Cowboy Basketball sets sights on TCU

OKLAHOMA STATE (12-11, 4-8) at TCU (12-11, 5-7)
Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 | 6 p.m. CT
Fort Worth, Texas | Schollmaier Arena (6,800)

Watch: CBS Sports Network (Carter Blackburn & Avery Johnson)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: OSU leads 29-14 (9-8 in Fort Worth)
Last: Jan. 23, 2024 in Stillwater (TCU, 74-69)

Opening Tips:

Wednesday night in Fort Worth, the Oklahoma State Cowboys go in search of their first Big 12 road win at place where victories have been few and far between.
The Pokes have dropped six straight visits to TCU's Schollmaier Arena, last winning in 2017.
OSU has won more than two-thirds of the meetings all-time in this series (29-14), but the team's have split their first 12 years worth of Big 12 matchups 12 to 12.
The Cowboys won non-conference trips to Tulsa and Seton Hall but are 0-6 on the Big 12 road. Last Tuesday's 72-63 defeat at fifth-ranked Houston was a step in the right direction. OSU shot 51% from the field, becoming just the third visitor in the Fertitta Center's seven seasons to make more than half of their shots.
OSU has otherwise won two of its last three games, including Sunday's 86-73 victory over Arizona State. Jamyron Keller paced a group of six double-figure scorers for the Cowboys, who led by 10 at halftime and by as many as 19 down the stretch. OSU won the rebounding battle, 46-34, while holding the Sun Devils to 33.3% shooting (the lowest percentage by a Cowboy opponent this season).
The 2023-24 Pokes were the Big 12's youngest team, but this year's version is loaded with experience. Ten Cowboys average 10+ minutes. Eight of them are DI transfers and seven are listed seniors, fifth-years or grad students.
First-year head coach Steve Lutz has brought a fast and physical brand of basketball to Stillwater with a team that relentlessly attacks the rim and feasts on transition opportunities created by a smothering half court defense.
Arturo Dean, the Big 12 leader in steal percentage (5.1), is among the keys to an OSU defense that ranks second in steals per game (8.5) while generating the third-most turnovers (14.3).
OSU has made a living at the line with nearly a quarter of its points coming on free throws (24.3% is 10^th-highest nationally). The Cowboys also lead the Big 12 and rank among the NCAA leaders in free throw rate (13^th, 43.3), free throw makes (12^th, 17.7) and attempts (14^th, 24.5).
Chi Chi Avery has been one of the nation's most explosive reserves, averaging a team-best 12.3 points. He's part of an OSU bench unit that ranks 13^th nationally in points (32.3).
Abou Ousmane (11.8 ppg) is the team's top rebounder (5.8) and shot-blocker with 19 this season and 145 for his career.
Veteran guard Bryce Thompson (11.5 ppg) is five points shy of 1,300 career points. He's averaging a team-high 12.4 in Big 12 play.

On This Date: Feb. 12

1946 – After snapping a 15-game winning streak at DePaul, eventual national champion Oklahoma A&M took out its frustrations on its cross-state rival. Tulsa conspired to stop 7-foot er Bob Kurland with two of its football players -- Joe Haynes and Cal Richardson -- but the pair instead combined for nine fouls while doing little to slow the Aggie's All-American center. He finished with a game-high 15 points – one fewer than the entire Tulsa team – in a 38-16 road win.
1958 – Afterward, head coach Henry Iba referred to him as "the best shooter in college basketball." Senior guard Eddie Sutton scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lead visiting OSU to a 70-50 rout of Oklahoma in the 101^st men's basketball chapter of the Bedlam rivalry.
2000 – In the first post-Y2K Bedlam matchup – played in front of record Lloyd Noble Center crowd of 13,280 -- No. 14 OSU jumped out to a 20-point lead (41-21) after 17 minutes then survived a furious Sooner comeback bid for a 74-71 win after Eduardo Najera's last-second three-pointer missed the mark.
2005 – Texas A&M set a new Reed Arena attendance record as 13,016 fans – including President George W. Bush – turned out to see Billy Gillispie's upstart Aggies take on No. 10 OSU. The Pokes, however, spoiled the party. Houston native John Lucas scored 18 points and handed out seven assists in a 66-59 Cowboy win.

