2013 2014 Men's BBall Thread

[Soonerjeepman]

ok, so the women have one, I'll start one for the men... but unlike Badge, I'm not adding pics/bios/ or any of that...feel free to though!

First Exhibition game: dominant, as should be...mainly good, some hmmm.

Personally I'm still not sold on Neal. (look at "First Win" thread). New pg looks decent. Cam did well as did Buddy.

Second Ex game: didn't watch, but did read the write-up. Good - OU won, Buddy killed it AGAIN, Bad - sounds like a lot...Cam didn't even score DF...not sure why.

Our size will hurt in the post, against the big boys. Hamilton is a project. It does seem like we can go 8/9/10 deep which will be a blessing if we are running. Don't compare this team to the good
ol Billy Ball days but they are athletic.

VERY EARLY Predicted Finish:
12-6 Big 12 (ku - 2, bu 1, osu 1, ksu 1, someone we shouldn't 1 )
10-3 non conf (L - bama, a/m, mich st or Vtech)
22-9 overall

[Boomer.....]

Kind of a head scratcher last night. We were down at half and might not have won if Hield didn't go off.

[badger]

I started the womens thread because they were complaining about me starting too many womens threads when they all wanted to talk about mens basketball instead :)

I was also worried about yesterday's result (I admittedly didn't watch due to MNF packers). Exhibitions aren't supposed to be upset alerts. Hopefully it wakes our team up for what college is like

[Soonerjeepman]

ah no dig Badge....I like women's ball. Ya know the story.

yes, hopefully it was a mindset issue. We'll see.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

ok, so the women have one, I'll start one for the men... but unlike Badge, I'm not adding pics/bios/ or any of that...feel free to though!

First Exhibition game: dominant, as should be...mainly good, some hmmm.

Personally I'm still not sold on Neal. (look at "First Win" thread). New pg looks decent. Cam did well as did Buddy.

Second Ex game: didn't watch, but did read the write-up. Good - OU won, Buddy killed it AGAIN, Bad - sounds like a lot...Cam didn't even score DF...not sure why.

Our size will hurt in the post, against the big boys. Hamilton is a project. It does seem like we can go 8/9/10 deep which will be a blessing if we are running. Don't compare this team to the good
ol Billy Ball days but they are athletic.

VERY EARLY Predicted Finish:
12-6 Big 12 (ku - 2, bu 1, osu 1, ksu 1, someone we shouldn't 1 )
10-3 non conf (L - bama, a/m, mich st or Vtech)
22-9 overall

I watched both of them and we just do not stop the ball in transition. I've never seen so many coast to coast layups in my life.

Negatives
Rebounding - We've gave up 15 offensive rebounds in both games. Spangler is the only guy who seems halfway good at clearing defensive boards.
Turnovers - We don't have many but they come in droves. We had 5 straight turnovers at one point
Transition D - as above
Tubbs - man is he a bad announcer
Field House - that volleyball stripe was killing me

Positives
Passing - It has been a long time since I've seen an OU team whip the ball around like this. In the 2nd game, they had assists on 2/3 of the field goals (and that doesn't include about 3 missed alley oops).
Hield - I don't know if he can keep up the pace behind the 3 point line but he has a really quick release
Regular D - Once we get set, we are pretty good in D. We did have some lapses on 3 point shots which allowed them to get hot, but not many.

[GDC]

Nice win over Alabama today. I like this team.

[badger]

I watched. I liked. A lot

[Temujin]

Personally I'm still not sold on Neal.

This is what gets me...I've watched Neal closely because he's gotten so much good pub from the team for his outside shot and his workman-like play...but I just don't get it. He looks so awkward on the court...and granted, lots of guys have an unconventional style of play, but there's something about his game to me that just looks like it's never going to gel. And for a guy that's supposedly got a good jumper, his form is ugly.

Not to pile on the kid, I hate doing that. I met him at a game last year and he seems like a really great guy. I guess the coaches just see more in him than I am capable of seeing.

[hawaii 5-0]

This is what gets me...I've watched Neal closely because he's gotten so much good pub from the team for his outside shot and his workman-like play...but I just don't get it. He looks so awkward on the court...and granted, lots of guys have an unconventional style of play, but there's something about his game to me that just looks like it's never going to gel. And for a guy that's supposedly got a good jumper, his form is ugly.

Not to pile on the kid, I hate doing that. I met him at a game last year and he seems like a really great guy. I guess the coaches just see more in him than I am capable of seeing.


