+++++#17 Oklahoma [9-1] vs. Northwestern [9-4] Game Thread+++++

[skyvue]

Yes, heard someone say they were selling SRO tickets. Any empty seats were sold, ticket holders didn’t show. Patty Gasso was sitting in upper section right across aisle from me!

Glad to hear it!

 

[coolm]

when our centers are isolated down low...all of them get backed down under the goal.

that's just good basketball. I dont consider that a major defect with our defense. If they're in position, playing tall, and not getting beaten to the basket on a quick turn then they've played good defense whether they get scored on or not. The other side makes plays too.

The object of good defense is to create an impediment to the shooter. It doesn't necessarily prevent scoring - just makes it harder and drives the percentages down.

 

[tycat947]

Glad to hear it!

Best attendance since Buddy was here. But they were also offering discount tickets. Someone said the Heisman Trophy was in attendance but I didn’t see. David and Molly were there and also Lincoln Riley and his wife were there.

 

[chuckb]

Which is by design. Let the post play 1v1 and limit the open looks from the outside.

Getting pushed too low needs work.

Agreed. They get muscled inside butbthebtrutg is there aren't many centers teams can rely on to dominate down low. Our centers are athletic shot blockers and OU will be perfectly happy if other teams try to beat them by continually throwing the ball inside to some big guy. The team needs to work on letting the other team's post get too deep and work on doubling (or however they choose to defend) Brodzianski & a couple others but this team's defense has improved markedly.

 

[MichaelM]

They were selling $10 gen admission tickets, which is fine until they told the few students who came that the public tickets had priority over student tickets. I know a group of students who go to every game, and someone kicked them out of their seats during the first half. Not a good way to make sure the students keep coming.

 

[sooner 1234]

A Final Four will not happen unless OU can clean up their defense. The offense is incredible! But the defense still leaves a lot to be desired. NW missed a lot of open shots. And against the brutal Big 12 (never thought I would say that) OU will face much better teams than that. Now, OU can improve, and has improved. Their offense gives them a lot of wiggle room. Just curious how OU will look on an off-night, if their defense can keep them in a game.

We made the final four 3 years ago with below average defense . Cousins was our only good defender ,Buddy as average ,and Woodard was worse .
Lattin is still here and Spangler I wouldn’t call a good defender unless you are counting defensive boards which we miss .

Point is people said we couldn’t win by out shooting someone and we proved them wrong .
You can out shoot people in basketball today on any level . Look at Golden State

Not to mention this team will be a legit 10 deep by tourney time

 

[SoonerJK12]

We made the final four 3 years ago with below average defense . Cousins was our only good defender ,Buddy as average ,and Woodard was worse .
Lattin is still here and Spangler I wouldn’t call a good defender unless you are counting defensive boards which we miss .

Point is people said we couldn’t win by out shooting someone and we proved them wrong .
You can out shoot people in basketball today on any level . Look at Golden State

Not to mention this team will be a legit 10 deep by tourney time

Umm, the year we went to final four, we were ranked in the top ten in defensive efficiency most of the year. Finished at 17 per KenPom. We had a pretty good defense.

 

[TINY]

I'll go ahead and say it. This team is more talented than the final four squad with Buddy.

 

[coolm]

I'll go ahead and say it. This team is more talented than the final four squad with Buddy.

Most definitely. This group has scoring options going much deeper.

 

[sooner 1234]

Umm, the year we went to final four, we were ranked in the top ten in defensive efficiency most of the year. Finished at 17 per KenPom. We had a pretty good defense.

Our defensive % behind the arc was horrible ,just like this team .

 

[Laxtothemax12]

Might be the best game I've ever watched an OU basketball team play. That first half was a freaking clinic.

 

[SoonerJK12]

Our defensive % behind the arc was horrible ,just like this team .

I don't think that is accurate at all. That team held people to like 31% from 3, I believe.

 

[oudna]

We made the final four 3 years ago with below average defense . Cousins was our only good defender ,Buddy as average ,and Woodard was worse .
Lattin is still here and Spangler I wouldn’t call a good defender unless you are counting defensive boards which we miss .

2 years ago.

Spangler was an excellent defender. Just not a shot blocker. He covered up for an over-agressive Lattin.

 

[sheepdogs1]

I'll go ahead and say it. This team is more talented than the final four squad with Buddy.

The leads don't crater like before when the starters were rested.

 

[Soonerlover12]

If you think our defesne is that bad, then you just don't know much about basketball. the way we play is going to give up some points. you cant expect a team that regularly scores over 100 ppg to give up 40. the way lon plays defense, along with our style, will make our defense look worse than it actually is sometimes.

 

[BCSooners]

If you think our defesne is that bad, then you just don't know much about basketball. the way we play is going to give up some points. you cant expect a team that regularly scores over 100 ppg to give up 40. the way lon plays defense, along with our style, will make our defense look worse than it actually is sometimes.

Bingo, defense per 100 possessions is a great indicator on how to compare teams.

 

[BCSooners]

We made the final four 3 years ago with below average defense . Cousins was our only good defender ,Buddy as average ,and Woodard was worse .
Lattin is still here and Spangler I wouldn’t call a good defender unless you are counting defensive boards which we miss .

Point is people said we couldn’t win by out shooting someone and we proved them wrong .
You can out shoot people in basketball today on any level . Look at Golden State

Not to mention this team will be a legit 10 deep by tourney time

1) Spangler was a really good defender & Woodard was better than Buddy.

2) GS plays really good defense, they just play fast. Houston is a team that plays fast but no defense.