Last Time on Cowboy Basketball:
Sunday, Feb. 9 in Stillwater | OSU 86, Arizona State 73

Six Cowboys scored in double-figures to help OSU win its first Big 12 era meeting with Arizona State and improve to 9-2 on its home floor.
Jamyron Keller made 4-of-6 threes in a 14-point effort and five others chipped in 10 apiece.
The Cowboys shot 44% to ASU's 33% and finished plus-12 on the glass. They outscored the visitors 15-7 on fast break opportunities and 32-16 in the paint. Both sides were 22-of-26 at the foul line.
OSU used its depth to wear down an already depleted ASU team. The Sun Devils were without two suspended starters and lost a third (Jayden Quaintaince) to injury midway through the first half. A fourth -- center Shawn Phillips -- fouled out with just under 6:00 remaining.
OSU jumped to an 11-2 lead and played the rest of the way from in front. Up 10 at halftime, the Cowboys used another 16-5 push early in the second half to grow the lead to 19 and protected it with timely free throw shooting. They sank 16-of-18 after halftime, including 13-of-14 over the final 5:40.

More ASU Leftovers:

OSU is 2-1 in the month of February, continuing a trend of late season improvement. Going back to the 2019-29 season, the Cowboys are 22-21 (.512) in February Big 12 games, compared to 13-31 (.295) in the month of January.
OSU is now 9-0 when scoring at least 80 points (3-11 otherwise) and 12-4 when its opponent scores less than 80 (0-7).
ASU's 33.3% shooting performance was a season-low for an OSU opponent. The Pokes had held just one other team below 40% this season (Tulsa, .362).
The Cowboys surrendered a season-low 16 points in the paint despite Abou Ousmane's foul trouble and significant size disadvantage. The Sun Devils made just 12-of-32 shots from inside the arc (.375). OSU was 20-of-38 (.526).
OSU reserves combined for 38 points – the 13^th time in 23 games that they've scored at least 30.
Jamyron Keller's four three-pointers matched a career-high set twice previously against BYU.
Bryce Thompson's string of nine straight double-figure scoring games ended, but his six points boosted him over the 1,200-mark in an OSU uniform and past Darwyn Alexander (1,199 from 1988-92) for 28^th on the school's all-time list. He now has 1,204 in four OSU seasons.
Six Cowboys finished in double-figures for the first time since Nov. 24, 2023 against Houston Christian. The group of Keller, Dean, Jennings, Brantley, Newman and Suemnick had combined for just seven double-figure scoring games in Big 12 play coming into the day.
OSU is the only NCAA Division I team that has not been involved in a one-possession or overtime game this season. The Cowboys' closest call was a five-point win over Tarleton back on Dec. 18. Each of the 13 games since then have been decided by at least nine points.
OSU improved to 9-2 at home (4-2 Big 12).
In conference play, the Cowboys are averaging 16.5 more points at home (75.7) than they are on the road (59.2).

OSU's Big 12 Home/Away Splits:
W-L Record: 4-2 / 0-6
Points For: 75.7 / 59.2
Points Against: 72.7 / 76.3
Field Goals: .430 / .400
3-Pointers: 7.5 (.357) / 5.5 (.284)
Free Throws: 21.2 (.774) / 11.0 (.600)
Rebound Margin: +4.3 / -4.3
TO Margin: +0.3 / -3.0
A:TO Ratio: 1.03 / 0.68

Matchup Mashup:

Robert Jennings is from the Dallas suburb of Desoto (35 miles southeast of Forth Worth) and Jamyron Keller spent his high school years in Killeen, Texas (two hours south of DFW).
Bryce Thompson (9 points in 34 minutes) and Connor Dow (21 minutes) are the only Cowboys who appeared in last year's OSU-TCU box score. Jamyron Keller did not see action.

Scouting the Horned Frogs:

