Oklahoma
Oklahoma Crushes OSU 10-1 At 2026 College Baseball Series In Texas – FloBaseball
The Oklahoma baseball team combined spectacular pitching with explosive offense Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, to improve to 2-0 on the season and pick up another memorable win against in-state rival Oklahoma State.
The Sooners routed the Cowboys for the second consecutive year, this time, with a 10-1 performance in the midday game at the 2026 Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
The Shriners Children’s College Showdown is the first of three events at the 2026 College Baseball Series, which will bring 18 top-tier teams to GLF between now and March 1, and all of the action will unfold live on FloCollege and the FloSports app.
UNLV transfer LJ Mercurius was dominant in his Oklahoma pitching debut, tying a career-high with 12 strikeouts in just 5 1/3 innings of work. He gave up one run on three hits and left the game after 99 pitches.
Offensively, the Sooners reached the 10-run plateau for the second straight day, and it was senior outfielder Trey Gambill leading the way with three of Oklahoma’s 12 hits, including a three-run homer with two outs in OU’s four-run fifth inning.
Over the first two games of the season, the Sooners have outscored their opponents 20-4 and combined for 30 strikeouts (23 by the starters). Junior left-hander Cameron Johnson fanned 11 in Oklahoma’s 10-3 win over Texas Tech in Friday’s season opener.
Oklahoma State’s lone run Saturday came on a fifth-inning double from junior Kollin Ritchie, which followed a base hit up the middle from junior shortstop Avery Ortiz.
The pitching duties against OU were shared by four Oklahoma State pitchers, three of whom tossed more than two innings.
The Cowboys were held to four hits on the day and stranded eight runners on base. They’re now 0-2 in 2026, which includes a 12-2 run-rule loss to No. 7 Arkansas on Friday night.
Despite their proximity and long history, Oklahoma and OSU only played one time in 2025, due in part to the Sooners’ move to the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference, while the Cowboys remained in the Big 12.
Oklahoma won that meeting 11-1 in eight innings on OSU’s home turf, and it ended a two-game winning streak in the series for the Cowboys.
In the final Big 12 conference baseball game between the two schools, Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma 9–3 to win the 2024 Big 12 Championship, also held at Globe Life Field.
Saturday’s showdown at GLF, home of the 2023 World Series-winning Texas Rangers, was a milestone game in the OU-OSU rivalry, as it was their 350th all-time meeting in Division I play and 386 clash all-time. And the first at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
Since their first official faceoff in 1935, Oklahoma State leads the series 189-161. If you count all the times they met at the club level, it’s a 204-183 OSU advantage.
It’s actually the most-played game in Oklahoma State baseball history and part of an even bigger and deeper rivalry between the two schools.
It is known as the Bedlam Series, and the moniker spans beyond just the baseball diamond. It encompasses all athletic competition between the in-state rivals.
Whether they’ve played in the same conference or not over the years, the Bedlam Series has been alive and well since being established in track and field in 1900.
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State both will be back in action Sunday for the final day of the 2026 Shriners Children’s College Showdown.
Oklahoma State will kick off the day against 1-1 Vanderbilt, a big winner over Texas Tech on Saturday. The Cowboys and Commodores will get underway at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
Oklahoma will help close out the event with a 7:30 p.m. EST nightcap against TCU. The Horned Frogs defeated Vanderbilt on Friday and are taking on Arkansas on Saturday night.
The 2026 season marks the sixth consecutive year of college baseball at Globe Life Field and the third straight year the action spans three weekends.
The schedule includes the Shriners Children’s College Showdown (Feb. 13-15), Amegy Bank College Baseball Series – Weekend 2 (Feb. 20-22) and Amegy Bank College Baseball Series presented – Weekend 3 (Feb. 27-March 1), all of which will bring 18 teams to Arlington.
How To Watch The Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma Baseball Replay From The College Baseball Showdown
The Bedlam game was the middle game of the 2026 Shriners Children’s Showdown on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14).
Replays, highlights and breaking news from the event will be on both platforms.
Box Score: Oklahoma 10, Oklahoma St. 1
Here are all the details:
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | L |
| OSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 10 | 12 | 1 | 4 |
Final: Oklahoma Defeats Oklahoma State Baseball 10-1
Oklahoma goes to 2-0 on the year, while OSU falls to 0-2.
