2013-14 OU womens basketball thread

[badger]

Once again we have a game tonight against Gonzaga at 7 p.m. Tune into one of the localized Fox Sports channels and you probably get it, even if you're in Florida (the one I watched the Sooner men on last nite, lol).

I didn't mention it earlier this week, but the basketball polls are released on Monday, and OU is at 11 and 13.

Linky

Here's the other Big 12s and where they are:

9. Baylor (both polls): Because their womens basketball team apparently didn't boycott over bus rides and poor facilities, Grambling State showed up to Baylor and lost 110-55 on Nov. 9. Sick them Bears next game is tonite versus Nichols State... and their next few opponents look just as weak, so they keep up the top ten illusion a bit longer.

18, 22. Iowa State: Because there's nothing significant about North Dakota or its university or the fact that Iowa State beat them in their first game, check out their logo. Copying anyone familiar? They also beat South Dakota already. Next up is Cincy LadyBearCat on Nov. 21.


20, 24: Oklahoma State: They've beaten Lamar by 30ish and UTSA by 40ish so far. They have Northern Colorado in two days, but USC in about a week.

Traitor roundup: If you weep for the old Big 12 during basketball season, you are not alone. Nebraska's at 10 and 15; Texas A&M's at 12 and 16; Colorado is at 17 and 19. I think there's a fourth traitor, but I don't remember since they never amounted to much in womens basketball or real life... oh, and it's not like there's not a bunch of other felines with stripes running around as mascots in college sports, if ya know what I mean.

Boomer

[badger]

Sooo many fouls that nobody sees except refs on both sides. Boooooooo make our free throws already. Raaaaaaaage

[badger]

To whoever brought shiny jersey no. 23 kid in front row near center court opposite scorers table... Thank you!!! His enthusiasm jumping in circles and more showed up well on tv

Also, since I had to watch silently lest I wake toddler baj, I could live vicariously through that kid

Boooooooomerrrrrrrr we win! Eff the refs regardless

[badger]

Don't let Nicole Kornet's smile fool you:

We took a beating last night without getting beat on the scoreboard.

It wasn't just Morgan going down and other physicality, it was extreme frustration with the officials, who are probably kindred spirits with the infamous scabs:

The good part of that was that it was awfully officiated -- to the tune of 75 free throws and several players fouling out --- on both sides of the ball. The bad part was that my dearly beloved husband NP declared the game unwatchable (which he also did in the first half) with five minutes to go, and thought OU was en route to lose. He was even bringing sympathy ice cream back to the room I was watching the game in.

OU 82, Gonzaga 78
We wanted it more. Trailing with about 5 mins remaining, the team that my closed captioning kept referring to as "Gonzales" was ahead and undoubtedly headed for victory, when something unexplainable except through photos happened:

Players in foul trouble were fearlessly going for loose balls an rebounds, despite refs whistling as often as they mouth-breathed.

"Gonzales" stopped getting all of their offensive rebounds and stopped making shots.

And despite a very good possibility of getting punched, slapped or otherwise bumped, we didn't stop driving to the basket.

Soooo... we are probably going to get crushed by Louisville (the team that infamously sent Baylor home in the Sweet 16 last year in OKC, as Skeletor screamed and stripped at courtside), as they return 11 players and 4 starters from last year's team. But, at least we have this victory.

I am going to take a pass on complaining about turnovers and missed shots (especially free throws) and go straight to Sherri. Sherri?

“I’m really proud of our team. I think we displayed a great deal of toughness, especially down the stretch after Morgan (Hook) went out. We got great minutes from T.T. [T’ona Edwards] and Gioya [Carter], great toughness from our bigs and our All-American (Aaryn Ellenberg) makes baskets at the end of the game. That’s a really good team. I have such respect for Kelly Graves. He does a tremendous job. They are experienced. They went deep in the tournament last year and they have everybody back. They are way better than 25 or whatever poll it is that has them 25. They are definitely a top-25 team and they are going to beat a lot of people.”

