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Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Tristan Freeman

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 08: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts to a lead over the USC Trojans after a timeout with Trae Young
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 08: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts to a lead over the USC Trojans after a timeout with Trae Young /
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Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are both coming off of bad performances this week. Who rebounds to win the rematch of an earlier of this Bedlam battle?

TV schedule: Saturday, Jan. 20, 2:00 p.m. ET. ESPN

Arena: Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma

It turns out that Trae Young of the Sooners is human after all, after playing his worst game of the season in an 87-69 loss to Kansas State. The superstar freshman had just 20 points and six assists (yes folks, I had to say “just” for those numbers), but turned the ball over 12 times as well. The team was scored 23 points less than the season average of 92 ppg.

It’s a bit damaging for Oklahoma 14-3 (2-2), as they not only take a step back in the Big 12 standings but also lost to a team that isn’t projected to be in the NCAA tournament, according to this week’s edition of Busting Bracket’s Bracketology. The Sooners were a two seed coming in but are likely to fall.

They’ll fall even harder if they lose to Oklahoma State 12-6 (2-4). The Cowboys are near the bottom of the league after losing to Baylor, 76-60. There really is only one stat line to focus one concerning this team. Jeffrey Carroll, the team’s primary scorer, had just eight points on 2/12 shooting. If he’s off, the Cowboys chances of winning are nearly zero, considering the difficulty of the conference.

These teams have already played before, with Oklahoma winning in a shootout on January 3, 109-89. Oklahoma State tried hard to keep up, but a near 30 point triple-double effort by Young made that task impossible. Carroll had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Besides Young, Brady Manek of Oklahoma had his best game of the season with a career-high 28 points on 9/11 shooting,  while making six three-pointers.

Next: Where both Bedlam teams rank in latest power rankings

Oklahoma should be the heavy favorite to win this game, as the Cowboys just don’t have the offense or defense for that matter to keep up with them. But with a battle against Kansas looming, this could be a trap game. Because Young and the team are coming off a bad game, I look for them to recover for a big night.

Prediction: Oklahoma 92 – Oklahoma State 78

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