We Control Our Destiny Now

[Eielson]

...for a share of the conference title at least.

K-State's upset over KU is official, and that leaves us just one game behind Kansas (and half of a game behind ISU).

It's not going to be easy, though, as we'll likely have to beat TCU at home on Saturday, and follow that up with a win at Ames, and another win at home against KU. If KU were to lose to WVU or Texas, we might even be playing for an outright conference championship on March 7.

It will be tough, but it's definitely possible, and it feels great to control our own destiny going into the final 3 games (and likely 2, as a TCU win should be as close to a guarantee as you can get in conference play).

[tycat947]

I-State has won like 21 games in a row at home. Call me when we win in Ames.

[Eielson]

Please post your phone number.

[SicEmBaylor]

Every time I hear that phrase, "We control out destiny", I hear it said in a Darth Vader voice.

[aurorasooner]

We need to put TCU away early in Norman Sat, then get some rest for that Monday game in Ames which could possibly punch our ticket to the regular season championship if we happen to win it. I've got think we've got to shoot unconscious from the 3 point line to win it.
I don't think there's a chance in hell of us winning out especially the way we played Sat in Lubbock, just pitiful--no energy, couldn't shoot for sh&^ and couldn't rebound either, but hopefully a whole week of rest will help us.

Just looking at the schedule, I-State plays Baylor in Ames on Wed Night (ESPNU) and then they play K-State in the Rotten Apple on Sat (ESPN2) --the later the better for us I'd think, which is 3 games in ~ 5 days, including the next Mon Night game with us.

KU plays Texas in Lawrence on Sat (ESPN2) then they play W.Va in Lawrence on Tue Night (ESPN2) before they play us on the final Sat (ESPN2), so there's probably no advantage for us except for the home court and possibly an extra day of rest, but they have both games at home and don't have to travel before coming to Norman. They'll probably win both, but I also thought they'd win last night.

We play TCU this Sat (ESPNU) and then have to travel to Ames on Monday. (TCU's OOC must have been sh(% because they've lost all their games in conference). If we don't cough that game up against TCU and happen to steal that one in Ames then we've got a real good shot to steal the conference from KU (and ISU) or tie KU for it, especially with I-State playing KSU on the road on Sat. KSU played last night and upset KU, so they'll get plenty of rest before they play ISU.

I didn't think I'd ever root for the whorns in anything, but I'll be rooting for them tonight against WVa in Morgantown.


Standings (from the Big 12 website)


School Big 12 Overall Pct.

Kansas 11 - 4 22 - 6 .786
Iowa State 10 - 4 20 - 6 .769
Oklahoma 10 - 5 19 - 8 .704
West Virginia 9 - 5 21 - 6 .778
Baylor 8 - 6 20 - 7 .741
Oklahoma State 7 - 8 17 - 10 .630
Kansas State 7 - 9 14 - 15 .483
Texas 6 - 8 17 - 10 .630
TCU 3 - 11 16 - 11 .593
Texas Tech 2 - 13 12 - 16 .429

As of February 23, 10:43 PM CT

[badger]

God bless purple kansas those octagon of doom mf'ers ;)

[Soonerjeepman]

got to agree, Mon at isu will be almost impossible. Honestly I'd rather beat ku in Norman than isu if I had a choice. We better man-handle tcu big time.

[Eielson]

Lot of Debbie Downers in here. Yuck.

Yes...ISU is a very good team, and yes...Ames is a tough place to play...and yes, this ISU is the clear favorite in this game...but no, this isn't impossible, or even close to it.

First off, we beat the hell out of ISU about 2.5 weeks ago. I know it was at home, but what advantage does homecourt give teams? It's not magic. It's the fact that teams tend to shoot a little better at home, and get more calls. ISU shot well above their season average against us, and shot more than twice as many FT's, so I doubt that factors in too much. It also serves as a bit of added motivation some times, as some players tend to be going through the motions in the middle of the season, but if you can't get motivated to play against a top 15 team for a conference title, then you don't have a pulse. Ultimately, we're just going to have to play another great game like we did for the last 25 minutes or so.

