Cowboy Basketball set to challenge No. 5 Houston

OKLAHOMA STATE (11-10, 3-7) at 5/5 HOUSTON (17-4, 9-1)
Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 | 7:01 p.m. CT
Houston, Texas | Fertitta Center (7,035)

Watch: ESPN+ (James Westling & Bryndon Manzer)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: OSU leads 13-11 (4-7 in Houston)
Last: Dec. 30, 2024 in Stillwater (UH, 60-47)

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Opening Tips:

Oklahoma State wraps up a difficult stretch of four games in 10 days (three of them on the road) with a visit to Big 12 co-leader Houston.
UH defeated the Cowboys, 60-47, in the Dec. 30 conference opener. OSU led 17-11 near the 11:00-mark of the first half, but the Cougars closed the period on a 17-1 run. OSU's 25.9% shooting percentage was its lowest in GIA since the birth of the shot clock (1986-pr.).
The Cowboys have not held a lead in any of their five Big 12 trips. They're 2-5 overall in true road games with December victories at Tulsa and Seton Hall.
Houston is coming off its first loss since late November and its first at the Fertitta Center in more than two calendar years. Saturday's overtime setback to Texas Tech snapped a 13-game winning streak and a nation-best 33-game home streak.
OSU downed Utah on Saturday, 82-73, behind 20 points on 4-of-4 three-point shooting from Bryce Thompson and 17 from Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery. After combining for 43 turnovers in two previous games, the Cowboys committed just 10 against the Utes and enjoyed their best Big 12 shooting performance to-date (.489).
Thompson is in line to make his 100^th start for OSU, becoming just the 14th player to do so..
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 NCAA's active career leader in steals per game (2.72), is among the keys to an OSU defense that ranks second in the Big 12 in both steals (8.6) and takeaways (14.6).
OSU has made a living at the line with nearly a quarter of its points coming on free throws (24.9% is fifth-highest nationally). The Cowboys lead the Big 12 and rank among the NCAA leaders in free throw rate (10^th, 44.3), free throw makes (12^th, 18.1) and attempts (12^th, 25.0).
Avery has been one of the nation's most explosive bench scorers, averaging a team-best 12.7 points this year. He's among the keys to an OSU bench unit that ranks 11^th nationally in points (32.9).
Avery's 12.7 points per game is the nation's second-highest scoring average among players who qualify for NCAA leaderboards but have not yet logged a start this year.
On a per-40-minute basis, Dean is averaging a league-best 3.5 steals-per-40, Avery is fifth in points-per-40 (22.1), and four Cowboys rank among the top-13 in free throw makes-per-40, led by Robert Jennings (6^th, 5.9) .
Each of the last 10 OSU regular season contests qualify for either Quadrant I or II status. Four of the next seven are against NET top-10 teams.

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On This Date: Feb. 4

1981 -- First-place OSU finished off second-place Kansas, 76-73, in triple overtime to remain atop the Big Eight standings. KU's Tony Guy extended the game past regulation with a 24-foot buzzer beater, and OSU missed potential game-winning shots at the end of the first and second overtime periods before finally taking control in the third. Leroy Combs scored a team-high 22 points for the home team, capped by a game-sealing layup with 36 seconds to play in triple OT that gave the Pokes a two-possession lead.
1989 – OSU set a Big 8 record with 16 blocks in a 77-73 win over No. 1-ranked Oklahoma at GIA. The Sooners were led by future NBA'ers Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock. Thomas Jordan had seven blocks and freshman Byron Houston added six for the Pokes. Richard Dumas led the scoring and rebounding with 19 points, 13 boards and three blocks of his own.
2015 -- Phil Forte sank a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds left in overtime as OSU knocked off No. 25 Texas on the road, 65-63. It was the first of three top-25 wins for the Cowboys in a six-day span. They knocked off No. 8 Kansas on Feb. 7, then went back on the road Feb. 9 for a Big Monday victory No. 16 Baylor.

