The Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-7, 4-6 Big 12), losers of four straight and down star guard Marcus Smart, will try to begin a potentially season-saving stretch tonight in Austin when they face off with the No. 19 Texas Longhorns (18-5, 7-3 Big 12) on ESPN2. Live stream the game free here; Oklahoma State fans can catch the game on KSPI 93.7 FM, while Texas fans may do the same on KVET 98.1.
The key for Oklahoma State tonight will be pushing aside the distraction of Smart's absence in the wake of his fan-pushing incident vs. Texas Tech over the weekend. He is the team's leader in both points and assists, so his presence will be missed on the court in a big way.
"This is not how I conduct myself," said Smart in an apologetic press conference. "This is not how the program is run. This is not how I was raised. I let my emotions get the best of me. It's something I'll have to learn from, a lesson I'll have to learn from. The consequences that are coming with it -- I'm taking full responsibility. No fingers pointing -- this is all upon me."
The scoring load, however, will now be on senior forward Markel Brown. He has put up 16.6 points per game this year, only about a point less a night than Smart, along with 5.5 rebounds. He is not a natural distributor though, so multiple players will need to step up while Smart sits.
Texas may be reeling as well, coming off a 74-57 beating at the hands of Kansas State in which Wildcats freshman Marcus Foster. They also will likely be without Jonathan Holmes, their leading scorer at 13.1 points per game.
Texas will be looking to get their shooting back on track, according to head coach Rick Barnes, as well as playing more intelligently. "I was baffled by some of the things that we did," Barnes said. "We were not shooting the ball well."
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