University of Oklahoma Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Stillwater, Okla.
3:00 PM
University of Oklahoma
at
Oklahoma State
Photo by: Ty Russell
Bedlam Set for Saturday in Stillwater
February 21, 2020 | Men's Basketball
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Saturday, Feb. 22 / 3 p.m. CT / Stillwater, Okla.
Oklahoma won the first Bedlam battle earlier this month in Norman, but OSU has won three of its five games since then. Senior Cameron McGriff has led the Cowboys during that stretch by averaging 12.0 points and 7.6 rebounds. The Sooners will look to their own star senior in forward Kristian Doolittle, who has posted a trio of double-doubles in his last four games.
ON THE AIR
The Saturday matchup will tip at 3 p.m. CT and air on the Sooner Radio Network (107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App) with Tom Dore and Kevin Henry announcing.ESPN2 will carry the television broadcast with Mark Neely and Chris Spatola on the call. Fans with proper cable verification can stream the game using the Watch ESPN app.
THREE POINTERS
• The Sooners head to Stillwater for the second round of the Phillips 66 Bedlam Series with in-state rival Oklahoma State. The last two matchups at Gallagher-Iba Arena have been must-see TV with epic endings and performances. In 2018, the Cowboys bested the Sooners in overtime despite eventual National Freshman of the Year Trae Young scoring 48 points – the most ever in a Bedlam game, the most ever by visiting player at Gallagher-Iba Arena and tied for the most ever by a Big 12 player. In 2019, the Sooners pulled off the 70-61 victory despite trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half. Jamal Bieniemy scored a career-high 17 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting (3-of-3 from deep).• Junior forward Brady Manek lit up the Lloyd Noble Center in the first Bedlam meeting of 2020 (Feb. 1), scoring 30 points and sinking a career-high seven 3-pointers. Manek was shooting lights out from the start, scoring 17 points (5-of-6 from 3-point range) in the first eight minutes. The junior grew up a Sooners fan in Harrah, Okla., and has always brought his best in Bedlam games. He's averaged 17.5 points in his previous six Bedlam matchups and has finished with at least 15 points in his last three games against OSU (all wins).
• Another Oklahoma native, senior forward Kristian Doolittle will be playing in his final regular-season Bedlam matchup. The lone senior on the Sooner roster, Doolittle enters Saturday's matchup boasting three double-doubles over his last four games. During that four-game stretch, Doolittle is averaging 23.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. Doolittle is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week and earned the honor for a league-best third time this season. Doolittle grew up in Edmond, Okla., and his older brother Kameron was a wide receiver for Oklahoma State's football team.
PHILLIPS 66 BEDLAM SERIES HISTORY
• Oklahoma owns a 140-99 all-time advantage in the series and is 22-11 in Bedlam games since 2006. The Sooners are 12-6 against the Cowboys games under Lon Kruger.• Oklahoma State owns a 64-46 all-time advantage in Bedlam games played in Stillwater, but Oklahoma has won four of the last six meetings at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• A win on Saturday would give Oklahoma its eighth Bedlam sweeps since 2006. Oklahoma State has swept the Sooners just once in that span.
• Oklahoma has won three straight Bedlam meetings.
QUICK HITS
• Saturday's game is the third matchup in the toughest portion of it OU's schedule. In a five game stretch, the Sooners play at No. 3 Kansas, host No. 1 Baylor, travel to Stillwater for Bedlam, play 2019 NCAA Runner-Up Texas Tech in Oklahoma City and face No. 17 West Virginia at WVU Coliseum.• Oklahoma boasts the top scoring trio in the Big 12 and one of the best in the country in senior forward Kristian Doolittle (15.6 points per game), junior forward Brady Manek (15.3) and junior guard Austin Reaves (13.6). All three Sooners rank in the top 11 of the Big 12's scoring race.
• Oklahoma ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring during league games, averaging 67.5 points. Only Texas Tech (70.5) and Kansas (70.4) are scoring more in conference play.
• The Sooners have a trio of players who could go off on any night. Kristian Doolittle (seven), Austin Reaves (five) and Brady Manek (four) all boast at least four games of scoring over 20 points.