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Last Time on Cowboy Basketball:
Saturday, Feb. 1 in Stillwater | OSU 82, Utah 73

Bryce Thompson scored 20 points on 4-of-4 three-point shooting and Arturo Dean handed out a season-high seven assists to help OSU avenge a 21-point loss in Salt Lake City.
Marchelus "Chi Chi" Avery added 17 points off the bench.
Ezra Ausar paced Utah with 18 points
The win was OSU's 300^th in 25 seasons since Gallagher-Iba Arena's renovation.
OSU shot 49% from the field, including 8-of-20 from deep, and knocked down 27-of-36 free throws.
Coming off its two worst turnover games of the season (22 at Texas Tech, 21 at K-State), OSU tightened things up offensively, committing just 10.
The Cowboys jumped out to 12-3 lead and never trailed.
One of the nation's tallest teams, Utah piled up 19 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds. The Utes made 15-of-27 from inside the arc but just 7-of-28 from beyond it.

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Trending:

OSU is 11-3 when holding its opponent to less than 80 points (0-7 otherwise).
OSU is 8-0 when scoring at least 80 (3-9).
OSU is 10-1 with a halftime lead (1-9 when trailing). The Cowboys overcame a six-point deficit to defeat Tarleton State (Dec. 18) but let a 39-34 advantage slip against FAU (Nov. 21).
OSU is 6-1 when outshooting opponents (5-9). The lone loss came at Texas Tech (Jan. 26).
OSU is 7-0 when forcing 16+ turnovers (4-10).
OSU is 6-0 with 20+ points off turnovers (5-10).
OSU is 9-0 this season when scoring 40+ combined points off of free throws and turnovers (2-10 otherwise).
As of Monday, OSU is one of only eight Division I teams that have not been involved in a one-possession game this season. The Cowboys' closest call was a five-point win over Tarleton.
The nine-point victory over Utah was the closest for OSU in conference play. Each of the team's first nine Big 12 games had been decided by double-figures in either direction.

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OSU vs. the Top-25:

OSU is 0-3 against nationally-ranked opponents this season (0-2 vs. AP top-25) with a neutral court loss to No. 13 Oklahoma on Dec. 14, a home setback against No. 14 Houston on Dec. 30, and a 10-point defeat at rv/24 Texas Tech on Jan. 26.
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 77-85 all-time against AP ranked opponents.
The Cowboys' last top-25 win outside of GIA came Feb. 11, 2023 at No. 11 Iowa State.

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The Series with Houston:

Houston is one of five two-play opponents on OSU's 2025 slate. The Cougars defeated the Cowboys, 60-47, in Stillwater to open Big 12 play.
The teams met just once last year -- a 79-63 Cougar win at the Fertitta Center (Feb. 6, 2024).
OSU leads the all-time series 13-11 but is just 4-7 in Houston (1-1 Fertitta Center).
The teams met 17 times in the 1950s when both were members of the Missouri Valley. The Cowboys faced Houston twice annually before joining the Big Eight prior to the 1958-59 season.
The biggest game, to date, between the schools happened at K-State's Ahearn Field House in the 1965 NCAA Midwest Regional. The Cowboys downed the Cougars, 75-60, to reach the last of their eight Elite Eights under Henry Iba.
The schools revived the series 53 years later with a three-game non-conference series. Houston's Dec. 8, 2018 win was its first ever at GIA (1-8). OSU returned the favor on Dec. 15, 2019 with a 61-55 road win at the newly renovated Fertitta Center. Houston took the rubber match -- played Dec. 18, 2021 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

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Scouting the Cougars:

