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Report: Date Set for Oklahoma, OSU Basketball Renewal

The Sooners and Cowboys haven't met in a non-conference game in almost 70 years, but they'll continue the Bedlam rivalry this winter with a neutral site contest.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Porter Moser and Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Boynton
Oklahoma Sooners head coach Porter Moser and Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Boynton / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Bedlam basketball is back. Even though technically, it never went anywhere.

According to CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will renew their series on Dec. 14, when the Sooners and Cowboys meet at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

Rothstein first reported back on June 10 that new Cowboys coach Steve Lutz told him the series was set to continue but contracts hadn’t yet been signed.

Now it seems, the schools have formally agreed to terms.

“I personally don't think this is the last time we play,” OU coach Porter Moser said in February in the teams' most recent meeting. “I see a world where this great rivalry continues. I don't know when. That is based on a lot of logistical factors. But I see a world where this great rivalry continues.”

OU and OSU have met on the basketball court 250 times since 1908, when they played a home-and-home series in Norman and Stillwater — on the same day. OU holds a 143-107 all-time series edge.

Of those, 137 have been as conference opponents, with OU holding an 81-56 all-time advantage. The last meeting was on Feb. 24, when the Sooners took an 84-82 victory at Lloyd Noble Center.

This year’s game will be the first non-conference matchup since 1956-57, after which the Big 7 expanded to the Big 8 and added Oklahoma A&M from the Missouri Valley Conference.

In games played at neutral sites, OSU leads the series 9-7.

With Oklahoma's migration to the Southeastern Conference this academic year, there has been concern that the series might not be renewed. Leaders at both universities have spoken out repeatedly about the end of the Bedlam football series since news of the Sooners' departure first hit in 2021.

But scheduling non-conference games — especially with an in-state rival — is much easier in basketball than it is in football. So Bedlam basketball was probably never in any danger of ending.

Coaches at both schools in several sports, including baseball and softball, have openly discussed their desire to continue playing the Bedlam series regardless of whether the football teams can find suitable dates or not.

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John E. Hoover

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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