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ESPN.com Big 12 blogger David Ubben says Baylor QB Nick Florence of South Garland, Oklahoma State WR Josh Stewart of Denton Guyer and Texas RB Joe Bergeron of North Mesquite are three players to watch in the Big 12 this year.

Josina Anderson recaps Oklahoma State's pro day, where Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden practiced in front of NFL scouts.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kim English scored 27 points and led a 26-5 first-half run, and No. 5 Missouri swamped short-handed Oklahoma State, 88-70, on Thursday night in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Marcus Denmon added 24 points, and Phil Pressey had 12 assists, one short of Missouri's school record. The Tigers also outrebounded the Cowboys 40-20.

The Tigers (28-4), who set a school record with 27 regular-season victories, played much of the game as though they have something to prove while heading out the door for the Southeastern Conference- a move that has earned the animosity of many soon-to-be former Big 12 peers.

In the semifinals Friday, they will play the winner of the Texas-Iowa State game with many fans hoping for a championship game showdown Saturday with archrival and third-ranked Kansas.

English had 21 of his points in the rapid-fire first half, which ended with Missouri on top 49-24. Denmon, a two-time All-Big 12 guard, had 17 in the second half.

Keiton Page had 22 points for Oklahoma State, and Brian Williams had 21.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Keiton Page scored 20 points, Brian Williams added 19 and seventh-seeded Oklahoma State knocked off No. 10 seed Texas Tech, 76-60, Wednesday night to open the Big 12 tournament.

Cezar Guerrero scored all 16 of his points in the second half for Oklahoma State (15-17), which advanced to play second-seeded No. 5 Missouri in the quarterfinals Thursday night. Markel Brown finished with 12 points as the Cowboys went 16 of 16 from the free-throw line.

Jordan Tolbert had 16 points and six rebounds for Texas Tech, which matched a school record for the most losses in a single season. The 1990-91 team coached by Gerald Myers also went 8-23.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Steven Pledger scored 17 points, Romero Osby added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Oklahoma snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State 77-64 on Wednesday night.

Oklahoma (14-13, 4-11 Big 12) extended its home winning streak against Oklahoma State (13-15, 6-9) to eight games, rolling to an 18-point halftime lead and holding off a second-half rally by the Cowboys.

Oklahoma led 30-12 at halftime after Oklahoma State set a school record for fewest points in a half against a Big 12 foe. The Cowboys came roaring back and had two chances to tie the game before the Sooners pulled away again.

Keiton Page led Oklahoma State with 29 points, going 9 of 17 from 3-point range.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger talks about motivating his team despite a big lead at the half.

Oklahoma snapped its six-game losing streak with a 77-64 win over Oklahoma State at Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday night.

The Sooners’ second half struggles continued against the Cowboys as OSU started the second half by going on a 24-11 run to eventually cut OU’s lead to 42-39. But the Sooners responded with an 8-0 run of their own and pulled away in the final ten minutes to cruise to the win.

Player of the Game: Romero Osby. When OSU made its run early in the second half, it was Osby who became more aggressive and scored two layups to spark the 8-0 run. Osby finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Unsung Hero: Tyler Neal. The sophomore provided a great spark off the bench for the Sooners finishing with 9 points and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes.

Key Stat: 7. The Sooners finished the game with seven blocks which helped limit the Cowboys to eight points in the paint.

Key Stat II: 15. The Sooners outrebounded Oklahoma 46 to 31 -- a difference of 15 -- in the game as OU dominated inside throughout the night.

Up Next For Oklahoma: at Baylor at 12:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.

(All dates subject to change)

Sept. 1: vs. Savannah State
Sept. 9: at Arizona
Sept. 15: vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Sept. 29: vs. Texas
Oct. 13: at Kansas
Oct. 20: vs. Iowa State
Oct. 27: vs. TCU
Nov. 3: at Kansas State
Nov. 10: vs. West Virginia
Nov. 17: vs. Texas Tech
Nov. 24: at Oklahoma
Dec. 1: at Baylor

How will the Cowboys do coming off a Big 12 title and Fiesta Bowl victory?

Oklahoma State will be looking to break a three-game skid vs. SMU, which has won five of its last six games, in the opening game of the second annual Dallas Showcase at American Airlines Center on Wednesday night.

The game -- the first of a doubleheader -- is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. and will be telecast on ESPNU.

