Cowboys Carrying Momentum Into Matchup Against No. 1 Baylor

Saturday, February 8

Waco, TX

5 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Baylor

Cowboys Carrying Momentum Into Matchup Against No. 1 Baylor

February 06, 2020 | Cowboy Basketball

• Game Center
Oklahoma State (11-11, 1-8 Big 12) vs 1/1 Baylor (20-1, 9-0 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Feb. 8, 2020 / 5 p.m. CT
Site: Ferrell Center (10,284)
Tickets: BaylorBears.com
Series: OSU leads 55-30 (BU leads 19-18 in Waco)
Last: Baylor won 75-68 on Jan. 18 in Stillwater
TV: ESPN2 (Lowell Galindo, Lance Blanks)
Webcast: WatchESPN app or ESPN.com
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 (BU call) XM 380 (OSU call)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes

• The Basics
The first points/assists double-double by an Oklahoma State player since 2017 powered the Cowboys to a 72-57 win over TCU on Wednesday. Isaac Likekele dazzled with 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks and a career-high 11 assists to earn his first double-double in an OSU uniform and end Oklahoma State's eight-game skid to start Big 12 play. Now, the Cowboys turn their attention to the nation's best team - No. 1 Baylor. The Bears have won 19 straight games thanks to a versatile and potent defensive attack that ranks fifth in the country in scoring defense. OSU is attempting to take down the nation's No. 1 team for the fourth time in program history.

• On the Air
The Cowboys and Bears will square off on ESPN2 with Lowell Galindo and Lance Blanks on the call. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday, and the webcast can be seen on the WatchESPN app or ESPN.com. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call.

• Battling The Best
Oklahoma State has a history of success against highly-ranked competition. The Cowboys have three previous wins against the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Poll, the last coming against top-ranked Kansas, 85-77, on Feb. 27, 2010. In all, OSU has 53 victories against AP top-10 opponents in the history of the poll (1948-49), with four of those coming in the Mike Boynton era. OSU is looking to reverse a trend of 10 straight losses against ranked competition dating back to a 90-77 win over No. 19 LSU on Nov. 25, 2018.

• Ice Is Nice
When Isaac Likekele is playing his best he impacts the game as a scorer, rebounder, assist-man and defender, and his 15-point, 11-assist performance in the win over TCU was a microcosm of that. It was Likekele's first career double-double, the 41st points/assists double-double in OSU history and the first since Jawun Evans against Michigan in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Likekele also recorded his 200th career assist in the victory, which made him just the eighth OSU player to reach that milestone as a sophomore. Much like the team as a whole, Likekele's numbers over the last six outings more closely resemble those from the early-season success.

• Dynamite Dee
Dee Mitchell hasn't hit a field goal since Dec. 15 and hadn't seen the floor for more than a minute since OSU played at Texas Tech on Jan. 4, but injuries to Lindy Waters III and Avery Anderson III forced the sophomore into action against TCU. Mitchell responded with a lock-down defensive performance that yielded a team-high plus/minus of +18 without taking a single shot in 17:45. Mitchell, who joined the team during the infamous walk-on tryouts in January of 2019, was hailed by coach Mike Boynton as the game's MVP. Said Boynton after the game, "he was incredibly important to us tonight. He settled us defensively, he gave us opportunities to get our matchups aligned. He was terrific."

• The Series With The Bears
This will be the 86th meeting between Oklahoma State and Baylor in a series that dates back to Feb. 7, 1918. The Cowboys lead the overall series, 55-30, although the Bears own a slim 19-18 edge in Waco thanks to OSU's 67-64 win in their last visit to the Ferrell Center. That victory snapped Baylor's seven-game win streak over the Cowboys.

• Down To The Wire
While Baylor has taken eight of the last nine meetings with Oklahoma State, the games typically come down to the wire regardless of location. Eleven of the last 15 games between these two schools were decided by nine points or less, including nine two-possession ballgames and two in overtime. Despite OSU's 12-20 record last season, the Cowboys and Bears split the regular-season meetings and the games were decided by four and three points. Even when Baylor was ranked in the top-5 for both games in 2017, those meetings were decided in the final minute and by two possessions. The January meeting in Stillwater was a 3-point ballgame inside the final 20 seconds.

• Success Against The Bears
In three games against the Bears, Isaac Likekele is averaging 13.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists, while Yor Anei is pouring in 11.0 points, 6.3 boards and 2.7 blocks per game. They stole the show against Baylor as freshmen last season. Anei averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks, and shot 61.5 percent against the Bears in 2018-19. Likekele was held scoreless in the first meeting, but exploded for 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists in game two.