Sooner Men's Basketball on the road again in Orlando to play UCF

[OUBeliever56A]

The Oklahoma Sooners Men's Basketball Team is on a second road game this week in Orlanda to play the UCF Golden Knights. Oklahoma is 4-4 in conference play an 16-5 overall while UCF is 3-5 in conference and 12-8 overall.

The game is on ESPN+ and I am sure that the game will be broadcast on the Sooner Radio Network with Toby Rowland calling the game.

Central Florida (UCF) seems to be a bit of a mystery team. They were 9-3 in preseason with two home losses to Stetson and Ole Miss. There is not really an impressive win for them in the preseason. In the Big 12, their three wins have come against Kansas at home, Texas in Austin and at home against West Virginia. At the same time, they have lost to Kansas State on the road, BYU at home, Houston on the road, Cincy on the road and at home to Baylor.

Their lineup is equalling as diverse. Nine (9) players have started with no player starting in every game. Only three players have started as many as 14 games. Twelve players have played in at least 11 games.

• The offense starts with a 6'4" Guard, #24 Sellers, who scores 17.1 PPG and 4.2 RPG. He has started in all but one game this year and can make a three-pointer as he plays 32 minutes a game.

• The #2 scorer is a 6'1" Guard, #3 Johnson, who scores 13.1 PPG with 3.1 RPG in 32.5 minutes a game. He has started all but one game and has a strong all around game but does have a few too many turnovers.

• Their big man is a 7'0" Center, #11 Diallo, who scores 6.3 PPG with 6.4 RPG and plays 19 minutes a game. He is a rim-protector.

• A possible starter - 6'11" Forward, #31 Sylla, scores 5.1 PPG with 3.9 RPG and plays 16 minutes a game. He can block a shot and score from three-point territory.

• A possible starter - 6'7" Forward, #13 Avery, scores 9.4 PPG with 4.3 RPG. Plays 21 minutes a game.

• A possible starter - 6'4" Guard, #2 Allen, scores 7.2 PPG with 41 RPG. He has a good all-around game and plays 29 minutes a game.

• A possible starter - 6'8" Forward, #21 Walker, scores 6.9 PPG with 5.0 RPG. He plays 22 minutes a game.

• A non-starter has played in every game - 6'10" Forward, #5 Payne, scores 4.5 PPG with 3.8 RPG and plays 16 minutes a game.

• Two players, both guards split about 23 minutes, Jones and Lansford Jr. They score 6 PPG with 3 RPG combined.

It looks like to me that UCF wants to play 3 Forwards-Centers with 2 Guards most of the time. The one thing I see is that their bigs inside, overall do not shoot that well from the field. Diallo and Payne shot the best though. UCF makes 15 free shots a game and they commit more fouls than that.

I do not know what to expect in this game. When UCF plays well, they play well enough to beat Kansas and Texas. When they do not play well, they can lose to Stetson.

Oklahoma has to play strong defense which seems to get them playing well. then they have to shoot well and the third thing is to stay out of foul issues inside. I think the ballhandling facet of the game is well handled for now. I do wonder how Moore and Soares will play against what looks like bigger players for UCF at the 4-slot. I think the play of Moore and Soares is very important for the Sooners.

It will be definitely be a TV and a laptop afternoon as the Men play at 3 PM and the Woman start at 4 PM. For the second half, one will be on my laptop with one on my TV.

Good luck to the Sooner Men on Saturday afternoon.

Boomer Sooner!

[OUBeliever56A]

Here is the Staff writers article about the Sooner Men's Basketball game at UCF on Saturday afternoon at 3 PM.

https://soonersports.com/news/2024/2/2/ ... n-saturday

The Big 12 conference contest will air on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing and be broadcast by ESPN+ with Drew Fellios (PxP) and B.J. Taylor (analyst) on the call.

Good luck to the Men tomorrow.

Boomer Sooner!

[Raul]

Holy schneicky, any ideas on what’s going on with our formerly known as a basketball team?

[soonerindallas]

Done with basketball this year. So tired of seeing this team all of a sudden forget how to shoot, rebound and basically beat teams they should beat. Gets old. Not sure what the answer is.

[OUBeliever56A]

Oklahoma dropped their road game to Central Florida on Saturday 74-63. The eleven points were created by one extra 3-pointer and 10 more 3-pointers as OU and UCF only made 20 buckets in 20 minutes of play on Saturday. The difference was the 20 fouls called on OU against the 17 called on UCF. Somehow the three fouls difference delivered 10 more free shots for UCF.

Oklahoma's bench played very well on Saturday as the three main subs scored 32 points on 18 shots and got the foul line and made 8 of 9 freebies. Darthard, Hugley IV and Soares scored 14, 7 and 11 points respectively with three rebounds and only 1 turnover in over 60 minutes of playing time. Soares did foul out with 90 seconds left to play but played well.

