SIMPLY THE BEST
Matched up against men's basketball, right now, women's basketball is better in the state of Oklahoma, and the Bedlam game in Norman today proves it.
Women's basketball is better in the state of Oklahoma

By John Helsley

Published: February 23, 2008

NORMAN — How big is today's Bedlam women's basketball game?

So big that the announcement that it was sold out came during the men's Bedlam game — which wasn't.

So big that OSU coach Kurt Budke's cheered when he's picking up lunch.

So big that Billy Tubbs is singing its praises.

So big that there's a new hot button topic around: Matched side by side — right here, right now — which game best delivers the goods in this state, the men's or the women's?

The Oklahoma and Oklahoma State women will decide who's best at 1 p.m. today at Lloyd Noble Center.

The men's vs. women's debate, though, will have to be argued on the evidence — and brace yourselves chauvinists, the arrow may lean decidedly with the ladies.

Consider all the Bedlam women have to offer:

• Top 20 appeal.

• Dueling Player of the Year candidates: OU's Courtney Paris and OSU's Andrea Riley.

• Surging fan support.

• Legitimate Bedlam, now that the Cowgirls have broken through a Sooner stranglehold on the series that featured 17 straight wins dating back to 1999 before the Cowgirls routed OU by 19 points in January.

• Relevance, in the Big 12 and beyond.

Yeah, the OU and OSU men's teams have ratcheted up enthusiasm of late, with needed wins and fantastic finishes. At its best, makes for great NCAA bubble conversation and speculation about job security.

The buzz surrounding the women involves much higher stakes, ranging from prominent poll positions to Player of the Year debates to NCAA Tournament makeup, where not only are both teams already in, but jockeying for a path leading to a Sweet 16 at the Ford Center.

This might just be the perfect storm, one season accentuating the riches of the women while the men's teams shuffle to regain their footing.

There's no denying that interest overall in the men's game is superior, backed up by television contracts and ratings, media coverage and talk show banter.

But don't bet on the girls going away.

The Sooners' roster reveals no seniors. For the Cowgirls, Riley — arguably the Big 12's most exciting player — is but a sophomore.

"It's something for the state of Oklahoma,” said Iowa State women's coach Bill Fennelly, "where you have two very dynamic programs, two environments that are very special and two players — arguably one of the best point guards in the country — along with one of the best centers in the country.

"It's great for the sport.”

The devotion to Sherri Coale's crews grows annually, to the point where the Sooners rank third nationally in women's attendance behind Tennessee and Connecticut.

In just his third season in Stillwater, Budke has almost magically transformed the Cowgirls from cellar-dweller to Big 12 contender. Crowds at Gallagher-Iba Arena are swelling, too.

That's because folks are noticing, finding themselves drawn to the drama and the skill.

"I was out eating at lunchtime the other day and three guys, students,” said Budke, "came up and said, ‘Coach, that was our first one. We'll never miss again. We just didn't realize the level of basketball. We just didn't realize the athleticism.'

"That happens a lot. I think that's just a lot of people who haven't given women's basketball a chance in the last five years. They don't know how the game's changing and how athletic these young ladies are and what kind of quality basketball they do play.”

Said Coale: "I've said for years that the quality of women's basketball in the state of Oklahoma was the best-kept secret in the country. People love a good product. I know it may be a football state, but it's a basketball territory. This gives people a reason to come out and get involved.

"It's good. It's good for the game and fun to be a part of.”

The women aren't just drawing a cliquish crowd, either.

Billy Tubbs, who once orchestrated one of college basketball's most entertaining men's teams while at OU, finds himself a fan of what the women are doing.

"The women are more fundamentally sound, although I've noticed their games are getting physical,” Tubbs said. "They're more fundamentally sound than a lot of the men's teams.

"They've come a lot further in the last 15 years than the men have.”

It's possible that the Bedlam women have opened doors to a new type of sports fan at their respective schools: fans either seeking something different than men's basketball and football, or ones who can't afford those tickets.

Others, reflected in Budke's recent brush at lunch, just had to be willing to be sold on the product.

Either way, they're welcome at both schools.

"I think you can feel that everyone around us is real hyped about women's basketball,” said Cowgirls junior Shaunte Smith. "We went from like 2,000 to 5,000 fans.

"We have a target on our back now and everyone wants to beat us, but it's been good for this whole team and all of Stillwater.”

Good for lively debate as well.

"I was walking through the office one day and there was a newspaper story comparing the girls and the guys in Oklahoma,” Paris said. "I thought that was pretty cool.

"We are expanding women's basketball and I think that's the key.”

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