Jamie Dixon notched his 500^th career win last Wednesday against West Virginia. He's guided TCU to three straight NCAA tournament appearances -- the longest streak in program history. First-round wins in 2022 and 2023 were also the school's first March Madness victories since 1987.
The Horned Frogs (12-11, 5-7 Big 12) are 11-2 at home this season compared to 1-9 on road and neutral courts. They enter the week at No. 81 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Former Kansas transfer and McDonald's All-American Ernest Udeh is TCU's lone returning scholarship player. He averages 8.7 points and ranks among the BIg 12 leaders in rebounds (7^th, 7.8), blocks (9^th, 1.43) and steals (9^th, 1.76). Per KenPom, he also ranks fourth nationally in free throw rate (84.1)
Udeh has been among the keys to a TCU defense that ranks 36^th nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Opponents are shooting just 31.0% from three-point range.
Dixon added 10 newcomers -- six transfers and four freshmen -- to the mix.
6-3 senior guard Noah Reynolds, a first team All-Horizon League performer last season at Green Bay, is the team's leading scorer at 12.5 points per game.
He's joined in the backcourt by 6-foot-2 sophomore Vasean Allette, an Old Dominion transfer who averages 11.5 points and 3.1 assists.
The transfer class also includes veteran forwards Trazarien White and Brendan Wenzel.
White (8.5 ppg) was a two-time All-CAA guard at UNCW, and the 6-8 Wenzel (Nevada) has hit a team-best 36 threes on 36.7% accuracy.

The Series with TCU:

OSU is 29-14 all-time against TCU, however the teams have split two dozen Big 12 era meetings (2012-13 to present).
For the second straight year, the teams will meet just once during the regular season.
TCU rallied from a 17-point first half deficit to win last year's lone matchup in Stillwater, 74-69.
All-time, OSU has won 13 of the 17 games in Stillwater (11-3 at GIA).
The Cowboys are 9-8 against TCU in Fort Worth but have lost their last six visits. In OSU's most recent trip (Feb. 18, 2023) the Horned Frogs shot 68% from the field en route to a 100-75 victory.

100 Years Ago: Facing the Music

OSU and TCU have been Big 12 rivals since 2012, but their association dates back more than a century. It's a little-known fact, but the two schools briefly overlapped as members of the old Southwest Conference. OSU -- then known as Oklahoma A&M -- joined in 1921 and TCU entered two seasons later, boosting the membership to eight teams (alongside Texas, Texas A&M, SMU, Baylor, Arkansas and Rice).
Just over 100 years ago to the day (Friday, Jan. 30, 1925) the undefeated Aggies, fresh off sweeps of Texas, Rice and Texas A&M, were preparing for what many believed to be their toughest test -- two games in two nights against a strong TCU squad. "These games will be the best you have seen this year," promised an advertisement in the student paper, The O'Colly.
Just one problem... Stillwater was simultaneously preparing for a Friday night recital from internationally recognized violinist Albert Spalding. According to The O'Colly, athletic director Ed Gallagher lobbied to change the time of the basketball game in hopes of accommodating both events, but his efforts were unsuccessful. The Aggies, instead, took the court in front of one of their smallest crowds of the season and -- lacking proper motivation -- were outclassed, 37-16, by the visiting Horned Frogs.
On an unrelated but ironic note, Spalding's father and uncle were co-founders and namesakes of a company best known today for manufacturing basketballs and other sporting implements.
Afterward, Spalding hopped a train to Oklahoma City, and Saturday evening the Oklahoma A&M community focused its full attention on the rematch with TCU. A capacity crowd at Armory Gymnasium helped the home team turn the tables and retake first place with a 34-13 win.
Oklahoma A&M went on to claim the 1925 Southwest Conference crown (the first conference title in program history), finishing one game ahead of second-place TCU in the standings. That summer, the Aggies joined the Missouri Valley Conference. 88 years later, the schools reunited in the Big 12.

A Cowboy Win Would...

Make them 13-11 (5-8 Big 12).
Push them past their overall and Big 12 victory totals from the 2023-24 season (12-20, 4-14) with eight regular season games still to play.
Make them 3-6 in true road games (1-6 Big 12), tripling last year's road count (1-9).
Be their first Big 12 road win since Feb. 21, 2024 at Cincinnati, snapping an eight game skid.
Be their first over TCU in Fort Worth since 2017, ending a six-game Schollmaier losing streak.
Up their series lead over TCU to 30-14 (10-8 in Fort Worth).

Up Next: 12/12 Texas Tech
Saturday, 2 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

The Cowboys look to continue their home success this weekend against Texas Tech. They're 9-2 inside GIA.
Tech (18-5 heading into Wednesday's home game against Arizona State) is 5-1 on the road.
The Red Raiders won the first meeting with OSU (Jan. 26 in Lubbock) by a score of 64-54.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Arturo Dean

Connor Dow

Jamyron Keller

Abou Ousmane

Bryce Thompson

Oklahoma State University Athletics