Bedlam Gives Cowboy Basketball Chance to Show Progress Since Last Season
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Oklahoma State has been one of the hottest teams in the country to begin the season, and this weekend will be its biggest test yet.
On Saturday, OSU will be in Oklahoma City for a Bedlam matchup against Oklahoma. In the only regular season meeting between the Cowboys and Sooners this season, Steve Lutz’s crew will be looking to make a statement after such a hot start to the year.
Sitting at 9-0 as one of the only remaining unbeatens in the nation, the Cowboys are likely just a win against the Sooners away from finally cracking the top 25 after securing 54 votes last week, putting them as the second team out. Of course, it won’t necessarily be easy for OSU to stroll into Paycom Center and a take a game off the Sooners.
While OSU has certainly had a more impressive start to the season than its in-state rival, the Sooners aren’t simply a pushover team. At 6-3 to begin the year, Porter Moser’s squad has suffered losses to Gonzaga, Nebraska and Arizona State.
While Oklahoma has seen some games not go its way, it’s also secured some wins against solid competition, beating Wake Forest and Marquette. Going into this matchup, Lutz and company understand that this game is about much more than getting another regular season win.
When the Sooners bolted for the SEC before last season, there was uncertainty about the future of this matchup. Now, with the teams seemingly content with a neutral-site matchup in Oklahoma City, this will be the second edition of this game in the Paycom Center, with the Sooners winning easily in last year’s battle.
Of course, there aren’t many players still around on either side from the Bedlam matchup in December 2024. While there won’t be any real revenge factor on the court, this game will be a perfect way for OSU to show how far its come in such a short period of time.
Lutz had all offseason to craft his ideal roster, and it’s already leading to some solid results on the floor. It’ll be hard for OSU to simply dominate in a game like this, but the numbers certainly point to the Cowboys having an edge.
The Cowboys have already had some statement wins this season, particularly against Texas A&M and South Florida, but Bedlam this weekend would certainly become the signature win of Lutz’s tenure and likely vault OSU into the top 25 for the first time under his watch.
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.