Sooner Men's Basketball 9-3-Where are they headed into B12 Play?

[OUBeliever56A]

The Oklahoma Sooner Men's Basketball Team is currently 9-3 at the Christmas break. Where does that put them with regards to being ready for the Big 12 schedule and for the possible playoffs to follow? The Big 12 Men's teams look very tough this season, period. to compete in the Big 12 will be a chore 'twice a week' for the Sooners. Here are the current standings for the ten (10) big 12 teams based upon the NET rankings.

Kansas - #5 NET - 11-1
Texas - #9 NET - 10-1
West Virginia - #11 NET - 10-2
Baylor - #19 NET - 9-2
Iowa State - #32 NET - 9-2
Kansas State - #33 NET - 11-1
Oklahoma State - #46 NET - 8-4
Oklahoma - #47 NET - 9-3
Texas Tech - #55 NET - 9-2
TCU - #60 NET - 10-1

As a conference, the Big 12 has a 96-19 record for a 83.5% winning percentage. Impressive, I would say so. With the lowest Big 12 team currently holding a NET ranking of #60 (TCU), the BIG 12 has is the only conference with all of their teams ranked in the Top 60 of the NET rankings. Big advantage to the Big 12 bit it is a very tough conference to navigate for the Sooners.

Against the top 5 teams that the Sooners have played in the non-conference schedule, the Sooners are 3-2. They won over Nebraska (#77), UNC-Wilmington (#72) and Florida (#64) while they lost to Sam Houston (#20) and Arkansas (#10).

The Sooners open Big 12 play with 2 home games against Texas and Iowa State followed by 2 games on the road at Texas Tech and Kansas. Their next four games has alternating games at home and away against West Virginia, OSU, Baylor and TCU. Getting four of the top 5 Big 12 teams at home in the first round of the Big 12 schedule is a blessing and a curse I think. The Sooners need to really take advantage of the home advantaged schedule versus these tough team in the first eight games in the conference. If the Sooners could win 5 of the first 8 games, they would have something to build upon the second part of the Big 12 schedule. In a quirk of the Big 12 schedule, the Sooners do not play Kansas State until the 13th and 17th conference games. Somehow, someway, the Sooners need to go at least 4-4 in their first 8 conference games.

After the first eight game in conference, the Sooners play Alabama at LNC in an SEC matchup. 'Bama is currently ranked #8 in the NET rankings and is 10-2. This game is an opportunity for the Sooners to provide a 'Buster Douglas knockout punch' to build upon for the second half of the Big 12 schedule. Remember that 3-2 record for OU against their top 5 non-conference opponents, if they could make that 4-2 with a win over Alabama, it would be icing on the cake for the Sooner Men.

With their current 9-3 record, a 5-3 or 4-4 first 'half' of the Big 12 conference would total a 14-6 or 13-7 record going into the Alabama game. The Sooners may truly need that big win against Alabama to be in a strong position to play their final 10 Big 12 conference games. An 6-4 or 5-5 record would put the Sooners record at the 19 win mark without the 'Bama game. . But remember, in that second half of the Big 12 schedule, the Sooners have to play at Texas, Iowa State, West Virginia and Baylor in those 10 games.

The Sooner Men and Coach Moser face a very tough 19 games to close out the season after being 9-3 to open the season fairly well. The loss to Villanova on the road might be hurting the Sooners. The surprising loss to Sam Houston, despite their high NET ranking, hurts because it is not a win, but it does help their NET ranking. Winning 10 of the 19 remaining games seems a must for the Sooners!

The team is playing well for Coach Moser. They are a solid seven players deep. Tanner Groves, Jacob Groves, Jalen Hill and Sam Goodwin have pretty well got the job done inside for the Sooners. At the guards, Grant Sherfield, Milos Uzan and Bijan Cortes are providing strong play, especially Sherfield. But they need a couple of other payers to step up. Bamisile, Nolan and Oweh could provide the remaining minutes needed to provide strong play for the entire 40 minutes. Two need to stand up. I think Oweh will get some important minutes going forward and maybe Nolan has the experience/toughness to contribute also. Bamisile may just be caught in-between a guard and a 3/4 player. I also wonder if Schroder could be an offensive spark that is needed off the bench if his ankle gets better.

Good luck to the Men going forward!

Boomer Sooner!

[SoonerTony]

The Big 12, top to bottom, is the toughest basketball conference in the nation. If OU can win half their conference games, I will be pleased.

[OU Guy]

[SwampSooner]

When figuring out what is needed to win the conference, I use the old mantra -

Win all your home games and split on the road.

It's going be tough to do in this conference.