Hello all,
I want to start off by saying, I'm new to the board. I love our Sooners, but I am not here to pump sunshine in every post. I tell it like it is, the good with the bad. As you all know, this is a HUGE week for us. Coming off what might have been a momentum building win in Austin, we fell flat on our face at home in a game that we should have and needed to win against the Cats. It seems as if we lost our identity in that KSU game, and I hope that we find it quick, or we might have tough week!
Tomorrow @ WVU - I like WVU's team a lot this year. I think Huggy Bear has put together a really talented team, and that is not a fun place to play. If we don't show up and shoot lights out (similarly to @ UT) it could get ugly. The Mountaineers are one of the better teams when it comes to feeding off of their home crowd, we have to keep them in their seats. Key to win, IMO, is Cousins having another good day. We know what we are going to get from Thomas and Hield, we need Cousins to be the 3rd legit scoring option and to do better than 4 points. If hes scoring less than 10 points in a conference game, we are very beatable. If we can get double digits out of our top 3 guys, and win the battle of the boards, I like us to win by 5-10.
Saturday vs OSU - Very underrated matchup, IMO. I think this has potential to be one of the better games of the week. The Pokes are playing what looks to be their best ball of the season. 2-1 with wins vs KSU, and UT, albeit both were at home - BUT they only lost by 2 in Ames to a very good cyclone team, and they had a shot to tie or win at the end of regulation. Our size and athleticism on the perimeter could really give them some fits, if we really stick with Forte and hedge well on every screen for him. But as much as I don't like to say it, size hasn't seemed to bother him all that much as he has been guarded by much bigger guards all season and still is the leading scorer in the conference, I believe. IMO, Forte is going to get his 15+. Woodard has to play sound basketball, he can't let Hickey force turnovers. But the BIG matchup, no pun intended, will be Thomas vs Nash/Cobbins. I have a feeling that Thomas will guard Nash, and Cobbins will guard Thomas. Thomas MUST not only play well on both ends, per usual, but have more offensive output than Nash. If Nash and Forte can combine for 30-35 points, they can PLAY with anyone. If they combine for 40+ (like against UT) they can BEAT anyone. The pokes haven't won in LNC since Eddie Sutton was at the Helm, and there have been quite a few superior OSU teams lose in Norman in that time. But, this one worries me. As opposed to last year, they seem to play well as a team, and actually have good team chemistry...
Should be an interesting week for us and most of the Big 12, we should find out a lot more about everyone.
I want to start off by saying, I'm new to the board. I love our Sooners, but I am not here to pump sunshine in every post. I tell it like it is, the good with the bad. As you all know, this is a HUGE week for us. Coming off what might have been a momentum building win in Austin, we fell flat on our face at home in a game that we should have and needed to win against the Cats. It seems as if we lost our identity in that KSU game, and I hope that we find it quick, or we might have tough week!
Tomorrow @ WVU - I like WVU's team a lot this year. I think Huggy Bear has put together a really talented team, and that is not a fun place to play. If we don't show up and shoot lights out (similarly to @ UT) it could get ugly. The Mountaineers are one of the better teams when it comes to feeding off of their home crowd, we have to keep them in their seats. Key to win, IMO, is Cousins having another good day. We know what we are going to get from Thomas and Hield, we need Cousins to be the 3rd legit scoring option and to do better than 4 points. If hes scoring less than 10 points in a conference game, we are very beatable. If we can get double digits out of our top 3 guys, and win the battle of the boards, I like us to win by 5-10.
Saturday vs OSU - Very underrated matchup, IMO. I think this has potential to be one of the better games of the week. The Pokes are playing what looks to be their best ball of the season. 2-1 with wins vs KSU, and UT, albeit both were at home - BUT they only lost by 2 in Ames to a very good cyclone team, and they had a shot to tie or win at the end of regulation. Our size and athleticism on the perimeter could really give them some fits, if we really stick with Forte and hedge well on every screen for him. But as much as I don't like to say it, size hasn't seemed to bother him all that much as he has been guarded by much bigger guards all season and still is the leading scorer in the conference, I believe. IMO, Forte is going to get his 15+. Woodard has to play sound basketball, he can't let Hickey force turnovers. But the BIG matchup, no pun intended, will be Thomas vs Nash/Cobbins. I have a feeling that Thomas will guard Nash, and Cobbins will guard Thomas. Thomas MUST not only play well on both ends, per usual, but have more offensive output than Nash. If Nash and Forte can combine for 30-35 points, they can PLAY with anyone. If they combine for 40+ (like against UT) they can BEAT anyone. The pokes haven't won in LNC since Eddie Sutton was at the Helm, and there have been quite a few superior OSU teams lose in Norman in that time. But, this one worries me. As opposed to last year, they seem to play well as a team, and actually have good team chemistry...
Should be an interesting week for us and most of the Big 12, we should find out a lot more about everyone.