Oklahoma has outscored its opponents 20-4 so far this season.
Top of 9th | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 10
Sixth-year senior Reid Hensley (RHP) takes the mound for Oklahoma in the top of the ninth. He previously was the setup man for the Sooners and is looking to establish himself as the closer.
Hensley starts with a strikeout, the 17th of the day for OU.
Hensley retires the Cowboys in order, and this one is in the books.
Bottom of 8th | Oklahoma Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 10
A pair of singles to start the inning puts runners on the corners for Oklahoma.
An infield single from senior Dayton Tockey brings around a run for the Sooners and puts the winning run (by run-rule) on first base.
On the play, Ortiz, the OSU shortstop is injured and leaves the game with assistance.
The Cowboys make some defensive changes, and we’re back underway.
A sac fly moves Gambill to third base, and OU has runners on the corners one more time.
Pinch hitter Alec Blair delivers an RBI base hit and proceeds to second base as Tockey is thrown out trying to take third.
Fyke leaves the game for OSU after 2 2/3 innings. JuCo transfer Bryce LeBlanc, a sophomore southpaw, comes on to pitch for the Cowboys with two outs and a runner on second.
LeBlanc throws four pitches and ends the inning.
Top of 7th | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 8
Catalano maintains his edge in relief and records another 1-2-3 inning. The Cowboys scored their lone run in the fifth inning.
Bottom of 7th | Oklahoma Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 8
Fyke is operating on another level so far and retires Oklahoma in order for the second consecutive inning, including his first strikeout.
Top of 7th | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 8
The Cowboys get multiple baserunners for the first time since the third inning after a single and a walk, but junior Avery Ortiz hits into a 6-3 double play to kill the momentum.
OSU has a runner on third base with two outs.
Junior outfielder Kollin Ritchie strikes out to end the inning.
Easy work, Jaxon Willits.
📺: https://t.co/0XpO9pV4rX #CollegeBaseballSeries | @CBS_Arlington
| @OU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/FBQsSxgqEi— FloCollege | Baseball (@FloCollegeBSB) February 14, 2026
Bottom of 6th | Oklahoma Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 8
Junior right-hander Kai Fyke comes on to pitch for Oklahoma State and retires the Sooners in order.
Short and sweet for the OSU newcomer in his debut.
Top of 6th | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 8
LJ Mercurius is at 85 pitches on the day with 11 Ks. That’s 22Ks in two games for OU starters.
That’s 12 Ks for Mercurius now.
Sebastian Normal walks for OSU. One on, one out.
Two walks, 12ks and just three hits. What a debut for Mercurius. Michael Catalano takes over on the mound for Oklahoma.
Catalano gets a K for the second out. And he gets Shull.
Bottom of 5th | Oklahoma Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 8
Will Oklahoma answer OSU’s score? Brennan Philips is back on the mound.
Good news: Philips get a k.
Bad new: It was a wild pitch and Camden Johnson is at first.
Then another wild pitch puts him on second.
Jaxon Willits drives another run in, OU adds another run. Brendan Brock singles. There’s two on, two outs.
And this game is blown open. Philips hangs a pitch and Trey Gambill sent it into the seats for a three-run home run.
TREY DID IT AGAIN!
📺: https://t.co/0XpO9pUwCp #CollegeBaseballSeries | @CBS_Arlington
| @OU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/2L4kkUctoz— FloCollege | Baseball (@FloCollegeBSB) February 14, 2026
The inning is finally over for OSU. On to the sixth.
Top of 5th | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 1, Oklahoma 4
Can the Pokes answer in the fifth?
That’s four straight Ks now by LJ Mercurius. My goodness.
That streak is snapped with a Avery Ortiz single and Ritchie Kollin RBI double.
Mercurius ends the inning with another K to limit the damage.
Ritchie Kollin puts the Pokes on the board.
📺: https://t.co/0XpO9pUwCp#CollegeBaseballSeries | @CBS_Arlington | @OSUBaseball pic.twitter.com/mi4SMndAPL
— FloCollege | Baseball (@FloCollegeBSB) February 14, 2026
Bottom of 4th | Oklahoma Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 4
Can OU add some runs?
