Cowboys challenge No. 23 Kansas Saturday on CBS

Saturday, February 22

Lawrence, Kan. / Allen Fieldhouse

3:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Kansas

February 20, 2025 | Cowboy Basketball

Cowboy Notes (PDF)

OKLAHOMA STATE (13-13, 5-10) at 23/25 KANSAS (17-9, 8-7)
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 | 3:06 p.m. CT
Lawrence, Kan. | Allen Fieldhouse

Watch: CBS (Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jenny Dell)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: KU leads 125-60 (67-12 in Lawrence)
Last: Jan. 30, 2024 in Lawrence (KU, 83-54)

Opening Tips:

The Oklahoma State Cowboys pay a visit to the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
OSU is still in search of its first Big 12 road win (0-7) after last Wednesday's 73-72 heartbreaker at TCU. The Cowboys led by a pair with 3.2 seconds remaining, but the Horned Frogs needed just 2.8 of them to go the length of the floor for a game-winning three-pointer.
OSU has dropped seven straight to the Jayhawks, last winning Jan. 12, 2021 in Stillwater behind 18 points from Big 12 player of the year Cade Cunningham. The Cowboys' last win in Lawrence came in 2018. They've dropped six-in-a-row there since.
OSU is coming off its best offensive performance of the season in Wednesday night's 104-95 win over UCF. Bryce Thompson scored a career-high 25 points and was joined in double-figures by Abou Ousmane (17), Arturo Dean (16), Khalil Brantley (15) and Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery (10). The Cowboys outscored the Knights 26-5 off turnovers, helped by a season-best +13 turnover margin. They forced 20 while committing just seven.
With the victory, OSU (13-13, 5-10) has now exceeded both its overall and conference victory totals from the 2023-24 season (12-20, 4-14) with still five regular season games to play.
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.
Dean, the Big 12 leader in steal percentage (5.0), is among the keys to an OSU defense that has generated the league's second-highest steal (8.5) and turnover (14.4) counts.
OSU has made a living at the line with nearly a quarter of its points coming on free throws (24.4% is 8^th-highest nationally). The Cowboys also lead the Big 12 and rank among the NCAA leaders in free throw rate (11^th, 43.4), free throw makes (10^th, 17.9) and attempts (11^th, 24.7).
Avery has been one of the nation's most explosive reserves, averaging a team-best 12.1 points. He's part of an OSU bench unit that ranks 12^th nationally in points (31.9).
Thompson has put up team-best 13.2 points in conference play.
Abou Ousmane (12.0 ppg) is the Cowboys' top rebounder (5.5) and shot-blocker with 24 this season and 150 for his career.
OSU is on the hunt for its first AP top-25 win since Feb. 17, 2024 (No. 19 BYU) and first on the road since Feb. 11, 2023 at No. 11 Iowa State.

On this Date: Feb. 22

1946 – All-American Bob Kurland set a new NCAA scoring mark with 58 points in a win over Saint Louis. While that mark has since been broken, it's still the school record by a wide margin. No other OSU player has scored more than 45 in a game since. A little over a month later, OSU (then known as Oklahoma A&M) became the first school to win back-to-back NCAA titles with Kurland earning tournament MVP honors.

Last Time on Cowboy Basketball:
Wednesday in Stillwater | OSU 104, UCF 95

OSU topped the century mark in a Big 12 game for the first time in 18 years in a 104-95 win.
Bryce Thompson scored a career-high 25 to lead a group of five double-figure scorers.
The Big 12's top tempo teams had 86 possessions apiece and combined for 51 fastbreak points, but the Cowboys took better care of the basketball, outscoring the Knights 26-5 off turnovers, helped by a +13 margin. They forced 20 and committed just seven.
Abou Ousmane scored 13 of his 17 points before the intermission to help the Cowboys to a fast start. They scored on 14 of their first 18 possessions to build a 30-16 lead at the 10:40-mark of the first half and were up as many as 19 (50-31) with 4:00 left in the period.
Keyshawn Hall (game-high 34 points) helped UCF pull to within 53-40 at halftime and to within five (81-76) with 5:00 to play in the game.
The Cowboys had just two field goals the rest of the way but converted 18-of-22 free throws to preserve the win.