Second, ISU is undefeated at home this year, but they haven't been untouchable. They only beat OSU by 2, KU by 5, KSU by 6, and Texas by 3. Even Southern, a team that went 3-11 in the non-conference, gave ISU a scare at home back in December. It's also notable that we would be undefeated at home this season had we not lost to KSU. I don't consider us unbeatable at home.

Lastly, we've played tougher games than this one. Admittedly, we haven't won any games that were as tough or tougher than this one, but we should have beaten KU in Lawrence, and if we'd gotten anything from Hield or Cousins (just one...not even both), we would have had a good shot at knocking off Wisconsin.

In the end, I agree that this is a tough game, and it's not likely that we will win the conference. We have a reasonable shot, though. If we were to win all three remaining games, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that happened all year (losing to KSU twice has that title). I'm not going to raise the white flag before the fight even starts like you chumps.

[aurorasooner]

Whorns were making it interesting vs Wva even though they've had one of their trees ejected. Now it's turned into a TO and foul battle with WVa pulling away. It's probably going to take a miracle for Texass to win this one.
Lunardi is talking now about how the steers may not even make the NCAA tourney because of their conference record and they've still got to play KU on the road.
For as tall as they are, they can't chew bubble gum and play BB worth a chit.

[badger]

Lot of Debbie Downers in here. Yuck

Ja, but do y'know who's not a Debbie Downer? Buddy Hield before the season started :D


We’re gonna win the Big 12. I’m saying it right now. We’re gonna win the Big 12...

Why not? Every team believes they can win the Big 12 championship...

We believe we can win. KU believes they can win. Texas, West Virginia, Iowa State, everybody believes. It’s whoever competes the hardest, fights for loose balls, grinds it out the last two minutes. That’s the team that will win the Big 12.

If Buddy says it, who am I to disagree :D

:mad: now go vBet on the Sooners in vBookie or else we're gonna lose Saturday :mad:

[Eielson]

Guess who has a 0 game home winning streak...

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400585854

If KU were to lose to Texas or WVU, we could be playing for an outright conference championship, and we might not even have to win in Ames to get a share of it.

[Soonerjeepman]

yes we would....to win it outright...and to get a share. if isu beats us we'll have 6 losses, they'll have 5. even if ku losses to ut or wv, we have to beat isu to win it outright or a share. Not sure how you figured we didn't need to win in ames.

actually wv is 10-5 as well with games at bu/at ku/home osu. So the best for OU is they lose to bu, beat ku, lose to osu.

OU wins out, then they will be league champs. We drop the isu game, they win out, they will be league champs. Wv wins out, we win out then we will share title with wv. Basically we HAVE to win out to even get the league, or let alone a share....

[aurorasooner]

yes we would....to win it outright...and to get a share. if isu beats us we'll have 6 losses, they'll have 5. even if ku losses to ut or wv, we have to beat isu to win it outright or a share. Not sure how you figured we didn't need to win in ames. I guess we should root for the Whorns to beat KU, KSU to beat ISU, then KU to beat Wva. It won't matter though if we don't win the next two, and we sure as hell have to take of business on Saturday.
I don't know whether it's better to root for the Steers against KU or root for KU to put another L on their resume to possibly send them to the NIT. Watched the bears/Clowns game after the Sooner Wimmen and Baylor played tough down the stretch in Ames.

I sure would like to see us get the 1 or 2 seed in the B12 tourney so we could at least get out of the 2nd round.

[Soonerjeepman]

yeah...I would have liked to be the one to beat isu at home...doubt they lose 2...just like I think we beat ku in norman. it'll be a tough game. Can't believe the women pulled it out....

[Eielson]

yes we would....to win it outright...and to get a share. if isu beats us we'll have 6 losses, they'll have 5. even if ku losses to ut or wv, we have to beat isu to win it outright or a share. Not sure how you figured we didn't need to win in ames.

actually wv is 10-5 as well with games at bu/at ku/home osu. So the best for OU is they lose to bu, beat ku, lose to osu.

OU wins out, then they will be league champs. We drop the isu game, they win out, they will be league champs. Wv wins out, we win out then we will share title with wv. Basically we HAVE to win out to even get the league, or let alone a share....

