Paycom Center hosts Bedlam: Can OU crash OSU’s perfect season?
For the 251st time in one of college basketball’s most storied rivalries, the Oklahoma Sooners (6-3) and Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-0) will renew the Bedlam Series on Saturday at noon CT inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The men’s showdown serves as the opener of a rare Bedlam doubleheader, with the No. 9-ranked OU women’s team taking on No. 23 Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. that same afternoon.
The men’s game will be broadcast nationally on FOX, with Aaron Goldsmith handling play-by-play duties alongside analyst Casey Jacobsen. Radio coverage can be found on the Sooner Sports Radio Network, flagshipped by KRXO 107.7 FM “The Franchise” in Oklahoma City and KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa, as well as the Varsity Radio App, where Toby Rowland and former Sooner Kevin Henry will be on the call.
While the rivalry has lost its annual Big 12 Conference flavor with Oklahoma’s move to the Southeastern Conference, the passion remains unchanged.
The Sooners hold a 144-106 all-time advantage in the series and have won the last three meetings, including a commanding 80-65 victory in the same building last December.
Over the past two decades (since the 2005-06 season), OU is 26-18 in the last 44 Bedlam contests. During their 28 seasons as Big 12 co-members (1996-97 through 2023-24), Oklahoma posted a respectable 33-29 record against the Cowboys.
Paycom Center has been a house of dominance for the Crimson and Cream. Since the arena opened for basketball in the 2002-03 season (previously known as Ford Center and Chesapeake Energy Arena), the Sooners are 15-6 inside the building and have won six of their last seven games there. Oklahoma is even 4-0 in NCAA Tournament games at the venue.
Against Oklahoma State specifically at Paycom, OU is 1-1, dropping a heart-breaking 71-70 decision in the 2009 Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals before cruising to last year’s 25-point win.
This marks the fifth all-time Bedlam men’s game in Oklahoma City (each school has two wins) and the first time the rivalry has been held in consecutive seasons at the downtown arena.
Overall in neutral-site meetings, the Sooners are 8-9 against the Cowboys, with every one of those 17 contests taking place in either OKC or Kansas City, Mo.
Saturday’s tilt represents Oklahoma’s fourth consecutive game against a power-conference opponent away from Norman and its second straight contest inside an NBA facility, following last weekend’s matchup against Arizona State at the Phoenix Suns’ home arena.
Under fifth-year head coach Porter Moser, the Sooners have been nearly unbeatable in regular-season non-conference play, posting a remarkable 51-10 (.836) record. OU has won 21 of its last 24 and 34 of its last 38 non-conference games outside league play, including a perfect 13-0 mark a season ago.
Meanwhile, Steve Lutz’s Cowboys enter undefeated at 9-0 – one of just eight remaining unbeatens in Division I – despite having played seven home games and only two on neutral floors.
After guiding Oklahoma State to an NIT quarterfinal appearance in his debut season, Lutz owns an impressive résumé, having led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Western Kentucky to three straight NCAA Tournament berths before arriving in Stillwater.
Recapping Last Year’s Dominance at Paycom Center
The Sooners left no doubt in last season’s Bedlam clash in Oklahoma City, racing to a 43-26 halftime lead and pushing the margin to as many as 27 points in an 80-65 rout.
Senior center Sam Godwin erupted for a career-high 20 points and 14 rebounds on 10-of-14 shooting, while freshman sensation Jeremiah Fears added 17 points and five assists, and guard Kobe Elvis knocked down five triples en route to 15 points.
OU’s starters outscored OSU’s first unit 73-23, and the Sooners dominated the paint (42-26) and points off turnovers (21-9).
Sooners' Offense Shines Early in 2025-26
Oklahoma has already eclipsed 95 points four times in nine games – compared to just twice in 34 contests last season – and has outscored eight of nine opponents after halftime by an average of +9.8 points in the second half.
During the current four-game winning streak, the Sooners have forced opponents into 62-18 disadvantage in points off turnovers while committing a microscopic 30 turnovers themselves (7.5 per game), the fewest in any four-game stretch for an OU team in at least three decades.
Sixth-year guard Nijel Pack continues to fill it up from deep, ranking fourth nationally with 3.9 made 3-pointers per game and second in the SEC at a sizzling 48.6% from beyond the arc.
Pack has drained at least three triples in six straight games, a feat last accomplished at Oklahoma by Buddy Hield during the 2015-16 Final Four season. The veteran guard ranks second among active players with 348 career 3-pointers and third with 1,900 points.
Forward Tae Davis has been a second-half monster, averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and shooting 14-of-18 from the floor across wins over Marquette and Wake Forest – including an 11-of-12 second-half clinic.
Davis leads the SEC with 3.6 offensive rebounds per game and recently surpassed 1,000 career points.
Freshman standout Derrion Reid has posted three of his four highest career scoring outputs in the last four games, while center Mohamed Wague is shooting a team-best 64.1% and posting career highs in multiple categories.
Off the bench, sixth-year transfer Jadon Jones – the 2021-22 Big West Defensive Player of the Year – has provided an instant spark, averaging 7.6 points in just 17.3 minutes across his five appearances after missing all of last season with injury.
Looking Ahead
Following Saturday’s Bedlam battle, Oklahoma returns home to host Kansas City on Tuesday, December 16 at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network, kicking off a three-game homestand that will close non-conference play.
When SEC action arrives, the Sooners will welcome a murderers’ row to Lloyd Noble Center: every one of the nine league visitors made last year’s NCAA Tournament, including national champion Florida, Final Four participant Auburn, and Elite Eight squad Alabama.
For the 251st chapter of Bedlam, expect the intensity of old with the fresh stakes of two programs heading in opposite directions – one undefeated and hungry, the other battle-tested and trending upward under Moser’s guidance.
Tip-off is set for noon CT on Saturday – another classic Oklahoma rivalry showdown awaits.