Cowboys host Arizona State in Super Bowl Sunday Matinee

ARIZONA STATE (12-10, 3-8) at OKLAHOMA STATE (11-11, 3-8)
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 | 1 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)

Tickets: okstate.com/tickets
Watch: ESPN+ (James Westling & Bryndon Manzer)
Listen: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: OSU leads 5-3 (2-0 in Stillwater)
Last: Dec. 10, 1997 in OKC (OSU, 79-68)

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Opening Tips:

Oklahoma State takes on Arizona State for the first time in the Big 12 era on Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Cowboys lead the all-time series 5-3 (2-0 in Stillwater). This will be the first installment since 1997 and the first in GIA since 1995.
OSU is 2-0 all-time on Super Bowl Sunday with home win over Baylor in 2000 and a victory at Texas Tech in 2003.
OSU is 7-2 at home this season (3-2 Big 12). The Feb. 1 win over Utah was the Pokes' 300th in 25 seasons since GIA expansion (300-92, .765).
The Cowboys are averaging nearly 13 more points at home (77.4) than on the road (64.5).
OSU is coming off 72-63 loss at No. 5 Houston on Tuesday. Abou Ousmane scored 16 points and Arturo Dean added 13 points and five steals for the Cowboys, who shot 51% from the field but were outscored 16-0 on second-chance points.
Bryce Thompson became just the 14th player to start 100 games in an OSU uniform and moved into the top-30 on the school's career scoring list. If he tallies at least 10 points on Sunday, Thompson would be the first Cowboy since Cade Cunningham (2020-21) to reach double-figures in 10 straight games.
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.
Dean, the NCAA's active career leader in steals per game (2.74), is among the keys to an OSU defense that ranks second in the Big 12 in steals (8.5) and third in forced turnovers (14.4).
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 (13th, 43.5), free throw makes (14th, 17.5) and attempts (15th, 24.4).
Chi Chi Avery has been one of the nation's most explosive reserves, averaging a team-best 12.6 points. He's part of an OSU bench unit that ranks 13th nationally in points (32.0).
In honor of Black History month, OSU players will wear limited edition shooting shirts featuring inspiring words from Maya Angelou: "If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased."

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On This Date: Feb. 9

1983 – Four days removed from a quadruple overtime win at Colorado, OSU returned home to beat Nebraska in double OT – 71-63. Bill Self's layup broke a 59-all tie and put the Pokes in front to stay.
2004 – No. 10 OSU offered a glimpse of its Final Four potential with an 80-60 rout of No. 12 Kansas, led by first-year head coach Bill Self.
2013 – Freshman Marcus Smart felt right at home at Texas' Frank Erwin Center – the same building where he and teammate Phil Forte won back-to-back state title with Flower Mound Marcus High School – scoring 23 points to lead No. 22 OSU to a 72-59 victory over the Longhorns.
2015 – No. 21 OSU piled up 21 assists on 25 baskets in a 74-65 win over No. 16 Baylor in Waco. It was the Cowboys' third top-25 victory in a six-day span, coming on the heels of a Feb. 4 win at No. 25 Texas and a Feb. 7 victory against No. 8 Kansas.

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OSU on Super Bowl Sunday:

OSU has played just two other times on a Super Bowl Sunday, winning both.
OSU is 4-2 this season when playing on the same day as the Chiefs. Notably, the Chiefs are 6-0 when playing on the same day as OSU.

Jan. 30, 2000 (XXXIV) -- Following a Noon tipoff, No. 15 OSU wasted little time pulling away from visiting Baylor. The Cowboys built up a 41-19 halftime lead and cruised to a 67-51 win. Later that evening at Georgia Dome, St. Louis stopped Tennessee at the 1-yard line on the final play to preserve a 23-16 win.
Jan. 26, 2003 (XXXVII) -- No. 13 OSU extended the nation's longest winning streak to 14 with a 79-70 victory over Bobby Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders. Two and a half hours later in San Diego, Tampa Bay kicked off a 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders.

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Last time on Cowboy Basketball:
Tuesday at Houston | #5 UH 72, OSU 63

OSU made shots, but No. 5 Houston made the most of the misses.
The Cowboys connected on 51% of their field goal attempts to Houston's 41.9%, but the Cougars managed 13 extra attempts, helped by a 40-24 rebounding margin. They grabbed 18 offensive boards to OSU's four and outscored them 16-0 on second chances.
Abou Ousmane led a group of four double-figure scorers with 16 points, and Arturo Dean added 13 points and five steals.
Bryce Thompson finished with 11 points in his 100^th OSU start.
The Cowboys made eight of their first 10 shots to build an early 18-9 lead near the 12:00-mark.
Houston started 5-of-16 but hit 11-of-16 over the remainder of the half. The Cougars took the lead for good 4:00 before halftime and opened the second with another 13-2 run.
OSU cut a 17-point deficit down to 63-63 with 28 seconds left, but UH converted four straight free throws to preserve the win.