I don't think you understood anything I said.

I know all these things you speak of, but none of that changes the validity of what I said. Depending on how things unfold, we could reasonably be playing for an outright conference championship against KU. All that needs to happen under that scenario is for KU to lose to WVU or KU, and for us to win out.

If we were to lose to ISU, we could still reasonably get a share of the conference title with a win against KU. KU once again would have to lose to WVU or Texas. Additionally ISU would have to lose @KSU or @TCU. KSU is 6-2 in conference at home (with only a 6 and a 4 point loss), and has beaten both KU and OU there. I would pick KSU as slight favorites. Additionally, WVU is 10-5, but they'd have to win @Baylor, @KU, and against OSU to keep us from grabbing a share. We all know that's not happening.

So yes, as long as KU loses to WVU or Texas, we have very good odds to win or share a conference title with a win on Senior Night.

[birddog]

Baylor did us a favor by winning in Ames. New **** has come to light!

[Soonerjeepman]

I don't think you understood anything I said.


yes I did, we are on the same team...you said we may not even have to win in Ames to get a share of the title...I disagreed...technically yes, but that relies on a lot of other things happening.

ISU has 5 losses, we have 5...if we lose to isu they are up 1/2 game. So, yes technically we could still...IF isu drops another we share IF we beat tcu/ku. I suppose that's possibility just like us being beat by tcu. Ksu will be tough for isu but they are a team that is more jekyl and hyde than us (ksu).

Basically I took your post as in we could lose to isu and either win it outright or at least share...which would rely on isu losing another and ku losing another (besides to us)...which are both long shots.

Bottom line is if we finish out we will at least share the title...depending on what ku does. IF the horns or wv can beat ku we may have a legitimate shot at the reg season title IF we beat isu. We need ut to beat ku and not wv. If wv does then there's a chance we'll tie with them.

[badger]

Guess who has a 0 game home winning streak

The meltdown thread might have a new addition or two by the end of the day ;)

[Eielson]

Just want to let all of you Debbie Downers know that KSU just knocked off ISU (did anybody in this thread predict that????). Also, WVU is getting blown out, so a win against KU assures us of, at least, a tie.

KU is losing to Texas at half, but there's still a long way to go. Cliff Alexander isn't playing, though, and they could use him against Texas' size. If Texas holds on, then we can lose to ISU, but beat KU, and still grab a share of the conference title. If KU lost, and we won out, we would be outright conference champs.

TWO GAMES TO GO AND WE STILL CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY...

[8timechamps]

Okay, we're down to the last two games...with a chance to win the conference. There's no way I would have expected this when the season started. I knew we had a solid group, and would more than likely make the big dance, but I didn't expect to be in this position with two games remaining.

Iowa State is going to be the tougher of the two. However, the Cyclones don't look so intimidating at home lately. The good news is they are coming off of a two game losing streak (Baylor and @ KSU). The bad news is we will have their full attention because of that (and the fact that we already beat them once). IF (and that's a big if) we can get by the Cyclones on the road, I think everything sets up for a win at home to close out the regular season.

If Texas can pull off the win today over KU, it takes a little bit of pressure off (at least having to win both games).

BOOMER!

[Eielson]

Texas blew it...again. That hurts.

[8timechamps]

Texas has sucked much better than I expected this year. The ONLY time I wouldn't have minded seeing them win and they screw that up too.

[aurorasooner]

Texas has sucked much better than I expected this year. The ONLY time I wouldn't have minded seeing them win and they screw that up too.Texass is pretty scary, since they're so tall. Sure glad that either their players (to use an old poster's quote--and it could apply to our last years FB team as well) are "dumber than a box of rocks" or they're just not coached-up very well by their staff to use their advantages, don't know which. I sure would like to see Stool State/TCU/ or Tech beat them in the 1st round of the conference tourney.

KU,KSU,Baylor,Wva (if their no 1 player isn't out indefinitely) are pretty darn good BB teams as well, as I think we are when we're regularly hitting our outside shots to take some pressure off a "not so tall" Spangler and TT, and hustling for the loose BBs. Don't really know where this team would be w/o TT transfer approval, but I would guess we wouldn't be in the hunt for a conference regular season championship.