Meanwhile, among the starters, only Jalon Moore played a strong game. He scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in 29 minutes but he did have 4 turnovers. The remainder of the Sooner starters were 6 for 27 and 1 for 8 from three-point territory. McCollum scored 8 on 10 shots, Oweh scored 6 on 4 shots, Uzan scored 5 on 8 shots and Godwin did not score on 5 shots. Godwin grabbed 5 rebounds and Oweh grabbed 4. It was a very quiet game for these four Sooners.

It seemed like each time there was an inbounds play that I could look at the players and OU was several inches shorter at each position. UCF is long and lean. UCF's starters and scorers played well. Jones scored 15 points which was 4 points over their average as he got a rare start yesterday along with Diallo. UCF only turned the ball over 11 times and shot well at 41.7% from the field and 87.% from the free throw line as they were 28 of 32.

OU got off to a down start as UCF led 7-0 after the first three minutes. The Sooners had 3 turnovers and 3 missed (2 in the paint) shots in that span. UCF could have led by more. In the next 7 minutes, Oklahoma did regain form and outscored UCF 15-13 to get back in the game at 20-15. Then UCF won the last ten minutes of the 1st half 14-2 to lead by 7 at halftime 34-27.

OU was then outscored 18-14 in the first ten minutes of the 2nd half and trailed by 11 at that point. OU matched UCF 22-22 in the final 10 minutes.

It is tough to win on the road in the Big 12. UCF owns wins over both Kansas and Texas this season. Maybe the point difference is not good to lose by 11, but it is hard to say it is a bad loss against UCF. It was a loss that needed to be a win, however.

OU returns to Lloyd Noble Center to host two games this upcoming week. They play BYU on Tuesday at 7 PM and OSU on Saturday at 6 PM. to say they need two wins is obvious. That would move the Sooners to a 6-5 record thru 11 games. The BYU Cougars are a 3 point shooting machine at times. They put up 65 shots a game and 33 of them are three's. When the ball goes inside the Cougars shoot 60%. OU's defense will be tested. BYU in 4-4 in th conference and holds a NET value of #7. Not sure how that is possible. BYU has lost to Cincy at home, @ Baylor, @Texas Tech and to Houston at home. They have won at UCF, at home against I-State,, at home against Texas and on the road at WV. Their travel from West Virginia on Saturday back to Utah and then back to Norman for a Tuesday game seems pretty tough. Hopefully the Sooners returned on schedule from Orlando and uses Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning well to get ready for BYU.

Good luck to the Sooners this week.

Boomer Sooner!

[OUBeliever56A]

Here is the Sooner staff writers article about the loss to UCF on Saturday.

https://soonersports.com/news/2024/2/3/ ... est-at-ucf

Their next game is against #22 BYU on Tuesday night at 7 PM. BYU is 4-4 in the Big 12 and holds a NET Ranking of #7. OU is 4-5 in the Big 12 and holds a NET Ranking at #31.

Boomer Sooner!

[OU Chinaman]

...PORTER'S 3RD SEASON started with hopeful optimism and even resulted in a Top 10 national ranking.
But, since then...the team's record is perplexing.

My first cousin maternally was the Dean of Men at Loyola and he relayed to me to give Porter time and he would return OKLAHOMA BB Program to the Final Four.
So, I've supported him steadfastly since his hire.
But after an impressive start this season, I'm beginning to see repeated failures shooting, shooting free throws, and turnovers that reflect on coaching.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not throwing in the towel on Porter's tenure, just acknowledging doubts are creeping in.

His team could still make me look foolish with my cynicism.

I think Porter WANTS to be here. I think he believes he can re-establish OU's Men basketball program as a national contending program.
At this point I agree with him.
BUT, having said that, the recent OU men's BB struggles are beginning to concern me.

We're the OKLAHOMA SOONERS!

We aren't just competitive! We're a University that demands consideration as one of the best always nationally.

3 years after his hire, I humbly ask of my peers here,,,is he who we need moving forward as HC?

[inconnu]

It's doubly hard for a college team(men's basketball) to compete, IMHO, when there's a professional basketball team in the immediate area. Attendance suffers, as does media coverage, resulting in loss of revenue to the program. Sadly, OU has an uphill fight against the pro team from OKC, which I have long wanted to skeedaddle that franchise down to Austin, where they could kneecap the whorns of tx.

[EMan]

Not sure I can answer that, China. There's no denying his first two teams were not up to OU standards, but I'll certainly give him a pass on the first team since he was basically starting from scratch. There's also no denying this year's team is a step up. They're definitely more athletic. But let's be real, the Big 12 is a nightmare conference in basketball. There just aren't any games you can pencil in as a win. Every game is a grueling affair that wears on the players physically and mentally. However, it's the same for every team and it's time to see the Sooners get better or at least hold their own as the season wears on and not fade away as they have pretty much done every year since the FF team. (And yes, only a couple of those collapses can be laid at his doorstep.) It's frustrating to say the least to see them go into a tailspin at the end of every year. Again, the Big 12 can do that to a team, and as a fan you can deal with it on occasion, but sooner or later you need to be in the conversation as one of the better teams as the tournament approaches. The jury is still out on this team. It could still go either way, but for the Sooners to regain their footing, it's going to require a few things to happen.