Sadly, I must render the current state of the game as "unwatchable" unless you are really pro-OU or love this team. It is not the endless turnovers or botched shooting, it is the officiating, plain and simple. You cannot catch a break, you cannot expect them to let the players play. If they're getting paid by the tweet, then sign them up for Twitter instead. I will continue to monitor this horrendous development in the college game (mens and womens alike) and update you as the season progresses.

Next game: 3 p.m. Sunday hosting Louisville. Heaven help us, it will take a miracle to pull this one off, and if we do, it's our ticket to the top 10 in the polls. TV is CBS Sports Network. I will get it posted to vBookie sometime soon.

Boomer!

[badger]

#5 Louisville 97, #11 OU 92 (OVERTIME)

Nah, just kidding. If you want to lose to tournament-quality teams, it is much better to lose to them in November than it is to lose to em in March. For those of you who have repeatedly typed "SMH" whenever it is mentioned that Louisville begged in Austin to get a Big 12 invite, womens basketball is no exception.

Louisville football defeats almightly SEC in Orange Bowl is not good enough for Big 12? SMH.

Louisville mens basketball wins national title is not good enough for Big 12? SMH.

Louisville womens basketball defeats Skeletor and her Baylor minions in the Sweet 16 en route to the national title game?!?!?

We could have been playing these guys in all three sports annually! SMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMH

No offense to West Virginia, of course, but at this point, I'd have loved to include both (or just exclude TCU again, who does not give a **** about basketball)

Game notes:

Foul trouble: If freshman Gioya Carter has a weakness, it's silly foulness. Same with RS sophomore Kay Kay. They both fouled out, and three more had 4.

Odds in Vegas favor: Double-double with 22 pts, 12 boards!

We practiced free throws: In a season where free throws are going to be given out like Tulsa mayoral campaign mailers, it is clear that free throws were practiced since our last outing, because we shot 85 percent, with only one player missing more than 1 all game.

Bozo stats:

We did not practice three throws: If you divide 7 by 29, you get... 24.1 percent?!?! Please tell me my math is wrong... oh wait, that's SS.com math. Straight from the higher education institution folks

20 turnovers: I love Ellen-burger, but she led the team with 6.

Enough from me, here's Sherri:

And here she is again, in quote format:

“Well, I’m really proud of our team what a great basketball game. My goodness. What a great showcase for women’s college basketball. I think everybody here was entertained and I think everybody at home was entertained as well. I thought we mounted a tremendous comeback in the second half. I was so proud of that. It got away from us a little bit in overtime. It’s a seasoned team that has been to the Final Four and they have been in situations like that. They made big plays, so give them credit for that. I think for us to be in that position, with the way we shot the ball tonight, speaks volumes about our team.”

**** the Big 12 and **** Austin thumbing their noses at L'ville's groveling for membership. Let's schedule these guys in our major sports for some home and home action. Everything --- football, both basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball... ROWING. Do they even have a rowing team?

Next game: 7 p.m. Wednesday hosting UT-Arlington. TV right now is just Sooner Sports TV online, so hopefully it'll change to include local FS affliliants.

Boooomerrrrr

[PrideMom]

Does anyone know why there were so many fans rooting for Louisville? We have reserved seats in the lower north section, and we were surrounded. I thought it was maybe for a certain player at Louisville, but really could not be sure.

[badger]

Y'know how Baylor brings lots of green clad for their Norman games? L'ville seems to have a bit of a following as well, at least at home. I know attendance stats can get inflated often, but here's how their home games have been thus far:

LSU: 8099
QUINNIPIAC: 6783
LOYOLA CHICAGO: 7511

Louisville's KFC Yum! Center capacity is 22K for basketball, fyi --- the fifth largest in college basketball.

If I didn't state it enough, we seem to have missed out a good expansion candidate for the Big 12 back in October 2011. The depressing AAS details here. I wish I knew who to be angry at besides Texas.

[tycat947]

Does anyone know why there were so many fans rooting for Louisville? We have reserved seats in the lower north section, and we were surrounded. I thought it was maybe for a certain player at Louisville, but really could not be sure.

