Villanova #1???
- Thread starter Patriotgame_rivals
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Today poll is not as important as the last one in April. Let some other team have the bulls-eye on their back.
You have to admit, there's a pretty big difference between losing in triple OT in their house (where they never lose) and a team losing by 30+ on a neutral court.
That's true. But there's also a difference between somebody you lost to a little over two months ago, and somebody who beat you last week. When I watch OUr team play, since the trip to LSU, they don't look like the best team in the country.
When we went three OT's in Lawrence, Woodard was shooting almost as well as Buddy, was. Now, he can't throw it in the ocean from the pier. He's made one basket in the last two games, but more importantly, the defense can leave him wide open to put extra pressure on Buddy.
Isaiah has definitely taken up that slack. But when somebody is as three reliant as OU is, it doesn't take much being out of rhythm to have quite a scoring funk. We are not getting much since LSU from either Woodard or especially Khadeem Lattin. That has got to change.
One good thing about last night was that the defense was still pretty good when Lattin had to sit. Right now, though, I don't think we'll beat KU at home. Maybe being at home all week will help. But mostly, it's that for most of the first three months, Buddy was getting open looks from three in transition. At least for now, that seems to have dried up. And in half court sets, the other guys can take away a lot of his game with a big on the arc and somebody who can defend the rim, because they don't much have to guard Woodard or Lattin. Khadeem seemed to have had his nose out of joint last night. It seemed to be why Lon never put him back in. This is not the time for things to be doing anything other than coming together. The opposite seems to be true.
But, I also agree with the notion that it's not a bad thing for somebody else to be number one right now. Keep a one seed or a two seed and we'll be fine.
When we went three OT's in Lawrence, Woodard was shooting almost as well as Buddy, was. Now, he can't throw it in the ocean from the pier. He's made one basket in the last two games, but more importantly, the defense can leave him wide open to put extra pressure on Buddy.
Isaiah has definitely taken up that slack. But when somebody is as three reliant as OU is, it doesn't take much being out of rhythm to have quite a scoring funk. We are not getting much since LSU from either Woodard or especially Khadeem Lattin. That has got to change.
One good thing about last night was that the defense was still pretty good when Lattin had to sit. Right now, though, I don't think we'll beat KU at home. Maybe being at home all week will help. But mostly, it's that for most of the first three months, Buddy was getting open looks from three in transition. At least for now, that seems to have dried up. And in half court sets, the other guys can take away a lot of his game with a big on the arc and somebody who can defend the rim, because they don't much have to guard Woodard or Lattin. Khadeem seemed to have had his nose out of joint last night. It seemed to be why Lon never put him back in. This is not the time for things to be doing anything other than coming together. The opposite seems to be true.
But, I also agree with the notion that it's not a bad thing for somebody else to be number one right now. Keep a one seed or a two seed and we'll be fine.
And right now Villanova, would wax us. We also beat Kansas 3 times in 88 yet lost to them in the championship game.
What metric of measurement do you have to make such a definitive statement of fact other than just opinion?
OU beating Villanova is irrelevant. OU also lost to Iowa State and KSU recently, and OU remains ranked ahead of those teams. Gotta look at both sides if you decide to point out one particular side....
Their records are a lot worse than ou's. Not a good comparison at all.
Yeah because it didn't matter that we played an away game for the championship. Ou beat nova by 23 on a neutral court and their records are the same. Not to mention their conference is not even close to the big 12.
Not sure how we would do against Nova now, but you have to admit we are not playing as well as we were earlier. We should have bonged UTerus by more than 3 at the last second at home. Without Buddy I'm afraid we'd be around .500.
Not sure if we've lost something or people have just figured out how to play our 3-point shooting a bit better.
Not sure if we've lost something or people have just figured out how to play our 3-point shooting a bit better.
