16-29 in Big 12 play since Buddy left

[MrAnderson]

So 13 games under .500, this year goes 9-8 where 7 teams are ranked in the top 25 & OU is trending down?

#2 Baylor - 0-1
#6 WVU - 2-0
#13 KU - 1-1
#15 UT - 1-1
#17 OSU - 0-2
#18 TTU - 0-2

Baylor game was the only loss by more than 5 points.

When 7th place is overachieving and the future looks worse than the present, yes. LK is a stock that needs sold now before the bottom drops out. We are staring at at a lot of Wednedday games in KC going forward.

 

[MrAnderson]

To make the tournament as an at large team you have to be top ~35, not top 70. The other portion of the field goes to conf tourney winners. You may not think that is very impressive but to do it consistently almost every year is very difficult. Not even the blue bloods make it every year.

Probably top 45-50 or so since some auto bids are good enough to receive at large, but yeah, I will grant you that making the tourney 8 out of 10 is impressive.

My argument is that it's not enough when you're on the fringes of that range more often than not. How many of those bids were 4 seeds or better? How many had a realistic shot to make a run? Two. The FF team and the S16 team the year before. And I dont see any Buddy Hield's in our pipeline.

 

[steverocks35]

I wouldn't call a top 25 team limping into the tournament.

If OU won it's last 4 but still wasn't ranked and was going to be a lower seed than they will be (probably a 6) you would still say they were limping in.

If they won their final 4 games and made the tournament that's the opposite of limping in. That's peaking at the right time. I don't know why the ranking matters, I'm talking about how well they're playing going into the tournament. Right now they're not playing well at all.

 

[stormspencer]

Top 25 team is limping into the tournament?

Unfortunately, we are not a Top 25 team right now. Yes, we are still "ranked" (but not for long), but those AP/coaches poll mean squat in the grand scheme of things. Any advanced metric you look at shows us well above 30. When you lose 4 in a row going into the post-season, it is not a positive. But I do agree that we aren't getting blown out and we are losing to good teams (exception of KSU)...but we are still losing. It's a results-oriented business and the results aren't good as of late....and there's no amount of spin that can change that.

 

[MrAnderson]

If they won their final 4 games and made the tournament that's the opposite of limping in. That's peaking at the right time. I don't know why the ranking matters, I'm talking about how well they're playing going into the tournament. Right now they're not playing well at all.

Exactly. KenPom has us at 35 which is probably closer to reality. AP rankings are irrelevant.

 

[WTSooner]

Big 12 seeding: 8, 4, 2, 3, 3, 9, 9, 7, n/a, 7(this year).

That is what bothers me the most. Against our peers, we're on a run of 7th or lower in 4 of the last 5 years. Regardless of making the Tournament or any other positives, that is a TERRIBLE stat, and one we should not be content or happy with.

I know the Big 12 was VERY competitive this year, but we also have a pretty veteran team and what I'd consider limited Covid/injury issues. And we're still 7th.

 

[sheepdogs1]

If they won their final 4 games and made the tournament that's the opposite of limping in. That's peaking at the right time. I don't know why the ranking matters, I'm talking about how well they're playing going into the tournament. Right now they're not playing well at all.

What some people are not taking into account is there are a host of teams which are normally better than us who are having a season "not to remember." Michigan State, Duke, Kentucky, Carolina are some of the obvious ones.

 

[MrAnderson]

What some people are not taking into account is there are a host of teams which are normally better than us who are having a season "not to remember." Michigan State, Duke, Kentucky, Carolina are some of the obvious ones.

What do they have to do with OU?

 

[sheepdogs1]

What do they have to do with OU?

If they (teams listed) were firing on all cylinders it would make for less room in the top 25 rankings thus we would be squeezed out of the 25. We are currently ranked, but we have lost since the last ratings were tallied. It was stated, previously, "we are ranked" and I'm saying part of it was due in part to the teams I mentioned having rather poor seasons. Nothing more.

 

[MrAnderson]

If they (teams listed) were firing on all cylinders it would make for less room in the top 25 rankings thus we would be squeezed out of the 25. We are currently ranked, but we have lost since the last ratings were tallied. It was stated, previously, "we are ranked" and I'm saying part of it was due in part to the teams I mentioned having rather poor seasons. Nothing more.

ah, gotcha.

 

[stormspencer]

In games decided by 5 points or less, OU is 5-7 this season. It isn't like they weren't competitive....because they were. However, we also caught a break by not having to play Baylor again. With another break/good bounce here or there (in a full conference season), we could have ended up around 10-8. But what that shows me is that our personnel needs an upgrade....recruiting has to get better! This is a very competitive conference but that isn't going to change anytime soon. Playing on the Wednesday game in KC 4 out of the last 5 years is not acceptable for this program....and that is something that shouldn't be just brushed aside.....that's bad.

And yes, making the NCAA tournament is an accomplishment and should be commended, still, I just like having a decent chance to make the second weekend more than once every 5 or 6 years. I don't believe that is too much to ask.

 

[BCSooners]

If they won their final 4 games and made the tournament that's the opposite of limping in. That's peaking at the right time. I don't know why the ranking matters, I'm talking about how well they're playing going into the tournament. Right now they're not playing well at all.