There were a LOT of Native Americans there and even though most had on OU gear, they were there because of Shoni and Jude Schimmel. Sherri said on the pre-game radio show that they had a large following of Native Americans wherever they went.

[badger]

We have a game tonight

But first, here's a link to Sherri's updated blog. Here's an excerpt:

Our locker room was not a happy place on Sunday. Disappointment was scattered around like dirty socks, but the resolve that’s already become our moniker was bubbling stronger than ever. This group just refuses not to be great. What a marvelous thing to know.

Another awesome entry from the former high school English teacher

Another treat from the team and Sherri -- a video thanking the crowd for Sunday's atmosphere.

Also, because she's awesome, Aaryn Ellenberg was Big 12 player of the week. This is the seventh time she's won this honor.

I would mention that we're No. 10 in the poll right now, but I think we deserve higher despite losing Sunday, so eff that, not gonna update till we get a more worthy number

Tonight's UT-Arlington game is at 7 p.m. TV is FS Oklahoma/FCS Atlantics. Just go through your FS channels till they have our game and you're golden.

Boomer!

[badger]

It's a good thing there's no 100-point promotion, or there'd be a reason to leave that game disappointed.
OU 99, UT-Arlington 46

I really like this team, but this game was basically a midseason exhibition. By the time I got to tune in (toddler baj needs a nightly bath to get to sleep) UTA had pulled within 18-10, but that was as close as the game ever got, if you don't count 0-0. The UTA logo and colors made me think we were walloping Boise State, so that's also a positive. **** you, Boise State

Game notes:

Freshman on fire: Remember the name "Derica Wyatt" for later in this season. She went 7 for 11 from three (including 5 for 5 in about a 10-minute first half stretch).

34 turnovers: Thank goodness that was UTA's stat and not ours. We had a mere 9, despite giving a lot of minutes to non-starters, freshmen, etc. Whew!

Freshmen for the assist: Also remember the names "Gioya Carter" (6 assists) and "T'ona Edwards" (8 assists).

Vegas-burger: Not quite Vegas, not quite Ellen-burger, she only got to play 24 minutes but at least she got 23 points out of her time.

Bozo stats:

Sharane injured, shooting poorly: If I heard the announcer correctly, she is 1 for 17 from three this season so far, adding another miss to her tally last night. She went down in the first half (rolled ankle it appeared) and only played 8 minutes. Hopefully she is OK, because her speed shooting seems to be a stronger point in her game than three throwing.

Kay Kay foul foul: "Four Foul" Williams just doesn't have the same ring as "Fourl Foul" McFarland... but I will totally give her that designation if her tendency to foul everyone -- ranked and mid major alike -- continues this season. Arg.

Outrebounded? Really?!: I feel like we really didn't give enough effort here, and so UTA outrebounded us 43-40 last night. We made about half of our shots, so can't use that as an excuse.

Cheat throws: There was this scene in Family Guy where Stewie is teaching piano by zapping the kid when they touch wrong keys, and suspending another kid over a shark pool with a bassoon, lowering the rope with each bad note. Perhaps we can establish a similar negative reinforcement tool on free throws. We were 11 for 21 last night.

Player of the game: Derica Wyatt, for going 5 for 5 from three during an early stretch and 7 for 11 on the game. It was pretty amazing to watch, and since this wasn't a nail biter by any stretch of the imagination, for this reason alone... player of the game! yaaaaay.


Sherri?

“Derica can shoot it, there is no doubt about it. She can shoot it. She was at one point five of five from three and she passed up a couple and I’m thinking ‘what in the world’ because if someone had thrown it to me and I was five for five I could have been triple teamed and I would have shot it, When that’s flowing, sister, keep firing. She did really good things and what Derica just has to learn is defensive transition, defending screens, and all of those things that all freshmen have to learn and she got an opportunity to do all of that tonight too. You guys were all going ‘wow’ about her making threes but she was jumping to the ball, she was on the back line, and doing things that we need her to be able to do so she gets more minutes. It was a really good night for her in ways beyond making seven 3s.”