Right now, Oweh is not playing to his potential. His outside shot has vanished. Even his FT shooting has been suspect. He's got to get it back in gear if this team is going to have a prayer of being a solid tournament team. Moser also needs McCollum to regain his early season form. But the Big 12 is such a physical conference he may be a little overmatched against some teams. Early in the year he had defenders on roller skates and was creating his own shots, whether it was driving or stepping back for an open 3. Those shots are not happening right now. OU really needs him to find his second wind and get hot again. Especially from beyond the arc.

The UCF game was really hard to watch as sadly OU looked outmatched for much of the game. Godwin must have missed 4 point blank layups/put backs. If your team misses those kind of shots you're going to be in trouble. Neither he nor Hugley have been able to provide any consistent scoring inside, and again, the Big 12 is a Man's conference down low. Not to be too critical, but neither of them would be considered in the upper echelon of Big 12 big men. That's one area Porter has to improve on.

On the plus side, Jalon Moore has been an outstanding addition. He's playing better as the season wears on. He's athletic, can jump through the roof, and is not afraid to get in and mix it up. Would love to see a few more guys like him on the team. I also think Rivaldo Soares is a good find. He's playing pretty well and also has the athletic ability to play in this conference. Darthard has been up and down but had a pretty good game yesterday. He was one of the few players actually hitting from the outside. Need more of that from him.

Bottom line, I'll still withhold judgment on this team and let the season play out. But if they fade again and go out with a whimper (and I don't think this team will) then I have to believe much of the fan base will not believe PM is the answer. I still think he's a good coach, but I think this team needs to finish on an up note to keep the dogs from the gates.

[Pokerman]

Not sure I can answer that, China. There's no denying his first two teams were not up to OU standards, but I'll certainly give him a pass on the first team since he was basically starting from scratch. There's also no denying this year's team is a step up. They're definitely more athletic. But let's be real, the Big 12 is a nightmare conference in basketball. There just aren't any games you can pencil in as a win. Every game is a grueling affair that wears on the players physically and mentally. However, it's the same for every team and it's time to see the Sooners get better or at least hold their own as the season wears on and not fade away as they have pretty much done every year since the FF team. (And yes, only a couple of those collapses can be laid at his doorstep.) It's frustrating to say the least to see them go into a tailspin at the end of every year. Again, the Big 12 can do that to a team, and as a fan you can deal with it on occasion, but sooner or later you need to be in the conversation as one of the better teams as the tournament approaches. The jury is still out on this team. It could still go either way, but for the Sooners to regain their footing, it's going to require a few things to happen.

Right now, Oweh is not playing to his potential. His outside shot has vanished. Even his FT shooting has been suspect. He's got to get it back in gear if this team is going to have a prayer of being a solid tournament team. Moser also needs McCollum to regain his early season form. But the Big 12 is such a physical conference he may be a little overmatched against some teams. Early in the year he had defenders on roller skates and was creating his own shots, whether it was driving or stepping back for an open 3. Those shots are not happening right now. OU really needs him to find his second wind and get hot again. Especially from beyond the arc.

The UCF game was really hard to watch as sadly OU looked outmatched for much of the game. Godwin must have missed 4 point blank layups/put backs. If your team misses those kind of shots you're going to be in trouble. Neither he nor Hugley have been able to provide any consistent scoring inside, and again, the Big 12 is a Man's conference down low. Not to be too critical, but neither of them would be considered in the upper echelon of Big 12 big men. That's one area Porter has to improve on.

On the plus side, Jalon Moore has been an outstanding addition. He's playing better as the season wears on. He's athletic, can jump through the roof, and is not afraid to get in and mix it up. Would love to see a few more guys like him on the team. I also think Rivaldo Soares is a good find. He's playing pretty well and also has the athletic ability to play in this conference. Darthard has been up and down but had a pretty good game yesterday. He was one of the few players actually hitting from the outside. Need more of that from him.

Bottom line, I'll still withhold judgment on this team and let the season play out. But if they fade again and go out with a whimper (and I don't think this team will) then I have to believe much of the fan base will not believe PM is the answer. I still think he's a good coach, but I think this team needs to finish on an up note to keep the dogs from the gates.

It was mentioned by EMan that Moser basically started his first year with an empty plate. Given that fact, I think he's done a remarkable job for only being in his third season.
Let's face it though. It takes time to go from nothing to a full roster of good players - something you need in a league as tough as this one. We don't have the talent inside along with quality backups at each position to compete with the Big 12 every week yet, so he's certainly got some recruiting work to do. I'm quite willing to let it play out so long as the team keeps getting better each year. He's certainly brought some respectability that we've been missing for a while.