OSU vs. Pitt

[Pokes4Life]

What do you all think our chances are for winning this game? I know absolutely nothing about Pitt this year. Is Aaron Gray gone?

With our lack of recent road success, I honestly don't expect too much, but maybe they'll surprise me.

[andyokstate]

I don't know what to expect either. It won't surprise me either way if we pull off a win or lose it. Like us, Pitt is a fairly small team this year (they did lose Gray). Here's a article about the game from the Stillwater News Press:

Okla. State faces dangerous Pitt

By Jacob Longan
STILLWATER NEWSPRESS (STILLWATER, Okla.)

STILLWATER, Okla.— Oklahoma State’s triple overtime win against Texas last season was recognized as one of the year’s best games by ESPN’s SportsCenter and the ESPYs.
While that game is deserving of praise, the Cowboys had an earlier classic multiple-overtime win — a 95-89 double-overtime victory against No. 9 Pittsburgh in Oklahoma City’s Ford Center on Dec. 21, 2006.
The clubs will rematch on Saturday in Pittsburgh, with OSU (5-3) visiting the No. 11 Panthers (9-0) for a game to be televised by ESPN at 11 a.m.
Cowboy boss Sean Sutton said Pitt plays as tough as anyone.
“Defensively, I think year in and year out, they are as solid and tough as anybody in the country,” Sutton added. “One thing I think they are doing this year is they are better in transition than they have been in the past and I think (coach Jamie Dixon) has done a good job adjusting to his personnel.”
Last year the Panthers were led by Aaron Gray, a 7-foot, 270-pound center who averaged 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds.
With Gray gone to the Chicago Bulls, Pitt has turned to a fast-paced attack that scores in transition as much as possible and doesn’t start a player taller than 6-7.
As a result, the Panthers are averaging 81.8 points with four players scoring in double figures.
Sam Young, a 6-6 forward, leads the club with 18.1 points and 7.9 rebounds. DeJuan Blair, a 6-7 center, adds 10.9 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Mike Cook is a 6-4 forward who scores 10.8 points and Levance Fields adds 10.2 points and 5.8 assists.
Four more players average at least 5.7 points.
But under Dixon, Pitt has made a name for itself defensively. Its nine opponents are averaging 57.6 points on 37.4-percent shooting with 16 turnovers.
Still, OSU has beaten the Panthers both times they’ve met recently. Prior to last year, the previous matchup was a Sweet 16 contest in East Rutherford, N.J. in 2004, which the Cowboys won 63-51.
“I think you have to raise your intensity level,” Sutton said. “The two times we have beaten them, I thought we were able to do that. The game in the Meadowlands was really a half-court defensive grinder.
“Last year was a little bit different game in that was more offensive than in 2004, but we are going to have to be tough if we are going to have a chance to win.”
Sutton also said his team needs to have a tough mindset to win on the road, which the Cowboys haven’t done in their last 13 tries. Their last road victory was at Kansas State on Feb. 4, 2006 — that was the last road trip Eddie Sutton made as the head coach.
The streak is tied for the fourth longest in school history.
Winning at the Petersen Events Center won’t be easy. The Panthers are 87-8 there, including a 54-1 mark against non-conference opponents.
This will be Pitt’s final game before it meets No. 6 Duke in New York on Thursday.
“I think this is probably their marquee home game,” Sutton said. “I wouldn’t think there is any way that they would be looking ahead. I think they understand this is an important game in their season and it’s an important game in our season.”
This is a chance for the Cowboys to get their first win against a ranked opponent this season. It would do a lot for the team’s confidence and NCAA Tournament resume.
It would also extend OSU’s winning streak to four. The Cowboys haven’t won that many consecutively since last winter, when they beat Pittsburgh and then claimed the following three contests.
These clubs have one common opponent. OSU routed Washington, 96-71, in Stillwater on Dec. 1. A week later, Pitt escaped with a 75-74 victory at UW.

A fair trade?
While the Ford Center wasn’t exactly a neutral court last year, it was also not a true home game for the Cowboys. So why does OSU have to play Pitt on its home court this year?
“The agreement was we go back to their home court and the game was guaranteed to be on ESPN plus ESPN is starting a series against a national opponent in Gallagher-Iba Arena and they still owe us that game,” Sutton said. “(Gonzaga) was one of the teams they talked to. They owe us a game in here of somebody of that caliber for playing on Pittsburgh’s home court.”

Notables…
OSU is 4-3 all-time against the Panthers … This will mark eight straight televised games for the Cowboys and the fifth overall to be on ESPN or ESPN2 … Byron Eaton has 141 steals and needs three more to pass Doug Gottlieb for 10th in school history … Marcus Dove has moved into 10th in school history with 71 career blocks. With three more, he would pass Andrew Jones for ninth … James Anderson needs to score at least 10 points in each of the next two games to tie Obi Muonelo’s record of 10 straight games of double-figure scoring to open a career … Of OSU’s 470 shots, 191 have been three-pointers. That 40.6 percentage is well above the school record of 33.5 percent, set in 1998-99 … The Cowboys are averaging 10.5 steals. The school record is nine per game in 1988-89 .. They are also on pace for a record with a plus-6.75 turnover margin per contest. Their best season was in 1997-98, when they were plus-3.52.

Jacob Longan writes for the Stillwater (Okla.) NewsPress.

Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.

[panhandler62]

At this point .. I don't know what to expect. I'm just watching to see how the team shapes up.

[AlwaysOrange]

I'm thinking it should be a good game.

But I also thought we would beat North Texas. :p

[cactusjack]

I will base my answer on our previous road games, including a 13 game road losing streak.

An ass whoopin.


I just want to see us be competitive. We are young, and hopefully getting better. A loss in the double digits would be respectable. A win could be season changing!

[Ardmoreaggie]

A loss in DOUBLE digits? Did you mean a loss in single digits?

[Verb]

::gulp::

99 is a double digit....

[JimBob]

::gulp::

99 is a double digit....

Oh ye of little faith; it won't be more than 40.:p

[MemphisPoke]

Naw, it won't be that bad JimBob. 39 points maybe but definitely not 40 :D

[cactusjack]

Yes Ardmore.....I meant single digits.

I do think we are better than we were in Hawaii....better pg play for sure.

[frankeaton]

depends which team shows up

with 3(?) mac all americans & 3 mac mentions we should have a good team

as sean said instead of majoring in history he should have majored in pschology