I should also note that UTA just played OSU too, losing 74-35. Tee hee, we won by more.

Next game: 3 p.m. Sunday at UCLA. TV is Pac 12 Network, which I've never had a reason to watch till now.

Booommmerrrrrr

[tycat947]

I should also note that UTA just played OSU too, losing 74-35. Tee hee, we won by more.

And our starters played 92 minutes out of 200 possible where the pokette starters played 127 minutes out of 200 total!!!

[badger]

First of all... the Pac 12 Network. I don't get it, and it was the broadcast network of Sooner basketball last night.

Next time you poo poo at what others have in TV deals --- the B1G Network, the Pac 12 Networks, the Longhorn Network, etc., remember that they are not truly national networks. Everyone gets Fox Sports, therefore, everyone gets to see a lot of our games. Not everyone gets Bevo TV, Pac-LA or B1G channel. As much as everyone bashes their football broadcasts and such, at least you can see OU on it.

OU 76, UCLA 82
I should make a clever comment here... the referees make college basketball as unwatchable as regional Pac 12 networks in Oklahoma! Was that suffice? OK then, let's go down the box score's unwatchable stats:

50 fouls: How is basketball supposed to be a fast-paced game when the refs blow their whistles to stop play 50 times (not counting TV timeouts, regular timeouts and other play stoppage, like one of our turnover passes going into row 15)?

58 free throws: Nothing is more exciting than watching an uncontested, untimed (by the scoreboard) shot worth a single point.

5 players fouled out: 3 OU, 2 UCLA. Because making players sit out the remainder of the game might cause non-basketball-related drama, because basketball was boring by itself.

I am so disgusted with the way the first month of college basketball has gone, both mens and womens. I didn't like Texas A&M style thug ball, but this is taking things too far.

SS.com didn't provide postgame quotes, so let me give one final middle finger to the Pac 12 Network, then tell you when the next round of abysmal reffing begins:

12 p.m Sunday hosting Creighton. TV is Fox Sports 2.

Boooooooo(the refs)mer

[badger]

I have been a bad badger, but to my defense, I have also been a sick badger. Thus, your lack of college football meltdowns, college basketball meltdowns (and I missed both KU and OSU losing because of it!) and most importantly, lack of OU womens basketball updates.

I may go to bed early tonight and miss tonight's game as well, but that's no reason that all of you have to:

6:30 p.m. tonight hosting Western Illinois. TV is FS Oklahoma/FCS Pacific

Also, extra special kudos to another sports team I had the honor of pep banding once upon a time, the OU womens volleyball team, who take on Auburn's football beyonce, Alabama in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night. I remember the pre-Santiago era. We lost so often that we were all confused the time that we extended a series to 5 games (They only play to 15 points? OK...) and could count the number of home conference victories on a hand, probably less.

I especially have to give them kudos after last basketball season, when they loaned us Tara Dunn and Eden Williams.

Boooooomerrrrrrrrr

[badger]

OU 97, Western Illinois 80

I spent the moments that I tuned in impressed that a program I knew nothing about (Western Illinois is the "Leatherneck." No idea if they change that to "Ladynecks" for womens teams). I was also impressed that one of their players was able to keep up and shoot well given her size:


Disclaimer: I've gained weight, I've lost weight, I'm not knocking someone that weighs more than me. You just can't help but stare at the players that look different, and the short and fat opposing player definitely looks different.

What really kept Western Illinois keeping the scoreboard respectable, other than us backing off in the closing seconds, was their three shooting. Like us, they shot better than 50 percent from there. The difference in our favor was rebounding and causing turnovers. As Sherri can tell you, this mid-major deserve a lot of kudos and respect:

“I will first of all say that Western Illinois plays hard and they played well tonight. They shot the ball extremely well and they played their tails off for 40 minutes. I have such respect for the way they’re coached, the way they compete, and they’re going to win a lot of basketball games if they play that hard and shoot that well. I think we did some good things. We had some periods where we plateaued and lost our focus, lost our concentration. We were able to zap it back but we have got to get rid of those lapses. It’s part of the process, it’s why we play games, it’s why we do what we do.”

