GAME NOTES: Big 12 Conference play gets started on Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena, as the Oklahoma State Cowboys play host to the Wildcats of Kansas State.

Kansas State enters the game having lost two straight, both at home. The Wildcats are coming off a 50-46 setback to Georgia on New Year's Eve. They are 0-2 in true road games this season.

Oklahoma State has won three of its last four games, including a 74-72 overtime win against Missouri Tuesday night in Kansas City. The Cowboys are 9-1 at home for the third straight season.

OSU has began Big 12 play with losses to the Wildcats each of the last two seasons. K-State leads the all-time series, 75-50.

The Wildcats have seen their offense go stagnant of late, save for a second- half charge against Georgia that ultimately fell short. Senior Thomas Gipson (11.8 ppg) scored 17 of his game-high 19 points during that second-half rally, which saw K-State take a 46-43 lead with 2:49 to play after trailing by as many as 15 at the 12:10 mark. However, the Bulldogs scored the game's final seven points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with just over a minute to play.

The Wildcats were fortunate to still be in the game at that juncture, considering they committed 19 turnovers and shot just 31.9 percent from the floor, including 1-of-14 from beyond the arc. Gipson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench, although he was the team's only double-digit scorer. Leading scorer Marcus Foster (14.0 ppg) had more turnovers (three) than points (two).

Oklahoma State boasts a lineup featuring the Big 12's top two scorers in senior forward Le'Bryan Nash (17.9 ppg) and junior guard Phil Forte (17.1 ppg). Nash is also averaging 6.5 rebounds, while Forte leads the conference and ranks third nationally with 36 steals.

They both scored 21 points in the overtime win against Missouri, and the duo combined for all 12 of OSU's points in overtime. Nash also went 13-of-18 at the free-throw line, setting career-highs for both makes and attempts. Anthony Hickey contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for the Cowboys, who trailed by as many as 12 early in the second half before finding a rhythm. The game featured 10 ties and 14 lead changes.

The Cowboys have been playing better of late than the Wildcats, who have struggled on the road to this point. Look for OSU to keep rolling behind Nash and Forte.