Best of Bedlam men's basketball in Big 12 era: Top OU, OSU players, games
The Sooners and Cowboys will tip off at 3 p.m. Saturday in Stillwater in their final regular-season game as conference foes.
The men’s basketball Bedlam series might not be over, but the Big 12 version of the series is closing with OU’s move to the SEC.
OU coach Porter Moser didn’t rule out the series being revived.
“I think why not? It’s meant a lot to the state and it’s been a rivalry,” Moser said earlier this season. “There will be a lot of things semantic-wise to get done. But why not for the future? I think it’s something I’m not against.”
OU entered Saturday 32-29 against the Cowboys in the Big 12, which began play during the 1996-97 season.
We looked back at the top-10 games of the Big 12 Bedlam era and picked our All-OU and All-OSU Bedlam teams based only on performance in the rivalry series.
More: How OU basketball aimed to 'get fresh' in week off leading into Bedlam vs. Oklahoma State
The Sooners’ lineup
F/C Blake Griffin (2007-09): Griffin is deserving of a spot despite only playing in four Bedlams in his two seasons at OU. The numbers are gaudy. Griffin went 3-1 against the Cowboys, averaging 22.8 points and 14.0 rebounds per game. He shot a ridiculous 77% in those games. One of his six career 30-point games came against the Cowboys.
F Ryan Spangler (2012-16): The former Bridge Creek standout spent a year at Gonzaga before transferring to OU. Spangler scored more points against OSU (88, 12.6 per game) than he did against any other opponent. Spangler averaged 8.8 rebounds per game in his Sooner career, but that number exploded to 12.4 per game when he played OSU.
F Brady Manek (2017-21): The sharpshooting forward from Harrah played in nine games against the Cowboys, averaging 15 points and 4.7 rebounds. He shot 49% in Bedlam games, including 43% (26-of-60) from 3-point range. Manek had a 30-point game against the Cowboys in February 2020.
G Buddy Hield (2012-16): Hield’s career shooting splits against the Cowboys: 50% from the field, 47% from 3-point range and 86% from the foul line. Hield averaged 19.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game against OSU. He eclipsed the 20-point mark in half of his eight Bedlam games.
G Steven Pledger (2009-13): Pledger was a 3-point sniper, shooting 44% (21 of 48) from deep in nine games against the Cowboys. Pledger probably isn’t who you expected to see here, but bigger name guards like Hollis Price and Trae Young either didn’t play well in Bedlam or didn’t play long enough. Pledger averaged 11.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game against the Cowboys, but it’s his 3-point shooting that lands him on the All-Bedlam team.
More: How Jamyron Keller became Oklahoma State basketball's 'junkyard dog' thanks to his mother
The Cowboys’ lineup
F/C Ivan McFarlin (2001-05): McFarlin was a do-it-all big man, playing both power forward and center for the Cowboys. One of the most consistently productive players in the history of the Bedlam series, McFarlin averaged 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds in eight games against the Sooners.
F Cameron McGriff (2016-20): Something about Bedlam brought out the best in McGriff. He averaged 9.2 points on 43% shooting, including 31% 3-point shooting, in his career. But in nine games against OU, McGriff averaged a slightly higher 10.3 points on 44% shooting, including 39% (11-of-28) from 3-point range. McGriff tied his career high with 28 points in his last Bedlam game.
F Le’Bryan Nash (2011-15): Nash’s 146 career points against OU are the most of any Cowboy in the last 15 seasons. Nash averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds in nine Bedlam games. Although it came in a loss, Nash had a 27-point, 12-rebound game against the Sooners in the 2015 conference tournament.
G Byron Eaton (2005-09): Eaton, the half-brother of Nash, averaged 15.0 points and 6.2 assists in his six games against the Sooners. Compare that to career averages of 10.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. His last Bedlam game was a second-round win against OU in the 2009 Big 12 Tournament. Eaton had 16 points, seven assists and only one turnover in the Cowboys’ win.
G Phil Forte (2013-17): Forte made 22 3-pointers against the Sooners in his career, none bigger than his game-winning triple in Norman in 2017. Forte averaged 13.3 points in nine Bedlam games, shooting 37.7% from 3-point range on 6.6 attempts per game.