SMU (7-4), making its first appearance at the AAC, will be battling Oklahoma State for the first time since 2005. Three of the Mustangs' four losses have been by a combined nine points.

"With young players, sometimes they get ahead of themselves and think they are better than they are and then you take a step back," said SMU coach Matt Doherty, whose roster includes eight freshmen and two sophomores. "Hopefully we've taken some steps backwards and have gotten better. This will be a great test for us."

The Cowboys (6-5) aren't much older. OSU’s roster features six freshmen and one sophomore. Former Dallas Lincoln All-American Le'Bryan Nash, a 6-7, 230-pound freshman forward, leads OSU with 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

"We have put our team in a very difficult situation as far as the schedule (is concerned)," OSU coach Travis Ford said. "We haven't played at home very often and we've played against teams much more experienced than us, but we're hoping at the end of the day it will help us get better down the road."

Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster.com or at the American Airlines Center box office. Lower arena seats are priced at $29, $59 and $99. A portion of each ticket benefits Buckets and Boots, a Texas-based charity that supports volunteer firefighting efforts.

Oklahoma State did all they could with an impressive win over Oklahoma on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to get past Alabama, who finished No. 2 in the BCS.

The Cowboys will head to the Fiesta Bowl and play Stanford. Alabama gets a rematch with No. 1 and SEC champion LSU. The Tigers won the first meeting between the club earlier this season. Alabama was No. 2 in both polls used for the BCS formula -- Harris Poll and Coaches' Poll.

The standings were officially released on ESPN tonight.

Oklahoma State sits today hopeful that an impressive win over Oklahoma is enough to sway voters -- and maybe some computers -- in its favor. But they'll need to slip past Alabama to do it.

In an attempt to lay out the case, OSU sent emails out late last night comparing its schedule to Alabama's and Stanford's. The point they are trying to hammer home involves quality wins. In short:

OSU beat five teams that are currently in the BCS top-25 (OU, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas and Missouri) and six bowl-eligible teams with winning records. Alabama has wins over two teams currently ranked in the BCS top-25 (Arkansas, Penn State) and three bowl-eligible teams with winning records.

But is that what voters will use? Or will they argue Alabama's only loss was in overtime at home against the No. 1 team in the country while OSU lost on the road to Iowa State, nearly a four-TD underdog? Or will some voters give OSU the nod to avoid a rematch game? We'll see later tonight.

Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, who starred at Oklahoma State, shares his reaction to the news that women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna died in a plane crash.

FLOWER MOUND, Texas -- Oklahoma State is getting a set of basketball twins from Flower Mound Marcus next season.

They're not be related by blood, but the connection Marcus Smart and Phil Forte have on the court goes well beyond teammates or even friendship.

“We got to a point where I could tell where he was on the court without even looking at him and vice versa with him,” Smart said. “We have a perfect feel for each other. It’s like that twin telepathy for each other -- when a twin can feel what the other is feeling -- that’s what me and Phil have on the court.”

Both signed letters of intent Wednesday to play together at Oklahoma State, continuing a streak of seasons they have been teammates that began in the third grade.

“It’s great knowing every time you go out to practice -- to work -- you have your brother beside you,” Forte said. “We’ve been through so much together, good times and bad. Playing four more years with him in college will just make it that much better.”

Forte said Oklahoma State was an easy sell because he loved the way he fit into the Cowboys' system as a point guard, especially after watching Keiton Page thrive in Stillwater.

Once Smart -- the ESPNU No. 11 recruit in the nation for his class -- found Oklahoma State to be a good fit as well, the decision was simple.

So family, friends and teammates gathered outside of Marauder Gym on Wednesday morning to watch Smart, Forte and Nick Banyard, a New Mexico commit, ink their pledge to play college ball.

While signing the letter of intent was a moment each savored, there was no question who won the contest of signing their name the required four times first.

“Marcus finished first and we gave him a hard time because he doesn’t know how to not finish first in anything in his life,” Forte said.

More: ESPNHS All-Texas basketball team

There's been plenty of great quarterback play in the Big 12 this season, but which signal caller do you think has been the best of the bunch. Watch the video to see the top candidates in action, then make your pick. Want to argue about it? Use the conversation section.

ESPN college football studio host Rece Davis previews tonight's primetime Oklahoma State-Arizona matchup as well as Texas-BYU, TCU-Air Force, Alabama-Penn State and puts a top 15 team on upset alert!