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Nerdalicious Numbers: Entering the Home Stretch

With another third of conference play completed, the Cowboys seemed to have turned a corner and have found their way off the bubble and into Tourney talk. So let's take a look at what the Cowboys have been up to in their last 6 games.

By Colin Price
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

12 down. 6 to go.

The Big 12 Conference is a brutal gauntlet that doesn't believe in forgiveness or karma and somehow that Oklahoma State Cowboys are still relevant.

We are officially in the home stretch of basketball season and the Cowboys are emerging as a team not to be trifled with. The last six games of the conference schedule seemed to be a turning point for the 'Boys who went 4-2 during that stretch. It started with a troublesome 10-point loss at Kansas State as the hot-handed Wildcats couldn't be slowed, shooting 57.1 percent from the field. Then the team played host to #20 Baylor as they put the Bears at arm's length and kept them there with high percentage shots and stifling defense.  With the 11-point win, the Cowboys gained some confidence but couldn't keep it rolling as they then dropped their next game at home to #24 OU, 56-64.

Travis Ford and company then traveled to Austin to take on the #25 Longhorns in what would be an OT nail-biter with Phil Forte hitting a pair of clutch free throws with 2 seconds left on the clock to win.  After escaping Texas, the Pokes returned to the white maple of Gallagher-Iba Arena to face the vaunted #8 Kansas Jayhawks.  After being down 11 at the half, the Cowboys rallied with hot shooting and absolutely suffocating defense to take the lead and hold it for a court-storming upset, 67-62.  Overflowing with confidence, the Cowboys then tried to end a streak.  The #16 Baylor Bears had won three straight and OSU hadn't won in Waco since 2006.  After a cold shooting first half, the Cowboys caught fire and won, 74-65.

Game Results: 4-2 (.667)

  • @ KSU, L (53-63)
  • vs. #20 BU, W (64-53)
  • vs. #24 OU, L (56-64)
  • @ #25 Texas, W (65-63 OT)
  • vs. #8 KU, W (67-62)
  • @ #16 BU, W (74-65)
Entering the final 6 games of the regular season, the Cowboys will play 3 home games and bottom teams, TCU and Texas Tech, 3 times.  Three of the 6 are also against ranked teams.

Final 6 Games:
  • Feb 14 @ TCU, L (55-70)
  • Feb 18 vs. #14 ISU
  • Feb 21 vs. #21 WVU
  • Feb 28 @ TTU
  • Mar 4 vs. TCU
  • Mar 7 @ #21 WVU
Big 12 Standings:
Team W-L GB PCT W-L PCT STRK
#8 Kansas 9-2 -- 0.818 20-4 0.833 W1
#17 Oklahoma 8-4 1.5 0.667 17-7 0.708 W5
#21 West Virginia 7-4 2.0 0.636 19-5 0.792 W1
#14 Iowa State 7-4 2.0 0.636 17-6 0.739 L1
#21 Oklahoma St 7-5 2.5 0.583 17-7 0.708 W3
#16 Baylor 6-5 3.0 0.545 18-6 0.750 L1
Texas 5-6 4.0 0.455 16-8 0.667 W2
Kansas St 5-7 4.5 0.417 12-13 0.480 L5
Texas Tech 2-10 7.5 0.167 12-13 0.480 L2
TCU 1-10 8.0 0.091 14-10 0.583 L7

Team Stats:
Offense Points Per Game Rebounds Per Game Assists Per Game Field Goal PCT
Number 68.3 34.0 11.8 0.437
Big 12 Rank 7th 9th 9th 6th
National Rank 156th 202nd 239th 174th
Defense Points Allowed Rebounds Per Game Blocks Per Game Steals Per Game
Number 60.0 24.7 5.1 8.7
Big 12 Rank 3rd 6th 5th 2nd
National Rank 35th 110th 28th 13th

