Andy Katz Blog on Tulsa

[thebigabd]

So, Oklahoma is not playing Tulsa this year? Damn, that sucks.

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Andy Katz Blog:

Tulsa might be the preseason favorite in Conference USA over Memphis with the return of center Jerome Jordan and the addition of point guard Donte Medder. Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said the Golden Hurricane were a point guard away from being a difference-maker this past season. Having Medder means Ben Uzoh can return to the wing, a more natural position for him.

But will Tulsa have enough early season marquee games to warrant a potential NCAA at-large berth? Wojcik said the Golden Hurricane will play Oklahoma State and Colorado at home. The Cowboys could be an NCAA team, but the Buffaloes likely won't be next season. Other games include a tournament in Las Vegas with Nebraska, BYU and Nevada. Again, there are no NCAA locks in this group. Wojcik looked at Dayton getting an at-large bid with just two BCS nonconference games -- Marquette and Auburn. The Flyers won both. Dayton also finished 11-5 in the A-10. Tulsa finished 12-4 in Conference USA. Tulsa didn't get a bid.

"We were 12-4, and it didn't mean as much," Wojcik said. "The teams that won the Mountain West were 12-4, too [three-way tie with NCAA-bound Utah and BYU and NIT semifinalist New Mexico]."

Wojcik was blunt about the loss of John Calipari for Conference USA after his departure from Memphis to become Kentucky's new coach.

"I'm hoping the perception changes about the league," Wojcik said. "The perception was that Memphis was always so much better than everybody else."

Wojcik wants to get another marquee game and would go on the road but wants a return. He would consider a two-for-one but can't get a bite on any of those types of games, either.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4086305&name=katz_andy

 

[seniorsooner]

So, Oklahoma is not playing Tulsa this year? Damn, that sucks.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Andy Katz Blog:

Tulsa might be the preseason favorite in Conference USA over Memphis with the return of center Jerome Jordan and the addition of point guard Donte Medder. Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said the Golden Hurricane were a point guard away from being a difference-maker this past season. Having Medder means Ben Uzoh can return to the wing, a more natural position for him.

But will Tulsa have enough early season marquee games to warrant a potential NCAA at-large berth? Wojcik said the Golden Hurricane will play Oklahoma State and Colorado at home. The Cowboys could be an NCAA team, but the Buffaloes likely won't be next season. Other games include a tournament in Las Vegas with Nebraska, BYU and Nevada. Again, there are no NCAA locks in this group. Wojcik looked at Dayton getting an at-large bid with just two BCS nonconference games -- Marquette and Auburn. The Flyers won both. Dayton also finished 11-5 in the A-10. Tulsa finished 12-4 in Conference USA. Tulsa didn't get a bid.

"We were 12-4, and it didn't mean as much," Wojcik said. "The teams that won the Mountain West were 12-4, too [three-way tie with NCAA-bound Utah and BYU and NIT semifinalist New Mexico]."

Wojcik was blunt about the loss of John Calipari for Conference USA after his departure from Memphis to become Kentucky's new coach.

"I'm hoping the perception changes about the league," Wojcik said. "The perception was that Memphis was always so much better than everybody else."

Wojcik wants to get another marquee game and would go on the road but wants a return. He would consider a two-for-one but can't get a bite on any of those types of games, either.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4086305&name=katz_andy

Um, it wasn't perception, it was reality.

 

[Sooner23]

We should play Tulsa and Oral Roberts every year, IMO.

 

[thebigabd]

We should play Tulsa and Oral Roberts every year, IMO.

I agree. I would much rather play TU and ORU than Coppin State and Maryland Eastern-Shore.

 

[Tony]

So you guys are saying that Jeff Capel does not know how to schedule and thus is a terrible coach who should be fired? Pretty harsh.

 

[Mackie McNeer]

Thanks for the post abd. I'm ready for some C-USA domination next year!

 

[Flintheart Glomgold]

we play them at home, and we win by 26. we play them in tulsa, and we win by 25.

what do we gain by taking tulsa behind the woodshed every december?

 

[campbest]

we play them at home, and we win by 26. we play them in tulsa, and we win by 25.

what do we gain by taking tulsa behind the woodshed every december?

I'd rather have a marquee game over Tulsa anyday, but if we're going to play Maryland-Baltimore County (or whatever), then we might as well stay in-state.

 

[CobraKai]

we play them at home, and we win by 26. we play them in tulsa, and we win by 25.

what do we gain by taking tulsa behind the woodshed every december?