I'm still not 100 percent (out of excuses), so I'll just give some brief tidbits:

Kay Kay had zero fouls: But she also only played 17 minutes.

Both teams scored 46 each in the second half: Good thing OU already had a 17-point lead.

Gioya Carter started: I'm not ready to thumb my nose at the ouhoops posters that doubted my "she's gonna start" suspicions, because I may have qualified that statement with "replace Morgan" or something that isn't quite factual yet. In this case Sherri went with a four-guard starting lineup (and tall Nicole), having other-Nicole (Kornet) as first off the bench.

I need ibuprofen. I hope OU's next opponent is easier... oh wait, it's Duke. Sherri?!?

The big, long answer is simply this. Basketball seasons are long and building a team is a process. I told the kids I heard Villanova head coach Jay Wright in the locker room have this great phrase after the Kansas game where he said, ‘We’re building our souls.’ You don’t do that kind of stuff quickly. It’s not going to happen in a week, it’s not going to happen in three days. The whole idea is brick by brick you build those things so that in the spring you can go and do something really special. We have a lot of things we can improve upon. Rebounding is one of them. Consistent defending is one of them. Shooting well in both halves is another. We have all kinds of things. Getting all of the guys the best possible spot for them at the same time. We had Vegas great in the first half and we had Gioya show up in the second half and you kind of have this thing pieced together. The whole idea is to roll toward the point where that can all happen simultaneously, and that’s why we practice, that’s why we play. That’s what the point of all this is. Will we be a finished product on Sunday? No, not at all. But I don’t think Duke is either. The whole idea is to be better than they are for 40 minutes on Sunday afternoon.”

Next game: 3 p.m. Sunday hosting Duke. TV is FOX Sports 1.

Booommmahhhh

[Bourbon St Sooner]

So should we prepare our anuses? ani? for Sunday?

[badger]

So should we prepare our anuses? ani? for Sunday?

The most optimism I can brew up before the team that is probably UConn's equal (seriously, check the scoreboards of their games this year and the heights on their roster --- they score a lot and they're tall) is that we pushed top-five Louisville into OT and should have won that game in regulation. If we have our best day and Duke doesn't... or even if they do...

Let me start over. You see that woman in my avatar to your left? She is Sherri Coale, golden goddess of Sooner basketball. Whether our teams are highly ranked or not, injured or healthy, she has always given OU a good chance to beat any opponent. Hell, we've scared UConn a few times in recent years when they've been unbeatable!

[tycat947]

Kay Kay had zero fouls: But she also only played 17 minutes.

HEY! KayKay has had 4 fouls in 17 minutes before!!!

[badger]

Duke 94, OU 85

Don't be fooled by the final, we were down about 20 at halftime then had a few 20+ scorers to make it a more respectable final. In a game where we had to be flawless we had our flaws --- 15 first-half turnovers (21 overall), 6 players with 3 or more fouls, 7 for 23 for three --- so we had our loss.

On the positive side, we did make the final score respectable, so we are the only 3-loss team to still be in the AP's top 25, released today. We're now No. 20, and poised to climb once the undefeateds that have only played cupcakes (*cough* OSU! *cough*) face their conferences.

Sadly, I am still fighting my nose to the point that I want to cut it off so that I don't have to blow it every minute. So, only some brief stats again:

Barely bench: For the majority of this game, Sherri only played 6 players. Kay Kay, Tall Nicole, Vegasburger, Morgan and Sharane started, and they all played at least 22 minutes. Gioya Carter played 19. Only 3 others entered, including Other Nicole, they played 2-5 mins each. Not sure what to think of this. I will table this discussion till further discussion.

Free throws free: We only missed 4, going 22 to 26. A special Mack Brown sideline clap to Tall Nicole going 7 for 9. Clap clap clap clap. Please keep it up Tall Nicole. You're going to get sent to the line lots this season.

