Eddie Sutton wouldn't have made the bet. A dollar wager, even a quarter wager was simply foolish.

When even the Oklahoma State coach is surprised by the play of his team, don't feel so bad about dismissing the Cowboys yourself. After all, the Big 12 was going to be way too difficult for a team with huge offensive questions to be a real contender. With the top three spots resevered for the Big Three of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas; Missouri ranked in the preseason top 25; and Bob Knight leading a revival at Texas Tech, the Cowboys were leading the second-tier of the Big 12 in November.

So, guess what team sits atop the Big 12 standings? Yep, the Pokes.

	Brought in from the JUCO ranks to be a defensive stopper, Tony Allen has blossomed into OSU's leading scorer.

"It's certainly in the top three of my most surprising teams," Sutton said. "This team continues to surprise me because I don't think I would have bet one dollar, maybe not even 25 cents, that we'd have a record like we do at this point."

With a 68-55 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night, Oklahoma State continued an impressive run. The Cowboys are 16-1 overall, they're 6-0 in Big 12 play and they have won 15 consecutive games, the nation's longest winning streak. With one of the best defenses in the country and an offense that's both balanced and improving, the Cowboys haven't lost since falling to College of Charleston at the Great Alaska Shootout on Thanksgiving weekend.

Not bad for a team that wasn't even ranked three weeks ago.

As impressive as the Cowboys have been -- they've given up a mere 58.9 points per game in the winning streak -- this is more than a Gallagher-Iba Arena creation. Yes, the Cowboys held off Oklahoma in the House of Orange, but three of the Pokes five league wins have come on the road. Sunday's victory at Texas Tech was the most impressive. Not many teams will roll out of Lubbock with a victory.

The 66-year-old Sutton, however, claims his team needs to improve to be really good. He would like to see better ball-handling and fewer "nickel and dime" fouls from his defense.

But even so, the Cowboys have been the surprise of the conference. The 6-0 start in league play is Oklahoma State's best since it did the same in 1964-65.

So how did it happen?

Tony Allen is a lot of the reason why. Allen, a 6-4 guard who was a high school teammate of Arizona-turned-Georgia Tech guard Will Bynum at Chicago Crane, was expected to be a backup when he arrived in Stillwater. He started his career at Butler County (Kan.) C.C. before leading Wabash Valley (Ill.) C.C. to a fifth-place finish in the junior college national tournament a year ago.

He was expected to bring defense and toughness to Oklahoma State, but has turned into a serious offensive threat. After coming off of the bench in the Cowboys first three games this season, Allen jumped ahead of Cheyne Gadson before Oklahoma State's victory over Michigan State in Alaska and has stayed there since.

Allen leads the Cowboys in scoring with 16.3 points per game and is one of four Oklahoma State players who average at least 12 points per game.

In last week's victories at Baylor and Texas Tech, Allen has become something of a go-to guy for a team that was allegedly offensively challenged.

Against Baylor he scored eight of Oklahoma State's final 14 points in regulation. In overtime, he made a steal and converted a three-point play with 39.6 seconds to play. He followed that up by forcing Baylor's Terrance Thomas into a missed shot at the buzzer.

At Texas Tech, Allen scored six consecutive points and eight of OSU's final 14 points when the Red Raiders made a late charge.

"I don't think the young man understands pressure, especially for a player who's not been in Division I very long," said Sutton, who won't let Allen speak to the media because he's afraid he may say something outlandish. "He has that ability to elevate his game when he senses his team needs him and he's proved to his teammates and the coaching staff that he likes to make plays at the end of a ballgame."

With Victor Williams averaging 19.3 points per game over the last eight games and the surprising play of Allen, Oklahoma State's offense is improved.

"We are getting better offensively," said Sutton, who ran his players through double practice sessions each day during a 10-day semester break to start January. "I thought early we had a lot of questions where the points would come from. The fact that Tony Allen has really blossomed has been a real plus for us."

So does that mean the Cowboys have a chance to win the Big 12? The gambler Sutton isn't so sure.

"It's still a long shot," he said. "I really believe that Texas, right now, is playing better than anyone and they are certainly the deepest team in the conference. Oklahoma is getting better and Kansas is not going to roll over and play dead."

Games of the Week

Oral Roberts at Valpariaso Thursday In the non-conference season, it appeared as if Valpo would be vulnerable in the Mid-Con this season. But guess what? The Crusaders are 5-0 in league play. Oral Roberts (4-1 in league play) has aspirations of knocking off Valpo. Indiana at Louisville Saturday The Hoosiers lost to Kentucky, they have split with Purdue, losing the game that counts in the Big Ten standings. Now, Indiana gets another rivalry game, this time against a Louisville team that has played very well. Oklahoma State at Texas Saturday So who out there really had the Pokes pegged as the last undefeated team in Big 12 play? Even Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton wouldn't have guessed that. Oklahoma State already has wins at Baylor and Texas Tech, can it get one in Austin?

Butler's Chance
Team one entered the wek with an RPI of 45. Team two is No. 52.

Team one is 18-2 this season, while team two is 16-2.

Team one has a schedule strength of 242 while team two's is 234.

Team one is 3-1 vs. top 100 RPI teams, while team two is 4-2.

Pretty similar, right?

Well, team one is ranked No. 15 in this week's ESPN/USA Today poll. Team two isn't ranked.

Any idea on the identities of the two teams? Team one is mid-major darling Creighton. Team two is the forgotten mid-major -- Butler.

That, however, could change on Thursday night when the Bulldogs travel to Duke. A victory there would do wonders for both Butler's RPI and it's national perception, just like when Creighton defeated Notre Dame in the Guardians Classic.

But don't tell the Bulldogs that even a loss would help their RPI and their chances of earning an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament. They simply want to win the game.

"I don't think it's in anybody's minds that it's a win-win situation for us," Butler center Joel Cornette told The Indianapolis Star. "We've got to win this game. If we lose we'll be devastated.

"Maybe this program in the past had the problem of feeling like, 'We're just glad we have an opportunity to play.' This team now, we want to go in there and get a 'W'."

Marquee Mid-Con Matchup
Sure the Mid-Continent Conference is a little bit below the radar of the average college hoops fan. But here's a smidgen of advice: Pay attention to Thursday's game between Oral Roberts and Valparaiso.

This one should be pretty good.

Despite starting the season 5-7 and losing to heavyweights Syracuse, Cincinnati, Missouri, Notre Dame and Purdue, Valpo is 5-0 in league play and the current league leaders.

Under first-year coach Scott Drew (the son of former coach Homer Drew), Valpo is tough defensively, holding teams to 39 percent shooting and 56.2 points per game.

Oral Roberts, which has aspirations of a conference title, is 4-1 in Mid-Con play, losing at Southern Utah. However, the Golden Eagles have never won at Valparaiso.

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