March 18, 2003
Oklahoma State Cowboys
No. 6 seed (21-9 overall, 10-6 Big 12)
2003 NCAA Tournament -- East Region
First Game -- Fri., March 21, 2003 * approx. 1:45 p.m. (CT)
FleetCenter [19,600] * Boston, Mass.
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Oklahoma State Cowboys
Probable Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPGF 23 Ivan McFarlin 6-8 237 Jr. 10.5 7.6F 40 Andre Williams 6-8 225 Sr. 4.3 5.7G 5 Victor Williams 5-10 187 Sr. 15.2 3.1 ^G 24 Tony Allen 6-4 205 Jr. 14.5 5.5G 34 Melvin Sanders 6-5 210 Sr. 13.4 4.9
Off the Bench
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPGC 4 Frans Steyn 7-2 306 So. 0.5 1.2G 25 Janavor Weatherspoon 6-1 165 Jr. 2.6 1.1G 30 Cheyne Gadson 6-3 190 Sr. 5.8 3.1 ^F 33 Jason Miller 6-9 245 Jr. 2.7 3.0
Penn Quakers
Probable Starters (based on last game)
Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPGF 1 Ugonna Onyekwe 6-8 230 Sr. 16.0 6.4F 2 Koko Archibong 6-9 215 Sr. 10.9 4.7G 4 Jeff Schiffner 6-6 210 Jr. 11.7 3.3G 20 Andrew Toole 6-4 190 Sr. 10.5 3.0G 31 Tim Begley 6-5 210 So. 7.0 4.7^ denotes assists per gameQuickly
Oklahoma State earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will be heading to Boston, Mass., to play in the East Regional. The Cowboys will face No. 11 Penn in the first round of the tournament on Fri., March 21, at approximately 2:45 p.m. (ET) following the Syracuse vs. Manhattan game at 12:15 p.m. (ET). A win on Friday would have the Cowboys playing on Sun., March 23, at approximately 2:40 p.m. (ET) against the Syracuse/Manhattan winner. OSU is 21-9 overall and coming off a 60-58 loss to the Missouri Tigers in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. OSU has won the only meeting between the two schools, a 91-76 victor on Dec. 8, 1979, at the First Union Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.
On Television
All NCAA Tournament games will be televised by CBS Sports. Friday's game between OSU and Penn will feature Verne Lundquist handling the play-by-play duties, while Bill Raftery and Lesley Visser will provide analysis.
Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked 23rd in both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll. The Cowboys are ranked 22nd in the Ratings Percentage Index according to Collegiate Basketball News. Penn is not ranked in either poll, and is ranked 59th in the RPI.
Practice Times/Media Opportunities
Oklahoma State will conduct a news conference in the interview room at the FleetCenter from 2:30-3 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, and will take the floor at the FleetCenter for the first time from 3:10-4 p.m. The practice is open to the media and general public. Should the Cowboys advance to the second round, there will be a news conference in the interview room at the FleetCenter from 2:15-2:55 p.m. on Saturday, March 22.
Last Time Out For OSU
Oklahoma State had five players score at least nine points, but a shot at the buzzer by Travon Bryant gave Missouri the win as the Cowboys were knocked out of the Big 12 Tournament in the quarterfinals for the second-straight year. Victor Williams led the Pokes with 12, while Melvin Sanders and Andre Williams each scored 10. It was a defensive battle that eventually saw the Tigers shoot 42.6 percent from the floor while limiting OSU to just 38 percent. Ivan McFarlin had 14 rebounds for the Cowboys, his third-consecutive double-figure rebounding game. Oklahoma State also outrebounded Mizzou, 38-30, but turned the ball over 15 times.
About the Quakers
Penn is 22-5 overall this season and went undefeated through Ivy League conference play with a spotless 14-0 mark. The Quakers are currently riding a 15-game winning streak, dating back to a 66-48 loss at St. Joseph's on Jan. 25. Ugonna Onyekwe leads the team with a 16 points per game average, as well as 6.4 rebounds per contest. He is shooting 50.3 percent from the floor as well. The Quakers have three other players scoring in double figures: Jeff Schiffner (11.7 ppg), Koko Archibong (10.9) and Andrew Toole (10.5). As a team, Penn shoots 46.6 percent from the floor, including an impressive 41.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc. The Quakers are averaging 70.2 points per game, while allowing just 59.4 per contest.
Common Opponents
Oklahoma State and Penn have played two common opponents this season. They both lost at Colorado, with the Quakers losing, 80-57, in early January and the Cowboys falling to the Buffaloes, 68-56, earlier this month. Another common opponent was Yale, the Cowboys' season opener. Oklahoma State defeated the Bulldogs, 68-59, to open the season. Penn has defeated Yale twice, 68-57 at home and 80-75 on the road.
Allen Consensus Big 12 Newcomer of the Year
Tony Allen, a junior-college transfer from Wabash Valley Community College, is the consensus Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. He was named by the Associated Press, the Big 12 Conference coaches, and the Dallas Morning News as the top newcomer in the league. He is second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game, and is also averaging 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest. Allen was one of several top newcomers in the league, winning the accolade over Missouri's Ricky Clemons, Nebraska's Nate Johnson, and the Iowa State duo of Tim Barnes and Jackson Vroman.
CollegeInsider.com Honors Sanders, Allen
Guards Tony Allen and Melvin Sanders both were recently listed on the CollegeInsider.com 2003 Honor Roll for national honors. Sanders was named to their All-Defensive squad, along with such players as Steve Blake of Maryland, Duke's Dahntay Jones, UConn's Emeka Okafor and David West of Xavier. Allen was not only named to the All-JUCO Transfer team, but he was also named the CollegeInsider.com National Junior College Transfer of the Year. Others listed on the All-Transfer team were Jaime Lloreda of LSU, Purdue's Chris Booker and Carmen Echols of Ball State.
All-Big 12 Teams Announced
The Associated Press and the league coaches announced their All-Big 12 teams last week, and several Cowboys were among them. Victor Williams earned second-team All-Big 12 honors by both the writers and the coaches. Melvin Sanders was named third-team All-Big 12 by the AP and honorable mention by the coaches. Tony Allen was listed as an honorable mention All-Big 12 by both the writers and the league coaches, and Ivan McFarlin was named honorable mention by the league.
