Oklahoma St. Cowboys (14-4 | 2-2) AT #9 Kansas St. Wildcats (16-2 | 3-1)
Bramlage Coliseum — Manhattan, Kan.
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 — 3:01 PM CST
Big 12 Network
For my previous analysis of the Cowboys, click here. To see K-State's game notes, follow the jump.
From the K-State Sports Information Department:
Kansas State (16-2, 3-1 Big 12) concludes its brief two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon, when the Wildcats play host to Oklahoma State (14-4, 2-2 Big 12) before an expected sold-out crowd at Bramlage Coliseum at 3 p.m.
The squad is coming off a thrilling 71-62 win over top-ranked Texas on Monday night, before a nationally televised audience on ESPN.
The win was just the third over a No. 1 team in school history and the first since knocking off top-ranked Kansas 68-64 at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 17, 1994.
The Wildcats are 2-0 following previous wins over No. 1 teams, beating Colorado at home in both instances, including a 93-65 win over the Buffaloes on Feb. 10, 1990, just two days after beating No. 1 Missouri and a 71-65 win five days after defeating No. 1 Kansas.
This will be the 114th meeting between K-State and Oklahoma State on the hardwood, including the 14th since the inception of the Big 12, with the Wildcats holding a 69-45 advantage in a series that dates back to 1927.
However, the Cowboys have won 33 of the last 48 games in the series, including an 11-2 edge in Big 12 play.
The two wins in that stretch for the Wildcats came at home, including a 70-61 win on Feb. 2, 2002, and an 82-61 victory in the team's last meeting, in Manhattan on Feb. 9, 2008.
The contest will be televised regionally on the Big 12 Network, as well as nationally on the ESPN Full Court package, with Dave Armstrong (play-by-play), Rich Zvosec (analyst) and Paul Splittorff (analyst) on the call.
K-State moved into the Top 10 in both major polls on Monday morning, when the Wildcats moved three spots to No. 9 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and three spots to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll.
It is one of the highest-ever rankings in the coaches poll (and the highest since USA Today took over ownership of the poll in 1991-92) and the highest ranking in the AP poll since being ranked No. 9 in the poll on March 13, 1973.
In the first-ever of meeting of Top 10 teams in the 22-year history of Bramlage Coliseum, the Wildcats used an impressive defensive effort to post a 71-62 win over the top-ranked Longhorns.
Texas shot just 36.8 percent from the field, including just 30.3 percent in the first half, while holding the Big 12's top scoring team to nearly 26 points under their scoring average (87.3 points per game).
The front-line tandem of Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels combined for 37 points on 60.9-percent shooting (14 of 23) with 20 rebounds to out-duel the Texas duo of Damion James and Dexter Pittman, who combined for 15 points on 31.6-percent shooting (6 of 19) with 14 boards.
The team grabbed 50 rebounds against the league's best rebounding squad, including 19 on the offensive end that translated into a 23-10 edge on second-chance points.
The win moved the team to 16-2 overall this year, which ties for the fourth-best start in school history and the best since the 1961-62 squad also posted a 16-2 mark.
The victory also extended the Bramlage Coliseum-record winning streak to 14 games, the school's longest home-court winning streak since winning 20 in a row at Ahearn Fieldhouse from Jan. 28, 1981 to Jan. 30, 1982.