Didja watch the 2nd exhibition game? Towards the end they had him (Neal) out there playing point guard. I guess to better hone his ball handling skills.

5-0

[Soonerjeepman]

unfortunately did not get to see game...but the write-up sounded like they played well. Came from behind took lead, held it and finished.

I might need to adjust, I had that down as a loss! LOL.

[Soonerjeepman]

as far as Neal..probably a GREAT guy. I know the few times I've seen him his decision making isn't real great. He's a Sooner and that is great. He plays hard and that is great. I'll root for him but hope if it comes down to a possession he isn't the one with the ball.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Key stat in the Alabama win

OU assists - 16
Alabama assists - 4

Individual guys are going to go off on this team (they had one guy that was 7/8 from the field) but it is really hard to shoot a high percentage from 3 without ball movement.

[badger]

FYI - they play good ol' UNT tonight, so I have posted a vBookie event accordingly :)

[birddog]

We won 95 to 83.Not sure about the 83 but something like that.

[birddog]

Buddy had 25ish. Sorry turned off car with 3.8 secs left

[Eielson]

MANKIN ALERT! Looks like we had a walk on get a few minutes tonight.

[badger]

Soooo... is this final score indicative of how officiating is going to cause higher scoring games this year? Or, is it indicative of the teams that were on the court last night?

I watched most of the game (toddler time at beginning, switched to NFL at halftime and didn't turn back fast enough) and it seemed typical basketball, except both teams entered bonus rather early, imho.

Anyways, I am still very excited for this team to see what we do against bigger competition. I also want to revenge each and every team that beats us in football :mad:

[Soonerjeepman]

maybe I stand corrected, Neal had 2nd high on points....

after watching the duke/ku game...wow lots of touchy fouls down low. It'll be interesting to see how it goes this season.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

I can't imagine that Kruger's going to be happy about giving up 82 points to NT. Since we have 10 guards on this team you would think we could guard the 3 point line. Spangler needs to spend some time shooting free throws.

[badger]

I was hoping vegas would give me some line to go on, but since they didn't, I just made one up:

Sooners over Potato by 16.5. vBet over at vBookie

7 p.m. tonight, OU hosts Idaho, TV is Sooner Sports TV, which is to say... not TV :mad: At least our Seton Hall game is getting picked up (by truTV... which I only watched for March Madness last spring, heh)

[badger]

Someone linked this on ouhoops.com (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9964284/kansas-looks-win-10th-straight-big-12-championship-andrew-wiggins) and I thought you all would enjoy this line:


Some of these guys are future Hall of Famers and some of them are Travis Ford.

That said, we have a LOT of recognizable names among Big 12 coaching ranks this season:

Scott Drew (Baylor)
Fred Hoiberg (Iowa State)
Bill Self (Kansas)
Bruce Weber (Kansas State)
Lon Kruger (Oklahoma)
Travis Ford (Oklahoma State)
Trent Johnson (TCU)
Rick Barnes (Texas)
Tubby Smith (Texas Tech)
Bob Huggins (West Virginia)

...and travis ford :stunned:

[Eielson]

I was amused reading that, too.

I don't get this statement, though:


But why would Oklahoma, a program in need of stability, hire Kruger, who has never stayed at a job for more than seven years?

[badger]

If y'all get the fox sports channel, they are showing us mashing the potatoes now. 44-32 second half just began

As for Lon, he's at a point in his career that unless someone does what ou did-- offer waaaay more money--- he is retiring here

[Eielson]

I feel like anybody who hires a college basketball coach with the intention of keeping him much more than 7 years is delusional. When Barnes gets fired after this year, Self will be the only guy that's lasted more than a couple years, and well...it's Kansas. I also didn't get the "we need stability" idea. Why do we need that anymore than anybody else?

[nighttrain12]

Somehow they called attendance at 9,445. Looked less than half that. I'm glad the Men won their game!

[Salt City Sooner]

Nice balance tonight, even if the shooting was less than stellar. 5 guys in double figures, & Cousins was a point from making it 6.

[badger]

Somehow they called attendance at 9,445. Looked less than half that. I'm glad the Men won their game!

