Big 12 Showdown in Stillwater: Texas at Oklahoma St

Texas Longhorns at Oklahoma St Cowboys, Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, OK
Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 7:30 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Texas -5 1/2
Current Line: Texas -4 1/2
Opening Total: 134 1/2
Current Total: 135 1/2
Money Line: Texas -200 / OSU +170

Jordan Hamilton and the Texas Longhorns take on the Oklahoma St Cowboys in Big 12 play in Stillwater. The Longhorns are -4.5 favorites on the road.

The Texas Longhorns are ranked #7 in the AP poll and #8 in the Coaches’ poll. last Saturday they went to Kansas and snapped the Jayhawks 69 game home winning streak with a 74-63 victory over the Jayhawks. Texas is 16-3 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12. In addition to the win over Kansas, the Longhorns have wins over Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan St, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M on the year. The three Longhorn losses are to Pitt, USC, and UConn. USC blew them out but Texas lost to Pitt and UConn by a combined 3 points. The Longhorns next travel to Stillwater to take on the 14-5 Oklahoma St Cowboys. The Cowboys are 2-3 in conference. They are coming off a 76-57 loss at Baylor on Saturday. The Cowboys have losses to Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, Texas A&M and Colorado as well. The Pokes have wins over Depaul, Tulsa, Missouri St, Alabama, Stanford, Kansas St, and Iowa St on the year. Texas leads the overall series between the teams 42-35. Texas has won 11 out of the last 14 games played in the series and 8 of the last 9. Texas has won and covered 3 of the last 4, and 3 of the 4 games have gone under the total. They swept the season series last year. Texas is 12-28 ATS against conference foes in the last two seasons. Oklahoma St is 13-1 ATS the last two seasons at home, including 9-1 ATS versus conference foes. Oklahoma St is 10-21 ATS as underdog over the last 3 seasons.

Texas has no significant injuries right now. They have four players averaging double digit scoring. The Longhorns are led by guard/forward Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton is averaging 19.5 points to lead the team, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a game. Freshman forward Tristan Thompson is averaging 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.2 blocks a game. He is leading the team in rebounds, steals, and blocks. Senior forward Gary Johnson averages 11.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists a game. Freshman guard Cory Joseph averages 11.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists to lead the team, and 1.1 steals a game. Texas is outscoring opponents 78-61 on the season. The Longhorns shoot 46% from the field and 37.9% from 3-point range. Texas opponents are shooting 37% from the field. The Longhorns shoot 66.1% from the free throw line. Texas averages 41.8 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +7.4. Texas averages 14.1 assists and 12.3 turnovers a game. The Longhorns force 14 turnovers a game on defense. The Longhorns average 5.2 blocks and 6.3 steals a game.

Oklahoma St is also healthy right now. The Cowboys are led by forward Marshall Moses. He is averaging 15.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists a game. He is leading scorer and rebounder. Guard Keiton Page averages 13.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. Forward J.P. Olukemi averages 11.5 points, and 4.2 rebounds a game. RayPenn leads the team in assists with 2.7 a game. Matt pilgrim leads the team in steals with 1.3 a game. Oklahoma St is outscoring opponents 71-66 on the season. The Cowboys are shooting 45.3% from the field and 31.1% from 3-point range. Cowboy opponents are shooting 40.6% from the field. The Cowboys make 71.9% of their free throws. OSU averages 35.2 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +2.7. The Pokes average 10.8 assists and 13.8 turnovers a game. OSU forces 14.8 turnovers a game on defense. The Cowboys average 2.8 blocks and 7 steals a game.

Texas has the edge in every category except for free throw shooting. They have a decided advantage in rebounding. Though Stillwater is a tough place to win, they only way Texas loses this game is if they have an emotional letdown after beating Kansas on Saturday. Texas should roll in this game.