Bedlam Basketball: Cowboys Aim For Series Sweep, Sooners Far From Tanking

Bedlam Round 1 went to Oklahoma State after Phil Forte hit the go-ahead three with 11 seconds to play, stunning the Sooners in Norman. Round 2 tips off at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

After starting 0-6 to start conference play, Oklahoma State (17-9, 6-7) has won seven-of-eight to put Brad Underwood’s team squarely in the NCAA Tournament conversation. The Cowboys won at TCU on Wednesday, 71-68, behind Jawun Evans 16-point, 12-assist double-double. Leyton Hammonds scored a season-high 21 and Jeffrey Carroll added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Pokes.

OU’s season has been going downhill since mid-December but it bottomed out last weekend when senior guard Jordan Woodard suffered a torn ACL in his right knee that ended his season and Sooner career. However, the Sooners (9-16, 3-10) responded with a 70-66 win against Texas on Tuesday and secured the commitment of five-star Norman North guard Trae Young on Thursday.

Standout freshman Kameron McGusty has scored in double figures in 13-straight games for Lon Kruger’s squad and sophomore Jamuni McNeace had his best game in a Sooner uniform with 14 points and 14 rebounds against the Longhorns.

OU will need big contributions from those two to keep pace with the Pokes. OSU leads the Big 12 in scoring at 85.8 points per game. Evans (17.9 ppg) and Carroll (17.5 ppg) are the second and third-leading scorers in the conference with Phil Forte (13.5 ppg) coming in 12th.

Beside the Cowboys’ Big 3, sophomore Davon Dillard has burst onto the scene in Stillwater lately. Over the last eight games, Dillard is averaging 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and has made an appearance on SportsCenter’s Top 10 three times.

A win for OSU keeps the Cowboys’ Tournament hopes alive and gives them a season-sweep over rival Oklahoma. A win for the OU keeps the Sooners’ hot streak alive and gives fans even more hope for next season, when Trae Young joins a promising young team looking to put 2016-17 in the rear-view mirror.