Getting to know the No. 24 Cowboys

Kansas guard Frank Mason tries to hook a pass around Oklahoma State forward Le'Bryan Nash during the second half on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Just a few days ago, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self called Oklahoma State one of the surprising Big 12 teams this season.

The Cowboys — 12-3 overall, 2-1 in league games and now ranked No. 24 in the nation — come to Lawrence having just handled Texas in an 11-point home win this past weekend.

KenPom.com ranks the Cowboys at No. 22, and their only losses have come to teams in Pomeroy’s top 40:

• at South Carolina (No. 37 KenPom), 75-49, on Dec. 6

• to Maryland (No. 14 AP, No. 20 KenPom), 73-64, on Dec. 21

• at Iowa State (No. 11 AP, No. 19 KenPom), 63-61, on Jan. 6

Not much was expected of coach Travis Ford’s squad this year, what with the departure of Marcus Smart and Markel Brown.

That hasn’t seemed to bother returning veterans Phil Forte III (17.7 points per game) and Le’Bryan Nash (17.6 ppg), who head into their showdown at No. 9 Kansas (13-2, 2-0) as the Big 12’s top two scorers.

http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2015/jan/12/36044/

OSU can play some defense, too:

• 8.9 steals/game (17th in NCAA)

• 37.2 FG% defense (20th in NCAA)

• 58.6 ppg scoring defense (27th in NCAA)

• 5.2 blocks/game (35th in NCAA)

Meet the Cowboys the Jayhawks will have to worry about while attempting to open conference play with three straight victories.

COWBOYS STARTERS

No. 13 — Phil Forte III, 5-11, junior G

The undersized guard with seemingly unlimited range hits on 41.2% of his 3-pointers: 42-for-102. And he fires, on average, 6.8 attempts from behind the arc each game.

Forte gives the ball up every once in a while (1.8 assists) but is more interested in getting it back (2.6 steals, tops in the Big 12).

In each of his last four games — against Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa State and Texas — the gun-slinging junior guard has scored 20-plus points. He has nailed 55% of his shots and 55.2% of his 3-pointers in that stretch.

Forte has 17 20-point games in his career — second among active Big 12 players to his teammate, Nash.

He hit just 1 of 8 3-pointers in his first trip to Allen Fieldhouse, in 2013, but hit 7 of 10 from deep at KU and scored 23 points last season.

hoop-math.com nugget: Sure, Forte can drill the long ball. But he also drains jumpers inside the arc. He shoots 51.2% on 2-point shots away from the rim and has made 22.

No. 2 — Le’Bryan Nash, 6-7, senior F

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Frank Mason tries to hook a pass around Oklahoma State forward Le'Bryan Nash during the second half on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

With 26 career outings of 20-plus points, Nash is the only active Big 12 player with more of those than Forte.

Nash has made 47.9% of his shots this season, a number hurt a little by his 2-for-12 3-point shooting.

The athletic senior from Dallas has scored in double figures in every game he has played this season, but also contributes 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 block.

Over the past two seasons, Nash has scored more points each time he gets another crack at Kansas: 7, 8, 10, 16 and 19 in the last five meetings between the two programs.

He gets to the foul line better than anybody in the Big 12 — 85-for-112 — and makes 75.9%, eighth in the league.

— hoop-math.com nugget: Nash takes just more than half of his shots on 2-point jumpers and has hit 44% from that range. He’s better when he gets to the rim — 57.7%.

No. 12 — Anthony Hickey Jr., 5-11, senior G

After starting three years at LSU, Hickey (9.3 points) has fit in well in OSU’s three-guard lineup

The guy is a pest on defense, too, with 246 career steals (fourth among active Div. I players) and 2.0 swipes a game this season.

Hickey sets up the Cowboys offense often, and leads the team with 3.3 assists a game.

He had 10 points, nine boards, seven assists and one turnover in OSU’s win over Texas.

With a 2.26 career assist-to-turnover ratio, Hickey ranks 10th among active NCAA players (minimum 400 assists).

— hoop-math.com nugget: Almost half (48.5%) of Hickey’s shots have come from 3-point range (21-for-63). But he’s not just a catch-and-shoot guy. Nine of his three-pointers have come without an assist.

No. 20 — Michael Cobbins, 6-8, senior F

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas center Jeff Withey is fouled by Oklahoma State center Michael Cobbins during the first overtime on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

An injury limited his junior season to just 13 games, but now Cobbins is back and giving Oklahoma State a much needed interior presence.

He has blocked 15 shots in the last six games and averages 2.2 swats on the season. Plus, Cobbins leads OSU with 6.3 rebounds a game.

The Cowboys are 21-4 in the last 25 games in which Cobbins has played.

In his last two games against KU, he has averaged 11 rebounds.

The big man averages 7.2 points on the season and has hit 61.1% of his shots.

— hoop-math.com nugget: Cobbins has converted 27 of his 32 shots at the rim this season, but only five of those buckets have come on put-backs, via the offensive glass.

No. 22 — Jeff Newberry, 6-2, junior G

The least productive member of the starting five, Newberry only scores 5.8 points and averages 16.3 minutes.

He spent 11 games coming off the bench before Ford turned him into a starter. Since the move, he has averaged 7.3 points on 9-for-23 shooting (39.1%), while making 5 of 12 3-pointers (41.7%) and passing out 2.3 assists.

The former Mississippi and junior college player scored 10 points and had two steals in a win over Kansas State.

— hoop-math.com nugget: When opponents coax him into 2-point jumpers he has only made 7 of 24 (29.2%).

COWBOYS BENCH

No. 5 — Tavarius Shine, 6-5, freshman F

He’s the only backup Cowboy who has played double-digit minutes off the bench in each of OSU’s three Big 12 games.

Shine only averages 3.5 points and 1.7 rebounds on the season. But in conference play his numbers read: 7.0 points, 50% shooting.

He scored eight points against both K-State and Iowa State. Shine, who has hit 8 of 26 3-pointers on the season, made two 3’s apiece against the Wildcats and Cyclones.

— hoop-math.com nugget: 66.7% of his shots have come from 3-point range, but he’s better off attacking, with a 84.4% success rate on shots at the rim (9-for-11).