Sooner Men's and Women's Basketball - Final Rankings Pre-Season

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OUBeliever56A
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Sooner Men's and Women's Basketball - Final Rankings Pre-Season

Post by OUBeliever56A »

With all the pre-conference play completed here is the Big 12 team records, standings and rankings.

Men:

1. Kansas 11 - 1 = AP #4, Coaches #4 - Net #5
1. Kansas State 11 - 1 = AP RV39, Coaches RV33 - Net #31
1. TCU 11 - 1 = AP #18, Coaches #19 - Net #49
1. Texas 11 - 1 = AP #6, Coaches #6 - Net #9
5. Baylor 10 - 2 = AP #12, Coaches #13 - Net #18
5. Texas Tech 10 - 2 = AP RV36, Coaches RV42 - Net #52
5. West Virginia 10 - 2 = AP #24, Coaches #24 - Net #10
8. Iowa State 9 - 2 = AP RV34, Coaches RV32 - Net #33
9. Oklahoma 9 - 3 = AP UNR, Coaches UNR - Net #51
10. Oklahoma State 8 - 4 = AP UNR, Coaches UNR - Net #48

My thoughts about the rankings and teams.

- TCU and Texas Tech has played weaker schedules that the rankers have not identified as of yet.
- Kansas State and Iowa State may have played a soft schedule as well.
- West Virginia has played a tough schedule with a good record and the rankers have not noticed.
- Kansas, Texas and Baylor look like very good teams.
- As for Oklahoma State, I am surprised that they have a better Net ranking than OU and Tech.
- Oklahoma has played well but they probably needed a win over Sam Houston or Villanova to have a better Net ranking. It seems like they did not get much credit for winning the ESPN Tourney in the pre-season schedule.

Oklahoma immediately jumps into the fire pit as they host Texas on Saturday in LNC to open Big 12 play. We will see if the Sooners led by Sherfield and who ever steps up this game can keep up with Texas and perhaps pull off an upset to open Big 12 play. When you look at the two teams, OU and Texas are similar on defense wth both teams giving up 61 nd 62 points a game. But Texas scores at an 84 points a game clip while OU scores 69. Texas has the largest point differential in the Big 12 while OU has the smallest. OU has to keep the game close and not allow Texas to score quickly or without answering back.

Women:

1. Texas Tech 12 - 1 = AP UNR, Coaches RV44 - Net #77
2. Kansas 10 - 1 = AP #22, Coaches #25 - Net #22
2. Oklahoma 10 - 1 = AP #20, Coaches #18 - Net #56
4. Kansas State 11 - 2 = AP UNR, Coaches RV32 - Net #48
5. Oklahoma State 10 - 2 = AP UNR, Coaches UNR - Net #46
6. West Virginia 9 - 2 = AP UNR, Coaches UNR - Net #75
7. Iowa State 8 - 2 = AP #15, Coaches #14 - Net #13
8. Baylor 9 - 3 = AP #23, Coaches 22 - Net #20
9. Texas 9 - 4 = AP RV33, Coaches RV35 - Net #16
10. TCU 6 - 5 = AP UNR, Coaches UNR - Net #137

My thoughts about the rankings and teams.

- According to the Net rankings, Iowa State, Texas, Baylor and Kansas appear to be the top 4 teams in the conference.
- According to the AP/Coaches rankings, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas and Baylor appear to be the Top 4 teams in the conference.
- Texas Tech and West Virginia may have played softer schedules due to their NET ranking.
- Kansas State and Oklahoma State may be surprises in the conference this year with solid Net rankings and good records.
- TCU may have a long conference season. Big 12 teams need to pick up road wins in Ft. Worth this season.
- Texas seems to be an tough team to read. To have a Net ranking of #16 and yet be unranked in the Top 25 seems very odd.
- It seems that the consensus is that Iowa State, Baylor and Kansas are the best three teams. Any team that wins on the road against these three teams will really help themselves in the conference, rankings and Net rankings.
- Oklahoma has received some attention by defeating Florida in their last game they played with their rise in the rankings. But OU's Net ranking of #56 is a hurdle to get over for the Sooners. But it seems that the non-conference schedule was not very strong except for the Utah, Florida, Ole Miss and SMU games.

Oklahoma opens the Big 12 conference play on the road at West Virginia on Saturday. It is probably a game that the Sooners need to win. The Sooners and the Mountaineers are opposites of the same coin. West Virginia allows 50 points a game and scores 67 points a game on offense for a +17 per game. Oklahoma scores 87 points a games and allows 73 points a game for a +14 per game. They do it different ways, but they get the job done. It will be interesting to see who can force the game to the pace they want to play.

Good luck to both teams on Saturday. Hopefully, fans will show up at LNC and be willing to cheer OU Men to a win over the Longhorns while watching their phones for updates on the OU Women as they try to win on the road at West Virginia.

Boomer Sooner!
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