Big 12 Preseason Poll

[StoopsBros]

Figured they'd be 4th or 5th. I definitely see them being better than 8th.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Figured they'd be 4th or 5th. I definitely see them being better than 8th.

agreed

 

[WichitaSooner]

Top three are definitely in line with what I have expected for several months. I honestly love where we are picked. I think beyond the top 3 teams, there is a ton of uncertainty among media and coaches about where teams will finish. I will be very surprised and disappointed if we don't finish better than 8th . . . who knows, in a league with a lot of teams who figure to be fairly jumbled, a little extra motivation from a poll like this could work to our advantage. I usually don't put a lot of stock in that, but it can't hurt if it makes our guys think they have something to prove.

 

[WTSooner]

A little surprised, but we do have a lot of new faces, and a vastly turned over roster.

I'm expecting to end up somewhere between 4-6. Would be pretty disappointed if we were below that.

 

[sperry]

Just laughing out loud at Texas.

 

[AdaSooner]

A little surprised, but we do have a lot of new faces, and a vastly turned over roster.

I'm expecting to end up somewhere between 4-6. Would be pretty disappointed if we were below that.

I think your prediction will be a lot closer than this preseason poll. Our top three players from last year are back, not to mention two redshirt players—one who was said to be the best player on our roster last season. Anything lower than sixth would be a huge disappointment to me as well.

 

[SuperHoops]

I am more surprised about the gap between WVU, OSU and OU. I would have thought 5 thru 9 would be pretty close based on what we know about those teams currently.

 

[skyvue]

texas gets the benefit of the doubt -- both in-conference and nationally -- every freaking year.

 

[WichitaSooner]

texas gets the benefit of the doubt -- both in-conference and nationally -- every freaking year.

And the odd part is, they almost always fail to live up to expectations. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice [or a dozen times], shame on me" apparently doesn't factor into the voter's thinking when it comes to this.

Then again, I guess it is no different than the annual summer tradition of declaring Michigan, Texas, and Nebraska "back" when it comes to football.

 

[skyvue]

And the odd part is, they almost always fail to live up to expectations. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice [or a dozen times], shame on me" apparently doesn't factor into the voter's thinking when it comes to this.

Then again, I guess it is no different than the annual summer tradition of declaring Michigan, Texas, and Nebraska "back" when it comes to football.

I think it is different because, unlike in football, texas has never been a hoops blueblood. They certainly have no better tradition than OU does, but every stinking year, they get ranked higher (and sometimes significantly so) than OU in the preseason.

I mean, it doesn't really matter -- it is preseason. But I think it impacts perception of the two programs to a certain degree.

Last year they finished one game ahead of us (and they didn't get invited to the tourney).

In 2018, we finished tied. In 2016 and '17, we finished one game ahead of them and in 2015, we finished four games ahead of them. And yet year after year, they get significantly more respect in the preseason than we do. It's a joke.

 

[scrybe]

I think it is different because, unlike in football, texas has never been a hoops blueblood. They certainly have no better tradition than OU does, but every stinking year, they get ranked higher (and sometimes significantly so) than OU in the preseason.

I mean, it doesn't really matter -- it is preseason. But I think it impacts perception of the two programs to a certain degree.

Last year they finished one game ahead of us (and they didn't get invited to the tourney).

In 2018, we finished tied. In 2016 and '17, we finished one game ahead of them and in 2015, we finished four games ahead of them. And yet year after year, they get significantly more respect in the preseason than we do. It's a joke.

In reality, sky, it's a stretch to the call the whorns' football program "bluebuds" as well.

 

[skyvue]

In reality, sky, it's a stretch to the call the whorns' football program "bluebuds" as well.

There was a time they were, and one can imagine them getting there again. Certainly they enjoyed greater success than their basketball program ever has.

 

[Sooner04]

We've been picked low of late and we have finished there. I hope we turn it around this year.

 

[Stikboy]

We've been picked low of late and we have finished there. I hope we turn it around this year.

That's what I was thinking too. I was upset and offended when I first saw it(LOL) but then I realized that lately we've finished almost exactly where we've been picked. Hope they are wrong!

 

[skyvue]

We've been picked low of late and we have finished there. I hope we turn it around this year.

I hope so, too. But texas has been picked higher every year and finished as low or lower as we have.

 

[thebigabd]

Looks pretty close to me... I think WVU will be a few spots better, along with Oklahoma State... Because Texas and Tech will be a little worse than that.

 

[Zimwillett]

That's what I was thinking too. I was upset and offended when I first saw it(LOL) but then I realized that lately we've finished almost exactly where we've been picked. Hope they are wrong!

I sort of had the same reaction. I was prepared to criticize OU in the #8 spot, But upon review, other than maybe Texas (agree with most of what is said above), I think this is all pretty fair. Can't fault anyone for looking at a roster with that much turnover with skepticism. Plus, this is going to be a really tough league yet again.

I think OU has the potential to significantly exceed that #8 prediction, but at this point, that's all it is...potential.

 

[skyvue]

I think one could question oswho, too. Their proven talent didn't do so well last season. For that matter, Baylor's season was not so very different from ours. They did better in-conference, but had an identical record to ours overall and, as we did, they won one game in the tourney.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I sort of had the same reaction. I was prepared to criticize OU in the #8 spot, But upon review, other than maybe Texas (agree with most of what is said above), I think this is all pretty fair. Can't fault anyone for looking at a roster with that much turnover with skepticism. Plus, this is going to be a really tough league yet again.

I think OU has the potential to significantly exceed that #8 prediction, but at this point, that's all it is...potential.

I'd point to OSU as another team that has done nothing to warrant being picked where they are. I know some on here like to act as if Boynton is the second coming and think that they have outperformed us the past two years, but reality says otherwise. I also don't think we have as much turnover as some suggest. We return our three best players, one of whom is one of the best in the league, plus a guy with two years of high level experience who is in all likelihood the best or second best player on the team. We obviously have a lot of new guys, but returning four experienced, known quantities is more than most teams have in college basketball these days. I do agree, though, that our poor conference record the past three seasons probably is a big reason for us being picked this low. Ultimately, the great thing is that none of it matters other than just being a good topic of discussion. The scoreboard will tell us the only thing that matters once the games start.

 

[thebigabd]

I'd point to OSU as another team that has done nothing to warrant being picked where they are. I know some on here like to act as if Boynton is the second coming and think that they have outperformed us the past two years, but reality says otherwise. I also don't think we have as much turnover as some suggest. We return our three best players, one of whom is one of the best in the league, plus a guy with two years of high level experience who is in all likelihood the best or second best player on the team. We obviously have a lot of new guys, but returning four experienced, known quantities is more than most teams have in college basketball these days. I do agree, though, that our poor conference record the past three seasons probably is a big reason for us being picked this low. Ultimately, the great thing is that none of it matters other than just being a good topic of discussion. The scoreboard will tell us the only thing that matters once the games start.

To me, it is easy to see that OSU has a better constructed team than OU does... OU has had nice players but has weird roster setups.... Limited shooters, 7 guys who play the same position, too many people who can't contribute, etc.

OSU has a very well assembled team... Point guards, shooters, rebounders, shot blockers, etc. I think that is why people are high on them.