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More Houston Leftovers:
Junior guard Arturo Dean logged his 11^th career game with five-or-more steals, which is the third-most among active players. Stathead has individual game logs as far back as the 2004-05 season. In that 20-year span, Dean is one of just 50 players with as many or more five-steal games, joining a list that includes former Cowboy All-American Marcus Smart (12).
Dean is now averaging a league-best 2.2 steals in Big 12 play (22 in 10 games). Just two other Cowboys -- both of them future NBA All-Defensive Team selection -- have averaged 2.0-or-more steals over a full Big 12 season: Marcus Smart (3.2 in 2013 and 2.7 in 2014) and Tony Allen (2.2 in 2004).
OSU became the first Big 12 visitor (and just the third team overall) to shoot better than 50% inside the Fertitta Center, joining Wichita State (.649 on 3/2/2023) and SMU (.522 on 3/7/2019). Going back to the start of the 2018-19 season (UH's first at the Feritta Center), the Cougars have held visiting teams to a nation-low 35.3% from the field.
Bryce Thompson recorded his career-best ninth consecutive double-figure scoring game. He's averaged 15.1 points in that span while knocking down 33-of-37 free throws (.892). He's made his last 18 attempts going back to the first half of the Jan. 18 Colorado game.
Thompson is looking to author OSU's first streak of 10+ games with 10+ points since Detroit Pistons' all-star Cade Cunningham, who closed out the 2020-21 season with a run of 16 straight.
Over his last three games, Chi Chi Avery is averaging 16.3 points on 16-of-26 shooting. He's 10-for-11 from inside the arc.
Houston slowed the pace to a crawl. The 61 possessions per side were the fewest in an OSU game since Dec. 6, 2022 against Sam Houston (61 in a 65-51 OSU win) and the fewest against a Big 12 opponent since Feb. 16, 2019 at Texas (60 in a 69-57 loss).
OSU averaged 1.03 points on those 61 possessions, marking its most efficient offensive performance in six Big 12 road trips. All the more impressive in light of the Cowboys' struggles on the glass and at the foul line. OSU entered the day as the Big 12 leader in free throw makes and attempts as well as defensive rebounding percentage but finished with season-lows in all three columns (6/12 FT)
Houston grabbed 18 of a possible 38 offensive rebounds (47.4%), including 13 of 24 in the first half (54.2%), during which they had 13-0 advantage in second-chance points.
In a low-tempo game, the Cougars' rebounding made all the difference. They extended 11 of their 61 offensive possessions with boards and eventually scored on seven of them.
OSU managed just four offensive rebounds and finished without a second-chance point for the first time in the 20 seasons that such numbers have been tracked.

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The Series with Arizona State:

OSU and ASU meet for the first time in 27 years.
The Cowboys lead 5-3 in a series that began more than 60 years ago with two games between the programs' all-time wins leaders.
Henry Iba's Cowboys won a Dec. 9, 1965 contest in Stillwater. Two years later, Ned Wulk's squad returned the favor in the semifinals of the ASU Sun Devil Classic in Phoenix.
OSU won an overtime affair at the 1973 New Mexico State Road Runner Classic behind Andy Hopson's 20 points and 20 rebounds.
The five other meetings took place in consecutive Decembers between 1993 and 1997 under head coaches Eddie Sutton and Bill Friedler.
On Dec. 2, 1993, Sutton's eighth-ranked Pokes won a neutral court matchup in Tulsa. Bryant "Big Country" Reeves supplied 34 points on 13-of-16 shooting and 16 rebounds.
The following year, an ASU team that would eventually play in the Sweet 16 hosted Final Four bound OSU in Tempe. Reeves finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, but ASU's Mario Bennett put up 22 and 14 in a 72-69 Sun Devil win. The following spring, both big men were selected in the first round of the NBA Draft (Reeves, sixth overall to Vancouver and Bennett, 27^th overall by the hometown Suns).
OSU is 2-0 against ASU in Stillwater. The last meeting came in December, 1995. Adrian Peterson scored 21 points, Jason Skaer had a double-double (16 pts, 13 reb) and Andre Owens collected 10 of OSU's 23 assists in a 90-85 win.
OSU hit 11 threes in its 1996 return to Tempe but had difficulty solving Friedler's matchup zone, keyed by 6-7 Rodger Farrington. He totaled eight of ASU's 12 blocks in a 68-67 victory.
In the most recent meeting, at Oklahoma City's Myraid (Dec. 10, 1997), OSU rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to win 79-68. The Cowboys scored the last eight points of the first half to get within nine and opened the second half on a 15-2 run. Desmond Mason had 25 points and Brett Robisch (16 pts, 13 reb) and Adrian Peterson (13 pts, 11 reb) posted double-doubles.