Morgan le Tre: Part of the reason Morgan Hook had 24 pts was going 3 for 3 from three. I haven't seen her this focused on three since her froshie year. Good sign? Yes, definitely. Here's a pic of her from last night's game just for fun:


Somebody rebound please: We aren't going to face potentially the top team in the country every game (No. 2 Duke plays No. 1 UConn later this month), but our post primaries Kay Kay and Tall Nicole only had 6 and 7 rebounds, respectively.

Let me just turn this over to Sherri:

“Well, I was as proud of our second half as I was disappointed in our first half. Just did not start the game emphatically, we didn’t play with confidence and we didn’t play with bravado. It’s hard to say why that happened. I think a lot of bad things stem from not doing simple, easy things. We missed easy a few shots around the basket, which we should not have missed. There’s not excuse for that. We let it affect our psyche and it just started a downhill spiral. That little spell in the first half where we turned it over, threw out of bounds, kicked it out of bounds, threw it to them was really the difference in the game. I’m disappointed in that because I know this group is better than that. We should be past that. With this many seniors, we should be beyond that. With all that being said, tremendous grit in the second half. These two guys (Aaryn Ellenberg and Morgan Hook) were really tough in the second half. Gioya Carter was fantastic. There are some good things to take away and Duke is No. 2 in the country for a reason. They’re very good, very athletic, they make plays and they make big shots.”

If you haven't attended a Sooner home game since the early aughts, this is what you're missing during pregame intros: Red flamage.


Next game: 2 p.m. Sunday hosting Maryland Eastern Shore. TV currently set for Sooner Sports TV, not sure if a Fox affiliate will pick it up or not.

Boomer!

[badger]

Sidenote to begin: [I]Congrats to the OU volleyball team on making it to the second round of NCAAs. Sadly, they also have reason to hate Satan-ford, who ended their season. Baskeball team loaner Eden Williams tied two of her volleyball teammates in setting a program record for NCAA Tournament games played with eight. Williams had 10 digs and ended her career with 947. I think that's the maneuver where you dive at the ground to prevent the ball from hitting the ground. This clever remark is for you:

BREATHE IF YOU HATE STANFORD

And now, a basketball brief:

105-46

I am once again passing on my SF.com public services due to motherhood. It is fun to post meltdowns from other boards, extensive basketball game recaps, vBookie and the like, but sadly, I'm starting to grow out of the Internet thing. But, I still love my Sooners and like to see how they're doing. So... to the box score!

Double double for Tall Nicole: Almost. She had 10 boards and 9 points.

26 pts for Other Nicole: Someday, I will think of a better nickname for her than "Other Nicole." Or, I'll make Tall Nicole "Other Nicole" and Kornet "Awesome Nicole." How? Keep score 26 points in a game, please.

Aaryn Ellenberg: "Suffered a minor left knee strain four minutes into the game and did not return. She was held out as a precaution." Do I need to mention how doomed we are if Vegas-burger is injured seriously? Good call holding her out.

12 players played: Hopefully we'll see more in bigger games too, and not just a 5-6 player "rotation" like we were against Duke.

6 for 21 from three; 29 for 39 from free: Making shots isn't important to this game, right? You can win games without making shots, right?

Sherri?

“I liked our energy. I liked how well we played together and shared the basketball. I thought we got important minutes for a lot of guys. We’re developing our depth and trying different combinations and I think it’s a game that we used to get better. Every game we play, we want to get better. I thought our approach in the second half, even though we let them score a little bit more than I would have liked, I thought our approach to the things we have been working on was pretty good.”

Next game: 6 p.m. Weds at Bridgeport, Conn. vs Fairfield. No TV (and no beer make Homer something something)

Boomer!

