The Texas Longhorns return home to the Frank Erwin Center as losers of three straight, unranked for the first time in nearly two years, and absolutely reeling with only a month left in the regular season. They hope to get things back on track against the visiting Oklahoma State Cowboys, a team that Texas has defeated five consecutive times. But this season has proved that nothing will come easy for this Longhorn squad, so they are likely in for yet another heated battle.

By the numbers

Based simply on the lineup and sizes of the players involved, at first blush one might compare Oklahoma State to the Nebraska team that just defeated Texas in Lincoln on Saturday. But while both teams are severely undersized and run a four-out, one-in look, the Cowboys and Cornhuskers are on absolutely opposite ends of the tempo spectrum. Travis Ford’s OSU team is the 16th-fastest in the country, sprinting through 72.5 possessions per contest. They are also quite efficient with the ball, earning 1.134 points per possession, good for 28th in the NCAA. The up-and-down tempo and quality offense combine to make the Cowboys the 5th-highest scoring team in the country with 83.2 points per game.

Statistically, the biggest weaknesses for OSU are a lack of offensive rebounding and a penchant for putting their opponents on the free throw line. The inability to crash the offensive glass stems from not only the tiny lineup Coach Ford throws out there, but also the Cowboys’ love affair with the three-point line. Following the mysterious mid-season dismissal of Ibrahima Thomas, OSU was left with only two real options in the post. The tallest Cowboy to see significant minutes is Malcoln Kirkland, a 6’8″ forward who still looks awkward in his second season.

The height problems also are a big reason why Oklahoma State sends their opponents to the line so often, as teams love to attack the lane and draw fouls on the smaller defenders. With a thin bench, the propensity for ringing up fouls causes a major problem for the Pokes, who have had players foul out 18 different times this season. The constant hacking also gives opponents a ton of extra points, as Big 12 opponents have shot 40 more free throws than OSU, and made 20 more of them.

Meet the Cowboys

The face of Oklahoma State is point guard Byron Eaton, a 5’11” senior who Texas fans best remember for hitting a ridiculous over-the-shoulder prayer from half court in a triple-overtime thriller back in 2006. After struggling with his weight for his first three seasons, Eaton has slimmed down and added muscle this year, making him even more of a threat. He’s strong enough to take the contact inside and still finish, and his solid dribble-drive penetration opens things up for an OSU offense that loves the drive-and-dish. While he’s only a 32% three-point shooter on the year, Byron has hit a scorching 44% of his attempts in conference play. Eaton’s biggest flaw is that he is one of the prime offenders when it comes to picking up stupid fouls, and he DQ’s far too often for someone who is supposed to be a team leader.

Terrel Harris is the other senior starter for Coach Ford, but has struggled as the calendar turned to the new year. Once the conference’s leading three-point shooter, Harris is now only fourth-best on his own team. His scoring average dropped over five points per game between the first ten contests and the second ten, but he did lead a crazy second-half comeback against Texas Tech last Tuesday with 22 points. He is insanely quick with the basketball and demands extra attention from the defense, so the Cowboys will have to hope his performance against the Red Raiders is just the beginning of his resurgence.

Junior guard Obi Muonelo is only 6’6″, but leads the tiny OSU team in rebounds. He is the true key to the offense, as Okie Lite seems to struggle the most when Obi’s shot isn’t falling. Just like the rest of his team, Muonelo is not a man you can leave alone at the perimeter, as he’s hitting almost 41% of his three-point attempts. But if the defense plays him too tightly, the guard loves to put it on the floor to create some space for mid-range jumpers. He has solid handles and can get the defender off balance just long enough to showcase his quick release on the J.

Leading scorer James Anderson has continued his impressive play in his sophomore season, chipping in over 16 points per game for the Pokes. The biggest change he made in the off-season was a commitment to improving his dribble penetration, and it shows. He’s no longer just a jump-shooting threat, and as with Eaton, Anderson’s ability to slash to the rack opens things up for the outside shooters. He still loves to knock down the J, though, and is the team’s top three-point threat with a 41.6% mark from behind the arc.

As mentioned earlier, Malcoln Kirkland is the tallest player who gives significant minutes for the Cowboys, although the word “significant” is a bit of a misnomer for any forward in Coach Ford’s offense. Once a starter, Kirkland plays just over 10 minutes a game, sharing the frontcourt duties with Anthony Brown and Marshall Moses. He’s not a particularly skilled rebounder, as he lacks the muscle necessary to body up the Big 12’s quality forwards, and he hardly ever scores. With Moses supplanting him in the starting lineup, Kirkland’s role has shrunk dramatically.

Moses, meanwhile, is having issues staying on the court. He is the one OSU player who has fouled out of more games than Eaton, despite the fact that he averages just 15 minutes per game. He is a better rebounder than both Kirkland and Brown, but is still severely undersized at just 6’6″ and should have problems against a much taller Texas team.

The high-energy sixth man for the Cowboys is tiny Keiton Page, last year’s High School Player of the Year for the state of Oklahoma. He’s a deadly long-range threat and is surprisingly able to score in the paint despite being listed at a generous 5’10”. Page will push the ball in transition and hustles all over the floor, but will occasionally let his energy get the best of him in the form of over-pursuit or bad turnovers.

Anthony Brown is a senior forward who sees fourteen minutes per game, but is often hampered by knee injuries that have plagued him throughout his college career. He’s simply a role player at this point for Oklahoma State, a guy who will be called upon to eat up some minutes in the frontcourt for a team that lacks both height and depth.

Keys to the game

Give Dexter the ball – It was the number one key against Nebraska, and it remains the number one key against Oklahoma State. Sure, the Cowboys play an up-tempo game. But most of their offense is on the perimeter, which will hopefully mask the fact that Pittman is usually a step slow defending down low. Offensively, he can grab a ton of points against this team, and with the Pokes’ love of fouling in the paint, Big Dex can put his 73% free throw mark to good use.

Frustrate them early – Oklahoma State has a bad habit of letting their poor shooting snowball, and it has run them out of numerous ballgames before they even head to the locker room at halftime. If the Cowboys aren’t making their threes or getting transition buckets early in the game, they tend to force bad looks and hang their heads. Texas needs to stifle the potent OSU offense out of the gate and allow their own less-efficient offense time to build up a lead in front of the home crowd.

Don’t be afraid to run – The Longhorns can’t score nearly as often as Oklahoma State, but they are much, much deeper. If the Cowboys aren’t shooting lights out from long range, Texas can likely afford to let the visitors run themselves ragged. A tired team plays poor defense late in games, and for a Texas squad that has struggled in the final minutes of recent contests, playing against an OSU team that is grabbing their shorts can only help. Of course, if the Pokes are knocking down the three ball, this tactic would be a very, very bad idea.

Stick the perimeter – While Oklahoma State is a small team that can be dominated on the boards, their guards and wings are significantly taller than the short Texas backcourt. The Longhorn guards absolutely cannot allow the Cowboy shooters to get a ton of open looks. Yes, the Okie Lite marksmen can easily shoot it over A.J. Abrams or Justin Mason, but the Texas guards have to at least get a hand in their face.