Cowboys expect shoot-out with Missouri

Sunday, February 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Oklahoma State's assignment at Missouri on Monday is pretty clear -- guard the perimeter. Missouri made 12 first-half 3-pointers Saturday and finished with 14 in an 84-74 victory over Kansas State.

The Tigers lead the Big 12 in scoring with 80 points per game, and their 41 per cent shooting from 3-point range is the best in the league. "They're probably one of the outstanding perimeter teams in the country, which was very evident today," Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said Saturday night. "I never heard anybody hit 12 treys in 20 minutes of basketball, like they did against the Wildcats."

The Tigers (16-8, 9-3 Big 12) are one game out of first place in the conference race. Oklahoma State (21-3, 10-2) is in a three-way tie for first after beating Nebraska 94-55 on Saturday. Missouri has won two straight since losing home games to IowaState and Texas. The Tigers had won seven in a row before their brief skid, including a 22-point victory at home against Kansas. "I think Quin (Snyder) has really done a great job with this ballclub," Sutton said. "One other thing they're doing, they really are playing good defense. "He was at Duke and played there and certainly had one of the best teachers in college basketball in Mike (Krzyzewski), and I think they've brought that to Missouri. They're playing good defense. They're just a very, very good basketball team."

The same can be said of Oklahoma State. The Cowboys handed Nebraska their most lopsided loss of the season, thanks in part to11 3-pointers including six by Glendon Alexander. Oklahoma State's greatest strength is its defense, however. They held Nebraska to 34 per cent shooting, and for the season opponents are hitting only 38 percent.

But the Nebraska game was only a brief breather in a tough late-season stretch for the Cowboys. They had played at Oklahoma and Texas in their previous two games, and after playing Missouri they must visit Iowa State on Saturday. "We've got two really tough road games," said Brian Montonati, who scored 22 against Nebraska. "This is what the conference is made of, if you're going to win a conference championship. "If we just go play and play the way we're capable of playing, like we did tonight ... we'll be fine."