MBB: Mavs face challenge at No. 24 Oklahoma State
12/18/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2012
UT Arlington (5-2, 0-0) at No. 24 Oklahoma State (8-1, 0-0)
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012
Stillwater, OK (Gallagher-Iba Arena), 7 pm CT
TV: FOX Sports Southwest Plus - Time Warner Cable channel 906, Charter Cable channel 300,
DirecTV channel 680 (680-1 HD), Dish Network channel 445 (9515 HD),
U-Verse channel 757 (1757 HD)
Radio: Soul 730 AM/ Soul730.com
Series: OSU leads 10-1
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington is back on the road with Wednesday night's visit to No. 24 Oklahoma State at historic Gallagher-Iba Arena. It's the sixth road game overall for the Mavericks and fifth in the last six games.
UT Arlington has opened the season 5-2 overall and 4-1 on the road. UT Arlington is 25-6 in its last 31 games dating back to last season and 12-4 in its last 16 road games.
The Mavericks' two losses this season are to Big 12 teams Oklahoma and Texas. UTA hasn't faced a ranked team since losing 75-65 at No. 9 Baylor last season (11/23/11).
"I am very excited about the opportunity to play a nationally-ranked opponent," UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. "I am really looking forward to this challenge. I am confident that we will have an opportunity to win if we defend and rebound like we have been doing, and then do a little bit better job of taking care of the basketball."
This is the 12th all-time meeting between the Mavericks and Cowboys. Oklahoma State leads the series 10-1, having won four straight. The teams haven't met since 2007. UT Arlington's only win in the series was 69-58 on Dec. 3, 1987 in Arlington.
Oklahoma State is 8-1 this season and ranked in both national polls. Le'Bryan Nash leads the Cowboys in scoring, averaging 16.6 points. The Cowboy defense is limiting its opponents to just 58.2 points per game and 35.3-percent shooting from the floor.
"OSU is a very talented team, well-coached team that defends really well and can really score the basketball," Cross said. "It should make for a great matchup."
The Mavericks are 5-64 all-time against teams currently in the Big 12. In the program's history, the Mavericks have defeated TCU three times, Baylor and Oklahoma State. Since the Oklahoma State win, the Mavs have gone 0-28 against teams currently in the Big 12. UTA lost to Oklahoma (63-59) and at Texas (70-54) earlier this season.
UT Arlington is coming off an 81-47 nonconference victory over Houston Baptist on Dec. 13 at College Park Center. The Mavericks opened the game with 15-0 run and never looked back.
The 34-point spread was the biggest since UT Arlington's 48-point blowout (96-48) against Nicholls in the first round of last season's Southland Conference Tournament. Senior center Jordan Reves notched his fourth double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Reves is one of 25 players nationally averaging a double-double and he's seventh nationally in rebounding at 11.3 per game.
UT Arlington has proven to be one of the nation's stingiest defensive units. The Mavs are third in the country and first in the WAC in defensive field-goal percentage at 33.4. The Mavericks have held six of seven opponents to less than 40-percent shooting.
UTA-OSU is being broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest Plus in the DFW Metroplex: Time Warner Cable channel 906, Charter Cable channel 300, DirecTV channel 680 (680-1 HD), Dish Network channel 445 (9515 HD) and U-Verse channel 757 (1757 HD).
Radio broadcast is on KKDA 730 AM in the DFW Metroplex with Doug Anderson on the call. Gametracker is available via utamavs.com.
