Wednesday, January 12, 2011 • 7 pm
College Station, Texas • Reed Arena
TV - KOCB 34 (OKC), KJRH 2 (Tulsa)
Radio - Cowboys Sports Network
Oklahoma State travels to College Station this evening to take on the 16th ranked Texas A&M Aggies. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm and the game will be televised on the Big 12 Network.
Oklahoma State is 13-2 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play and are coming off a 14 point win against the #17 ranked Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday. The Cowboy defense has been impressive through 15 games, holding 10 opponents to less than 64 points. Offensively, the Pokes are shooting 46% from the field and 32% from 3.
OSU's duo of Marshall Moses and Keiton Pageare averaging a combined 31 points per game together. Jean-Paul Olukemi has caught fire - averaging 15 points a game over the last 3 games off the bench. This will be the first conference road test for the Cowboys, and as we all know - it'snot easy to win on the road in the Big 12.
Texas A&M is 14-1 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play. The Aggies are ranked 13th in both polls. Their lone loss of the season came against Boston College and since then, they've won 11 straight.
The Aggies are led by a pair of forwards. Junior David Loubeau and sophomore Khris Middleton. Both are 6-8 220 and will pose a challenge to the inside game of Oklahoma State. Together, they are averaging more than 26 points per game.
From the guard position, the Aggies are good but not worldbeaters. Dash Harris is more of a distributor and only averages 3 points a game. He tends to be turnover prone, so I expect the Cowboy defense to get after him. 5-11 BJ Holmes offers more offensively with 10 points a game but he's been streaky up to this point and hasn't scored more than 14 all season.
Bottom line? I think our guards can handle them.
If we can push the tempo of the game, hit some 3's and hold our own inside, we've got an honest chance of sneaking one on the road. The Aggies come in with a +12.5 rebounding margin so our bigs will have to play tough and maintain respectable numbers in the battle of the glass.
Look for both Moses and Page to have good games tonight. The Aggies will be a hard out on their home floor, but Oklahoma State has the ability to play solid defense and hit 3's. When you can do that, anything is possible.
Even on the road in the Big 12.