Bedlam basketball rivalry to continue in 2024-2025 season
By Adam Hussman
It looks like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State men's basketball fans will get to see another Bedlam game for at least one more season. On Monday, Oklahoma State's first-year head coach Steve Lutz told CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein that the rivalry is "on track" to be played at the PayCom Center in Oklahoma City.
Steve Lutz tells me that there are no contracts yet, but the annual "BEDLAM" game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is on track to be played at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City in mid-December.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 10, 2024
Even before Lutz's arrival, Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser and former Cowboys' head coach Mike Boynton had shown interest in keeping Bedlam alive on the hardwood. While there is no contract set in stone about future meetings, the two teams are aiming at a mid-December game which would seemingly replace the neutral site non-conference contest that the Sooners played with Arkansas at the BOK Center in Tulsa.
Despite missing out on the NCAA tournament last season, Oklahoma earned bragging rights over the Cowboys by completing the season sweep with a 66-62 win on February 10 and an 84-82 victory in Stillwater on February 24 after Javion McCollum knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime. The Sooners lead the all-time series with a 134-106 record against the Pokes and Oklahoma has won 19 of the last 36 contests.
As the Sooners pivot to the SEC, news like this is another positive step towards keeping the tradition of in-state rivalries intact, especially amongst the chaos of conference realignment and the current climate of collegiate athletics. Time will tell if the other Bedlam sports will follow suit.