Yeah, I would call 9K a generous number,but they've been giving mens attendance very generous numbers for years... mostly the Geoff K-Pro years :mad:

[Soonerjeepman]

I miss having my satellite address in Okla...so I could watch all those bball games...ugh

[badger]

I miss having my satellite address in Okla...so I could watch all those bball games...ugh

Uverse has been showing OU basketball --- mens and womens --- a lot on the localized affiliates of Fox Sports via their big arse Sooner TV contract. Just out of alphabetical-ness, I have watched OU hoops on FS Florida since it comes before FS Southwest Plus in the listings a few times :D

I have stopped relying on SS for accurate TV listings, as they were still showing this as internet-only yesterday at one point. I suggest just going through your FS affiliates and see if a "college basketball" listing during an OU tipoff time shows Sooner basketball. I found last night's game on such a whim.

[Boomer.....]

Somehow they called attendance at 9,445. Looked less than half that. I'm glad the Men won their game!

Tickets sold. Many people buy basketball tickets to get priority points for football tickets, but don't go to the games unless it's a big conference game.

[Soonerjeepman]

Uverse has been showing OU basketball --- mens and womens --- a lot on the localized affiliates of Fox Sports via their big arse Sooner TV contract. Just out of alphabetical-ness, I have watched OU hoops on FS Florida since it comes before FS Southwest Plus in the listings a few times :D

I have stopped relying on SS for accurate TV listings, as they were still showing this as internet-only yesterday at one point. I suggest just going through your FS affiliates and see if a "college basketball" listing during an OU tipoff time shows Sooner basketball. I found last night's game on such a whim.
nice...thanks. I usually get the fox pkg...just for fox sw

[badger]

4 Big 12 teams now ranked in AP poll, including soon-to-be-melting down No. 7 Poke State. (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings) I will post a special edition "The Pokes will lose" vBookie event for this occasion.

The others are KU at No. 2 (the other poll rightly puts Louisville at No. 2 and KU at No. 3), Baylor and ISU in the mid-20s (although ISU is still on outside in one poll).

No votes for OU yet, but if we win a bunch at the Coaches vs Cancer tourney coming up in Brooklyn, we'll get some national attention :)

[CowboyMRW]

The Big 12 should be scared

[birddog]

Everyone but ku should be scared. Memphis was completely outclassed tonight.

[Eielson]

OSU is very good, but I'm doubting Memphis' #11 rank. I haven't kept up with their program too closely, but they were a very unimpressive 6 seed last year (nearly lost to the 11, got beat down by the 3) and that has been their shining season since Calipari left.

[badger]

The Big 12 should be scared

Agree. A wood floor as old as GIA's is bound to give you splinters

[Salt City Sooner]

OSU is very good, but I'm doubting Memphis' #11 rank. I haven't kept up with their program too closely, but they were a very unimpressive 6 seed last year (nearly lost to the 11, got beat down by the 3) and that has been their shining season since Calipari left.
FWIW, Pastner took over for The Slimeball in '09, & has yet to beat a ranked team in the regular season.

[badger]

All right effing hillbillies --- 6 p.m. tonite on trutv we take on Seton Hall in the Coaches vs Cancer tournament in Brooklyn. You can cast your vCash on OU via vBookie if you want added fun

Boooomerrrrrrr

[GDC]

nice win

[Soonerjeepman]

I'd say ku, then osu...the rest who knows.

Very nice win for the boys tonight. Unbelievable last 31 seconds....7-0 run. We'll see how we match up with the big boys tomorrow nite.

[badger]

Check out the Big 12 scores from last night:


Baylor 67, Dayton 66
Texas 77, DePaul 59
Texas Tech 76, Houston 64
West Virginia 78, Old Dominion 60

While I feel robbed of some potential meltdown material, perhaps the conference will have fewer duds this year and we'll send half our teams to March Madness. I hope you all also expect us to go again, but on top of that, I don't want to be among teams holding their breath waiting for CBS' brackets to appear on Selection Sunday. With a strong conference and strong showing in a strong conference, we're in, just a matter of where

[tycat947]

Check out the Big 12 scores from last night:



While I feel robbed of some potential meltdown material, perhaps the conference will have fewer duds this year and we'll send half our teams to March Madness. I hope you all also expect us to go again, but on top of that, I don't want to be among teams holding their breath waiting for CBS' brackets to appear on Selection Sunday. With a strong conference and strong showing in a strong conference, we're in, just a matter of where

Good point! I EXPECT us to go again! I really could care less about the other conference teams at all other than how their performance affects us. HeII, even TCU won on the road the other night against Wazzu! Whorns are better than I expected so far and really, so is Tech, even though they should finish near the bottom of the conference. Hypocrite U looks just about like they do every year under Drew so expect more of the same; look good sometimes and look like high school team sometimes.

