Round Two Of Bedlam Hoops Tips Off Wednesday In Norman

Wednesday, February 24

Norman, OK

8 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma

February 22, 2016 | Cowboy Basketball

Game Center
Opponent: Oklahoma (21-5, 9-5 Big 12)
Date/Tipoff: Feb. 24, 2016 / 8 p.m. Central
Tickets: soonersports.com
TV: ESPNU (Clay Matvick & Tim Welsh)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 & XM 84 (OU Broadcast)
Internet Radio: http://okla.st/osutunein
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes

The Basics
• Oklahoma State (12-15, 3-11 Big 12) heads to Norman looking to earn a split in the Bedlam season series and pick up its first win in the Lloyd Noble Center since 2004. No. 3/4 Oklahoma (21-5, 9-5 Big 12) is two games behind Kansas for the Big 12 lead, and will field the front runner for the Naismith National Player of the Year award in senior guard Buddy Hield.

On the Air
• ESPNU will carry the matchup between the Cowboys and Sooners with Clay Matvick and Tim Welsh on the call. As always, the game can be heard on the Cowboy Radio Network with Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb. Sirius channel 84 and XM channel 84 will carry the Oklahoma call.

Oklahoma State Snapshot
• Despite an ankle injury, point guard Tyree Griffin has been off the charts of late. The sophomore has posted 20 assists to just three turnovers over the last two games, including a 12-assist performance against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse that was just one dime shy of the KU opponent record set by D.J. Augustin. He followed that up with eight assists and zero turnovers against Texas Tech on Saturday. Griffin is now averaging 4.33 assists per game in league play, which ranks fourth in the Big 12.
• Jeff Newberry can affect the game in many ways, and is at his best when he's filling up the stat sheet. With two double-doubles, the senior is the first OSU player under 6-foot-2 with multiple points/rebounds double-doubles since Maurice Baker in 2001. The defensive glue guy for the Cowboys, Newberry is averaging 1.93 steals per Big 12 game, which ranks third in the league.
• Travis Ford has jokingly said he is coaching his third or fourth different Cowboy team this season, but there's a lot of truth to that. After losing three starters from last year's team, Ford and the staff spent the offseason molding the squad around senior captain Phil Forte. OSU lost Forte to a left elbow injury in the third game of the season, and OSU spent the next month redefining itself. Point guard Jawun Evans emerged as one of the nation's top freshmen, but an injury to his right shoulder on Feb. 3 had Ford once again going to the drawing board.
• The Cowboys field a solid defensive unit that ranks third the Big 12 in both field goal percentage defense at 40.6 percent and scoring defense at 67.1 points per game allowed. OSU has held three of its last six opponents under 40 percent shooting, and four of its last six opponents to 23 points or less in the first half. The Cowboys have held their Big 12 opponents to 70.5 points and 43.2 percent shooting, which ranks third and fourth in the conference, respectively.
• Leyton Hammonds' game has evolved tremendously since his arrival in Stillwater in 2013. Primarily a spot shooter in his first two seasons, the junior has molded himself into a stretch forward with the ability to drive or pull up with a formidable 12-foot jumper. Hammonds has reached double figures 13 times this year, including seven of the last eight games.
• The Cowboys have put themselves in position to win nearly every Big 12 game this season. Five of OSU's 11 league losses have been by five points or less. OSU was tied with both No. 13 Iowa State and No. 17 Baylor inside the final two minutes, and fell to Texas Tech on the last shot of overtime. The potential game-winning 3-pointer rimmed out for the Cowboys against No. 2 Oklahoma, while a furious second half rally whittled Texas' lead to just three points with 14 seconds on the clock. The Feb. 8 loss at TCU was a two-possession ballgame inside the last two minutes.

Oklahoma Snapshot
• The Sooners snapped their two-game losing streak by handing No. 10 West Virginia a lopsided 76-62 loss in Morgantown, W. Va. Buddy Hield led all scorers with 29 points, which was more than the entire Mountaineer starting lineup combined (25 points). OU turned the ball over just nine times against the WVU "Press Virginia" defense.
• OU's Buddy Hield is the front-runner for the Naismith College Player of the Year award. The senior leads the Big 12 with a scoring average of 25.4 points per game, which ranks second in the country. He also ranks second in the nation with a 3-point clip of 48.7 percent. In the first Bedlam matchup on Jan. 12, Hield scored 26 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
• Thanks in large part to Hield, Oklahoma has the nation's top 3-point attack. As a team, the Sooners lead the country with a mark of 43.1 percent from 3-point, and their 10.6 makes per game from deep ranks fourth. Hield leads the NCAA with 4.2 three-pointers per game.

Inside the Oklahoma Series
• Oklahoma State and Oklahoma compete yearly in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma Bedlam Series, an all-sports competition between the two schools, which are separated by only 80 miles along Interstate 35. The series champion is decided by wins and losses in head to head competition. In sports where there is no head to head matchup, the Big 12 Championship final standings are used. Oklahoma State has won the Bedlam series each of the last two years.
• The Sooners lead the overall series, 135-95, including an 82-26 edge in Norman. In fact, The Sooners have won 11 straight against OSU in the Lloyd Noble Center. OSU's last win in Norman came on Feb. 16, 2004, when the No. 7 Cowboys took down an unranked OU squad, 65-52. That OSU team would win the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and advance to the Final Four.
• OU's six game win streak in the Bedlam Series is tied for the sixth longest win streak by either team in the history of the rivalry, and tied for the fifth longest by the Sooners. It is the longest win streak in the series since the Sooners won 10 straight from 1982-1986. OU's longest win streak in the rivalry was 14 straight from 1917-1921. OSU longest win streak over the Sooners was eight straight from 1943-1947.
• Oklahoma State has the edge in Stillwater, 61-45, including a 51-27 mark inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• This OSU team is looking to become the first unranked Cowboy squad to beat a ranked OU team in Norman. Ranked Sooners teams are 11-0 at home against unranked OSU teams.