Top Quotes from Steve Lutz’s Pre-Bedlam Media Availability

Oklahoma State will face Oklahoma at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Saturday night in the first interconference Bedlam game in nearly 70 years.

Steve Lutz met with media members on Thursday to preview what will also be his first foray into the in-state rivalry. Here are three things he had to say about the upcoming matchup.

On Facing the Sooners

Lutz and his Cowboys are riding a two-game winning streak into Saturday’s neutral court Bedlam matchup, having topped Tulsa and at Seton Hall in back-to-back games. OSU led by as many as 26 and 25, respectively, in each second half. But in OKC, they’ll face the 9-0 Sooners which are ranked No. 13 in the country.

“Oklahoma has a very good basketball team, obviously,” Lutz said. “They’re 9-0, the longest win streak in the country. If I’m not mistaken, this is our first opponent that we’ve faced that is ranked. So heck of an opportunity for our program and our student athletes. ”

On Facing Jeremiah Fears

Lutz was asked if Sooner point guard Jeremiah Fears was the best they’ve faced at the position.

Fears was the No. 24 player in the country, according to ESPN. Through just nine games and in six starts, Fears in in the Top 5 in the SEC in scoring (17.6 points per game), assists (4.7) and steals (2.6).

“Fears is a good player, he’s a really good player,” Lutz said. “Most talented point guard we’ve seen this year? I’d have to think through. He’s close. I would think that, depending upon his work ethic and those sorts of things, I think he’ll be a heck of a player for them and they got a good find there in the summer with him.”

On Sloppy Second Halves

Despite the big lead over the Pirates in their most recent outing, the Cowboys went cold for a good chunk of the second half and then allowed Seton Hall to scrape back within seven in the last minute of the game.

As Marshall pointed out in his Five Thoughts on Sunday, OSU has been outscored in the second halves of four games it has been winning at halftime this season. That stat has only bit the Cowboys once this season (the loss to FAU in Charleston). Against the unbeaten Sooners, that is unlikely to be a luxury they can afford.

“At Seton Hall, you play great in the first half, you play just so-so for the first 14, 15, 16 minutes of the second half and then you allow them to score more points in the last 3:52 than you do the entire 16 minutes,” Lutz said. “We’ve already had this problem. We’ve already had this discussion before. We’ve done this. We’ve seen this and we haven’t fixed it. So therein lies the problem.”

Here’s the full press conference.