Cowboy Basketball Takes On Memphis

No. 7 Oklahoma State plays host to No. 11 Memphis in the non-bracketed opening game of the Old Spice Classic Tuesday night. It's a great early-season test for the Cowboys, who are off to a hot start but have yet to be really pushed. Here are a few talking-points going into the prime-time matchup.

• Oklahoma State is fourth nationally averaging 102.3 points per game.

• The Cowboys are 8-5 at home against ranked, non-conference foes since 1952.

• Leading scorer Phil Forte is sizzling from three-point range to start the season. He's 14-for-22 (63.6 percent) from behind the arc.

• Having made 38-straight free throws, Forte is also just five consecutive free-throws away from tying the all-time record at OSU.

• Marcus Smart set the record for steals in a game with nine against Utah Valley. He averages 4.0 takeaways a game in 2013.

• Memphis coach Josh Pastner has never beaten a team ranked in the AP Top-20. He's 1-11 against Top-25 opponents.

• The Tigers leading scorer is point guard Joe Jackson, the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year.

• Guard Michael Dixon Jr., who transferred from Missouri, is 0-2 in his career against Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

• Memphis was very mediocre last season at defending threes. The Tigers allowed opponents to shoot 33 percent from behind the stripe.

• Smart and Memphis forward Shaq Goodwin were teammates on the U.S. Under-18 team that won gold at the FIBA Americas in the summer of 2012.