The Cowboys' 100-point performance was...

The 52^nd in school history and first since Dec. 22, 2018 against UTRGV (102-83).
Their highest output since a 117-72 rout of New Orleans on Nov. 16, 2016.
Just their fourth in Big 12 Conference play and their first in more than 18 years -- OSU defeated Kevin Durant's Texas Longhorns 105-103 in triple overtime on Jan. 6, 2007.

OSU's 100-Point Games in Big 12 Play:
Jan. 3, 1998 at Texas A&M – W, 100-65
Jan. 30, 2005 at Colorado – W, 104-86
Jan. 6, 2007 -- #21 Texas – W, 105-103 (3ot)
Feb. 19, 2025 – UCF – W, 104-95

Thompson Finishing Strong:

Bryce Thompson scored a career-high 25 points against UCF. His previous best (23) came against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 31, 2022.
Wednesday marked Thompson's fourth 20-point performance of the season and his 11^th as a Cowboy.
Thompson has hit 188 free throws in four seasons at OSU. Exactly one-quarter of those makes (47) have come over his last 14 games (since Jan. 1). The graduate guard has become a more aggressive driver under Steve Lutz, drawing an average of 4.6 fouls per 40 minutes against conference opponents (the league's 10^th highest mark, per KenPom). He's also been a markedly improved marksman, hitting 80% of his free throws for the year (after shooting a combined 62.3% in his first four seasons).

More UCF Leftovers:

Former UCF Knight Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery was 2-for-4 from distance, marking his seventh consecutive game with multiple three-pointers. He's 15-of-38 (.395) in that span.
Arturo Dean finished with a season-high 16 points to go with three steals. The junior guard has posted three-or-more steals in 45 of his 88 career games.
Abou Ousmane recorded his 150^th career block early in the second half. He's one of just 35 active players who have reached that milestone.
Each of Jamyron Keller's career-high four steals came before halftime, at which point OSU led the turnover battle, 15-4, and had outscored the visitors 20-0 off turnovers.
UCF tacked on a 16^th turnover (resulting in one more OSU point) before the second half had even begun thanks to a technical foul whistled as the Knights were exiting the court.

OSU vs. the Top-25:

OSU is 0-5 against nationally-ranked opponents this season (0-4 vs. AP top-25).
The Cowboys last defeated a top-25 foe on Feb. 17, 2024 (93-83 over No. 19 BYU), led by Jamyron Keller who scored 22 points without missing a shot (8/8 FG, 4/4 3pt, 2/2FT).
Inside GIA, OSU is 77-86 all-time against AP ranked opponents.
The Cowboys' last top-25 win outside of GIA came Feb. 11, 2023 at No. 11 Iowa State.

The Series with Kansas

KU holds a 125-60 series lead with seven consecutive wins.
OSU last defeated Kansas on Jan. 12, 2021 in Stillwater (75-70) behind 18 points from Big 12 Player of the Year Cade Cunningham.
The Cowboys last won in Lawrence during the 2017-18 season when they became the first Big 12 team to sweep a home-and-home from the Jayhawks under Bill Self.
OSU is 12-69 all-time in Lawrence. Eight of those wins came under Hall of Famer Henry Iba. The Cowboys are 4-45 at Allen Fieldhouse since his 1970 retirement.
They Jayhawks swept last year's series, winning 90-66 in Stillwater (Jan. 16, 2024) and 83-54 in Lawrence (Jan. 30, 2024). Bryce Thompson scored 20 points in the former, including the 1,000^th of his NCAA career. In the latter, OSU fifth-year John-Michael Wright and KU's Hunter Dickinson each notched their 2,000^th.