Because they are an in-state school and those games tend to generate more attention than the exact same scenario above, but with Coppin State instead of Tulsa.

 

[MsProudSooner]

we play them at home, and we win by 26. we play them in tulsa, and we win by 25.

what do we gain by taking tulsa behind the woodshed every december?

Also the travel cost for the visiting team is miniscule compared to other away games.

 

[One More Rebound]

We have nothing to gain by playing Tulsa. It doesn't help our SOS, and we'd be better served having more non conference games at the Loyd Noble.

 

[Flintheart Glomgold]

omr is right. fang doesn't want us to come to coppin state. he just cashes the check.

tulsa thinks they deserve return games. let osu play them for a few years.

 

[sooner333]

By playing tulsa home-away you get your Tulsa people closer to the program, if only for a game and you don't have to pay the opposition to play you in a game. I think it is helpful to the program.

 

[thebigabd]

We have nothing to gain by playing Tulsa. It doesn't help our SOS, and we'd be better served having more non conference games at the Loyd Noble.

They are likely to be the automatic bid from C-USA, and that makes it a quality win.

Coppin State is never a quality win.

 

[campbest]

omr is right. fang doesn't want us to come to coppin state. he just cashes the check.

tulsa thinks they deserve return games. let osu play them for a few years.

If they want a return game, schedule it at the BOK arena and make a deal on the gate receipts and any other revenues (concessions, broadcast rights). Tulsa will accept this because they want the money but really need a chance at a marquee victory. I would not play Tulsa at their home arena.

If for some reason they don't like that scenario, then just walk away, it hurts them more than it hurts us.

Beating Tulsa on a "neutral" floor is more valuable then beating Coppin State at home, the money for a home game is negligible when you play such a weak opponent. Schedule the "return" game over the christmas break, those games are sparsley attended OU is not playing a name brand team.

 

[CobraKai]

There was a pretty large crowd at the BOK Center this past Christmas break for the OU-Tulsa game. There was also a lot of hype and build up in the local media, talk radio, and sports prior to the game. Beating Tulsa on a neutral floor is a quality win. I would rather play them than a team like Arkansas, that will have a much lower RPI.

The bottom line is, when we play Tulsa we get a lot more coverage in our state then when we play Coppin State. Other than the players, and 4,000 fans that show up, and the posters on this board, I don't think anyone knows the game even happened.

 

[campbest]

There was a pretty large crowd at the BOK Center this past Christmas break for the OU-Tulsa game. There was also a lot of hype and build up in the local media, talk radio, and sports prior to the game. Beating Tulsa on a neutral floor is a quality win. I would rather play them than a team like Arkansas, that will have a much lower RPI.

The bottom line is, when we play Tulsa we get a lot more coverage in our state then when we play Coppin State. Other than the players, and 4,000 fans that show up, and the posters on this board, I don't think anyone knows the game even happened.

Exactly.

And I can also tell you from experience that the gate receipts for any game against a team like Coppin State are insignificant. Most of the people at those games are season ticket holders or they bought package and Coppin State is in that specific package.

I do think, however, it is a good idea to have a few cupcakes at home every year, just to fine tune your team, but I think OU could schedule a little better. Just my opinion.

 

[thebigabd]

Exactly.

And I can also tell you from experience that the gate receipts for any game against a team like Coppin State are insignificant. Most of the people at those games are season ticket holders or they bought package and Coppin State is in that specific package.

I do think, however, it is a good idea to have a few cupcakes at home every year, just to fine tune your team, but I think OU could schedule a little better. Just my opinion.

I think OU should schedule a little better locally, and replace those junk teams with better regional opponents.

Exchange Maryland Eastern-Shore with TCU.
Exchange Coppin State with Tulsa.
Exchange Mississippi Valley State with Colorado State.
Exchange Maine with UTEP.
Exchange American with SMU.
Exchange Gardner-Webb with Houston.

Why not do that? TCU, Tulsa, CSU, UTEP, SMU, and Houston will generate a lot more interest than the schools actually on schedule. OU shouldnt lose to any of those schools, but they are at least a respectable, name opponent.

It couldn't hurt OU to go play at TCU, at SMU, and Houston every now and then either.

 

[BanjoCharley]

So you guys are saying that Jeff Capel does not know how to schedule and thus is a terrible coach who should be fired? Pretty harsh.

One of those IQ 45 posts

 

[Tony]

rude