More: Bedlam women's basketball: Who are top Cowgirls, Sooners from series in Big 12 era?
Top games
Jan. 13, 2003: No. 24 OSU 48, No. 5 OU 46
A top 25 Bedlam matchup seems foreign today.
Just over 21 years ago, Bedlam ensued in Stillwater in 2003 when Victor Williams' game-winner with 3.6 seconds left propelled the Cowboys to victory.
However, OU coach Kelvin Sampson and the Sooners argued the ball was still in Williams’ hands when the shot clock expired and replays seemingly backed up OU’s argument. At the time, shot-clock situations weren’t reviewable, a rule the NCAA changed in 2020.
Feb. 7, 2006: No. 19 OU 67, OSU 66
Another Bedlam with a controversial ending.
However, this time the Sooners came away with the win in Norman after three lead changes in the final 10 seconds of play. OSU’s Byron Eaton was whistled for colliding with Terrell Everett away from the basket with 0.6 seconds to play.
Everett, who wasn’t attempting a shot, drilled two free throws to end the game.
Jan. 27, 1997: OSU 73, OU 72 OT
The first Bedlam basketball contest in the Big 12 conference was an exciting one.
The Sooners’ Nate Erdmann dropped 29 points in an overtime thriller, but it wasn’t enough as the Cowboys edged out the victory in Stillwater. One of only three Eddie Sutton-led OSU teams to miss out on the NCAA Tournament, his team always played up for Bedlam.
"I don't know who named this thing Bedlam," Sampson said later that season, "but that's really what it is."
Feb. 27, 2021: OSU 94, No. 7 OU 90 (OT)
Cade Cunningham’s best collegiate performance came during Bedlam.
The Cowboys’ star, who went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, dropped 40 points and grabbed 11 rebounds inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. Besides Cunningham’s performance, the game was as exciting as it gets as OU led an 11-0 run into halftime before OSU stormed back to force overtime.
There was plenty of talent on display as two other current NBA players played in the game, OU’s Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers) and Alondes Williams (Miami Heat).
Jan. 20, 2018: OSU 83, No. 4 OU 81 OT
The game that cemented Trae Young as a superstar.
The current Atlanta Hawks guard scored a career-high 48 points — including 34 in the first half — and dished seven assists against the Sooners’ in-state rival OSU, putting on a show at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
While OU fans will forever remember the spectacle that was Young, Cowboys fans will remember it as the day Mitchell Solomon and OSU spoiled his party.
March 12, 2009: OSU 71, No. 7 OU 70
Entering this quarterfinal contest during the Big 12 tournament, Blake Griffin and the Sooners were fighting to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
They had to go through a rival on a neutral court first.
Griffin finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds for OU but fouled James Anderson while fighting for a rebound in the final seconds. Anderson knocked down the game-winning free throws, sending the Sooners home earlier than most expected from the tournament.
March 5, 1999: OSU 60, OU 57
The Sooners and Cowboys met in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City for the first time and it didn’t disappoint.
OSU’s Glendon Alexander torched OU, drilling six 3s and finishing with 22 points.
Despite losing, Sampson led his Sooners to the Sweet Sixteen.
Feb. 26, 2022: OU 66, OSU 62 OT
While Bedlam basketball has been underwhelming the last few years, this game was the exception.
Despite Avery Anderson’s 25 points, Moser’s squad played stifling defense from the tip to jump out to a big lead. An Isaac Likekele dunk with 7.9 seconds left tied the game and sent it to overtime.
Tanner Groves led the way for the Sooners in Norman with 14 points and sent the Cowboys packing with two clutch free throws in overtime.
Jan. 13, 2016: No. 2 OU 74, OSU 72
Jawun Evans dropped 42 points for the Cowboys but Jeffrey Carroll missed a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer, giving OU the win.
Buddy Hield finished with 26 for the Sooners in Stillwater.
OU went on to make it to the Final Four.
Feb. 15, 2014: OU 77, OSU 74
Another close win for Hield’s Sooners in Stillwater.
OSU’s Markel Brown missed a 3 at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. The Cowboys were without Marcus Smart, who was suspended for three games after shoving a Texas Tech fan.
Hield finished with 22 points.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Best of Bedlam men's basketball in Big 12 era: OU, OSU players, games
