Neutral-Site Bedlam Continues to be Bad Idea for Cowboys, Sooners

Oklahoma State is set for a matchup against its biggest rival, but it won’t feel like it.

In the Cowboys’ second season under Steve Lutz, they are off to their best start in nearly two decades and aren’t looking to slow down any time soon. While this weekend’s Bedlam matchup in Oklahoma City certainly has plenty of anticipation, the game being away from campus leaves something to be desired.

Recently, Lutz made it clear that he wants to see more fan support after the Cowboys’ 9-0 start to the season. Beginning with this weekend’s Bedlam matchup, Lutz pleaded with fans to pack Paycom Center and pack Gallagher-Iba Arena moving forward.

While the second piece of that statement is something OSU has been hoping for over the past few years and might finally see happen, the first part is a reminder of the odd situation Cowboy basketball has found itself in. Throughout history, Bedlam basketball has been a fun showcase of the two best college teams Oklahoma has to offer.

With matchups in Norman and Stillwater, there is always a bit of extra juice in the building for those games. Last season was the first time the Sooners and Cowboys matched up as nonconference foes following Oklahoma’s move to the SEC, thrusting the lone game between the teams to Oklahoma City for a neutral-site battle.

It was quite easy to tell that it was a neutral-site game, but it was almost impossible to see that these two teams were rivals of any kind. To say the least, the atmosphere was lacking and was a clear disservice to the fans of both teams who are used to rowdy and fun atmospheres when their rival comes to town.

Of course, there’s a possibility that some of the lack of energy had to do with OSU’s lack of success early last season, which obviously won’t be a problem going into this weekend’s matchup. Yet, that might not help the atmosphere in the arena all that much.

Playing in an arena nearly double the size of Gallagher-Iba isn’t going to help Lutz’s hopes of playing in a rowdy environment when the Cowboys have used curtains throughout this season at home already. Maybe playing the biggest nonconference game of the season would have led to a sellout crowd in Stillwater, but getting that same type of support in Oklahoma City is nearly impossible.

Maybe it makes sense in some capacity to play a neutral-site game against Oklahoma, but as long as the game is in Oklahoma City, calling the matchup a rivalry doesn’t make sense.