Brendan Brock starts with a big double.
No outs, runners on the corner. Pesca’s day is over in the fourth. OSU is headed to the bullpen.
Oklahoma gets the runner in from third with a Dayton Tockey sac fly.
Brennan Philips gets out of the inning with liner. On to the fifth.
Sooners get another run.
📺: https://t.co/0XpO9pUwCp
#CollegeBaseballSeries | @CBS_Arlington | @OU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/BhpOHyGuBx
— FloCollege | Baseball (@FloCollegeBSB) February 14, 2026
Top of 4th | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 3
LJ Mercurius has cruised so far with six Ks and one walk so far.
Mercurius is rolling two more Ks. Another 1-2-3 inning.
Easy work for LJ Mercurius.
Six punch outs through three. #CollegeBaseballSeries | @OU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/0nFFC8dtCt
— FloCollege | Baseball (@FloCollegeBSB) February 14, 2026
Bottom of 3rd | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 3
Mario Pesca is back on the mound and he gets a fly out of Camden Johnson to start.
Deiten Lachance doubles down the left field line. Runner in scoring position.
Jaxon Willits nearly had a home run. He gave it a ride to the right field gap but it was caught at the wall. Lachance moves to third.
Pesca and the Cowboys avoid runs and get out of the inning.
Top of 3rd | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 3
LJ Mercurius back on the mound.
He picked up two Ks after a lead off single.
Mercurius induces a ground out and gets out of the inning.
Bottom of 2nd | Oklahoma Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 3
OK. Mario Pesca is back on the mound.
Oklahoma picks up another run on a Kyle Branch single that drives in Trey Gambill. There’s one out.
Pesca gets out of the inning with a big K.
Top of 2nd | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 2
LJ Mercurius back on the mound. He was impressive in the first inning.
He walks Aidan Meola to start the game.
Two are now after Colin Brueggemann gets an infield hit and Meola moves to third.
Oklahoma gets out of the inning with Mercurius getting back-to-back Ks.
The Cowboys are back in business!
📺: https://t.co/0XpO9pUwCp#CollegeBaseballSeries | @CBS_Arlington | @OSUBaseball pic.twitter.com/UxltAbdaUD
— FloCollege | Baseball (@FloCollegeBSB) February 14, 2026
Bottom of 1st | Oklahoma Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 2
Mario Pesca takes the mound against an Oklahoma team that hit three home runs on Friday and scored 10 runs.
Jason Walk… walks to start the game.
And other walk with one out puts two on for Jaxon Willits.
Runners are no on third and second.
Willits doubles to drive in two runs.
OSU gets a second out on a sacrifice that moves Willits to third. Brendan Brock now at plate. He hit a grand slam on Friday.
But he pops out this time. Inning over.
get us started 7️⃣
B1 | OU 2, OSU 0 // @JaxonWillits pic.twitter.com/2vll1bFvVV
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) February 14, 2026
Top of 1st | Oklahoma State Batting
Oklahoma State 0, Oklahoma 0
LJ Mercurius begins his OU career.
He has an easy 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. Did it on 10 pitches.
10 pitches, three outs. Effective.
📺: https://t.co/0XpO9pUwCp#CollegeBaseballSeries | @CBS_Arlington | @OU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/H7TN1Rg4Dg
— FloCollege | Baseball (@FloCollegeBSB) February 14, 2026
First Pitch Movements Away. Let the Bedlam Begin
It’s Oklahoma State and Oklahoma at Globe Life Field. Follow here for the latest news and highlights.
Almost Time For Baseball. OSU To Bat First
LJ’s debut ⏳ pic.twitter.com/JW3Hv0LN16
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) February 14, 2026
SEC Baseball vs. Big 12 Baseball At Globe Life Field So Far
The SEC is 3-1 so far this season at the College Baseball Showdown. The only loss was Vanderbilt falling to No. 9 TCU in the afternoon game on Feb. 13.
