Oklahoma Looking for Emotional Boost in Bedlam Battle

Losers of six of their last seven, the Sooners head to Stillwater for a must-win contest against Oklahoma State.

Typically with rivalry games, the matchup invokes the old moniker to “throw the records out the window.”

On Saturday, both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State likely wish they could toss their record aside, as things haven’t quite gone to plan.

After a promising non-conference slate, the Oklahoma Sooners have dropped six of their last seven, falling to 13-9 on the year and 3-6 in Big 12 play.

The Cowboys had their season goals ripped away when the NCAA handed down a puzzling ruling banning OSU from the postseason, and Oklahoma State has stumbled to a 10-11 (3-6) record as a result.

But in an emotionally charged Bedlam bout, the victor could get the emotional boost needed to propel them to a strong second half of the conference slate.

“I’m excited there’s a rivalry,” OU head coach Porter Moser said during a Zoom press conference on Friday. “It means a lot to the fan base and the state. The guys know it.

“… We are spending a lot of time focusing on the things we need to do better, but make no mistake: both programs know that it’s a rivalry game and I’m looking forward to being a part of it.”

The contest in Stillwater is a winnable contest for the Sooners, but they’ll have to shore up the rebounding issues which ultimately sunk Oklahoma on Monday night against TCU.

The Horned Frogs outrebounded OU 42-20, exploiting a size advantage inside to dominate the boards.

On Saturday, the Sooners will have to find a way to hang around in the rebounding battle if they hope to escape Gallagher-Iba Arena with a victory.

“It’s got to be a shared responsibility,” Moser said. “You just don’t look at your post players. It has to be everybody. Guards have to rebound down.

“… I know there’s times in this league when physically other teams are bigger, longer and more athletic, but it doesn’t mean you can’t box out, release and go get it. We’ve done it. But we didn’t do it the other night. We sure as heck have to do it against Oklahoma State. They are an elite offensive rebounding team.”

If OU can hang tough on the boards, the Sooners will have opportunities to exploit Oklahoma State’s lackluster offense.

The Cowboys are knocking down 43.3 percent of their field goals this season, which ranks No. 214 in the country. On the other end of the floor, Oklahoma has continued to shoot the ball well despite struggling to post victories.

The Sooners are the 15th most efficient offense in the nation, knocking down 48.5 percent of attempts from the field.

Despite the January struggles, Moser said the team hasn’t gotten discouraged, and that his players are still laser focused on running the offense and continuing to fight to chase their NCAA tournament dreams.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” Moser said. “We have a lot of work to do, but man there’s so much to play for.

“… When you focus on that process, there’s no time to get down and sad. You’ve got to get past all that. And you’ve got to get focused on what we’re chasing. And we’re chasing our best selves, we’re chasing an NCAA Tournament berth, we’re chasing to move up in the conference standings. We’re chasing all of that, and there’s a lot to play for.”

Oklahoma’s next chance to get back on the winning side of things will come at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. The Sooners and the Cowboys will meet in the 243rd edition of Bedlam in Stillwater, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

“I think just because it's a Bedlam game, a rivalry, we're all going to come out and play hard,” freshman guard Bijan Cortes said. “That's just what's expected for us. I think to bounce back we can really take this game as something to feed off of and keep going after this game."

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