No. 14/19 Oklahoma State (16-1, 4-0 in Big 12) at #--/23 Texas (13-5, 1-3 Big 12)
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008 · 7 p.m. (Central)
at the Frank Erwin Center (capacity 16,755), Austin Texas
GAME COVERAGE
TELEVISION: TSTV (Texas Student TV) -- broadcast on Time Warner Cable Ch. 77 in Austin area
RADIO: KVET 1300 AM (Central Texas): Craig Way, play-by-play; Chad Hastings, color analyst
GAME DAY INFORMATION
In the National Rankings: Texas is in the "also receiving votes" category in the Associated Press Top 25 (media poll), down from No. 24 last week ... UT was 23rd last week in the USA Today/ESPN Poll (coaches poll); the new USA Today/ESPN poll will be released on Jan. 22 ... Oklahoma State is No. 14 in this week's AP poll and was 19th last week in the USA Today/ESPN poll
Texas Head Coach Gail Goestenkors (Saginaw Valley State '85): 16th year overall: 513 games: 409-104 (.797) ... first year at Texas: 13-5 (.722)
Oklahoma State Head Coach Kurt Budke (Washburn '84): 15th year overall as collegiate head coach [junior college and Division I]: 476 games: 395-81 third year at OSU (.830): 76 games: 42-34 (.553)
SERIES INFO
All-Time Series Record: 26th meeting - Texas leads the series, 20-5
Texas' Home/Away/Neutral Record vs. Oklahoma State: 10-2 at home; 8-3 away; 2-0 at neutral sites
Series Win Streak: +2, Oklahoma State
Last Year's Games: OSU 77, Texas 58 (Feb. 7, 2007 in Stillwater, Okla.) ... OSU 64, Texas 52 (Feb. 21, 2007, in Austin, Texas)
Gail Gostenkors All-Time vs. Oklahoma State: 0-0
TICKET INFORMATION
Purchase online at TexasBoxOffice.com; by calling 800-982-BEVO or 512-471-3333; in person at any Texas Box Office outlet, including Austin-area H-E-B stores and the UT Athletics Ticket Office in Bellmont Hall (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. CT); and in person one hour prior to game time at the Frank Erwin Center box office. Group packages are also available at an additional discount. For more information call 512-232-3865 or email UTHoopsCentral@athletics.utexas.edu.
GAME PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
· FREE Longhorns Kid Court EVERY home game! Pregame activity center for youth 18 and under is located in the adjacent Cooley Pavilion practice facility (follow signs from Erwin Center pavilions) ... Inflatables, basketball hoops of all kinds and sizes for the youngest to oldest child, face painting and contests ... Open 5:30 p.m. to 15-minutes prior to 7 p.m. tipoff.
· Government Night: All city, state, county, and federal government employees can purchase a reserved arena level ticket for only $5 with government employee ID. Government employees may also call the UT Athletics Events, Sales and Services office at 512-232-3865. By purchasing your tickets in advance, you will secure better seat locations.
· Special $5 general admission ticket with Web coupon.
· O-Zone Giveaways (UT Student Promotions): Be sure to wear your Stampede or O-Zone shirt to the home basketball game for your chance to win prizes
Tonight's Teams
Texas will look to add to its 7-1 homecourt record and pick up its second league win tonight when the Longhorns (13-5 overall, 1-3 in the Big 12) host No. 14 Oklahoma State (16-1, 4-0) ... The Longhorns went 1-1 in their first two Big 12 home games, having lost to Kansas State (77-74) in overtime on Jan. 13 in Austin before picking up a 59-56 victory over Iowa State last Wednesday at the Erwin Center ... Texas is coming off Sunday's 70-58 loss at Texas Tech, as the Longhorns were hurt by poor shooting (33.9 percent) and by being out-rebounded by the Lady Raiders, 46-33 ... UT also played without starting forward Earnesia Williams (knee), as Williams missed her first start in two seasons ... Texas is now in the "also receiving votes" category in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll, dropping from the 24th spot a week ago ... UT was 23rd in last week's USA Today/ESPN poll, and the new poll will be released on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Under third-year head coach Kurt Budke, Oklahoma State has made a rapid rise to the top of the Big 12 standings after going 6-22 overall and 0-16 in Big 12 regular season action just three seasons ago (in 2005-06) ... The Cowgirls bring an eight-game win streak into tonight's game and are 4-0 to start Big 12 action for the first time in history ... This 16-1 start is OSU's best in program history, surpassing their previous best in 1995-96 when they won 13 of their first 14 games ... OSU has defeated Kansas (59-54, Jan. 9), No. 8/6 Oklahoma (82-63, Jan. 12), Missouri (76-41, Jan. 16) and No. 19/16 Texas A&M (61-58, Jan. 19) in league play to date, and has moved from No. 25 in the AP poll to its current 14th ranking in the process.
