekele and Iowa State's Tyrese Haliburton are the Big 12's top do-it-all guards, and this will be their first meeting since teaming up to win gold for USA Basketball at the 2019 U19 FIBA World Cup in Greece. Likekele and Haliburton are the only Big 12 players averaging 4.1 assists, 2.2 steals and 4.9 rebounds per game. ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla referred to Likekele as a "linebacker at point guard," and the description fits. At 6-4, 215 pounds with a 6-10 wingspan, Likekele is a bully who sets the tone on both ends of the floor, and he was at his best against No. 2/2 Baylor with 16 points, 9 boards, 5 assists and four steals - all team highs.

• Cowboys On The Verge
Oklahoma State appears to be regaining the form it showed in November when it got off to a 7-0 start and a top-25 ranking after claiming the NIT Season Tip-Off trophy. Immediately after returning from Brooklyn, the Cowboys lost Isaac Likekele for a month due to illness, and it's taken him and the team additional time to get firing on all cylinders. OSU has raised its shooting percentage in every Big 12 game, and over the last two outings it shot 41.0 percent from 3-point (18.2 percent in its first three league games). According to KenPom, Saturday's game was the second-best offensive efficiency rating against Baylor all season.

• 1,000-Point Club Growing
On Jan. 6, Lindy Waters III became the 42nd Cowboy to join the 1,000-point club, and now Cameron McGriff is 13 points away from becoming the 43rd. McGriff, a veteran of 117 career games, sits at 987 points. Two OSU teammates have reached the 1,000-point mark in the same season on eight occasions, with the last coming in 2014 (Marcus Smart & Le'Bryan Nash).

• The Series With The Cyclones
The series between Oklahoma State and Iowa State dates back to 1918 and couldn't be closer at 65 wins apiece. OSU took both regular season meetings with Iowa State in 2018, but the Cyclones returned the favor with a sweep of the Cowboys in 2019. In Ames, the Cylones lead the series, 40-15, and have won seven of the last eight meetings overall. The lone OSU win in that stretch - an 80-71 victory on Feb. 27, 2018 - gave Cowboy seniors Mitchell Solomon and Jeffrey Carroll a victory in every conference road venue - a Cowboy first since 1954.

• Always A Nailbiter
Regardless of record or venue, Oklahoma State and Iowa State always seem to play down to the wire. Nine of the last 14 meetings between these two schools were determined by nine points or less, including five by five points or fewer and three in overtime.