• OU boasts a pair of players from Oklahoma who have etched their names into OU's 1,000-point club. Senior forward Kristian Doolittle is the 47th Sooner to score 1,000 points in an OU uniform, eclipsing the milestone in a win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 1. He joins teammate Brady Manek in the premier circle of Sooner scorers with Manek reaching his 1,000 points on Jan. 18 against TCU.
• Brady Manek is one of the league's top 3-point shooter during Big 12 play, making 36 treys (2.8 per game) during conference play - good for second in the Big 12. His shooting success ranks him fifth in the league in scoring during Big 12 play with 15.1 points per game.
• Kristian Doolittle has recorded 27 points and 12 rebounds in two of his last four games. No other Big 12 player has reached those numbers in a game this season while Doolittle has accomplished it twice in a three-game stretch. Blake Griffin is the only other Sooner to ever produce 27 points and 12 rebounds in a Big 12 game.
• Doolittle leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage during league play, sinking 49 of his 58 attempts (84.5%).
• Doolittle has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in seven of his last eight games.
• Sometimes the key to victory is as simple as making shots. The Sooners are 14-1 this season when they have a better field goal percentage than their opponents. Their only loss when owning a better field goal percentage was on the road at No. 1 Baylor.
• The Sooners have shown discipline in keeping their opponents off the charity stripe. Oklahoma commits only 13.0 personal fouls per game – the second fewest in the country. OU opponents are shooting an average of 12.5 foul shots per game, compared to OU's 17.7 free throw attempts.
• OU leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, making 77.4% of its shots from the foul stripe. The Sooners, who shot free throws at a 69.7% rate in 2018-19, rank 13th in the country in 2019-20 (third among major-conference teams).
• The Sooners discipline is on display on the offensive end as well. Oklahoma is turning the ball over just 10.8 times per game, which ranks fourth in the nation among major-conference teams.
• OU is 15-6 when holding its opponents to under 80 points.
• The Sooners are 3-0 in games decided by two or fewer points.
• Oklahoma is 10-1 when it outrebounds its opponent.
DOOLITTLE DOOING LOTS
• The only senior on the Sooner roster, forward Kristian Doolittle continues to show progress in his game throughout his career in Norman. Doolittle is the sixth-leading scorer in the Big 12, averaging 15.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals.• Doolittle became the 47th Sooner to score 1,000 career points in an OU uniform, reaching the milestone on Feb. 1 against Oklahoma State. With 1,104 career points, Doolittle ranks 36th in program history.
• Boasting 750 career rebounds, Doolittle is just the 15th player in OU history to total at least 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in a career with the Sooners.
• The senior went all of last season without a 3-pointer and only attempted four shots from behind the arc. He has made 25 from deep this season.
• Doolittle has earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors three times season – tied with Devon Dotson of Kansas for the most in the league. The senior most recently earned the honor on Feb. 17 after totaling 47 points and 19 rebounds over two games, including a 21-point, 12-rebound performance at Kansas. He was also recognized on Dec. 23 (averaged 16.5 points and 11.5 rebounds) and on Nov. 18 (after totaling 19 points, 16 rebounds and four assists against Oregon State).
UP NEXT: TEXAS TECH IN OKC
• The Sooners will play in their third Oklahoma venue in as many games on Tuesday when they host Texas Tech at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The downtown matchup tips at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.• Tuesday's contest will be the first Big 12 regular-season game played in an NBA arena and OU's first Big 12 home game played away from Lloyd Noble Center. Oklahoma owns a 15-6 record when playing at Chesapeake Energy Arena and is 6-1 in the building during the Lon Kruger era. This is the first season OU is playing multiple home games at The Peake, knocking off Mississippi State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge last month.
• Oklahoma owns a 39-27 lead in the all-time series with the Red Raiders.
• The Sooners are 9-8 against Tech in the Lon Kruger era. Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard, in his fourth season in Lubbock, is 5-2 against the Sooners while coaching the Raiders.
• The home team has won eight of the last nine meetings.
Players Mentioned
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