Longhorn Stat Leaders
Sophomore guard Brittainey Raven has been in double-figure scoring all 18 games and carries a team-best 16.1 ppg average into the OSU game ... She also is tied for the team lead in steals with 37 (2.1 spg), is second in assists (56, 3.1 apg) and third in rebounding (4.9 rpg) ... Last year, the 6-0 combo guard netted double-figure scoring only 10 times in 32 games.
Junior post Ashley Lindsey is second in scoring (11.1 ppg) and first in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and blocks (53, 2.94 bpg), with that 2.94 bpg average ranking No. 9 nationally ... Lindsey has pulled down 10 or more rebounds four times in the last seven games ... Freshman guard Kat Nash (10.1 ppg), redshirt sophomore point guard Carla Cortijo (9.4 ppg), senior guard Erneisha Bailey (8.2 ppg) and redshirt sophomore Earnesia Williams (8.1 ppg) follow in scoring.
Despite coming off the bench 12 times (has six starts) and playing 26.6 minutes per contest, Nash also is first in 3-pointers made (24), second in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and fifth in steals (20, 1.1 spg)... Cortijo is the club's assist leader with 90, dishing out 5.0 apg ... Cortijo joins Raven as the club leader in steals with 37 (2.1 spg) ... She joins Williams and Nash as the team's best free throw shooters... Nash has nailed 83.0 percent of her free throws (39-47) ... Williams is hitting at an 81.8 percent clip in foul shooting (27-for-33), while Cortijo is at 75.0 percent (45-for-60).
Texas in the NCAA Stats
The Longhorns ranked in the top 12 in four categories in the most recent NCAA Division I statistics (through Jan. 17) ... Texas was ranked No. 9 nationally in field goal percentage defense, and currently is holding its' opponents to 35.3 percent shooting accuracy ... Texas was No. 11 in scoring margin (+15.8 ppg) and 12th in blocked shots per game ... Currently, UT is averaging 5.4 rejections per game, led by Lindsey who collects 2.94 overall per game... UT was 20th in rebound margin, and holds a +6.2 rpg edge (44.2 rpg to 38.1 rpg for opponents)...Texas has out-rebounded 14 opponents and tied one to date.
A Look at the Cowgirls
Sophomore point guard Andrea Riley, last week's Big 12 Player of the Week, continues her scoring surge and averages 22.6 ppg overall ... That 22.6 ppg ranks her first among all Big 12 players in overall scoring ... In the Big 12, the 5-5 Riley pumps in 29.8 ppg, also ranking first in league scoring ... She had a career-high and league single-game high of 45 points against Oklahoma on Jan. 12, which included the game-winning 3-pointer ... Riley leads OSU in 3-pointers made (33) and taken (79) and in assists and assist average (68, 4.0 apg) ... Riley also has a team-high 55 steals (3.24 spg), and stands 13th nationally in that category ... Joining Riley in double-figure scoring for the Cowgirls are 5-8 senior guard Danielle Green (14.1 ppg) and 6-3 senior post Maria Cordero (10.5 ppg) ... Green averages a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game, while 6-0 junior Shaunte Smith (7.1 ppg) is second in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game.