Texas had won 7 out of their last 8 and were making a lot of headlines in doing it including a close margin loss against Kansas at Kansas. Also, In those games they beat Iowa State as well as Baylor in their house. They're not some trash team as you're implying.
The Kansas State game was a bad loss, but there's not much you can do when they're doing nothing but calling touch fouls on OU and most of the team is in foul trouble and they're allowed to maul our guards on the perimeter.
The Kansas State game was a bad loss, but there's not much you can do when they're doing nothing but calling touch fouls on OU and most of the team is in foul trouble and they're allowed to maul our guards on the perimeter.
The comparison makes as much sense as trying to justify OU being ranked ahead of Villanova because of a game that happened 2 months ago. And that was the point.
Bottom line, we WERE playing like the best team in the nation. We are definitely not now. Just read that Spangler's been dealing with a knee issue, but we HAVE to get consistent scoring from 2-3 of our post guys to win it IMO.
Well, it is just an opinion for sure. But if OU continues to compete they way they have since the LSU game they could possibly lose more. Teams know we are not as good in the paint as we are from the perimeter.
Let's chill out a bit guys. Teams navigate a season with highs and lows....peaks and valleys...in terms of performance. OU was playing at a peak earlier in the season. They've hit a bit of a low lately. There is still time for this team to get back on a high going into the post season. The post season is all about timing, and which team gets on a hot streak. OU has the chance to get back on a high and a hot streak at just the right time. Let the players get this low out of their systems and get back on a roll to end the season.
texASS is always trash. They suck. Period. Even when they have a good team, they suck. They are texASS...
We are OKLAHOMA...
The sign of a GREAT team is being able to win even on tough nights, and this team continues to do it over and over. Texas had been on a tear before OU. OU has been playing good to very good teams nearly every time they step on the court with a top 5 tag next to their name. Villanova lost to an overrated Providence team not too long ago and they're about to fall out of the rankings because they keep getting beat like a drum. Every game that Kstate has lost this season has been to ranked teams.
Two of the most oppositely minded coaches I can think of, were John Thompson at Georgetown, back in the Pat Ewing days, and Tom Landry.
Both had a similar approach to a season, even though different sports. Both sports' seasons are endurance contests, and teams can't stay on top all season. Both sought to have a fast start, and after a little lull in the middle, start building toward the playoffs at the end of the season.
I don't know if Lon shares that perspective, but I'm hoping that what this Sooner team will ultimately be about. Lon has spent the last few weeks, building up his bench playing time, to get those guys hopefully ready to be post season contributors and giving the top five a few less minutes. It will help them be better later on.
And that means maybe an extra loss or two. But it is needed.
The issue is going to be about whether these guys were great early, because they were a little more experienced in the early year when that might make more difference and have now leveled off ... or whether that will start to show that excellence again, about the time that March Madness gets started.
I'm really hoping for the latter. But it's not yet a certainty.
Both had a similar approach to a season, even though different sports. Both sports' seasons are endurance contests, and teams can't stay on top all season. Both sought to have a fast start, and after a little lull in the middle, start building toward the playoffs at the end of the season.
I don't know if Lon shares that perspective, but I'm hoping that what this Sooner team will ultimately be about. Lon has spent the last few weeks, building up his bench playing time, to get those guys hopefully ready to be post season contributors and giving the top five a few less minutes. It will help them be better later on.
And that means maybe an extra loss or two. But it is needed.
The issue is going to be about whether these guys were great early, because they were a little more experienced in the early year when that might make more difference and have now leveled off ... or whether that will start to show that excellence again, about the time that March Madness gets started.
I'm really hoping for the latter. But it's not yet a certainty.
Good points, especially about the backups. As long as we have 2 shooters, and that's anyone else and Buddy, we're good. To win it all, need 3 big guys that can score and play strong D. Buford has been getting a lot more meaningful minutes, but it's not paying off ofensively, yet. Defensively, seems that he's got a ways to go. A big win Saturday would be a good sign for a strong finish.