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#12 Oklahoma State Cowgirls (19-4) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (15-10)
1 p.m. EST
Gallagher-Iba Arena - Stillwater, OK
TV: ESPN2 | Online: ESPN3
SB Nation site: Crimson and Cream Machine
There's a little something for everyone in today's between the Oklahoma State Cowgirls and the Oklahoma Sooners.
For WNBA fans, OSU senior Tiffany Bias and OU seniors Aaryn Ellenberg and Morgan Hook are all worth paying attention to as potential 2014 WNBA Draft prospects of varying value.
For those with an eye on the 2014 NCAA Tournament, the outcome of this game could certainly have implications for tournament seeding, especially since Oklahoma has struggled to get big wins this season as described by Chuck Chaney of SB Nation's Crimson and Cream Machine.
They've had heartbreaking losses against Iowa State, West Virginia and at Texas. Then they've had very impressive wins against Iowa State on the road and popped then #11 Oklahoma State at home.
It's just a testament to how tough the Big 12 season is this season. Currently, ESPN's bracketology has six schools into the NCAA Tournament...[Their 81-74 win on February 1] was just Oklahoma's third win over a ranked opponent this season. Sooners are 3-5 versus ranked opponents this season.
For #12 Oklahoma State, they're in the midst of their worst stretch of games this season. As said before, it's probably due to the depth of the conference. They're just 3-3 in their last six games, that includes the Sooners victory back on February 1st.
Interestingly, Steven Bell of the S-Factor has had Oklahoma out of the tournament field since February 7, likely due in part to their inability to beat quality opponents and Iowa State "...going through a sustained and inexplicable suck-freefall" - with ISU losing 9 of their last 12 (beginning the weekend after beating Oklahoma in Norman), that road loss doesn't look quite as strong as it once might have. But beating OSU today would give OU another win against a quality opponent, which would certainly help their status as a bubble team; losing to OU could hurt OSU's tournament standing given OU's otherwise shaky tournament resume.
Most of all, a win would give OU a Bedlam sweep and the first for either school since 2011 - a somewhat surprising development given the way the rest of their season has gone. But that's just how rivalries go sometimes. If nothing else, we should expect today's game to be more competitive than the first, which makes it worth watching.
For more on the game, check out SBN's Crimson and Cream Machine.