On a night where Oklahoma would let you into the game for free if you dared go out and navigate on the icy roads of Norman, it was the Oklahoma State Cowboys who skated away with an 71-61 victory last night in the 2nd and final Bedlam matchup of the season to sweep the season series.
The Cowboys led wire to wire and were able to take advantage of the fact that the Sooners only scored 5 points in the first 6+ minutes of the game. The Sooners’ offensive struggles are nothing new this season as they are tied for 298th in points per game this season in the NCAA scoring just 68.1 PPG so far this season. However, it was a drastic difference from the last time we saw the Sooners play as they were coming off a game last Saturday where they scored 50 points in the first half in route to blowing out the then #2 team in the country Alabama. The offensive woes continued throughout the first half as Oklahoma State was able to open up a double digit lead with just under 7.5 minutes to go in the 1st half and would not let the Sooners come within 10 points the rest of the game.
Oklahoma State was led in scoring by Kalib Boone and Moussa Cisse who each had 18 points (Cisse’s were off the bench too) as the Cowboys had 4 players in double figures. The Cowboys were also able to out work the Sooners on the offensive glass as they collected 14 offensive rebounds compared to Oklahoma’s 6. Neither team shot the 3 really well (both under 26%) but those extra possessions definitely gave the Cowboys the 2nd chance opportunities that kept the ball away from the Sooners and kept them from getting into a rhythm.
The Sooners leading scorer was Grant Sherfield with 14 points but the Sooners couldn’t get much after that. Milos Uzan was the only other Sooner with double figures as he had 11 as the Sooners shot just 34% from the field. Mix that with the Cowboys ability to dominate the glass (42-32 in total rebounds), things didn’t bode well for Oklahoma as the Sooners lose the 4th of their last 5 games and fall to 2-7 in conference play with their tournament chances slowly starting to dwindle. The Sooners are going to need to get some massive wins down the stretch to keep their hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid alive as 7 of their next 9 games are against ranked teams with 4 of those on the road. They would need to win at least 6 of those last 9 games and also make a deep run in the Big 12 Tournament to stand any chance of making it to the tournament.
Oklahoma State on the other hand, their tournament chances are starting to get a little brighter as they picked up their 4th win in their last 5 games. They now sit at 13-9 on the season and 4-5 in conference play with 9 games to go on their schedule. However, like the Sooners, that schedule is brutal as there are 6 ranked teams ahead with half of those games on the road. The Cowboys do have a little bit of relief though as they do have Texas Tech twice and West Virginia. If the Cowboys can win those 3 games against Tech and WV and manage to win 3 of those 6 games against ranked opponents…that would give them 10 conference wins and would almost guarantee them a spot in the NCAA Tournament as 10 wins in a brutal Big 12 conference should be enough to win over the selection committee. Even winning just 2 against the ranked teams which would put them at 9 conference wins…I think that would still be enough to get them in as long as they don’t lose one of the games to Tech or West Virginia.
Regardless, the book is now closed for the 2022-2023 Bedlam Series (unless they manage to face each other in the Big 12). We’ll see how last night’s game effects both teams down the stretch.
