Oklahoma basketball: Sooners head into Bedlam needing offensive consistency

When the men’s Oklahoma basketball team hits the hardwood on Saturday for Bedlam against Oklahoma State it will feature a rivalry clash of two teams headed in the wrong direction.

The slumping Sooners (13-9, 3-6) have lost six of their last seven games, while their in-state rivals are mired in a four-game losing streak.

OU is coming off a disappointing 71-62 home loss to TCU, while Oklahoma State (10-11, 3-6) suffered a three-point loss at Kansas State on Wednesday on a last-second, three-point bombshell. Three of the Cowboys’ four losses have been by a combined 11 points.

Oklahoma leads the overall series with Oklahoma State 140-102, but the Sooners have lost the last three games with the Cowboys and are just 4-6 in their last 10 visits to Stillwater.

In addition to state bragging rights, both teams are overdue for a win. The Sooners and Cowboys are in a four-way tie for sixth place in the Big 12 standings, just a half-game out of last place. The loser on Saturday could find itself in a two-way tie with West Virginia at the bottom of the league standings.

The game is scheduled for an early tip, 11 a.m. on Saturday, and will be televised on ESPN2.

What you need to know about 2022 Bedlam Round I

• Oklahoma averages 70.4 points a game and ranks second in the Big 12 with a 48.5 shooting percentage. In their last seven games, however, the Sooners are averaging just 60.1 points a game while allowing 68.1 per game to their opponents.
• Tanner Groves, the Sooners’ leading scorer at 12.7 points per game has found Big 12 defenses to be much better than they were at Eastern Washington. The OU big man averaged nearly 18 points a game through the first five games this season but has struggled on the offensive end during the Sooners’ recent tailspin. Oklahoma needs more production from Groves if the Sooners are going to get back to their winning ways.
• Oklahoma State is not a particularly good shooting team, but the Cowboys do defend well, holding opponents to a 40.2 shooting percentage, which allows them stay close in most games.
• The Cowboys have only two starters who average at least 11.0 points a game: Avery Johnson leads the team with an 11.0 average, and Kansas transfer Bryce Thompson averages 10.5 points a game.
• Moussa Cisse is OSU’s best rebounder (5.6 per game) and leads the Big 12 with 34 blocked shots.
• The Cowboys are ball hawks, ranking 11th in the country in total steals (202) and steals per game (9.6).

Prediction

This is a rivalry game, which means that you can’t rely on records and recent performance to reliably pick the outcome. The one thing you can count on, however, is that both teams will be hungry for a win. Iba-Gallagher Arena in Stillwater has always been difficult place for visiting teams, and that includes the rival Sooners.

Oklahoma’s recent woes, triggered mostly by the scoring droughts they frequently lapse into and their season-long problem with turnovers, makes it difficult for me to believe the Sooners are going to get it all turned around on the road at Oklahoma State.

I do believe the winning margin will be mid-single digits. I’m going to go out on a limb and let my heart rule over my head. Oklahoma comes from behind in the second half and the Sooners win by 4+ points.