2026 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
- LSU (9) 231
- Texas (1) 214
- Mississippi State (4) 205
- Arkansas (2) 203
- Auburn 175
- Tennessee 162
- Florida 156
- Vanderbilt 151
- Georgia 133
- Ole Miss 110
- Kentucky 99
- Alabama 87
- Texas A&M 86
- Oklahoma 84
- South Carolina 49
- Missouri 31
2026 Coaches Preseason All-SEC Baseball Team – First Team
- C Ryder Helfrick Arkansas
- 1B Gavin Grahovac Texas A&M
- 2B Chris Rembert Auburn
- 2B Camden Kozeal Arkansas
- 3B Ace Reese Mississippi State
- SS Justin Lebron Alabama
- SS Tyler Bell Kentucky
- OF Derek Curiel LSU
- OF Caden Sorrell Texas A&M
- OF Henry Ford Tennessee
- DH/Util. Noah Sullivan Mississippi State
- SP Hunter Elliott Ole Miss
- SP Casan Evans LSU
- SP Liam Peterson Florida
- SP Dylan Volantis Texas
- RP Zac Cowan LSU
- RP Brandon Arvidson Tennessee
- RP Luke McNeillie Florida
2026 Coaches Preseason All-SEC Baseball Team – Second Team
- C Chase Fralick Auburn
- C Carson Tinney Texas
- 1B Levi Clark Tennessee
- 1B Will Furniss Ole Miss
- 2B Ethan Mendoza Texas
- 3B Brendan Lawson Florida
- SS Steven Milam LSU
- OF Kuhio Aloy Arkansas
- OF Bub Terrell Auburn
- OF Jake Brown LSU
- DH/Util. Braden Holcomb Vanderbilt
- SP Gabe Gaeckle Arkansas
- SP Connor Fennell Vanderbilt
- SP Ben Cleaver Kentucky
2026 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll
- 1. TCU (13) 169
- 2. Arizona (1) 157
- 3. West Virginia 137
- 4. Arizona State 128
- T5. Kansas 112
- T5. Oklahoma State 112
- 7. Kansas State 87
- 8. Cincinnati 85
- 9. Texas Tech 78
- 10. UCF 66
- 11. Baylor 54
- 12. Houston 42
- 13. BYU 29
- 14. Utah 18
2026 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Team
- C Jack Natili Cincinnati
- IF Landon Hairston Arizona State
- IF Austen Roellig Arizona State
- IF Travis Sanders Baylor
- IF Brady Ballinger* Kansas
- IF Robin Villeneuve Texas Tech
- OF Andrew Williamson UCF
- OF Chase Brunson TCU
- OF Sawyer Strosnider* TCU
- OF Logan Hughes Texas Tech
- DH Dariel Osoria Kansas
- UTL Noah Franco TCU
- SP Owen Kramkowski Arizona
- SP Nathan Taylor Cincinnati
- SP Dominic Voegele Kansas
- SP Tommy LaPour* TCU
- RP Tony Pluta Arizona
- RP Cole Carlon Arizona State
- RP Chase Meyer West Virginia
*- unanimous selection
2026 Big 12 Preseason Yearly Awards
- Player of the Year: Sawyer Strosnider, TCU
- Pitcher of the Year: Tommy LaPour, TCU
- Newcomer of the Year: Dean Toigo, Arizona State
- Freshman of the Year: Lucas Franco, TCU
Starting Pitching matchups: OSU Throws Mario Pesca
Oklahoma State is rolling with Mario Pesca in its second game of the season. The right-hander was All-Big Honorable Mention a year ago and went 4-2 with a 3.91 ERA in 11 outings and five starts in conference play. He made 22 appearances total.
He transfred from St. Johnson where he was 7-6 over two seasons with a 4.36 ERA in two season.
Starting Pitching matchups: OU Throws LJ Mercurius
LJ Mercurius, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander, transferred to Oklahoma after two seasons at UNLV.
He emerged as a full-time starter in 2025, posting a 3.57 ERA in 53 innings with a 25.7% strikeout rate. Mercurius later pitched for Team USA.
He features a three-pitch mix, including a low-90s fastball that has touched 97 mph, along with a low-80s gyro slider and changeup.
OSU vs. OU Baseball First Pitch Time
The game will start at 4:15 p.m. ET.
OU Baseball Star Cameron Johnson Was LIGHTS OUT vs Texas Tech
Oklahoma began the College Baseball Showdown with a career-high 11 strikeouts on Feb. 13.
