Know Your Foe: Baylor Bears

#20 Baylor (15-4, 3-3) at Oklahoma State (13-6, 3-4)

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Oklahoma.

When: 8:00 P.M. CST

TV: ESPNNEWS/WatchESPN

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network/TuneIn Radio

Line: OSU (-4)

View From the Enemy: Our Daily Bears

Oklahoma State Game Notes: here.

Baylor Game Notes: here.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Baylor - Oklahoma State Preview:

STILLWATER, Okla., -- The Oklahoma State Cowboys are looking to reverse a trend, having lost three of their last four games. With the meat of the Cowboys' schedule behind them, these home games become must-wins.

The Cowboys will look to rebound after coming off a 10-point loss to Kansas State in Manhattan on Saturday. A bright spot from the game on Saturday were Phil Forte's 22 points. The Cowboys will need his scoring ability against a tough defensive team in Baylor.

The 20th-ranked Baylor Bears, however, are coming off a strong showing against Oklahoma, with a 69-58 win. The last time these two teams met was last February in Waco, a game in which the Bears won 70-64 in overtime. Overtime was forced by a Leyton Hammonds buzzer-beater at the end of regulation.

The Cowboys will need to rely on their ability to defend against a tough, well-sized team. The Bears are an interesting case offensively in that they don't have a "go-to" guy and they look to their starters and the first two off their bench to score. Baylor is led by Taurean Prince in points as Prince drops in 12.2 a game in just 25 minutes.

Baylor is deadly on the glass, where they rank fifth in the nation in rebounds per game and third nationally with over 16 offensive boards a game. Rico Gathers is a human wrecking ball at 6'8" and 280 lbs. and he pulls down 11.9 rebounds per contest. Their defense is phenomenal and the Bears are one of just ten teams to hold all of their opponents under 75 points in every single game and has not allowed a conference opponent to score more than 73 points this season.

This will be the 75th meeting of the two schools and OSU holds the all-time record 52-22, including a 25-5 record in Stillwater but the Bears have won two of the last three in GIA.

Tuesday's game will be more than just basketball as Oklahoma State will Remember the Ten. The game will mark the 14th anniversary of the 2001 plane crash that took the lives of ten Oklahoma State basketball members. OSU is doing a few things to help remember on Tuesday evening.

1. Fans will be allowed into the Athletics Center all day to drop off flowers and pay their respects to the Ten at the memorial located in the southwest corner of the building.
2. Fans will be given Remember the Ten stickers at every entrance.
3. moment of silence will be observed immediately prior to the national anthem and photos of those who went down - Kendall Durfey, Bjorn Fahlstrom, Nate Fleming, Will Hancock, Daniel Lawson, Brian Luinstra, Denver Mills, Pat Noyes, Bill Teegins and Jared Weiberg - will be shown on the arena video board.
4. At halftime, the Remember the Ten committee will present a check to OSU Counseling Services. Additionally, this year's recipients of the Pat Noyes and Will Hancock Memorial Scholarships will be recognized.

So while we enjoy the basketball game let us not forget to Remember the Ten.

Keys To The Game

1. ROLE PLAYERS STEP UP

Oklahoma State runs an offense that allows shooters to get open and knock down shots. That has been a problem for everyone except Phil Forte. Forte will need someone to help him bear (pun intended) the weight of the outside game. Forte is shooting 41% on 122 attempts from behind the arc, while nobody else is shooting above 35% on more than 40 shots.

2. KEEP GATHERS OFF THE GLASS

Rico Gathers is a lean, mean, rebounding machine, and the Cowboys really do not have a consistent glass cleaner like Gathers. Gathers is averaging a double-double every game, with 10.7 PPG and 11.9 RPG. Gathers pulled down an unfathomable 28 (!!!) rebounds against Huston-Tillotson (who?), and he also had 14 points/15 boards against Iowa State. He is a nightmare inside, and the duo of Cobbins/Nash need to come ready to play. Cobbins averages 5.6 RPG, while Nash is bringing own 5.8 RPG. Limiting Baylor's second chance opportunities may be a bigger factor to this game than anything else.

3. KEEP BAYLOR SHOOTERS AT BAY

While Oklahoma State has two of the Big 12's leading scorers in Forte and Nash, Baylor does not possess a potent shooting threat. They do, however, have multiple guys who can score. Taurean Prince is Baylor's leading scorer at 12.2 PPG, with Kenny Chery behind him at 11.4 PPG. The next four down Baylor's list all average more than 8 PPG, while Oklahoma State only has three players overall who average above 8 PPG.

PREDICTION

Oklahoma State 66, Baylor 54

While Oklahoma State is reeling, they seem to calm down at home. Forte and Nash will combine for close to 40. Jeff Newberry had his best showing yet in OSU's last home game against Texas Tech, with 13 points and 6 boards. The Cowboys will look to the defense for strong play, which has been their backbone all season. Look for that to continue tomorrow night against Baylor.