In last week's NCAA team statistics, the Cowgirls ranked No. 3 in scoring margin, No. 4 nationally in scoring, No. 8 in field goal percentage defense and ninth in rebound margin ... Currently, OSU averages 81.4 ppg and out-scores the opposition by a +27.3 ppg margin as OSU holds the opponent to 54.1 points per game ... Oklahoma State allows the opposition to shoot just 34.8 percent from the floor and has a rebound margin of +10.9, pulling down 46.0 rpg to the oppositions' 35.1 rpg.
In Big 12 conference statistics, the Cowgirls are fist in scoring defense (allowing just 54.0 ppg), first in scoring margin (+15.5, 69.5 ppg to opponents' 54.0 ppg) and first in field goal percentage defense, limiting their foes to 36.5 percent shooting.
Longhorns in Big 12 Statistics
In Big 12 conference game statistics, UT junior post Ashley Lindsey continues to lead the Big 12 in league blocks, averaging 3.75 rejections per game ... Lindsey has 15 blocks in four league contests ... Lindsey also is tied for fourth in league rebounding, pulling down 9.0 rpg ... Freshman guard Kat Nash is second in Big 12 free throw shooting, hitting 11 of 12 foul shots for a 91.7 percent accuracy ...Nash also is eight in 3-point shooting percentage, making seven of 17 treys for a 41.2 percent shooting accuracy from behind the arc... Senior guard Erneisha Bailey is second in steals (13, 3.25) as Nebraska's Yvonne Turner leads that category with 3.50 spg ... UT point guard Carla Cortijo is seventh in Big 12 assists, dishing out 4.0 apg ... In the Big 12 team stats, Texas is first in steals, averaging 11.0 steals per outing, and tied for first in turnover margin with Baylor ... Both are +4.0 in turnover margin ... Texas also is second in Big 12 blocks per game average (5.3 bpg).
In Looking for Second League Win
Texas will look to avoid only its second-ever 1-4 start in conference history (counting either Southwest Conference or Big 12 Conference play) ... The only time in UT history that the Longhorns began conference play 1-4 was in 1997-98 when UT went 1-4 to start league action before finishing 7-9 (7th) in the second year of Big 12 competition... Texas has started 2-3 in league action twice before - in 1998-99 and 2000-01 ... In 1998-99, the Longhorns turned around that 2-3 start, going 8-3 over the last 11 regular season league contests to finish league play at 10-6 in fourth-place... In 2000-01, Texas went 7-9 in the league, placing seventh.
Texas-Oklahoma State Series
Texas and OSU will be meeting for the 26th time in history, with the Longhorns holding a 20-5 edge in series action ... Last year, however, Texas saw its 13-game win streak in the series ended when OSU swept the home-and-home series... Oklahoma won on Feb. 7th, 77-58 in Stillwater, behind four players in double-figure scoring, and then stopped Texas in Austin two weeks later, 64-52 on Feb. 21, 2007... That Texas 13-game win streak dated back to the 1999-2000 campaign and was the longest active win streak Texas held against any Big 12 opponent... In all-time games played in Austin, Texas is 10-2 against the Cowgirls; in away games, the Horns are 8-3 and at a neutral site, 2-0 against OSU.
Texas Stat Leaders Against OSU Last Year
In the two games against Oklahoma State last season, point guard Carla Cortijo, then a redshirt freshman, led the way for Texas, scoring a total of 27 points (13.5 ppg) while collecting 11 rebounds, 13 assists and five steals in both games ... In the 77-58 loss at OSU on Feb. 7, Cortijo had a team-high 16 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and one steal ... In Austin, Cortijo collected 11 points, six rebounds, nine assists and four steals ... Forward Earnesia Williams had a total of 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the two contests, registering seven points and seven boards at OSU and following with a 12-point, six-rebound effort in Austin as a redshirt freshman ... As a true rookie a year ago, guard Brittainey Raven added 18 points in the two games, scoring nine points each outing ... She also had 10 total rebounds and three steals ... Tiffany Jackson, who finished up her eligibility last year and is now in the WNBA with the New York Liberty, had a double-double (14 points/10 rebounds) in the loss at OSU but four points and six boards in the setback in Austin.
Next Up: Missouri
Texas will play its second consecutive game at home this week when it hosts Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 26 in a 1 p.m. contest at the Frank Erwin Center... That Big 12 game will be televised live on ESPNU.