Oklahoma Baseball Lineup vs. OSU
- Jason Walk, CF
- Camden Johnson, 3B
- Deiten Lachance, DH
- Jaxon Willits, SS
- Nolan Stevens, RF
- Brendan Brock, C
- Trey Gambill, LF
- Dayton Tockey, 1B
- Kyle Branch, 2B
Pitching: LJ Mercurius, P
Oklahoma State Lineup vs. Oklahoma Baseball
Bedlam lineup#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/XhwltChZYP
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) February 14, 2026
How To Watch Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma Baseball At The College Baseball Showdown
The Bedlam game is the middle game on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14 with a scheduled 4 p.m. ET first pitch. That start time will depend on the opening game on Saturday between Texas Tech and Vanderbilt, which is scheduled for Noon ET.
2026 Oklahoma State vs Oklahoma
2026 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
- LSU (9) 231
- Texas (1) 214
- Mississippi State (4) 205
- Arkansas (2) 203
- Auburn 175
- Tennessee 162
- Florida 156
- Vanderbilt 151
- Georgia 133
- Ole Miss 110
- Kentucky 99
- Alabama 87
- Texas A&M 86
- Oklahoma 84
- South Carolina 49
- Missouri 31
How To Watch College Baseball At The Shriners Children’s College Showdown 2026
Every game of the three-week College Baseball Series, which includes the Shriner College Baseball Showdown to start the season on Feb. 13, is streaming on FloCollege, FloBaseball and the FloSports app.
College Baseball Series At Globe Life Field Schedule 2026
Shriners Children’s College Showdown Weekend 1
Feb. 13, 2026
Feb. 14, 2026
Feb. 15, 2026
College Baseball Series In Surprise, Arizona
Feb. 13, 2026
- 4:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St
- 8:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Arizona
Feb. 14, 2026
- 4:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Oregon St
- 8:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Stanford
Feb. 15, 2026
- 2:00 PM ET: Stanford vs. Oregon St
- 6:00 PM ET: Arizona vs. Michigan
Feb. 16, 2026
- 2:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Oregon St
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 2
Feb. 20, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Michigan vs. Florida St
- 4:00 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Louisville
- 8:00 PM ET: Auburn vs. Kansas St
Feb. 21, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Louisville vs. Michigan
- 4:00 PM ET: Florida St vs. Auburn
- 8:00 PM ET: Kansas St vs. Nebraska
Feb. 22, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Auburn vs. Louisville
- 3:30 PM ET: Nebraska vs. Florida St
- 7:30 PM ET: Michigan vs. Kansas St
Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Weekend 3
Feb. 27, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Mississippi St
- 4:00 PM ET: UCLA vs. Tennessee
- 8:00 PM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Texas A&M
Feb. 28, 2026
- 12:00 PM ET: Tennessee vs. Arizona St
- 4:00 PM ET: Mississippi St vs. Virginia Tech
- 8:00 PM ET: Texas A&M vs. UCLA
Mar. 1, 2026
- 11:30 AM ET: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee
- 3:30 PM ET: UCLA vs. Mississippi St
- 7:30 PM ET: Arizona St vs. Texas A&M
2026 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 Rankings
- UCLA (48-18)
- LSU (53-15)
- Texas (44-14)
- Mississippi State (36-23)
- Georgia Tech (41-19)
- Coastal Carolina (56-13)
- Arkansas (50-15)
- Louisville (42-24)
- Auburn (41-20)
- TCU (39-20)
- North Carolina (46-15)
- Oregon State (48-16-1)
- Florida (39-22)
- Tennessee (46-19)
- Georgia (43-17)
- Florida State (42-16)
- NC State (35-21)
- Kentucky (31-26)
- Clemson (45-18)
- Southern Miss (47-16)
- Wake Forest (39-22)
- Miami (35-27)
- Vanderbilt (43-18)
- Arizona (44-21)
- Texas A&M (30-26)
Teams At Globe Life Field College Baseball Series
- Oklahoma
- Texas Tech
- TCU
- Vanderbilt
- Oklahoma State
- Arkansas
- Michigan
- Florida State
- Nebraska
- Louisville
- Auburn
- Kansas State
- Arizona State
- Mississippi State
- UCLA
- Tennessee
- Virginia Tech
- Texas A&M
FloBaseball Archived Footage
Video footage from FloBaseball events will be archived and stored in a video library for FloBaseball subscribers.