Scouting the Jayhawks:

Kansas (17-9, 8-7 Big 12) has dropped five of its last eight games including back-to-back during last weekend's Utah/BYU road swing. A 91-57 loss in Provo matched the Jayhawks' largest margin of defeat in 22 seasons under Bill Self.
KU has the nation's sixth most efficient defense, per KenPom. The Jayhawks have limited opponents to 39.1% from the field (12^th), including 29.8% from three (25^th), while keeping the fouling to a minimum (14.1 per game is 12^th fewest).
KenPom ranks the KU 59^th in offensive efficiency. The Jayhawks are among the top-10 in assists (17.7) and top-25 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.56) but rarely reach the foul line (14.4 attempts per game are tenth-fewest nationally). 58.0% of all KU points have come on 2-point field goals (ninth-most).
Self has assembled the nation's most experienced teams, according to KenPom, with an average of 3.63 years of experience on the floor.
7-foot-2 Hunter Dickinson is the NCAA's active scoring leader (2,631 points) and has grabbed 1,399 rebounds in 152 career games. The 2024 consensus second team All-American averages 16.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Likewise, sixth-year guard Dajaun Harris is college basketball's active leader in assists (820) and games played (165 -- all at KU). The three-time Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection comes in averaging 9.5 points and 5.8 assists with 3.27 A:TO ratio.
KU's returning core also includes senior forward KJ Adams, a two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 pick (8.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
Lawrence native Zeke Mayo -- the 2024 Summit League Player of the Year at South Dakota State -- has been the most-impactful scorer among the KU's six-man transfer class, averaging 14.7 points while knocking down a team-high 64 threes on 40% accuracy.

Matchup Mashup:

KU's Bill Self played and coached at Oklahoma State. He was a four-year letterman (1981-85) and helped the Cowboys win the 1983 Big 8 tournament. Self later served as an OSU assistant under both Leonard Hamilton (1986-90) and Eddie Sutton (1990-93) before landing his first head coaching job at Oral Roberts.
This will be the Cowboys' 40^th matchup with Self as KU head coach (11-28) and 44^th overall (14-29) including his time at ORU.
Bryce Thompson played his freshman season (2020-21) at Kansas before transferring to OSU. He scored his 1,000^th collegiate point against the Jayhawks on Jan. 16, 2024 but suffered a season-ending shoulder injury two weeks later at Allen Fieldhouse (Jan. 30, 2024).
Thompson's father, Rod, was Self's first point guard at Tulsa during the 1997-98 season.
Thompson's maternal grandfather, Marshall Rogers, started his career at Kansas playing for Ted Owens. He was on the freshman team in 1971-72 (the last year before freshman became eligible for varsity competition) and averaged 7.7 points as a sophomore before moving on to UTRGV and eventually the NBA.
OSU fifth-year Davonte "Devo" Davis was part of an Arkansas team that upset top-ranked Kansas in the second round of the 2023 NCAA tournament. Davis scored 25 points
Likewise, three other OSU transfers helped their respective schools to wins over the Jayhawks last season. Patrick Suemnick scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Mountaineers' Jan. 20, 2024 win in Morgantown. Robert Jennings had eight points off the bench in Texas Tech's 79-50 win in Lubbock, and Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery chipped in four points and four rebounds in UCF's 65-60 victory.
Thompson ranks second among active players in career Big 12 games (68) and starts (58) behind KU's Dajaun Harris.

Active Leaders // Career Big 12 Games
1. Dajaun Harris (Kansas) – 86
2. Bryce Thompson (OSU/KU) – 68
2. LJ Cryer (Houston/Baylor) – 68
4. KJ Adams (Kansas) -- 65

A Cowboy win would...

Be their first Big 12 road victory since Feb. 21, 2024 at Cincinnati, snapping a nine-game streak.
Make them 3-7 this season in true road games, tripling last season's win total (1-9).
Be their first in Allen Fieldhouse since 2018, snapping a six-game streak, and just their fifth in their last 50 visits (1971-pr.).
End KU's seven-game series winning streak and narrow the overall lead to 125-61.

Up Next: 8/8 Iowa State
Tuesday, 7 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

The Cowboys return home Tuesday night to face Iowa State.
OSU has won seven of the last nine meetings in the series and is 41-19 all-time against the Cyclones in Stillwater.
ISU (21-5, 11-4) rides a four-game winning streak into Saturday's top-10 showdown at No. 5 Houston.