Player Stats
Conference:
Player GP Min PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TPG FG% FT% 3P%
Le'Bryan Nash 12 32.5 16.4 4.8 1.8 0.8 1.4 2.4 0.443 0.787 0.125
Phil Forte III 12 35.2 16.9 2.3 1.7 1.3 0.1 2.3 0.492 0.887 0.459
Anthony Hickey Jr. 12 31.2 8.9 4.8 4.0 2.1 0.2 1.8 0.390 0.364 0.396
Michael Cobbins 12 26.8 4.9 5.4 0.5 0.7 2.0 0.9 0.500 0.619 0.000
Jeff Newberry 12 25.3 7.4 2.9 1.8 1.3 0.5 1.2 0.356 0.806 0.229
Jeffrey Carroll 6 3.3 0.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.100 0.000 0.000
Tavarius Shine 12 15.6 4.0 1.3 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.419 0.500 0.344
Leyton Hammonds 12 8.0 1.9 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.286 0.500 0.273
Anthony Allen Jr. 11 4.5 0.7 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.8 0.600 0.333 0.000
Joe Burton 2 2.5 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.000 0.500 0.000
Tyree Griffin 12 9.3 1.0 1.3 0.9 0.2 0.0 0.6 0.308 0.750 0.250
Ford Stuen 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.000 0.000 0.000
Mitchell Solomon 12 10.7 0.5 2.2 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.375 0.000 0.000
Christien Sager 6 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.000 0.000 0.000
Alex Budke 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.000 0.000 0.000
Marek Soucek 1 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.000 0.000 0.000
Totals 12 -- 62.9 30.8 11.8 7.7 5.3 11.7 0.418 0.744 0.336
Opponents 12 -- 60.8 34.2 11.7 5.8 4.3 13.8 0.412 0.668 0.344
Difference 0 -- +2.1 -3.4 +0.1 +1.9 +1.0 +2.1 +0.006 +0.076 -0.008

Season:
Player GP MIN PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TPG FG% FT% 3P%
Le'Bryan Nash 23 31.2 17.1 5.6 1.9 0.8 1.1 2.8 0.456 0.778 0.111
Phil Forte III 24 33.8 17.0 2.3 1.8 2.1 0.0 1.8 0.454 0.855 0.417
Anthony Hickey Jr. 24 29.5 9.3 4.7 3.6 2.0 0.2 1.5 0.414 0.370 0.362
Michael Cobbins 21 27.2 6.5 5.8 0.7 0.9 2.0 1.2 0.604 0.540 0.000
Jeff Newberry 24 19.9 6.3 2.4 1.4 1.1 0.3 1.0 0.382 0.784 0.315
Jeffrey Carroll 18 11.9 3.6 2.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.366 0.333 0.245
Tavarius Shine 24 12.8 3.3 1.6 0.3 0.6 0.2 0.7 0.424 0.714 0.304
Leyton Hammonds 20 10.4 2.5 0.8 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.340 0.500 0.316
Anthony Allen Jr. 22 7.8 1.9 2.6 0.2 0.1 0.8 1.0 0.762 0.435 0.000
Joe Burton 9 3.6 1.7 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.333 0.571 0.143
Tyree Griffin 24 10.4 1.3 1.4 1.2 0.3 0.0 0.8 0.276 0.765 0.200
Ford Stuen 5 2.0 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.000 1.000 1.000
Mitchell Solomon 24 10.9 1.0 2.8 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.409 0.444 0.500
Christien Sager 16 5.6 0.8 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.214 0.444 0.231
Alex Budke 5 1.6 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.4 0.500 0.000 1.000
Marek Soucek 6 2.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.000 0.000 0.000
Totals 24 -- 68.0 34.0 12.0 9.0 5.0 12.0 0.437 0.718 0.335
The Pokes have put themselves in a really good position over the past seven games despite a bad loss to TCU. A team that many questioned if they would receive a tournament berth is now competing for a top six seed. This is all a result of the Pokes suffocating defense and offensive success of Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte.

The final five games of the regular season will be absolutely crucial to the future of the Cowboys as all five games are winnable for the 'Boys. It's the home stretch and we are about to see how far the Cowboys can ride.

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