Join The College Baseball Conversation On Social
Their end is inevitable, but the Los Angeles Lakers (0-3) can stave off elimination when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder for Game 4 of the 2026 Western Conference Semifinals.
At BetMGM, Oklahoma City opened as -500 on the moneyline (Los Angeles at +375) and -10.5 favorites. However, the flood of pro-Thunder money has steamed them up to -11.5 favorites at the time of writing.
THE REFS IN THE OKC-LA SERIES WERE SO BAD, THE LAKERS HAD TO HAVE A POSTGAME MEETING WITH THEM
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets a layup vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the 2026 Western Conference Semifinals at Paycom Center. (Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)
OKC has won every game this series by 18+ points and has a seven-game winning streak over LA. That’s despite reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not putting up his typical crazy numbers.
Shai is scoring only 21.0 points per game in this series, slightly behind Thunder big man Chet Holmgren’s 21.3 PPG average, which leads the team.
LeBron James Is Trying To Avoid Another Sweep
LeBron James has only been swept three times in his career: the 2007 NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs, the 2018 NBA Finals by the Golden State Warriors and the 2023 Western Conference Finals by the Denver Nuggets.
FLOPPING IS RUINING THE NBA AND LEBRON SHOULD TAKE SOME BLAME FOR THAT
Maybe the sweep is a foregone conclusion, like the New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers series, but I’m counting on the Lakers dying on their sword and going out with honor.
Los Angeles Lakers All-Star LeBron James shoots over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)
Los Angeles held a first-half lead in Games 2 and 3 and still lost by 18 and 23 points, respectively. Granted, perhaps that’s just OKC playing with its food more than anything the Lakers are doing right.
Still, it’s something for L.A. to build on.
Lakers Need Oklahoma City’s Role Players To Cool Off
The Lakers are hitting 39.3% of their 3-pointers in this series. Unfortunately for them, the Thunder are shooting 42.3% from behind the arc.
But Oklahoma City’s role players are doing most of the damage from deep. Thunder guards Jared McCain, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe, along with big man Jaylin Williams, are a combined 25 for 41 from 3-point range, good for a ridiculous 61.0%.
The Oklahoma City Thunder bench reacts after making a 3-pointer vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)
That’s not sustainable.
If these randoms hit fewer shots in Game 4, the Lakers can cover the spread.
Betting Market Is Overwhelmingly On OKC
Finally, 95% of the money at BetMGM is on Oklahoma City as of Monday morning, according to John Ewing.
While I’m not someone who bows at the altar of betting splits, 95% of people don’t beat the sportsbooks. We all know this.
OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
I know that’s simple logic, but if you blindly fade teams this popular in the betting market, you’ll probably have a positive return on investment.
Best Bet: Los Angeles Lakers +11.5
_____________________________
Follow me on X @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants.
Oklahoma
Tulsa Race Massacre reparations is soul-redeeming work for the US, Oklahoma civil rights lawyer says
NEW YORK (AP) — It wasn’t until his junior year of college that civil rights attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons learned about a devastating massacre that took place in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
His African American studies professor lectured about what is known today as the Tulsa Race Massacre — the days in 1921 when white mobs carried out a scorched-earth campaign against an outnumbered Black militia protecting the fabled Black Wall Street, a prosperous all-Black community.
“I actually told a teacher, ‘I’m from Tulsa. That’s not true,’” Solomon-Simmons recalled. “And of course, I was wrong.”
That day planted a seed for the then-aspiring attorney, who went on to lead a reparations campaign for the living survivors of the massacre and their descendants. Nearly 105 years later, no one has been compensated for what they lost, and none of the culprits have been held accountable.
That fight for reparations is the subject of Solomon-Simmons’ first book, “Redeem a Nation: The Century-Long Battle to Restore the Soul of America,” which is intended as a blueprint for justice in historic atrocities that Black Americans endured but never received reparations for. The book hits shelves Tuesday.
After the massacre, more than 35 city blocks of the neighborhood known as Greenwood were leveled in fires, an estimated 191 businesses were destroyed, and roughly 11,000 Black residents were displaced. The state of Oklahoma declared the death toll to be only 36 people, although many historians and experts who have studied the event put the death toll between 75 and 300.