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Scouting the Sun Devils:

Arizona State is in its 10^th season under former Duke star Bobby Hurley.
The Sun Devils won 23 games and reached their third NCAA tournament under Hurley in 2023 but slid to 14-18 (8-12 Pac-12) last season,
ASU is out to a 12-10 start this year against the nation's 10^th toughest schedule, per NCAA NET. All but seven of the Sun Devils' 31 regular season games are projected Quadrant I or II contests.
ASU's 3-8 Big 12 start includes a series sweep of Colorado and a 65-57 win at West Virginia.
The Sun Devils have fared better at road/neutral sites (7-5) than on their home floor (5-5), dropping five straight at Desert Financial Arena while taking their last two road contests.
ASU ranks 39^th nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom, limiting foes to 41.5% shooting. Opponents attempt an average of 24.4 threes (third-most in the Big 12) but have hit just 30.5% from deep (third-lowest).
A core of six players – all averaging between roughly 10 and 13 points -- handle the bulk of the minutes (86.2%). Five of them are newcomers, including a pair of top-25 freshmen.
6-foot-9 Jayden Quaintance – a McDonald's All-American and consensus top-10 recruit who turned 17 years old this summer -- has more than held his own physically, averaging 9.8 points while ranking third on the Big 12 rebounding chart (8.5) and third nationally in blocks (2.90).
Joson Sanon – a 6-5 guard graded 24^th in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports composite -- missed five January games to injury but has been an otherwise reliable bench weapon, averaging 11.2 points and 1.94 threes on 41.8% accuracy.
ASU's top three scorers are senior transfers:
6-foot-6 wing BJ Freeman (a second team All-Horizon League pick last season at Milwaukee) is averaging 12.9 points and 2.0 threes on 34.9% shooting.
6-9 forward Basheer Jihad (second team All-MAC at Ball State) has been good for 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. Per KenPom, he ranks fourth in the Big 12 in fouls drawn per-40-minutes (5.9) and is third in both free throw makes (94) and attempts (123).
6-2 point guard Alston Mason (third team All-MVC at Missouri State) averages 11.7 points and tops the team in assists (3.7) and minutes (35.6). The latter ranks second on the Big 12 leaderboard.
The lone returner in the core group -- senior guard Adam Miller (10.3 ppg) -- has been its best three-pointer shooter in both quantity (2.14) and quality (46.1%).
Junior 7-footer Shawn Phillips and 6-8 four-star, top-100 freshman Amier Ali average 14.0 and 12.6 minutes respectively.

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A Cowboy win would...

Push them back above .500 at 12-11 (4-7 Big 12).
Make them 9-2 at home (4-2 Big 12) with victories over three of the four conference newcomers (CU, Utah, ASU).
Boost their February record to 2-1.
Make them 3-0 on Super Bowl Sunday.
Give them a 6-3 lead in the all-time series with ASU (3-0 in Stillwater).
Up their all-time record at GIA to 869-266 (.766).
Lift Steve Lutz's career record to 81-45.

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

OSU is back on the road for the fourth time in six games with a Wednesday night visit to TCU.
OSU leads the all-time series 29-14 (9-8 in Fort Worth) but has dropped six straight at Schollmaier Arena, last winning on Feb. 15, 2017.
This will be the only meeting between the schools in 2024-25.
TCU rallied from a 17-point first half deficit to win last year's lone matchup in Stillwater, 74-69. Ernest Udeh (seven rebounds in 13 minutes) is the only current Horned Frog who saw time. Likewise, Bryce Thompson (9 points in 34 minutes) and Connor Dow (21 minutes) are the only Cowboys who appeared in the box score. Jamyron Keller did not see action.
TCU (12-10, 5-6 heading into Saturday's game at Iowa State) is 11-2 at home, including 4-2 against Big 12 competition.
The Horned Frogs enter the weekend ranked 75^th in the NCAA NET and 79^th per KenPom -- 35^th in adjust defensive efficiency and No. 181 offensively.

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Players Mentioned

Arturo Dean

Connor Dow

Jamyron Keller

Abou Ousmane

Bryce Thompson

Oklahoma State University Athletics