I know coaches and players sometimes ""coast down the stretch when they are already in the NCAA tourney, but we may as well give it all we've got to win the next 2 and the regular season conference championship, because, imo, our chances of winning a tough conference tourney and even making it into the sweet 16 (since we've been so schizo) aren't as good as they are winning the 2 next week, which probably aren't very good either. A Sooner-Magic win Monday night (with or w/o a WVa upset of KU on Tues) would sure make it an exciting end to regular season conference play.

BTW, just got thru watching Sherri make excuses for our wimmen losing that game yesterday, "the weather, Sr. day, too much going on, blah, blah, blah" and it sounded just like Mack or our current head FB coach saying "better than most", and not something a Women's coach, making more than 1 mil a year ( http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20150225-big-12-women-s-basketball-coaches-salaries-see-how-sherri-coale-stacks-up-against-karen-aston-bill-fennelly-more.ece ), should say in her presser. I would have been more impressed if she'd have been pissed, or acted pissed, and would've sounded like she was going to lay down the law.
Giving these coaches a guaranteed windfall salary (especially of all things women's BB) and not one with a low guarantee and a contract with a huge incentive bonus for wins, player grad rate, conference championships, and NCs/final 4 appearances, is just a ridiculous fail by our athletic dept leadership, imo.

[Eielson]

I'm starting to feel like Rick Barnes is the basketball version of Mack Brown.

I thought he was a very good coach, but he's been below average at best since 2008. Texas could use a new coach, but I hope they don't get one for another year or two.

[Soonerjeepman]

horrible loss to ku women's...coach was too excited about the bu win. You don't beat bu the #3 team in the country and then lose to ku at home.

I digress....

Men. yes, not sure what tonight or sat brings. I honestly don't think ku will lose to wv. I think ut was the best shot. So at best we get a share IF we beat isu...horrible that ksu won. It was long shot and now I think pretty tough. They will be pissed they lost 2 in a row...and quite honestly we've play really poor against the two bottom dwellers...HOPEFULLY it's OU playing to the opponents level...

I don't see us getting to sweet 16 either, UNLESS the team that killed ut/bu/isu shows up. Big IF.

My dream world is we win the last 2, ku loses to wv, we win the title....get to the championship game of big 12...then get to sweet 16.

[badger]

I'm starting to feel like Rick Barnes is the basketball version of Mack Brown

Texas deserves a coach that reflects their fanbase --- the most money and the long, dated resume to hide the mediocrity of the present :mack: Hook em

[Eielson]

horrible loss to ku women's...coach was too excited about the bu win. You don't beat bu the #3 team in the country and then lose to ku at home.

I digress....

Men. yes, not sure what tonight or sat brings. I honestly don't think ku will lose to wv. I think ut was the best shot. So at best we get a share IF we beat isu...horrible that ksu won. It was long shot and now I think pretty tough. They will be pissed they lost 2 in a row...and quite honestly we've play really poor against the two bottom dwellers...HOPEFULLY it's OU playing to the opponents level...

I don't see us getting to sweet 16 either, UNLESS the team that killed ut/bu/isu shows up. Big IF.

My dream world is we win the last 2, ku loses to wv, we win the title....get to the championship game of big 12...then get to sweet 16.

The cool thing about the NCAA tournament is that we'll only play top 50 teams (except MAYBE round 1), and we've been very good against RPI top 50. It's those WTF losses to KSU and Creighton that are what make us look bad. Unfortunately, Lon STILL hasn't won a postseason tournament game, and that includes conference tournaments, despite being favored in several.

[Soonerjeepman]

The cool thing about the NCAA tournament is that we'll only play top 50 teams (except MAYBE round 1), and we've been very good against RPI top 50. It's those WTF losses to KSU and Creighton that are what make us look bad. Unfortunately, Lon STILL hasn't won a postseason tournament game, and that includes conference tournaments, despite being favored in several.

lol...true..hopefully the boys will have their A game tonight and Saturday.

[birddog]

Good start. Up 10-2 early