Greenwood, founded in 1906, had been a bustling city within a city, with Black-owned grocery stores, soda fountains, cafés, barbershops, a movie theater, music venues, cigar and billiard parlors, tailors and dry cleaners, rooming houses and rental properties.
“If you can ignore Greenwood, which was the beacon of Black prosperity and Black progress in the history of this country, then you can ignore Black people in general,” Solomon-Simmons recently told The Associated Press. “I think that’s why people around the nation are so focused on the work that we’re doing, because they understand what it means to all of Black America.”
Solomon-Simmons’s book comes just months before the United States will mark 250 years since its founding in 1776. That was 89 years before the institution of chattel slavery — meaning an enslaved person was held as legal property of another — was abolished. The civil rights attorney questions the idea that Americans can truly celebrate the country’s accomplishments when it has yet to pay reparations, which historians say informs modern day disparities in wealth between Black and white people.
“We cannot talk about what America has been and will be, without making sure that these issues are discussed and we get reparatory justice for both” slavery and the Tulsa massacre, Solomon-Simmons said.
‘America has never had a soul’
In 343 pages, Solomon-Simmons does more than recite the history of the massacre or make a legal thriller out of his reparations campaign. For him, securing justice for the survivors and descendants of the massacre is also about healing a nation whose earliest promises of equality for all rang hollow.
“When I speak of repairing America’s soul, I do not mean restoring something that was once whole,” Solomon-Simmons writes in the book. “America has never had a soul. … There was no moral center to recover.”
He suggests that America’s soul cannot be repaired if it is forced to choose between rebuilding the nation or repairing Black America. They must do both, he says.
“The struggle for justice in Greenwood is not about returning to a mythical past. It is about proving whether America can build a soul at all through truth, through justice, through repair.”
Reparations for slavery and other historical racial injustices has been debated in the U.S. since Reconstruction, through the Civil Rights Movement and for much of the 21st century. Jennifer L. Morgan, a professor of history at New York University, said such debates are complicated by the question of exactly who pays the reparations and exactly who receives the payment.
“I don’t think that we’re talking about individuals who owe anybody else reparations. I think we’re talking about states, about institutions, about the nation,” Morgan said. “America is still grappling with reparations because America is still grappling at the legacy of slavery, racial discrimination, Jim Crow, and violent exclusion of Black people from the body politic.”
Some opponents of reparations argue there are no living culprits or direct victims of enslavement, much less people with verifiable claims of harm that can be presented in a court of law.
Solomon-Simmons disagrees.
“We know who did the massacre — the perpetrators are still living in Tulsa,” he said referring to the city and the chamber of commerce, which plaintiffs alleged had a hand in obstructing Greenwood’s recovery.
There is one remaining massacre survivor involved in the reparations lawsuit: 111-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle.
“If we cannot get her reparations while she’s alive, for the massacre, it’s gonna make it that much harder for us to get reparations for enslavement, Jim Crow, redlining and all those things that we are owed,” Solomon-Simmons said.
Fight for Tulsa reparations continues
In the book, Solomon-Simmons reflects on what committed him to the reparations fight.
While in law school, he was introduced to high profile civil rights attorneys working for the Reparations Coordinating Committee – the late Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree Jr., who mentored Barack and Michelle Obama; and the late Johnnie Cochran, who is widely known for defending O.J. Simpson during his trial for murder of his ex-wife. Solomon-Simmons became a law clerk for the committee.
After witnessing Ogletree argue a Tulsa reparations case in federal court in 2004, Solomon-Simmons said the practice of law stopped being just a credential for speaking, writing, or teaching. It became a calling.
In 2020, Solomon-Simmons led a lawsuit on behalf of 11 plaintiffs, including the last three known living survivors of the massacre, against the City of Tulsa and seven defendants. The suit was the first of its kind in state court and the first to get far enough to see a judge. In 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit. In the final days of the Biden administration, the Justice Department released a report saying it had determined there is no longer an avenue for criminal prosecution over the massacre.
But the fight continues, Solomon-Simmons says, for cash payment to Randle and other descendants, as well as the return of land stolen after the massacre and during a period of urban renewal in Tulsa.
