Oklahoma
No. 9 Oklahoma bids for first win at No. 3 Kansas in 21 years
After a two-day stretch brought losses for all three of the Big 12 teams ranked in the top 10 including his third-ranked Kansas squad, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said the importance of this weekend’s games is elevated.
“The depth of the league’s great,” Self said. “You’re going into Week 2 (of Big 12 play) and there’s must-win games. Who would’ve ever thought in a 19-game season you’d have must-win games going into Week 2, but that’s kind of how it feels right now for not only us but for others as well.”
Saturday, Self’s No. 3 Jayhawks take on No. 9 Oklahoma in Lawrence, Kan.
Both teams are looking for bounce-back games after Wednesday road losses.
Kansas fell to Big 12 newcomer UCF 65-60 to snap a nine-game winning streak while Oklahoma’s three-game winning streak ended with an 80-71 loss at TCU.
For the Sooners (13-2, 1-1 Big 12), Saturday’s game is a chance to break their long losing streak to the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse before Oklahoma makes the move to the SEC next season.
The Sooners haven’t won in Lawrence since 1993, dropping 22 consecutive games in the historic venue.
Saturday’s game will be the third the teams have played in Lawrence as top 10 opponents during that streak.
In 2016, the top-ranked Jayhawks beat No. 2 Oklahoma 109-106 in triple overtime. In 2002, No. 4 Kansas beat the No. 5 Sooners 74-67.
While there have been several blowouts during the stretch, plenty of the matchups have been close, including four of the past five.
The Jayhawks (13-2, 1-1) have won five straight games against the Sooners. Their last matchup was a Kansas 78-55 victory on Norman, Okla. Prior to that game, Kansas’ four wins came by a combined 16 points.
Kansas averages 12.9 turnovers per game, but the Jayhawks have turned the ball over 18 times in each of their first two Big 12 games.
“We’ve got to take care of the ball,” Self said. “We did some things that I think good teams shouldn’t do.”
Oklahoma is forcing just 13.3 turnovers per game, and just 7.5 per game in their first two conference games.
Otega Oweh entered Big 12 play as the Sooners’ leading scorer, but he has set a season low in scoring in each of the past two games, going a combined 2 for 10 from the field and 1 for 7 from inside the arc. He is averaging 14.3 points per game.
Oklahoma has moved the ball well lately, with 36 assists on their 50 made shots over the past two games.
“It is our system,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said. “Pace is space and taking that. …. That’s really good basketball. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson, who is averaging 18.9 points per game, was limited to 28 minutes in Wednesday’s loss. It was Dickinson’s fewest minutes since early Nov. 10.
Self said Dickinson was dealing with what he called a “bad knee.”
“I don’t know,” Self said when asked if Dickinson’s health needed to be monitored moving forward. “I don’t think so. It’s just a bruised knee, but we’ll see. We’ve been really fortunate — knock on wood — with our health so far because we don’t have a lot of depth.”
—Field Level Media
Oklahoma
Oklahoma lawmakers ask Supreme Court to let customers join ONG rate hike case
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As an Oklahoma utility company seeks a multimillion-dollar rate increase, two Oklahoma state representatives are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give customers a voice.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is currently deciding on a $29 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas.
If approved, officials say it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years and has led to an $128 million increase in customer bills.
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, have filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying customers weren’t given a chance to participate in the case.
“The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition.
In the filing, they claim that the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case but only set it after the deadline had already passed.
They say ONG’s customers weren’t notified about the case until late April.
“This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.”
The commissioners are expected to make a final decision on the $29 million rate increase later this year.
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ONG, the OCC, and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal.
Oklahoma
Most Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election
Just 26%, or about one in four registered Oklahoma voters, cast a ballot in the race, according to an analysis of the results.
In total, 630,085 people weighed in on a state question to gradually increase the minimum wage. It was the only race open to Democrats, Republicans and independents, who weren’t eligible to vote in partisan races.
Democrats have typically opened their closed primaries to include independents, but failed to submit the paperwork for this year’s primaries on time. Some voters expressed frustration with the system on election day.
This year’s polls drew fewer voters than in 2018, the last time there was a similar gubernatorial race without incumbents. The election included a state question to approve medical marijuana, and 44% of registered voters cast ballots.
There are almost 1.3 million registered Republicans in Oklahoma, but the GOP race for governor only garnered about 400,000 ballots. Out of more than 613,000 registered Democrats, only about 172,000 voted in Tuesday’s election.
Even though general elections are usually better attended, Oklahoma’s numbers were also low during the 2024 presidential election. One report from the University of Florida rated Oklahoma’s turnout at the time as the lowest in the nation.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Adds OF Adi Hansen From Southern Idaho
NORMAN — Oklahoma softball’s transfer portal activity may have been fairly slow developing.
But now, as the portal window nears its end, the Sooners have started having success.
Oklahoma added outfielder Adi Hansen, a standout at the College of Southern Idaho for the last two seasons on Thursday.
Hansen’s announcement, made on Instagram, followed shortly after Middle Tennessee outfielder Macie Harter announced her commitment to the Sooners.
Hansen led the Golden Eagles with a .457 batting average in 186 at bats in 2026, with an eye-popping 82 runs scored and a school-record 62 stolen bases on 67 attempts.
Hansen had 17 games with two or more stolen bases this season and twice had four stolen bases in a game.
Hansen had four triples and 21 RBIs, drawing 23 walks.
She earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors, helping her team finish 43-13 with a NJCAA Division I Juco World Series appearance.
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In 2025, as a freshman, Hansen hit .401 with 36 stolen bases and 62 ruyns scored.
Hansen is a Logan, Utah, product.
Hansen and Harter join a group of outfielders that includes Kai Minor in centerfield and Ella Parker in right field.
The Sooners lost Abby Dayton to graduation and Kasidi Pickering to transfer after the season. Pickering will reportedly transfer to Texas Tech.
Oklahoma finished 52-10 last season, missing the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to Mississippi State in three games in the Norman Super Regional.
The Sooners have a strong incoming recruiting class and return a trio of pitchers — Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker — as well as experienced hitters Kendall Wells, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas plus Minor and Ella Parker.
In addition to the departures of Dayton and Pickering, the Sooners also lost pitchers Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal, first baseman Isabela Emerling, and second baseman Ailana Agbayani to graduation. Outfielder Tia Milloy, pitcher Berkley Zache and utility player Riley Zache also entered the transfer portal.
Oklahoma’s incoming class includes Edmond Santa Fe pitcher Keegan Baker, Lakewood, Calif., infielder Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Mililani, Hawaii, infielder Ori Mailo, Fullerton, Calif., pitcher Malaya Majam-Finch, Katy, Texas, pitcher EK Smith, and Mesa, Ariz., outfilder Payton Westra.
Mailo was with the Sooners this season, redshirting after joining the program a year early.
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