Cowboys aim for another upset

Missouri's trip to Stillwater earlier this season did not go as planned.

Ranked No. 2 at the time, the Tigers planned to play the game and get back to Columbia, Mo., with a road victory.

Instead, Missouri players walked off the court on Jan. 25 with their heads down as Oklahoma State students rushed the court to celebrate the Cowboy victory.

"(It was) a tough loss for us," Missouri coach Frank Haith said after the game. "I thought we didn't have the right mind defensively. Our focus was not where it needed to be to win a game on the road."

OSU freshman Le'Bryan Nash scored a career-best 27 points. He said there was something different about that game.

"The atmosphere," Nash said. "Everybody came to play tonight; everybody played hard."

OSU has played well at Gallagher-Iba Arena, where it is 8-3 this season.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they have to travel to Columbia for round two tonight. This time, No. 3 Missouri has the home crowd supporting it, and the Tigers have not forgotten what happened the first time they met.  

"I'm sure they are (replaying) our fans storming the court, and I would do all the things they are doing," OSU coach Travis Ford said. "They are going to be ready, but we have to get off to a lot better start than we did (against Kansas) because the same thing can happen there."

Missouri has won five straight games since losing to Oklahoma State, including wins at home against No. 8 Kansas and No. 6 Baylor.

It seems Missouri fans are ready for revenge, for the game sold out on Tuesday.  OSU forward Michael Cobbins said he expects the Tigers to come out with the same intensity.

"We expect nothing less (than their best shot)," Cobbins said. "Teams tend to play a little bit faster at home, so we know we are getting their A-game.

As good as the Cowboys are at home, Missouri has been better. The Tigers are 14-0 in Mizzou Arena and only Kansas was within 10 points.

Oklahoma State is playing better basketball as of late, but staying with Missouri will challenge a young Cowboy team.

"They are really, really good in their building," Ford said. "I understand the challenge, and I've been in the situation where you have beat a team, upset a team and then you have to go to their place."

sports@ocolly.com