In 2025, the city’s first Black mayor, Monroe Nichols, endorsed a broad proposal dubbed Project Greenwood, which calls for financially compensating Randle, funding a scholarship program for descendants of victims, and designating June 1 as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day.
Solomon-Simmons also runs the nonprofit Justice for Greenwood, which he founded a year before the community marked the centennial of the massacre in 2021.
“One thing I’ve learned from this work, and as a lawyer in general, is that people want justice,” he said. “People want reparations, but people (also) want acknowledgment. They want to be seen. They want people to understand that something happened to them and their family, and they want an apology.”
___
Aaron Morrison is the race and ethnicity news editor at AP.
Earlier this year, Sooners On SI broke down Oklahoma’s opponents in 2026. With spring football in the rearview window, how do the Sooners’ foes look heading into the summer following their March/April practices? We continue with the Ole MIss Rebels.
As Oklahoma journeys deeper into November, the talent level keeps rising.
While Oklahoma worked to secure a pivotal player’s return for one final season, Ole Miss had already pulled off one of the offseason’s most impactful moves — locking in an extra year of eligibility for quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Exit Lane Kiffin, enter Pete Golding. Well, that already happened before the College Football Playoff, but now the country waits to see if Golding will be able to continue his impressive run as a head coach into an offseason.
How did spring treat the Rebels? Even if Ole Miss appears strong on paper. OU does get the benefit of hosting the Rebels for a second straight season once November arrives.
The Injury Front
Good news and bad news for Ole Miss during spring ball: The good is that no players will be dealing with injuries deep into the summer.
The bad news was that an “injury bug” plagued the offensive line, causing the defensive-minded coach to scale back on full-contact drills and practice during the spring to avoid further injury.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.
While injuries weren’t a large concern for Ole Miss this spring, they have to deal with replacing top-end talent — mostly on defense. Talents like edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, who transferred to LSU to follow Kiffin.
Ole Miss Strength
Chambliss ranks among the best quarterbacks in the country, and the way he rises to the occasion in Ole Miss’ biggest games makes the Rebels dangerous every time he takes the field.
Even without Kiffin, Ole Miss was busy during the transfer portal in trying to replenish a great deal of skill talent that either exited the program or graduated.
Post-Spring Oklahoma Opponent Breakdowns
With Kewan Lacy in the backfield and tight ends Dae’Quan Wright and Luke Hasz, the Rebels’ offense will no doubt be one of the tougher units Oklahoma will face.
If Golding is able to maintain his impressive control of the program he showcased during last season’s College Football Playoff, the offense should still be one of the best in the country.
The Final Verdict
Ole Miss has had Oklahoma’s number in the Sooners’ first two years in the SEC. Could a fortitous schedule factor — a second game in Norman in back-to-back years — finally get Oklahoma over the Rebels?
No matter the feelings prior to the game, Ole Miss may be one of the tougher games on the schedule for OU — including the first six-week crucible. Chambliss has proven to be that good, and despite the defensive departures, Ole Miss has proven to reload talent quickly.
Depending on Oklahoma’s record at the time of the game, their match with the Rebels could prove to pivotal for either team’s playoff chances. Last season for OU, this was the road game against Alabama.
OU will have the talent to combat Ole Miss, but the Rebels will have a sure-fire Heisman contender under center.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
New Mexico2 minutes agoFour New Mexico companies nominated for ‘Best Hot Air Balloon Ride’ by USA Today
-
North Carolina8 minutes agoNorth Carolina (NCHSAA) High School Softball 2026 State Playoff Brackets, Matchups, Schedule – May 11
-
North Dakota14 minutes agoFire burns at Pallet Green Recycling storage yard in rural Williston
-
Ohio20 minutes ago60% of Ohio children aren’t ready for kindergarten when they start; what’s the plan?
-
Oklahoma26 minutes ago2026 NBA Playoffs: Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers best bet, odds, prediction
-
Oregon32 minutes ago
Federal and state agencies urge caution as fire season begins in parts of Oregon
-
Pennsylvania38 minutes agoHersheypark in Pennsylvania could be forced to close this summer
-
Rhode Island44 minutes agoLieutenant governor candidate wants the office to be RI’s inspector general