Peaking at the right sure, but to me limping in is barely making the tournament. But how many times do you see a team win a P5 conference tournament & get bounced early. Same as a 2nd round loss & make a tournament run?

 

[WichitaSooner]

Peaking at the right sure, but to me limping in is barely making the tournament. But how many times do you see a team win a P5 conference tournament & get bounced early. Same as a 2nd round loss & make a tournament run?

Yep, I don't think the numbers show that how well a team plays late in the regular season or even in the conference tourney has much of an impact on tourney performance. I may be wrong but think that is one of those myths that people buy into.

The other reality, whether people want to accept it or not, is that the margin is extremely thin for almost every team in the country. West Virginia got swept by OU. OSU got swept by TCU. Tech swept us. Texas swept KU. KU swept Tech. Almost all those games, except Texas blowing out KU in Allen, were extremely close. Games usually come down to the last few possessions. For the better part of two months, we made winning plays down the stretch. The last 10 days, we haven't, and our opponents have. KSU had a guy catch fire, Cade was unreal on Saturday, and last night, Coleman made a big time shot to effectively close us out. The difference in how we are playing now and how we played in January and most of February isn't massive. Some will use that to say that it shows we aren't talented and don't have a margin for error. The reality is, the same is true for pretty much every team other than Gonzaga and possibly a healthy Baylor.

We need more out of certain guys. Harkless has not been good offensively for a while, and his free throw shooting has really cost us. It was a bad feeling last night when he went to the line in a huge spot and you just knew he was going to miss the frond end. Those are the plays that decide games, along with a couple missed layups.

 

[BCSooners]

Yep, I don't think the numbers show that how well a team plays late in the regular season or even in the conference tourney has much of an impact on tourney performance. I may be wrong but think that is one of those myths that people buy into.

The other reality, whether people want to accept it or not, is that the margin is extremely thin for almost every team in the country. West Virginia got swept by OU. OSU got swept by TCU. Tech swept us. Texas swept KU. KU swept Tech. Almost all those games, except Texas blowing out KU in Allen, were extremely close. Games usually come down to the last few possessions. For the better part of two months, we made winning plays down the stretch. The last 10 days, we haven't, and our opponents have. KSU had a guy catch fire, Cade was unreal on Saturday, and last night, Coleman made a big time shot to effectively close us out. The difference in how we are playing now and how we played in January and most of February isn't massive. Some will use that to say that it shows we aren't talented and don't have a margin for error. The reality is, the same is true for pretty much every team other than Gonzaga and possibly a healthy Baylor.

We need more out of certain guys. Harkless has not been good offensively for a while, and his free throw shooting has really cost us. It was a bad feeling last night when he went to the line in a huge spot and you just knew he was going to miss the frond end. Those are the plays that decide games, along with a couple missed layups.

bingo

 

[BoulderSooner]

So a yearly late-season collapse is okay as long as we sneak into the tournament, no matter that we have zero chance to make noise in the tournament? Noted.

OU is a 6 seed as of today that is not sneaking in

 

[sheepdogs1]

OU is a 6 seed as of today that is not sneaking in

It might be best to look at the seeding after Kansas City for until then it is just a projection. We'll know then whether a "squeeze" was involved or not.

 

[WichitaSooner]

It might be best to look at the seeding after Kansas City for until then it is just a projection. We'll know then whether a "squeeze" was involved or not.

LOL, if we lose to ISU by 100, we will comfortably make the tournament. Although even if we are, say, a seven seed, I'm sure some posters will say, "yeah, but if we had lost three more games, and if the blue bloods were as good as usual, and if we didn't get lucky a couple times, then we may have been on the bubble."

 

[steverocks35]

OU is a 6 seed as of today that is not sneaking in

We went from a projected #2 seed to a probable #6 seed over a two-week period. Call it what you want but it's an epic collapse.

 

[sheepdogs1]

LOL, if we lose to ISU by 100, we will comfortably make the tournament. Although even if we are, say, a seven seed, I'm sure some posters will say, "yeah, but if we had lost three more games, and if the blue bloods were as good as usual, and if we didn't get lucky a couple times, then we may have been on the bubble."

Might ? How about #8? Can you assure anyone that "if" we lose to State that we will not be an #8. You cannot. PERIOD. Thus a #8 would put us in the 29-32 range. Since 36 teams receive @large bids then a #8 can be viewed as squeezing/sneaking in. And lastly, I did not ever say we were squeezing in, but to tell those who are making such proclamations that we are not before the chicken has hatched serves no value.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Might ? How about #8? Can you assure anyone that "if" we lose to State that we will not be an #8. You cannot. PERIOD. Thus a #8 would put us in the 29-32 range. Since 36 teams receive @large bids then a #8 can be viewed as squeezing/sneaking in. And lastly, I did not ever say we were squeezing in, but to tell those who are making such proclamations that we are not before the chicken has hatched serves no value.

Of the teams seeded one through seven, i.e., the top 28 teams in the bracket, many will earn their league's automatic berth. So if you are an eight seed, that would place you probably among the top 15-20 at large teams, i.e., comfortably in. In simpler terms, when the committee goes through their initial scrubbing of teams next weekend, there won't be a single member who even hesitates in determining whether OU should be in. Seed will be the only question.