Baylor-Oklahoma St. Preview

At first glance, a visit to an Oklahoma State team with a losing record in Big 12 play might seem to spell an easy win for Baylor. However, it could be a big mistake for the sixth-ranked Bears to look past the Cowboys. Baylor seeks its first win in Stillwater in nine years Saturday when it faces an Oklahoma State squad trying to upset its second highly ranked opponent in 10 days. After consecutive losses to then-No. 7 Kansas and then-No. 5 Missouri in mid-January, Baylor (20-2, 7-2) has righted itself with three consecutive wins - two on the road. Wednesday's 63-60 victory at Texas A&M gave the Bears their fourth 20-win season in the last five and their first 7-2 conference start since 1968-69. Junior guard Pierre Jackson, who took A.J. Walton's place in the starting lineup four games ago, is providing a major spark - especially in clutch situations. Four days after hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer late in a 76-71 victory over Texas, Jackson drained another go-ahead shot from beyond the arc with 17 seconds left Wednesday and added a pair of free throws. Baylor coach Scott Drew wishes he knew what makes Jackson so cool under pressure. "I don't know, but if we could clone it or duplicate it, we'd inject it in a lot of people," Drew said. "The bigger the moment, the bigger the play, the better he performs. You've either got it or you don't and he definitely has it." No dramatics from Jackson were needed when these teams met in Waco on Jan. 14, as Baylor scored a season high in a 106-65 rout. Jackson did have an excellent game off the bench, though, setting career highs with five 3-pointers and five steals while finishing with 18 points and eight assists in 29 minutes. Freshman forward Quincy Miller led all scorers in that contest with 21 points - then a career high, which he surpassed a week later with 29 against Missouri. With a win Saturday, Baylor can achieve its best start in conference play since the 1947-48 team finished 11-1 in the Southwestern Conference and went all the way to the national championship game before losing to Kentucky. Despite last month's lopsided result, the history between these teams says it won't be easy for the Bears. Oklahoma State (11-11, 4-5) is 24-2 all-time against Baylor in Stillwater, including eight straight wins since a 74-72 loss Feb. 15, 2003. In addition, the Cowboys shocked then-No. 2 Missouri 79-72 in their last home game Jan. 25, shooting 59.6 percent as freshman Le'Bryan Nash scored a career-high 27 points to lead the way. "It does a lot for us," senior guard Keiton Page said after that victory. "A huge win for us, it's a big win, but it just shows us what we're capable of. It shows us that we can play with anybody." After losing 76-61 last Saturday at Texas A&M, the Cowboys bounced back Tuesday with an easy 80-63 victory at last-place Texas Tech. Sophomore guard Markel Brown led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, while Nash added 16 and Page had 10. Page, whose 14.2 points per game are tops on Oklahoma State, scored a team-high 15 last month at Baylor.