Kelvin Sampson has nearly 800 wins on his future hall of fame resume, but some of his most impressive work has come over the past decade.
In 11 seasons at Houston (2014-Pr.), he's turned a once-struggling program into a national power.
The Cougars have reached the second weekend in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments, highlighted by a Final Four (2021), two Elite Eights (2019, 2022) and a pair of Sweet 16s (2023, 2024).
After winning four AAC regular season titles in a five-year span, Houston added a Big 12 trophy to its case last spring, putting together a 15-3 mark in its first go-around.
The Cougars lost point guard Jamal Shead, the 2024 Big 12 player of the year, to graduation but returned four other starters from last year's 32-5 finisher, including preseason first team All-Big 12 selections L.J. Cryer and J'Wan Roberts.
Houston (17-4, 9-1 Big 12) is No. 3 in the NCAA NET rankings. Three of its four losses have come in overtime, including Saturday's 82-81 setback against Texas Tech, which snapped a 13-game winning streak and ruined a nation-best 33-game home court streak.
Saturday's Texas Tech loss was the Cougars' first since Nov. 30 (San Diego State) and their first at the Fertitta Center since Jan. 22, 2023.
Houston is coming off an 82-81 overtime loss to Texas Tech on Saturday – the team's first since Nov. 30, snapping what had been a 13-game
KenPom rates Houston second nationally in defensive efficiency. The Cougars have limited opponents to a nation-low 56.6 points per game and also rank among the NCAA leaders in scoring margin (2^nd, +19.7), field goal percentage defense (4^th, .367) and blocks (17^th, 5.2).
UH has held nine of its 21 opponents to less than 50 points and six others below 60.
12 Cougar foes have shot less than 40% from the field and five of them -- OSU included (.259) -- have finished under 30%.
Defense is Houston's calling card, however the Cougars can score it just as well. KenPom rates them ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Houston games are typically low-possession affairs (UH is 360^th out of 364 in adjusted tempo), but the Cougars maximize those opportunities by crashing the boards (38.0% offensive rebound percentage ranks 11^th, per KenPom) and minimizing turnovers (9.1 TO/game is sixth-fewest). They're also shooting 39.3% as a team from deep (7^th).
The duo of Cryer (57/139, .410) and Emanuel Sharp (48/110, .436) have accounted for more than 60 percent of the Cougars' long distance makes and are both 90+% foul shooters.
Cyrer, a 6-1 graduate, is averaging a team-best 14.1 points per game and Sharp, a 6-3 redshirt junior, is good for 12.5 per game.
Roberts – a 6-8 sixth-year forward – has been the team's top rebounder (6.6 rpg) is among NCAA DI's active leaders in games played (t-4^th, 156) and total rebounds (944).
6-8 sophomore Joseph Tugler (6.0 pts, 5.8 reb) ranks 14^th nationally in blocks-per-game (2.45) and is No. 2 by percentage, per KenPom, swatting 15.6% of opponent 2-point attempts.
Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan (8.8 ppg) has filled in admirably for Shead, averaging 4.8 assists with a league-best 3.70 A:TO ratio (5^th).

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Matchup Mashup:

Houston opened the Fertitta Center in December, 2018 and has lost just seven times in parts of seven seasons (104-7). One of those victories belongs to OSU (61-55 on Dec. 15, 2019). The six-point margin is tied for the second largest by a visiting team behind Memphis (69-59 on Feb. 12, 2022) and tied with Alabama (71-65; Dec 10, 2022).
OSU is 15-16 all-time against Sampson (14-12 at Oklahoma and 1-4 at Houston). Those 15 wins are tied for the most by any one program (Arizona is 15-3).

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A Cowboy win would...

Make them the first team with multiple Fertitta Center wins since its 2018 renovation (2-1).
Make them 3-5 on the road this season, tripling last seasons total (1-9).
Be their first Big 12 road victory since Feb. 21, 2024 at Cincinnati, snapping a seven-game skid.
Be their first AP top-10 road win since January, 2022 when they defeated No. 1 Baylor in Waco.
Be their first AP top-25 win since upsetting No. 19 BYU on Feb. 17, 2024 and their first on the road since Feb. 11, 2023 at No. 12 Iowa State.
Give them a season split with UH and increase the all-time series lead to 14-11 (5-7 in Houston).

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Up Next: Arizona State
Sunday, Feb. 9 in Stillwater (1 p.m. CT, ESPN+)

The Cowboys are off for five days before taking on Arizona State on Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Great seats are available at okstate.com/tickets.
This is the last of four straight OSU home games against Big 12 newcomers.
The Cowboys are 5-3 all-time against the Sun Devils but last faced them in 1997. This will be ASU's first visit to Stillwater since Dec. 2, 1995.
The Sun Devils (12-7, 3-9 heading into Tuesday night's home game against K-State) have five players averaging between 10 and 13 points and one of the nation's elite shot-blockers in 6-9 five-star freshman Jayden Quaintance (2.95 bpg ranks third nationally).

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Players Mentioned

Arturo Dean

Jamyron Keller

Bryce Thompson

Oklahoma State University Athletics