BEVO BEAT Men's Basketball
Men’s preview: No. 23 Texas at Oklahoma State
Posted March 3rd, 2016
Time: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena (capacity 13,611)
TV/Radio: ESPN2/104.9 The Horn
Series history: The Longhorns lead the all-time series 47-41. However, things have been bumpy in Stillwater in recent years. Texas has not won at Oklahoma State since 2011. Things got dicey at home on Jan. 16, too. Texas built up a 23-point lead in the second half but needed Eric Davis’ layup and four Taylor free throws in the final 13 seconds to close out a 74-69 win.
| No. 23 TEXAS (19-11 overall, 10-7 Big 12) | |||||||
| No. | Pos. | Player | Class | Ht. | Wt. | PPG | RPG |
| 1 | G | Isaiah Taylor | Jr. | 6-3 | 185 | 15.1 | 4.9* |
| 3 | G | Javan Felix | Sr. | 5-11 | 205 | 11.2 | 2.2* |
| 2 | G | Demarcus Holland | Sr. | 6-3 | 190 | 2.8 | 1.6 |
| 21 | F | Connor Lammert | Sr. | 6-10 | 235 | 6.8 | 5.3 |
| 44 | C | Prince Ibeh | Sr. | 6-11 | 265 | 4.1 | 5.3 |
| Coach: Shaka Smart (19-11, 1st year at Texas; 182-67, 7th year overall) | |||||||
| *-indicates assists per game | |||||||
About the Longhorns: Coach Shaka Smart’s club bounced back well after a huge loss to Baylor with a 71-70 road win at Kansas State. Now, Texas must show some mental toughness after Monday’s 30-point home loss to No. 1 Kansas. The Horns have already secured a first-round bye in next week’s Big 12 tournament. They need to go into Kansas City feeling good about themselves. … C Cam Ridley said he still has not been cleared to run or jump, but the 6-foot-10 senior still hopes to play this postseason. … G Isaiah Taylor’s plantar fasciitis injury almost prevented him from walking earlier this week. Smart said he thought Taylor would play against the Cowboys. It could be a game-day decision.
| OKLAHOMA STATE (12-18 overall, 3-14 Big 12) | |||||||
| No. | Pos. | Player | Class | Ht. | Wt. | PPG | RPG |
| 5 | G | Tavarius Shine | Soph. | 6-5 | 205 | 6.2 | 3.3 |
| 2 | G | Tyree Griffin | Soph. | 5-10 | 165 | 4.9 | 2.9 |
| 22 | G | Jeff Newberry | Sr. | 6-2 | 185 | 11.1 | 1.6* |
| 31 | F | Chris Olivier | Sr. | 6-8 | 230 | 8.1 | 3.0 |
| 41 | F | Mitchell Solomon | Soph. | 6-9 | 240 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| Coach: Travis Ford (155-109, 8th year at Oklahoma State; 345-255, 19th year overall) | |||||||
| *-indicates assists per game | |||||||
About the Cowboys: Gallagher-Iba Arena used to be one the loudest, rollicking arenas in the country. Now, the Cowboys are lucky if the building is half full. Attendance has plummeted this season as the season’s gone south. OSU is averaging 5,979 fans in 15 games this season. … It’s hard to remember but this was the same team that crushed Kansas in mid-January. Now, the Cowboys are riding a five-game losing streak. G Jawun Evans suffered a right shoulder injury on Feb. 3. That, coupled with the previous injury of G Phil Forte III, made winning difficult. … Jeff Newberry, a defensive-minded “glue” guy, became the first OSU player under 6-foot-2 to post multiple double-doubles since Maurice Baker in 2001.
News on Bevo Beat is free and unlimited. Access to the rest of Hookem.com is included with an Austin American-Statesman subscription in addition to Statesman.com and the ePaper edition. Subscribe today at statesman.com/subscribe.
Comments