Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State: 'Big Monday' Bedlam Basketball Preview
Round one in Bedlam basketball – Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State – will unfold Monday night at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
Jan 28, 2017; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Kristian Doolittle (11) drives to the basket between Florida Gators guard Chris Chiozza (11) and Florida Gators forward Devin Robinson (1) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
While it is the first time this season that the two in-state rivals will meet on the hardwood, it will be the 232nd time the two Big 12 schools have squared off in the history of the rivalry. The Sooners have played no other team more times in basketball than they have the OSU Cowboys.
While Bedlam can be as unpredictable as any longtime rivalry series, at this particular point this season Monday night’s matchup features two teams that are trending in very opposite directions.
Lon Kruger’s Sooners were absolutely obliterated on Saturday, losing at home by 32 points to the Florida Gators in the Big 12-SEC Basketball Challenge. That was bad enough, but the fact that Oklahoma has now gone down to defeat in 10 of its last 12 games clearly does not bode well going up against a red hot Oklahoma State team.
Saturday’s beatdown was the worst loss an Oklahoma men’s basketball team has suffered at home going all the way back almost 100 years to 1922.
Oklahoma State 12-8, 2-6) comes to Norman sporting a three-game winning streak, the most recent of which was a 99-71 domination of Arkansas as part of the Big 12-SEC showdown.
“They’ve won the last couple, so they’re feeling good about what they’ve done,” said Kruger about the Sooners’ opponent on Monday night. “Even when they weren’t winning (the Cowboys lost their first six Big 12 games), I thought they were right there.
“They (Oklahoma State) were like a lot of our loses,” the OU head coach said after his team’s devastating defeat on Saturday. “They were right there, but not quite, and now they have won a couple.”
Jan 28, 2017; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Phil Forte III (13) drives while defended by Arkansas Razorbacks guard Jaylen Barford (0) during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cowboys won 99-71. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
The Sooners (8-12, 2-6) are hoping to turn things back around on Monday night. The Bedlam basketball series has been mostly one-sided in recent years, with Oklahoma prevailing in the last seven contests.
Three Things to Know About the Sooners in This Game
Three Things to Know About the Cowboys in This Game
Game Prediction
The Sooners are 1.5-point underdogs in this one (tell me, when was the last time Oklahoma was a “dog” at home?). I still like OU’s chances of bouncing back from a tough couple of losses, and at home in a rivalry game when things get a bit more juiced up.
Oklahoma 79, Oklahoma State 76
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