Oklahoma State Coaches Discuss Future Bedlam Locations

OKLAHOMA CITY — All four coaches on Saturday voiced support for continuing to the Bedlam series, though Oklahoma State’s coaches hope to see a few tweaks in the future.

“I want us to continue to play Bedlam,” Cowboys coach Steve Lutz said. “I have told (OU coach) Porter (Moser) straight up, ‘We can play at Norman and Stillwater, we can play it at Paycom and Tulsa.’

“We can do whatever, but we need to switch this rotation year-by-year in my opinion. But no absolutely, I am all for keeping Bedlam. This is good for our state, good for basketball and we had an opportunity to be on a national stage today and play well and we just didn’t do it.”

When asked if he’d prefer a home-and-home rivalry, Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said he’d have to process that, but “right now I would say no, right to be honest with you. I think it is great for the neutral game, Paycom gives the guys a chance to play here. That would be my initial reaction to that, I’d have to process, but I love this game. I think two years in a row it has been really great energy.”

The men tipped off at noon on Saturday in what was the second annual neutral site game in Paycom Center. The women’s game followed, marking the return of Bedlam after a one-year break last season.

While all four coaches praised the crowd, the womens’ coaches also recognized the significance of playing in the home arena of the reigning NBA Champs.

“Today was really incredible, I mean what a cool experience to get to play where the world champions play,” Cowgirls coach Jacie Hoyt said.

As an OKC native, OSU senior Micah Gray, logged plenty of hours over the years watching games take place on that court.

“Watching Thunder growing up and playing on the floor it was amazing,” Gray said.

When asked about the possibility of changing formats for future Bedlams, Hoyt was in lockstep with Lutz.

“I would love to have something in Tulsa and maybe treat that neutral site,” Hoyt said. “Just because I think the majority of fans here, Norman is very close you have it in Tulsa it is kind of a home neutral site for us. So I like that idea of flip-flopping back and forth. Ultimately, this was an incredible experience, and if it is always here we are going to embrace every second of it and appreciate it.”