OSU Basketball: Lindy Waters III 'Salty' About 2018 NCAA Tournament Snub
Bedlam runs deep in Oklahoma, and it doesn't stop after players move on to the professional level.
With Oklahoma’s move to the SEC, the in-state rivalry is coming to a pause in many sports. Although the matchups might not occur again soon, Oklahoma State has had no shortage of battles in recent years on the court.
Former Cowboy Lindy Waters III is among those who have played in numerous Bedlam games over the years. However, one season of Bedlam battles sticks out.
On Trae Young’s podcast From the Point, Waters talked with his Norman North teammate and former OU point guard about their matchups in the 2017-18 season.
“Ever Bedlam we played, man, the place was always rocking,” Waters said.”Playing Kansas, the Big 12 was just a tough conference.”
Playing in such a tough conference could also make wins hard to come by for OSU. In 2018, OSU went 8-10 in Big 12 play and narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament, which is something Waters has not forgotten.
“I was a little salty my sophomore year when we had a great resume, and then they put [OU] in there in the tournament, and we was so hurt,” Waters said. “They were like, ‘You guys can go play as the 1-seed in the NIT’, and we were like, ‘We don’t wanna do that.’”
The Cowboys and Sooners matched up three times that season, with OSU taking two games. The most notable contest came in Stillwater. Despite Young’s 48 points to set a new Bedlam record, OSU survived to win 83-81 in overtime.
OU took the game in Norman, but OSU won the final matchup in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. With both teams on the bubble, doubts began to set in for the Sooners.
“Just them beating us in the tournament, it was like, ‘cause we were right there in the seeds,” Young said. “I know, I feel bad, but I don’t.”
OU made the NCAA Tournament with Young that season, losing to Providence in the first round. Meanwhile, OSU was one of the first teams out and would not make the tournament again until Waters had graduated.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.