PREVIEWING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State enters Saturday's game with an 18-5 overall record, ranked No. 17 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the coaches' poll, and tied with Kansas and Kansas State for first place with an 8-3 Big 12 mark. After starting 2-3 in league play, the Cowboys have won six in a row. They are 12-1 at home with their only defeat coming to Gonzaga by one point on Dec. 31.
In Big 12 play, OSU leads the league in free throw percentage (.743) and turnover margin (+2.6 per game), and ranks second in steals (7.7 spg) and third in average scoring margin (+11.7), field goal percentage defense (.388) and blocked shots (4.8 bpg).
Junior guard Markel Brown is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game to go along with averages of 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in a team-high 34.1 minutes a game. He ranks third in Big 12 play with his 17.6 points per contest. Twice in the last four games (at Kansas and at Texas Tech) Brown made seven 3-pointers in the first half of play. He is shooting a team-high .400 from behind the arc. Freshman guard Marcus Smart has been one of the Big 12's top performers this year, averaging 14.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and team highs of 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals. Sophomore forward Le'Bryan Nash averages 12.8 points and 4.2 rebounds on the year, while freshman guard Phil Forte scores 11.3 points per contest with the help of a team-high 2.4 3-pointers per game (shooting .359). Senior center Philip Jurick pulls down a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game and has a team-high 25 blocks.
The Cowboys are under the direction of fifth-year head coach Travis Ford, who owns a 98-60 record at OSU. The 1994 Kentucky graduate is in his 16th season overall and owns a 288-206 career mark.
OU-OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma owns a 129-94 series lead over Oklahoma State and is 42-61 against the Cowboys in Stillwater. OU has won nine of the last 14 overall meetings and 11 of the last 17. OU is 19-17 against the Cowboys since the start of the Big 12 in 1996-97 (5-11 in Stillwater). The Sooners have won three of the last seven meetings at Gallagher-Iba Arena but OSU has won the last three.
JAN. 12 VS. THE COWBOYS
In its Jan. 12 Big 12 home opener, Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 77-68 for its ninth consecutive Bedlam victory at Lloyd Noble Center. For the second straight year against OSU at home, the Sooners never trailed.
OU scored the game's first seven points and extended its lead to as many as 14 (32-18) before settling for a 38-29 halftime advantage. OSU cut the margin to two (52-50) with 9:34 remaining, but the Sooners later used a 12-3 spurt to retake command, 70-57, with 4:00 to go.
OU's 77 points stand as the third most surrendered by OSU this season, and the Sooners' .431 field goal mark was the fourth best allowed by the Cowboys. OSU entered the game allowing just 56.9 points per game and holding opponents to a .374 field goal mark.
Oklahoma entered the game shooting .310 from 3-point range on the season, but turned in a season-high .615 mark against the Cowboys (8-for-13). OSU was 6-for-12 from 3-point range in the first half and 0-for-9 in the second (shot .286 for the game).
OU shot .905 from the free throw line (19-for-21), the second best by a Big 12 team in league play this year (the Sooners were 14-for-14 in Monday's win over TCU).
Senior Romero Osby finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-for-12 field goal and 5-for-6 free throw shooting. The free throw miss came on his last attempt, snapping a streak of 36 straight makes. He finished one free throw shy of tying the school record for consecutive conversions (37 by Nate Carter in 2006-07).
Freshman Buddy Hield tallied 15 points (second-highest career total), four boards and a team-high five assists against two turnovers in a team-high 37 minutes (most playing time by a Sooner this season). He made a career-high three 3-pointers on five attempts.
Junior Amath M'Baye netted 15 points, his third highest total of the season, on 5-for-9 shooting. M'Baye scored seven straight points in the second half (including his first 3-pointer of the year), pushing OU's 63-57 lead to 70-57 with 4:00 remaining.
Senior guard Steven Pledger scored in double figures for the seventh straight game (11 points) and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds (second highest career total). He made all five of his free throw attempts.
OU held OSU freshman Marcus Smart to 10 points (3-for-10 shooting), two rebounds and three assists. Smart entered the game averaging 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists a contest.
