Oklahoma extended win streaks in men's and women's basketball over rival Oklahoma State on Saturday, sweeping a Bedlam doubleheader at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The Sooner men (7-3) got things started for the Crimson and Cream with an 85-76 win over their rivals from Stillwater. The victory snapped a nine-game winning streak to start the season by Oklahoma State.
The Oklahoma women followed suit in the second half of the twin bill, shutting down the high-scoring Cowgirls offense on the way to a 92-70 victory and a 10th straight win for the Sooners (11-1). The 10-game win streak is the second-longest in program history.
Oklahoma led by 5-7 points for most of the first half in the men's Bedlam contest and was up by nine in the early minutes of the second half, but Oklahoma State battled back and took its first lead since the 10:31 mark in the opening half, 51-50, eight minutes into the final 20 minutes. The Sooners, however, responded, with a 12-5 run to go up 62-56 and never trailed from there.
St. Joseph's transfer Xzayvier Brown led the way for the OU men with a season-high-tying 21 points, and Miami transfer Nijel Pack contributed 18 as the Sooners won for the fourth straight time against their Bedlam rival.
In the second game of the day, the OU women exploded with a 30-19 advantage in the third quarter, adding to a five-point halftime advantage, to go up 72-56 entering the fourth quarter. The Sooner advantage never fell below double digits the rest of the way. Raegan Beers led the scoring for Oklahoma with 22 points, one of five Sooners in double figures in a balanced scoring attack.
The win was the Sooners' seventh consecutive win over Oklahoma State, all under head coach Jennie Baranczyk. It also was the Sooners' first win this season over a top-25 opponent.
Next up for the Oklahoma men is a home game with Kansas City on Tuesday. It will be the Sooners' first game at Lloyd Noble Center since defeating Alcorn State on Nov. 23. The Sooner women have this week off, returning to action a week from Monday on Dec. 22, hosting North Carolina Central at the LNC.
5 takeaways from the Sooners' Bedlam doubleheader sweep
Xzayvier Brown breaks out of a 3-point shooting slump for Sooner men
Xzayvier Brown led the Sooners in scoring with his second 21-point effort of the season in the win over Oklahoma State. The St. Joseph's transfer hit three of his five 3-point attempts after going 0-for 14 from 3-point range in his last three games.
Sooners plus-10 rebounding margin over good OSU rebounding group
Coming into the game, Oklahoma State ranked as one of the top two rebounding teams in the Big 12, but the Sooner men dominated the boards in Saturday's game. OU pulled down 46 total rebounds (to 36 for the Cowboys), including 11 offensive rebounds leading to 13 second-chance points.
OU's Nijel Pack drains at least four 3-pointers for 7th time in 10 games
As he has all season, Nijel Pack hit several critical 3-point shots in Saturday's Bedlam win by the OU men. Pack scored 18 points, with 12 of those coming on 3-pointers. The Miami transfer has scored in double figures in nine of the 10 games he's played in this season, and he has had at least four 3-pointers in seven of the 10.
OU women hold rival Cowgirls 24 points below season scoring average
The Oklahoma State women came into the game on Saturday averaging 96.4 points per game, second-best in the country, and the seventh-best field-goal shooting percentage (52.1). Instead, it was the Sooners who reached their average in the scoring column while holding the Cowgirls to 70 points and just 37.8% shooting from the floor.
Turnovers prove costly for Oklahoma State women
Oklahoma forced 22 OSU turnovers. More importantly, those 22 Cowgirls' TOs led to 27 Sooner points.