OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 8, 2017) – There's only one other men's basketball program that Oklahoma Christian has played more than Oklahoma Baptist, but the OC-OBU series has been dormant since the 2011-12 season. That changes Saturday.
OC (2-5) will host OBU (3-5) for a 3 p.m. nonconference game in the Eagles' Nest, part of a throwback doubleheader that also will include a 1 p.m. women's game against Southern Nazarene. Fans who bring diapers and wipes to donate to Lilyfield Christian Adoption and Foster Care will be admitted free.
Time was – and it wasn't that long ago – when OC, OBU and SNU were the anchor members of the NAIA's Sooner Athletic Conference. OC long has enjoyed healthy rivalries with both those like-minded institutions, but the twice-a-year league meetings ended when SNU headed into NCAA Division II and the Great American Conference in 2011, followed by OC to Division II and the Heartland Conference in 2012.
Two years later, OBU also made the move into Division II and the GAC and is now in its first full season of NCAA postseason eligibility. While OC continued playing an annual rivalry game with SNU during the NCAA transition process, the series with OBU fell by the wayside – until now.
For OC fans, the most recent meeting between the Eagles and Bison was a memorable one. On March 3, 2012, unranked OC completed a sweep of three top-13 foes in three days in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, beating No. 1-ranked OBU 73-66 in overtime in the title game in Siloam Springs, Ark.
That remarkable run – led by SAC tournament MVP
Kendre Talley, now an OC assistant coach – earned the Eagles a berth in the NAIA Division I tournament. It also improved OC's all-time record against the Bison to 46-55 over 101 games. OC's only other more common opponent is SNU (110 games).
Both the Eagles (
Cory Cole) and Bison (Quinn Wooldridge) are coached by former stars looking to revive the fortunes of his alma mater's program. The Bison are already 2-2 in GAC play and are coming off a win at Henderson State (Ark.), but OC beat current GAC leader SNU earlier this season – the Crimson Storm's only loss so far in eight games.
