Cowboys Hosting Bedlam, Remember The Ten Saturday

Saturday, January 20

Stillwater, Okla.

1 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma

January 18, 2018 | Cowboy Basketball

Game Center
Opponent: No. 4/6 Oklahoma (14-3, 4-2 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Jan. 20, 2018 / 1 p.m. Central
Site: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Capacity: 13,611)
Series: OU leads 137-97 (OSU leads 62-45 in Stillwater)
Tickets: okstate.com/tickets or 877-ALL-4-OSU
TV: ESPN (Jason Benetti, Robbie Hummel)
Webcast: ESPN3.com or WatchESPN app
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 81, XM 81 (OSU radio call)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Oklahoma State Game Notes

The Basics
Oklahoma State will host the 235th installment of the Bedlam basketball rivalry on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena, which is currently tied for the 17^th longest running series in college basketball. The game will feature a pair of former Norman North High School teammates squaring off in OSU's Lindy Waters - the key to Oklahoma State's versatile lineup - and OU's Trae Young, who currently leads the nation in scoring and assists. The Cowboys have won their last two home games on the strength of late-game heroics, including a tip-in with eight seconds remaining to top Texas. In fact, OSU has now won four games this season decided by two possessions or less.

On the Air
The Bedlam matchup will air Saturday on ESPN at 1 p.m. Central. Jason Benetti, the TV play-by-play voice of the Chicago White Sox, and former Purdue All-American Robbie Hummel will handle the on-air duties. ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app will carry the webcast. As always, Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb will have the Cowboy Radio Network call.

Cowboy Quick Hitters
• OSU owns a 12-6 record, but those six losses came to teams with a combined 76.4 win percentage. Three of the losses were to teams currently ranked No. 7 or better in the Associated Press poll.
• Tavarius Shine only gets better as the competition level improves. Against OSU's five ranked opponents, Shine has averaged a team-best 14.6 points on 53.1 percent shooting.
• Jeffrey Carroll is now a veteran of 100 career games at OSU. The senior just passed Raymond Crenshaw (1980-84) and is tied with Joe Atkinson (1981-85) for 29th in school history with 1,145 career points.
• OSU ranks seventh nationally in free throw percentage with a clip of 78.2 percent. Every Cowboy with at least 20 attempts on the year is shooting 74 percent or better from the stripe.
• The Cowboys have now won 15 straight home games against unranked opponents, including this year's victories against Texas and Iowa State. The streak dates back to Jan. 18, 2017.

Home Sweet Home
The Cowboys have been tough at home even as the competition ramps up in Big 12 play. In its three home conference games, OSU is 2-1 and is averaging 80.0 points on 47.2 percent shooting as a team. The Cowboys are forcing 8.0 steals (4.7 on the road) and have a +2.3 turnover margin (-2.7 on the road) as well.

Bounce-Back Game
Jeffrey Carroll was held to just eight points at Baylor on Monday. It was just the eighth time in the last two seasons he was held to single digits in scoring. The last seven times he was held under 10 points he responded with monster performances, including six 20-point games in his next outing. In fact, he's averaging 22.9 points on 54.7 percent shooting and 48.7 percent from 3-point in those bounce-back games.

The 500-100-50 Club
Mitchell Solomon is closing in on an exclusive club - Cowboys with 500 rebounds, 100 blocks and a career shooting percentage of 50.0 or better. The senior just grabbed his 500th career rebound, and needs just three more blocks to become the eighth member of the club. Solomon is already shooting 52.1 percent for his Cowboy career. Mike Boynton calls Mitchell Solomon the team's MVP for his leadership, rebounding and hustle plays. Solomon, who ranks second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds at 3.1 per game, is shooting 74.4 percent on 2-point field goal attempts this season, which ranks ninth nationally according to KenPom.

The All-Sport Bedlam 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 overall Bedlam series each of the last four years.

Bedlam Basketball
This is the 235th hardwood meeting between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in a rivalry that dates back to 1908. With rare exception these two programs have met at least twice a year since 1916. OU leads the overall series, 137-97, while Oklahoma State has the edge in Stillwater, 62-45. Oklahoma State won last year's meeting in Stillwater thanks to a Jawun Evans-led comeback effort. Evans scored 16 of his 27 points in the game's final seven minutes to help the Cowboys claw back from a 14-point deficit.

Cowboy Bedlam Sweep
Last season, Oklahoma State swept the home-and-home season series with Oklahoma for the first time since 2004 and for just the fifth time in the last 50 years thanks in large part to Jawun Evans and Phil Forte. Evans, who is now playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, averaged 25.5 points and 6.5 assists in the two matchups against the Sooners last year, which lowered his career averages against OU to 31.0 points and 6.3 assists. Forte added 16.5 points on 41.2 percent shooting from 3-point, including the game-winning 3-pointer in Norman.

Norman North Teammates
Lindy Waters III missed the year's first Bedlam game with an injury, but will square off against his former Norman North High School teammate, Trae Young, for the first time on Saturday. Waters, who plays nearly every position on the floor, is a versatile key to the Cowboy lineup. In last year's meeting in Norman, Waters scored 11 points, including a key 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining that gave OSU a 61-60 lead.

Against Ranked Opponents
OSU picked up the program's 117th victory over a top-25 opponent when it took down No. 19 Florida State on Dec. 16. The Cowboys are currently sitting on 49 all-time wins over top-10 teams. OSU's last top-10 victory came at No. 7/7 West Virginia on Feb. 4, 2017. The Cowboys have 12 all-time wins over ranked Oklahoma teams.