Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) takes off down the court after grabbing a steal from Oklahoma State guard Jawun Evans (1) during the first half, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.

Despite their 0-4 conference record and current position at the bottom of the Big 12 standings, the Oklahoma State Cowboys still rank in the top half in 10 of the 21 team statistics the conference tracks.

For a first-year head coach still in the middle of installing his offensive, defensive, philosophical and cultural concepts, those numbers represent hope for OSU’s Brad Underwood.

According to Kansas coach Bill Self, they’re also representative of the job that was done before Underwood took over, a transition that was brought about, at least in some way, by season-ending injuries to the Cowboys’ starting backcourt a season ago.

“This is just a fact,” Self said Thursday during his weekly meeting with the media. “(Former OSU coach) Travis (Ford) drew a short straw last year with (Phil) Forte and (Jawun) Evans being out (with injuries). You’ve got arguably the two leading (backcourt) scorers in the league and you don’t have either of them. And then Brad was just able to inherit that, plus a kid, (Jeffrey) Carroll, who has really gotten much better this year with the new system. So I think he (Underwood) benefited from that without question.”

Self, whose second-ranked Jayhawks will host Underwood’s Cowboys at 1 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, recognizes this because he, too, benefited from inheriting a talented KU roster left behind by Roy Williams back in 2003.

“I know we won more games when I got here because (Wayne) Simien, (Keith) Langford and (Aaron) Miles were still here,” he said. “That’s kind of how it goes sometimes.”

Picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 a season ago, the Cowboys finished ninth, with just three conference wins, after Forte and Evans went down.

With those two experienced and talented players back, the Cowboys were picked to finish seventh again heading into this season, but received one less vote in the preseason poll, likely because of the uncertainty surrounding the transition.

Regardless of who’s coaching, what system they’re running and how things have played out thus far, the 10-6 Cowboys have three of the Big 12’s top nine scorers in Forte, Evans and Carroll, and figure to be a challenge for opposing defenses on any given night.

“He’s one of the best players we’ll face,” Self said of Evans. “I’ve been watching tape, and (he’s) so good coming off ball screens, especially going to his right. He’s a great off-balance shooter. He can get all the way to the hole. He didn’t beat us by himself last year. Their team, collectively, whipped us pretty good. But he was by far the best player in the game when we played in Stillwater last year. He can get 25 any night, Forte can get 25 in any night and Carroll can get 25 in any night. They have got three guys in the perimeter that can really score the ball.”

Those words were not empty threats from a coach trying to make sure his team was focused on its next opponent. They’re fact. And the thoughts from KU senior Landen Lucas was proof that the KU players get it.

“Their record is kind of hard to look at because they’ve played all the top teams. They’ve gone to some tough places and played well, so they’re a good team,” Lucas said of OSU. “Those two guys are great guards. I do remember Forte. I’ve been here for a while so I remember him and his shooting abilities. He definitely can shoot it. And that’s been an emphasis (for) us in practice, bigs making sure we get out there on ball screens. Evans is a good player, too. We’re definitely gonna have our hands full.”