[badger]

Big huge conference season preview thing

It has been awhile, and I apologize. Sadly, the news is not good, because I have a very strong inclination that we are living off program reputation alone at this point. We have four losses, yet the top 25 didn't see fit to drop us. So, here's my 4-loss evaluation right here:


I'm not gonna mince words, folks, because I am not Texas A&M football, who can blindly scream how their strong conference affiliation (Big 12 is indeed a strong basketball conference) and all losses are to postseason-bound, quality opponents (no argument, they all are) and how our star players will lead to postseason greatness (they still could).

Rather than cheer you all up with our wins, here's how we lost, and when:

Nov. 17 at home: #5 Louisville 97, us 92 in overtime: We had the chance to win it in regulation, but alas, it was not meant to be and L'ville out-starred us in the end of an exhausting affair.

Nov. 24 at UCLA (unranked) 82, us 76: On paper, no excuse, but in reality, the basketball season is long and road games are always tough. They probably owed us a loss after we bonked them in last postseason for a Sweet 16 berth, tee hee.

Dec. 8 at home: #2 Duke 94, us 85: Not as close as the final score. This was probably going to be a loss regardless of how well we played, so long as Duke didn't get food poisoning or the flu en route over. But, just looking back at the final score, I can pretend that we had a chance.

Dec. 21 at Marist (unranked) 76, us 69: And here's the part where I soothe you all with the word "doooooooom" in a haunting voice. We shot 3 for 16 from three, hence only scoring 69 points total. Argh. Doom doom doom dooooooooooooooom


Now that Pandora has let all of the gloom and doom out, here's where the hope appears at the bottom of the box: We begin our conference season Thursday, which will allow us time to soul search, reset goals and perhaps get back on track to where we need to and should be for postseason success. Here's what I hope they all have in mind:

1- Practice free throws. Refs are whistling more, so this is where our points should be coming from, not lobbing (and missing) threes. Dribble drive, shoot for frees and get our opponents in foul trouble.

2- Minimize turnovers. How are we supposed to get free throws if we lose the ball before we can force opponents to foul us?

3- No silly fouling. Unless an opponent has a track record of bricking frees, we should let opponents wildly run around a bit and watch them make the mistakes on offense without getting bailed out by the refs. Having our post players stay out of foul trouble will be key to keeping our offense scoring (and getting sent to the line, but of course)

4- Stay healthy. Injuries have derailed Final Four hopes in the past, and I hope this isn't going to be one of those years, but it shaping up to be one. The best we can hope for at this point is to maintain the roster we have without anymore injury losses.

5- Make the most of opportunities off the bench. I see Sherri going to the bench very little in key games, so when players do get their number called, I hope they are extremely focused and ready, because our starters must get gassed after logging that many minutes.

Here's what Sherri had to say after a Dec. 29 win over Samford:

On how valuable it is to get a lot of minutes for a lot of players heading into conference play:
“I take away a couple of things from that. First of all, because Vegas was out tonight, we had some different lineups and you never know when youre going to be forced into that. Vegas isn’t one to get in foul trouble, but if we have Morgan (Hook) in foul trouble or Gioya (Carter) is in foul trouble we have guys who are able to morph into different positions and those combinations that we have on the floor are not as awkward or as new. We have been through that, we have played through that before. I thought they did a really good job tonight at changing. We did some things in timeouts that put people in different places just so they can feel that. I think that’s a benefit that comes from that. Another benefit that comes from that, which is huge and you can’t overlook it, is every time these guys get minutes they earn trust from me. These guys can play. These guys on the bench can play. Not only can they function, they make an impact. Having that does two things. It gives you quality depth as you go ahead and you compete against teams and get in foul trouble. To stay fresh and have quality depth. Also, you can keep people really accountable. It’s really easy to hold people accountable when the guy off the bench is going to come in and do a really good thing and challenge. They say a competition makes a horse race, and we have got that right now. We can build on that as conference play goes on. I thought everyone who came in tonight did some good things and put themselves in a position where I’m not afraid to put them moving forward.”

Next game: 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Texas Tech. No TV (and no beer make Homer go crazy) as of right now. I really hope to be back to my sunshiney self afterwards, but if not, I promise not to wait a few weeks to goom and dloom

Boooooooooom(er)