[shytnik]

I'm really encouraged about this team. I was expecting a possible 18-20 wins this year and maybe 5th in the Big XII, but after the past few weeks I feel even better than that. It is early, but the way they are playing is very encouraging. First we beat Alabama who has since shown to be a pretty good team. They are sitting at 4-2 with a 9 point loss to us and a 10 point loss to #5 Duke. We were leading #1 MSU for 1/3 of the game and it was a 4 point game in the final 5 minutes with us ultimately losing by 11, but it was much closer than that. I don't see any reason save a really bad night that we don't win the next 9 games and looking at 13-1 going into a match up with #2 Kansas. I don't see us beating them at all this year, but I can see beating Baylor and Iowa State. Probably won't beat OSU either, but I am hoping we might steal one there. It's a bit of a long shot, but we could possibly end up #3 in the conference, which as stated is a pretty good conference this year. No doubt we make the dance and if we play to our potential we might be sitting at somewhere in the are of 22-9 to 24-7 by the end of the regular season. There's always a few unexplainable loses on bad nights, but barring a meltdown or a bunch of injuries we are easily a tourney team. Our lack of bigs is really our main weakness, but the hustle and good defense helps overcome some of that. Maybe I'm too optimistic about this year, but I'm excited to see how it plays out.

[8timechamps]

I'm really encouraged about this team. I was expecting a possible 18-20 wins this year and maybe 5th in the Big XII, but after the past few weeks I feel even better than that. It is early, but the way they are playing is very encouraging. First we beat Alabama who has since shown to be a pretty good team. They are sitting at 4-2 with a 9 point loss to us and a 10 point loss to #5 Duke. We were leading #1 MSU for 1/3 of the game and it was a 4 point game in the final 5 minutes with us ultimately losing by 11, but it was much closer than that. I don't see any reason save a really bad night that we don't win the next 9 games and looking at 13-1 going into a match up with #2 Kansas. I don't see us beating them at all this year, but I can see beating Baylor and Iowa State. Probably won't beat OSU either, but I am hoping we might steal one there. It's a bit of a long shot, but we could possibly end up #3 in the conference, which as stated is a pretty good conference this year. No doubt we make the dance and if we play to our potential we might be sitting at somewhere in the are of 22-9 to 24-7 by the end of the regular season. There's always a few unexplainable loses on bad nights, but barring a meltdown or a bunch of injuries we are easily a tourney team. Our lack of bigs is really our main weakness, but the hustle and good defense helps overcome some of that. Maybe I'm too optimistic about this year, but I'm excited to see how it plays out.

I think Bama is almost a lock as a tournament team, so that win could really help by the season's end. This year, we scheduled really light out-of-conference games for a change. So, barring anything crazy, we could be 12-1 heading into conference play. There are a couple of games that could be tough:

Texas A&M (currently 6-0)
Louisiana Tech (currently 5-1)

The absolute worst I think we go into conference play is 10-3. Either way, we should have over 10 wins.

In conference, I think we have a good shot at finishing 3rd. It's going to be a fight between OU, Baylor and ISU for that third place spot. I think OU is better than Baylor, but ISU could be tough. I don't think OU is better than either Kansas or Oklahoma State, but since it's so hard to win on the road in college basketball, the Sooners will always have a good shot at home.

I'm predicting a 12-6 conference record. That would put us at 24-7 (best case scenario), or 22-9 going into the Big XII tourney. If the Sooners can beat ISU and Baylor at home, and take care of the teams they should beat, I think that prediction is very possible.

This team should be a solid tournament team, and should be nowhere near the bubble. Of course, things never go the way you predict...so, we'll see.

[Soonerjeepman]

I went with 12-6 conf and 10-3 non-conf.....

well, honestly I think we can end up 12-1 non-conf. a'm will be tough..but doable. So even if OU stumbles to to 10-8 in conf that's 22-9. Should be good enough to get in.

Obviously, ku and osu are in a class above everyone else. I'd still give us a shot at home against them. OU definitely has to beat the lower half and hopefully split with the top.

Course all this is based on STAYING HEALTHY.

[badger]

Just as I praise the Big 12 on its winning, some new meltdown material presents itself :P

Outlook for tonite? Win by 30?

[shytnik]

Mercer could be a tough game too. I realize match ups are different so what team A and B both do against C isn't definitive, but Mercer beat Seton Hall by 3 and we beat them by 1.

I also agree we ISU is pretty tough, I think we can split with them, then who knows on a neutral court in the Big XII tourney.

Either way if we stay healthy, I think we have a pretty good year.